Khiry Lamar Shelton (/ˈkri ˈʃɛltən/; born June 26, 1993) is an American professional soccer player who plays for Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City. He has also represented the United States at the under-18 and under-23 levels.

Khiry Shelton
Shelton with New York City FC in 2015
Personal information
Full name Khiry Lamar Shelton
Date of birth (1993-06-26) June 26, 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth Fort Carson, Colorado, United States
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Position(s) Forward, winger
Team information
Current team
Sporting Kansas City
Number 11
Youth career
2009–2011 Lonestar SC
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2014 Oregon State Beavers 52 (19)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Austin Aztex 7 (4)
2014 Lane United 5 (3)
2015–2017 New York City FC 54 (6)
2018 Sporting Kansas City 20 (2)
2018Swope Park Rangers 2 (0)
2019 SC Paderborn 4 (0)
2020– Sporting Kansas City 118 (10)
International career
2010–2011 United States U18 3 (0)
2015–2016 United States U23 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of November 15, 2024

Club career

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College and amateur

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Shelton was born in Fort Carson, Colorado and raised in Leander, Texas.[2] He attended high school at Vista Ridge in Cedar Park, Texas, becoming a four-year letterman for their soccer team, while in 2010 he was selected as Offensive MVP and was a first-team member of the All District select.[3] Joining Lonestar SC, he was a member of the academy and played for them at under-17/18 level, winning the Disney Showcase Championship with them in 2010.[3]

Joining Oregon State University, he worked his way immediately into their soccer program, starting the first six games of the season before an injury took him off the active roster for the rest of the season.[3] In his second year, he received a Pac-12 Honorable Mention for his fifteen appearances, scoring in his first three appearances and finishing the season as the joint second highest scorer for the team.[3] His third year saw him make ten appearances and equal his four goals from the season before.[3]

New York City FC

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On January 15, 2015, Shelton was selected 2nd overall by New York City FC in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft,[4][5] with the expansion club turning down an offer of a considerable amount of allocation money in exchange for their pick to instead draft the player who Head Coach Jason Kreis described as "our top guy".[6]

He made his debut for the club coming in their first Major League Soccer match, away to fellow expansion team Orlando City SC at the Citrus Bowl; he came on as a 62nd-minute substitute for Mehdi Ballouchy in an eventual 1–1 draw.[7] Shelton totalled 17 games in his first season as his team missed out on the MLS Cup Playoffs, and scored one goal: on May 15 at Yankee Stadium against the Chicago Fire, he replaced Patrick Mullins after 60 minutes, and in added time he equalized for a 2–2 draw from David Villa's pass.[8]

Sporting Kansas City

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On December 14, 2017, Shelton was traded to Sporting Kansas City in exchange for Saad Abdul-Salaam.[9]

SC Paderborn

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On January 5, 2019, Shelton signed a contract through 30 June 2021 with 2. Bundesliga side SC Paderborn 07.[10]

Return to Sporting Kansas City

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On December 9, 2019, it was announced that Shelton would return to Sporting Kansas City on a contract through to 2022 with an option for 2023.[11]

International career

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Shelton was called up to the United States under-18 team in 2010, attending a training camp with them in California before flying out to Israel in December 2010 to compete in an international tournament against the hosts plus France and Germany.[3] He played in all three games, but failed to score in any.[12][13][14]

Some five years later, his drafting by New York City FC led to Shelton receiving a call-up to the United States under-23 in their games against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Denmark in March 2015.[15] Shelton was brought on from the substitutes bench after 61 minutes against Bosnia[16] and played the full match against Denmark,[17] though again he failed to score on either occasion.

In January 2016, Shelton received his first call up to the senior United States squad for friendlies against Iceland and Canada.[18]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played September 29, 2019[19]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
New York City FC 2015 Major League Soccer 17 1 0 0 17 1
2016 22 4 1 0 2 0 25 4
2017 15 1 0 0 0 0 15 1
Sporting Kansas City 2018 Major League Soccer 20 2 1 0 3 0 24 2
Swope Park Rangers (loan) 2018 USL 2 0 2 0
SC Paderborn 2018–19 2. Bundesliga 2 0 2 0
2019–20 Bundesliga 1 0 1 0 2 0
Career total 79 8 3 0 5 0 0 0 87 8

References

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  1. ^ "Khiry Shelton". Sporting Kansas City. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  2. ^ "Sporting KC signs 26-year-old forward Khiry Shelton | Sporting Kansas City".
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Khiry Shelton Biography". osubeavers.com. July 1, 2013. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
  4. ^ "MLS SuperDraft: New York City FC take Oregon State forward Khiry Shelton with No. 2 pick". mlssoccer.com. January 15, 2015. Archived from the original on January 18, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
  5. ^ "Khiry Shelton, Oregon State Beavers soccer star, selected No. 2 overall in MLS SuperDraft". oregonlive.com. January 15, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
  6. ^ "MLS SuperDraft: NYCFC entertained offers for No. 2 pick, but opted to select "our top guy" Khiry Shelton". mlssoccer.com. January 15, 2015. Archived from the original on January 19, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
  7. ^ "Orlando City 1-1 New York City: Last-gasp Kaka earns 10-man hosts point on MLS debut". Goal.com. March 8, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  8. ^ Butler, Dylan (May 15, 2015). "New York City FC 2, Chicago Fire 2". Major League Soccer. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  9. ^ "New York City FC Trade Khiry Shelton for Saad Abdul-Salaam". nycfc.com. New York City FC. December 14, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  10. ^ "Paderborn verpflichtet Duo aus den USA" [Paderborn signs duo from the USA]. kicker.de (in German). Olympia-Verlag. January 5, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  11. ^ "Sporting KC signs 26-year-old forward Khiry Shelton". sportingkc.com. Sporting Kansas City. December 9, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  12. ^ "U.S. U-18 MNT Opens Four Team Tournament with Loss to France in Tel Aviv". ussoccer.com. December 14, 2010. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
  13. ^ "U.S. Plays to a Scoreless Draw Against Hosts in Israel". ussoccer.com. December 17, 2010. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
  14. ^ "US U-18s lose to Germany in tourney closer". ussoccer.com. December 17, 2010. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
  15. ^ "Khiry Shelton Named to United States Under-23 National Team". nycfc.com. March 22, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  16. ^ "U.S. U-23 MNT Opens Up 2015 with 5-2 Win Over Bosnia U-21s". ussoccer.com. March 27, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  17. ^ "U.S. U-23 MNT Falls to Denmark 1-0 to Wrap Up European Camp". ussoccer.com. April 1, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  18. ^ "Evans, Orozco Released to Club Teams as MNT's January Camp Winds Down".
  19. ^ "Khiry Shelton profile". Soccerway.com. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
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