TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Signing
St. Louis CITY SC have signed center back Lucas Bartlett through the 2023 MLS season with option years for 2024-25, the club announced Wednesday.
Concurrently, the expansion side placed Joakim Nilsson on the Injury Reserve List. The Swedish international and German Bundesliga veteran signed with St. Louis last summer, but hasn’t debuted due to a long-term knee injury.
Now, Bartlett adds depth alongside a domestic-only center back corps that’s featured Tim Parker and Kyle Hiebert as early-season starters. Jon Bell and Josh Yaro are other options for the position.
“Lucas has shown his quality from the first day he came to camp as a trialist,” St. Louis sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel said in a release. “He has incorporated himself well with the guys in the locker room and has shown in his short time here that he has what it takes to compete at this level.”
FC Dallas selected Bartlett No. 6 overall in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas. He primarily played at the MLS NEXT Pro level, logging 13 starts for North Texas SC and helping the team to a third-place finish in the Western Conference. The Kansas City native's only two appearances for FC Dallas came in US Open Cup play.
The 25-year-old defender played college soccer at three stops: Loyola University Chicago, Drake University and St. John’s University. At the last destination, he received First-Team All-Big East honors.
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