KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Sporting Kansas City has selected two players in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft.

SKC selected Florida International forward Stephen Afrifa with the eighth overall pick in the first round and Maryland defender Chris Rindov with the 37th overall pick in the second round.

Afrifa is Sporting’s highest SuperDraft selection since 2010 when the club took Teal Bunbury at No. 4 overall. The Canadian forward enjoyed a standout four-year career at Florida International, where he tallied 23 goals and 11 assists in 63 appearances from 2019-2022.

Afrifa will begin his professional journey after a phenomenal senior campaign that yielded a team-high 10 goals, four assists and United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-American honors. He guided the Panthers to the 2022 American Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles and was named AAC Championship Most Outstanding Offensive Player.

Afrifa competed for USL League Two side One Knoxville SC earlier this year, scoring 10 goals and leading the first-year club to a first-place finish in the South Central Division and a run to the national quarterfinals.

Rindov, a 21-year-old center-back, was a defensive mainstay for perennial powerhouse Maryland, starting in each of the program’s 38 matches over the last two seasons and finishing his college career with four goals and five assists in 58 appearances.

Rindov started his career as a freshman walk-on and ascended to team captain as a senior, he had a banner year this fall as an All-Big Ten First Team selection and an MLS College Showcase participant.

Rindov also has citizenship in Bulgaria.

The two rookies are set to join Sporting Kansas City for preseason training in Arizona, which will begin Jan. 9 and wrap up prior to the club’s 2023 MLS regular season opener at the Portland Timbers on Feb. 25.