Minnesota United FC adds Minnesotan Brent Kallman, Ibson to MLS roster

Minnesota United FC finally has a Minnesotan on the roster.

The team announced Monday that defender Brent Kallman, 26, will join the first-year Major League Soccer franchise after making a jump from the club's North American Soccer League roster.

The Loons, en route Monday to begin preseason training in Casa Grande, Ariz., also added Ibson, a veteran midfielder from Brazil who played parts of two seasons with the club.

Kallman, who grew up in Woodbury, and Ibson, 33, makes it six players signed who have ties to United's NASL days. The others are defenders Justin Davis and Kevin Venegas, forward Christian Ramirez and midfielder Miguel Ibarra.

"I'm relieved that I finally know where I'm going to play, and I'm ecstatic that it's here with the club in MLS," said Kallman, a native of Omaha, Neb., who attended high school in Woodbury and played collegiately at Creighton. "I'm really excited to make the jump up to a higher level and to be able to do it here is just really special."

Kallman said he felt he had a strong senior season at Creighton and thought that might lead to some training camp opportunities with MLS teams. When those calls never came, his older brother Brian Kallman, who was a defender for United from 2010-15, helped him earn a trial with United that eventually led to a full signing in 2013.

Brent Kallman couldn't even make the game-day squad back in those early days. But his brother, who recently signed with fourth-tier National Premier Soccer League side Minneapolis City SC, was always confident he'd see his younger sibling in the top division one day.

"It was kind of meant to be," Brent Kallman said. "My journey was a lot longer to get to MLS than I thought it felt like it had to be. I think I'm better off for it because back in 2012, 2013, I wasn't ready. I needed these few years to learn how to be a pro."

Brent Kallman won't be the first Kallman in a professional soccer league, though. That honor goes to his sister Kassey Kallman, who is currently a defender for the Washington Spirit of the National Women's Soccer League. Brent Kallman's other sisters, Krystle and Kylie, both played collegiately for Minnesota, and Krystle is now associate head coach there.

United Sporting Director Manny Lagos, himself a St. Paul native, said having a hometown connection on the roster shows the team's dedication to growing more Minnesota soccer players.

"It's nice to have some guys from the legacy and history of the club and the state," Lagos said. "There is some, I think, pride about the development side of this state and developing soccer players, and there's also an honesty that we want to do more. We think we can do better."

Kallman, though, just counts himself lucky.