Kevin Ellis (born Kevin Boydston; June 30, 1991) is an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who plays for the St. Louis Ambush in the

Major Arena Soccer League The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a North American professional indoor soccer league. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. MASL is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. MASL players ...

Career

Early career

Born in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, as Kevin Boydston, Ellis first started to make a name for himself in the

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and t ...

Juniors with the under-17 side at the SUM Cup in 2007 where he started in every match for the Sporting juniors and scored two goals in two minutes against the

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise be ...

juniors in the group final. Ellis then went on to attend

Barton Community College Barton Community College, previously Barton County Community College, is a public community college in Great Bend, Kansas. Its service area includes Barton, Ellsworth, Pawnee, Rush and Russell Counties, Stafford County north of US Highway 50, ...

where he played for the school's soccer team from 2009 to 2010. In 2009 Ellis scored 23 goals for Barton Community College while also earning NJCAA Second Team All-American honors. Then in 2010 Ellis was converted into a defender while still scoring 11 goals for the college team that season. After the 2010 season Ellis was named the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Defensive Player of the Year, and he also added All-Region VI First Team, NJCAA All-Tournament Team and NJCAA First Team All-American honors to his personal honors. His 34 goals scored while at Barton Community College remain an all-time school record.

Sporting Kansas City

After the 2010 season, Ellis attended the

invitation-only combine in January 2011, where after the three-day combine he earned a spot with the Sporting Kansas City preseason roster. On February 18, after two weeks of training with the first team in preseason, Ellis was signed by Sporting Kansas City to a homegrown player contract. Ellis was the second homegrown signing by Sporting Kansas City after

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Jon Kempin Jonathan Kempin (born April 8, 1993) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. He previously appeared for Sporting Kansas City (SKC), LA Galaxy, Columbus Crew SC, and D.C. United and spent time on loan with ...

, who signed as the first homegrown player in August 2010. Ellis made his first-team debut for Sporting Kansas City on June 28, 2011, two days before his 20th birthday, against the

Chicago Fire Premier Chicago Fire U-23 was an American soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 2001, the team last played in the PDL, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. They last played in 2016, choosing to leave the PDL. Th ...

in the

US Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

, in which he came on as a 63rd-minute substitute for

Kei Kamara Kei Ansu Kamara (; born 1 September 1984) is a Sierra Leonean professional footballer who plays as a striker for CF Montréal of Major League Soccer. He is one of only eleven players to have scored 100 goals in MLS history, achieving the land ...

. Sporting went on to win the game 3–0. Ellis made his league debut in 2013 before spending several weeks on loan with Orlando City. He scored his first professional goal in a 1–0 victory over

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul or simply Cruz Azul () is a professional football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in the Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Because "azul" means "blue" in Spanish, the club has traditionally ...

during the

2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League The 2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League was the 6th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name, and overall the 49th edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North ...

quarterfinals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

. Ellis was waived during the 2018 preseason. He later signed with the Chicago Fire on the eve of Chicago's season opener. He was waived by the Fire on August 9, 2018.

D.C. United

Ellis signed with

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Suppo ...

on September 7, 2018. Ellis played his first 90 minutes with DC in a friendly against

C.D. Olimpia Club Deportivo Olimpia is a professional Honduran football club based in Tegucigalpa, Francisco Morazán. The club is the nation's most successful team both in the domestic league and in international club competitions. History Olimpia was f ...

, contributing an assist to

Dane Kelly Dane Kelly (born 9 February 1991) is a Jamaican professional footballer who plays as a striker for Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. With 85 regular season goals, Kelly is the all-time leading scorer in the USL Championship. Professional career Tivo ...

. He was released by the club at the end of their 2018 season.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Kevin 1991 births Living people American men's soccer players Kansas City Brass players Sporting Kansas City players Orlando City SC (2010–2014) players OKC Energy FC players Sporting Kansas City II players Chicago Fire FC players D.C. United players Men's association football defenders Soccer players from Kansas City, Missouri USL League Two players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players Junior college men's soccer players in the United States Barton Community College alumni Kansas City Comets (2010–) players Homegrown Players (MLS) Major Arena Soccer League players St. Louis Ambush (2013–) players