Prime Sports Season Is Coming Up In Kansas
The Kansas City Roos, known prior to the 2019-20 school year as the UMKC Kangaroos, is the name of the sports teams of the University of Missouri–Kansas City, an academic institution located in Kansas City, Missouri. The Roos participate in college competitions organized by the NCAA, and have been part of the Summit League since July 1, 2020.
The university’s nickname is the Kangaroos, and was chosen in 1936. The mascot is named Kasey the Kangaroo, and was originally drawn by Walt Disney. The nickname was shortened to “Roos” in 2019, at the same time that UMKC changed his sports brand to “Kansas City”.
The Roos compete in 7 men’s sports and 9 women’s
The men’s basketball team has never won the title of conference tournament champion throughout its history. Only one of its players has come to play as a professional in the NBA, Tony Dumas, who did so between 1994 and 1998.
The men’s soccer team achieved its greatest success by winning The Summit League Tournament in 2008.
It’s that time of the year again for sports in the state of Kansas.
The Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball have just over a month to go in what has been a trying 2024 season. But the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, one of the premier Super Bowl 57 favorites, are nearing the start of their season.
The Chiefs, aiming for their seventh straight AFC West division title, will open up the 2024 season with a road tilt against Kyler Murray’s Arizona Cardinals on Sept. 11. Four days later, they’ll welcome the AFC West rival Los Angeles Chargers on Amazon’s first ever Thursday Night Football broadcast (8:15 p.m. EST).
The Jayhawks’ men’s and women’s basketball teams will open their seasons in November. The Kansas State Wildcats’ football team will kick off 2024 with a showdown against the South Dakota Coyotes on Sept. 3 (7:00 p.m. EST).
And finally, several sports seasons have started up at the University of Missouri–Kansas City. The Roos’ men’s and women’s soccer clubs, women’s volleyball squad are in the midst of their respective campaigns. The men’s and women’s basketball clubs will start up their seasons again in November, and the Cross and Country Season will kick off in Lawrence against the Jayhawks at the Bob Simmons Classic on Sept. 3.
After a long wait, sports betting in The Wheat State is scheduled to go live on Sept. 1, in time for the upcoming Chiefs’, Wildcats’, Roos’ and Jayhawks’ seasons. Upon launching, customers will be able to take advantage of many Kansas promo codes with this list provided by Betkansas that feature $200 in risk-free bets from BetMGM for those who register early, $150 in bets on launch day from FanDuel and $100 in free bets for early registration plus $100,000 in free wager sweepstakes from DraftKings.
It’s a busy time of the year for Kansas sports in both the professional and collegiate worlds. With that all said, here’s a recap of the latest Roos athletics news.
Roos Women’s Soccer Team Earns 1-1 Draw vs. Tulsa
Thanks to a goal from Lily Stedman, the Kansas City Roos’ women’s soccer team avoided the dreaded 0-2 start and salvaged a 1-1 draw with Tulsa.
Caijah Anderson drew the assist on Stedman’s strike at the 8:47 mark of the game. Emilie Torres scored the lone tally for Tulsa in the 56th minute. Both goalkeepers held down the fort the rest of the way for a draw.
Madison Page of the Roos had her fair share of opportunities, recording three shots on goal in the contest. With the tie, the Roos moved to 0-1-1 on the young season. Head coach Jess Smith was pleased with the team’s performance that garnered the Roos their first point of the campaign.
“We’re really happy with the team getting a point today,” Smith said after the game, per the Roos’ team website. “We withstood a lot, they’ve got dynamic attacking players. We’re proud of them gritting it out, sometimes it doesn’t have to be the most pretty.”
Following a brief two-game homestand, the Roos now hit the road for a Thursday tilt against Creighton. The Bluejays drew ties in each of their first two games. The Roos will then return home for a home showdown on Sunday against Saint Louis before visiting Texas State on Sept. 1.
Roos Softball Team Announces For New Signings
New head coach Kiki Stokes O’Connor has already added four new faces to the Roos softball team.
Per the team’s website, the Roos have signed Taylor Kvale, Katie Noble, Elleana Navarro and Amelia Fitzgerald. Kvale, Noble and Navarro are all freshmen, and Fitzgerald is a transfer from the Upper Iowa Peacocks program.
The Roos struggled in 2024 , finishing with a record of 13-34 on the year. This included a 9-11 record in their conference. Though the Roos fared well at home (9-5), they didn’t win any of their 17 road contests, and they were just 4-12 at neutral site games.
Back in June, the Roos announced that they were parting ways with head coach Kerry Shaw, who compiled a 48-73 record during his three-year tenure at the school. O’Connor’s résumé includes stops with Upper Iowa, Fayette and South Dakota State University.
On Aug. 12, 2019, Kerry Shaw became one of the seventh head coaches in Kansas City history. He is a 1993 graduate from Missouri Western State University and previously headed the NCAA Division II University of Mary (N.D.) from 2016-18. In 2024 , Shaw gained his 100th victory as a coach in the win over Western Illinois. The Roos finished with a 9-11 record in Summit play and the five-seed in the conference tournament.
O’Connor was a standout player for the Nebraska Cornhuskers’ softball team, earning NFCA Third-Team All-American selections in 2015 and 2016. O’Connor played outfield and was team captain for the 2015 and 2016 campaigns.