The 2025 MLS season has just started, and already, DC United Defender Lucas Bartlett and his teammates have conceded only one goal for every 50 minutes of their games. Bartlett himself has made 2 tackles and 1 interception for every 90 minutes. And racked up 5 clearances at the same time. But this is not surprising…
Spanning the course of his 3+-year MLS career, Bartlett has put up impressive percentages. 26 ground duels won (90%), 16 aerial duels won (99%), O dribbles past (99%), 20 clearances (88%), 2 shots blocked (82%), 0 penalties given away (99%), and 242 passes (88%). That’s with only 4259 minutes of total play on the pitch. As a Defender – the player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring – he is, literally, tops. It is easy to see why he is a star on the DC United team.
Bartlett’s soccer career began in Kansas. At Saint Thomas Aquinas High School in Overland Park to be exact.
“I played a bunch of sports when I was younger, didn’t know if I wanted to play soccer and thought I would play baseball. I was actually in the youth development system for US baseball for a while. But I had a bad elbow injury when I was 13. When I got to high school, I kind of just made my mind up that soccer was going to be it. At age 14, I made the decision to really go in on soccer.”
Bartlett’s four-year varsity career was enough to earn him offers from two D1 college programs. He chose to accept Loyola University’s offer in Chicago due to its strong academic reputation. “My parents were always about education, education, education,” he remarks. “That’s why I chose Loyola. But after two years, I had another opportunity. Drake (the other D1 college that made an offer) still wanted me to go there.”
Bartlett needed to decide. “Chicago is one of my favorite cities. I’m an extremely social person, so I loved being in the action. It was amazing to me. But my brother – also a soccer player – was attending Drake at the time. I had to think things through.”
Eventually, the team’s coach (and probably his brother too) convinced Bartlett to transfer. The transfer meant a full ride at the university. “I was like, okay, this makes a lot of sense. I finished my undergrad in finance there, and then I did an MBA with a double in accounting and finance as well. I loved it.”
Drake, however, would not be the final academic stop for Bartlett. He shifted gears again.
“During the last year and a half of my collegiate career, when all-conference accolades came in, I thought, well, maybe there is something after this. I had an advisor at the time who told me that I needed to go to a bigger school if I had any chance to make it in the draft, which comes in the MLS in the winter.
“We had COVID in 2020, my senior year. Drake is a small school. We couldn’t test. We didn’t have the funding that schools in big conferences did. The ACC, Big East, and SEC, those schools all had the funds to get through it all. Long story short, I made the decision in the summer after my senior year to transfer, but because of COVID, I got granted an extra year. Everybody in college sports did, and so I had one semester basically to do it. I transferred in June to St. John’s in Queens, New York.
“I had to take the risk. I had never been a part of a culture immersed in something like that. I was a small town, Kansas kid living in Queens, New York. And it was amazing. I had a great season. I was surrounded by great people, a great coaching staff and it ultimately led to me being able to have a really good last season in college.
“It was three months of just trying to prove myself to the scouts that I could play at the next level. But it was a crazy route too. No one’s probably ever had that route in the history of MLS. Three different colleges and taking an extra year because of COVID. I was a 24-year-old rookie. But I feel like, maturity-wise, I was ahead of the game and ready to be a good pro hopefully.”
Bartlett’s gamble paid off. He finished his career at St. John’s University, receiving First-Team All-Big East honors and earning an invitation to the MLS College Showcase after leading the Red Storm to an NCAA Tournament bid. After further impressing scouts at the MLS combined with his speed and physicality, Bartlett was taken sixth overall by FC Dallas in the 2022 SuperDraft and signed his first pro contract shortly after preseason began.
“I signed just a one-year deal with FC Dallas,” says Bartlett. “When you’re a senior in college, the MLS, predominantly, only gives you a one-year deal. It’s really difficult because you have one year to make it. To prove yourself. But I came into a really good team in Dallas. We were third in the league. A lot of experienced guys and hungry guys, national team guys…so, I kind of had to wait my time.
“I only played two games my rookie year. It was a difficult year for sure. It was a lot of ups and downs, a lot of questioning of what I wanted to do, if this was the right fit for me.
But I always knew that there had to be another opportunity somewhere for me that would give me a chance. I ended up leaving there and got an opportunity to play in St. Louis, which was a new expansion team last year when they came into the MLS.
“This was probably the biggest blessing in my career because I was able to play. I played 17 games there of our 34 and really had a great year in terms of showing and proving myself in the league. That winter I was traded here to DC. We had a pretty good season last year but fell short of the playoffs by one point. But individually, it was a really good season for me. I think I led the team in minutes, which was a crazy jump from where I was to where I am now. I have a lot of trust and a lot of commitment to where I’m trying to get to. I signed a new extension with D.C. until 2027. I’m here for the long run.”
