Lexington Sporting Club is one of the newest and most exciting clubs in the USL League System and ply their trade in League One. We wanted to know even more about the club, so we reached out and got a hold of Kyle Piercy, the Director of Marketing and Communications, who was gracious in the time he took to answer our questions.

Protagonist was also recently fortunate enough to have Head Coach Sam Stockley on our One League Under the C show - give it a listen when you’re done with this article!

Lexington Sporting Club were recently announced as a USL League One expansion side for 2023 - how long has the club been in development? What inspired the club's inception and who are the folks behind the new team?
The expansion was officially announced in October of 2021, although planning for a new team began in the years prior. The United Soccer League (USL) was looking for markets for expansion opportunities and linked up with Vince Gabbert—then a Vice President at Keeneland—to develop a plan for its inception. The owners of the club are Bill and Donna Shively, Stephen Dawahare and Carter Carnegie, who each helped make the club a reality. Sam Stockley was part of the launch, as well, serving as Sporting Director to oversee soccer operations.

Tell us about your badge and colors - how are they connected to the community and walk us through the process the club went through to land on it?
Renowned designer Chris Payne developed Lexington Sporting Club's crest and brand. The process to design Lexington S.C.’s crest involved 14 listening sessions with members of the local community, more than 300 responses to brand surveys, and more than 1,500 responses to stadium surveys. The information gathered during this months-long process revealed several common themes, including pride in Central Kentucky’s winning heritage, the region’s unparalleled landscape, and its horse and bourbon industries.

With so many league options available nowadays, what advantages did you see in joining USL League One? USL League One made the most sense for us due to the league's overall vision and commitment to the franchise model. Each club can truly stand on its own and be connected with its community, while still providing high level competition from teams across the country.

Has the club made any partnerships with local youth programs- either to create a direct development pathway or simply to get connected to the community?
Part of Lexington SC's plan involved absorbing the two largest youth clubs in the region: Lexington FC and Commonwealth Soccer Club. The result is a fully developed youth program that features more than 100 teams and 1,400 players from U7 through U19. In fact, the first teams to wear the crest in a match were the boys and girls teams in our youth program at the start of last fall. Our commitment to the complete player pathway includes teams within the USL Academy, USL W League and (in the near future) USL League Two.

How will the team be assembled; in addition to signing professional players who are available, will there be, or have there already been tryouts for local talent to give it a shot?
The club held a handful of local tryouts in December and January, where move than 200 athletes were given the chance to show their skills. Most of the inaugural season signings are seasoned professionals, but many are making their professional debut and others—such as Kimball Jackson and Diallo Irakoze—are first-time pros that were raised in Lexington.

What are the goals for the club in season one? When you look back at this season 6 months later, what will be a marker of success?
Our team expects to be in the playoffs and make a push for the USL League One trophy, along with putting together a memorable US Open Cup run. Off the pitch, we hope to be a club this community can be proud of, and we've set the expectations very high considering we sold out of our season ticket deposits before we even signed a player. Our goal is to unite our diverse audience into one club under one crest.

Give Lexington Sporting Club a follow on Facebook HERE
And see what they’re up to on Twitter HERE