Sacramento Republic forward Da'vian Kimbrough became the youngest U.S. pro soccer player in history, making his professional debut on Sunday.
Kimbrough, who is 13 years, 7 months and 13 days old, entered a USL Championship match in the 87th minute of Sacramento Republic's 2-0 win over the Las Vegas Lights.
Historic. Da’vian Kimbrough makes his professional debut at 13 years, 7 months, 13 days with his hometown club. pic.twitter.com/SNjsxQPlA5
— x - Republic FC (@SacRepublicFC) October 2, 2023
A native of Woodland, Calif., Kimbrough signed with the club in August to become the youngest pro player in U.S. soccer history. That record previously belonged to Maximo Carrizo, who signed with New York City FC's senior team on his 14th birthday in February 2022.
The USL record for the youngest player to appear in a match was held by Axel Kei, who debuted for the Real Monarchs when he was 13 years, 9 months and 9 days old.
Kimbrough, a 5-foot-11 forward who recently participated in a Mexico U-16 training camp, scored 27 goals in 31 matches for Sacramento's under-13 team in 2021. He was 11 years old at the time.
Sacramento Republic, who is in first place in the USL Championship Western Conference standings (58 points), has two matches left in the regular season.
