Sporting Kansas City II has signed former captain and Kansas City native Christian Duke, the club announced today. Duke, a Sporting KC Academy product, captained the side to back-to-back Western Conference titles in 2016 and 2017 before spending the last two seasons with Orange County SC.

In his first stint with Sporting II, Duke made 70 appearances as club captain across regular-season and postseason play, tallying four goals and eight assists as the side advanced to the USL Cup Final in both years, only to fall short to New York Red Bulls II and Louisville City FC.

Duke joined Orange County ahead of the 2018 USL Championship season and made 47 appearances for the California-based team, recording one goal and two assists. Duke played in 31 games in 2018 as he helped Orange County finish atop the Western Conference standings but fell to Phoenix Rising FC in the Western Conference Final.

After missing the first 19 games of the 2019 campaign through injury, where Orange County went 5-7-7, Duke returned to play in the final 15 games and lead the side to a 10-3-2 mark to close out the year and qualify for the postseason.

Duke joined the Sporting KC Academy in 2007 while playing high school soccer at Shawnee Mission South before embarking on a collegiate career at the University of San Diego where he earned All-West Coast Conference Second Team honors and a run to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals as a senior.

The Overland Park, Kan. native was selected by his hometown club Sporting Kansas City in the first round of the 2013 MLS Supplemental Draft and spent the majority of his rookie season in the USL Championship with Orlando City SC, earning the club’s Rookie of the Year award in a title-winning campaign.

Duke then joined former Sporting KC captain Jimmy Nielsen at OKC Energy FC initially on loan in 2014 before signing for the club permanently in 2015, playing in 35 games across all competitions which included a run to the Western Conference Final in his second season where OKC were edged by LA Galaxy II.

Duke is reunited with his younger brother, Cameron Duke, who signed a Homegrown contract with Sporting KC last July after advancing through the ranks in the Academy.