SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Sacramento Republic FC announced on Friday that the club had reached an agreement to send homegrown forward Da’vian Kimbrough on loan to North Texas SC of MLS NEXT Pro – an affiliate of FC Dallas – pending league and federation approval. Per club policy, the terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“Da’vian is a bright, young talent and providing him an opportunity to earn regular pro game minutes is essential for his continued development,” said Republic FC President & General Manager Tim Holt. “At North Texas SC, he will compete with and against other young professionals as he builds upon a period of recent successes at the youth national team levels.”
Kimbrough joined Republic FC’s first team in August 2023 when he signed his first professional contract, becoming the youngest professional athlete in team sports in the U.S. He made his professional debut on October 1, 2023 in a 2-0 win over Las Vegas Lights. Since making his debut, he has appeared eight times for the Indomitable Club, including his first starting XI selection earlier this year. He has frequently been called into international youth training camps for the United States and Mexico, most recently featuring for Mexico’s U-17 team for the Canteras de América tournament, where he led the team with three goals in three matches.
In 2021, Kimbrough joined Republic FC’s Academy at age 11, playing up one age division. In his first season, he scored a team-leading 27 goals in 31 matches, helping Sacramento’s U13 side to the best record of any team in their age group nation-wide with 30 wins and just one loss in league play, including 27 consecutive victories to open the season.
In his second season, Kimbrough and the U14 squad finished first in MLS NEXT division play with a 26-5-3 record, outscoring opponents 148-22. As part of the high potential training program, he would join the U15 team for select matches against older competition. In two seasons of MLS NEXT league play, he scored 61 goals in 81 appearances.