Did Bartlett see the trade to DC coming?
“My agent at the time knew that there was a move coming,” he says. “There were a couple of teams that were maybe interested in making a trade. I didn’t know what the future would hold in St. Louis in terms of a big starting role. I was looking for that. I wanted that. I’m 27 now, 25 at the time. I needed to establish myself. I knew it. I needed to get going.”
United was the call that came through in December and Bartlett was the one who agreed to move to Washington. “There were two of us combined in the trade. Jared Stroud, my teammate in St. Louis, and me. I was actually in Chicago at the time that I heard the news. It was a feeling of relief, excitement and joy. I knew I needed to be somewhere different. I had an amazing time in St. Louis. I love the city. It’s a sports town. It’s close to home. But at that point in my career, I needed to make the move. DC was willing to give me the opportunity to grow into myself and give me the playing time that I needed to showcase what I could do.”
And since then, Bartlett has been fire on the field. But he has only just begun…
“We are a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in five years,” he says. “It’s something we want to turn over. As with many teams in D.C., there has been struggle. The team wants to change this. I’m trying to make that a big point in my career right now. We want to win. It’s time for us. You know, we have four MLS Cups, so we need a fifth to match the others.”
Since moving to the capital city, Lucas Bartlett has immersed himself in the culture. And he likes it.
“The city in itself is really cool,” he says. “It’s special. I feel like I’ve been all over. From New York to Chicago to Dallas, I’ve lived in some cool cities. But I think D.C. is the most unique city I’ve been a part of because of the culture. The embassies, the government, and the diverse neighborhoods. All these are amazing parts. And you feel a part of it. You feel like you’re in something that’s really special.
“The people that I’ve talked to in D.C., they feel like they’re in the most important part of the world because it is the most powerful city. For me, that feels unique. You just feel like the action is always here. There’s always something to do. There’s something going on. The restaurant scene is amazing. The culture, the history here. I really love the city. I’ve gotten to really grow in it and immerse myself in a lot that’s going on. I feel like I’m just getting to know it more and more.”
If one were to ask, what is the ‘world’s’ sport? The answer would be, of course, soccer. Or football if you prefer. There are more soccer fans in the world than in any other sport. An estimated 5 billion worldwide. The sport courses through veins continent after continent, people after people. For most of the world, it is a deep part of their cultures. But in the United States, soccer vies for attention across a calendar of other heavyweights. American football, baseball, basketball, hockey, tennis, golf… where does Bartlett see the trajectory of American interest growing in the game?
“I think there are two big factors,” says Bartlett. “The World Cup is coming next year to North America, right? With that coming, it’s going to be a massive boon in the notoriety of American soccer. The second factor is that more and more US players are going to Europe and succeeding. International players are wanting to be here as well. So, the league is growing.
“Obviously, Messi in the league is significant. He is the greatest player in the world or, to some, maybe Ronaldo. But Messi’s incredible. And what he does and what he’s brought into the league and notoriety and other players is too. And you see it more and more. Younger guys are coming in. Charlotte just signed Wilfred Zaha, who is a player who played at Crystal Palace. He probably spent 10 years in the Premier League and was well-respected. In Europe, they talk about the US as a vacation. Europeans want to go to Miami. They want to go to New York. They want to go to Chicago. They want to go to LA. They want to see it all. And I think a lot of those players would really come here quickly if they were able to get similar wages that they do now. And we’re not far off. I think the salary cap is going to grow. Things are changing.”
How else does DC’s star Defender spend his time? Owning an athletic gear company…
“I own a golf apparel company which I started with one of my best friends, Curt Whigham,” says Bartlett. “The company is called Boge Golf and our motto is simple – Livin’ Life Above Par. It started during COVID. Golf was really on the rise – everyone was trying to get outside – and we were college athletes who couldn’t play sports. So, we were like, what do we do with our downtime? We ended up going to the golf course. We are average players – I was swinging a lot of bogies – but what we enjoyed was playing the game together and just being on the golf course. We would joke around and have a beer. Then we thought, why isn’t there a brand that represents us?
“Everyone knows the Callaways, Nikes, and Titleist, but I think the new niche brands are cool to talk about because of the community that is built around them. That’s what we wanted to go for. We are just an apparel brand for the average Joe golfer. Which are the majority of golfers – they don’t shoot a par every hole. Boge is a place where anyone can find nice clothes when golfing. I wanted to start something that would deliver high-quality products but also a brand that represents the majority of golfers. Which was us.”
But Boge Golf is not just about looking good on the golf course. Bartlett and Whigham are dedicated to strong charitable support. It is personal to them.
“We started this company with the hope of influencing our community,” says Bartlett. “Curt’s father had been diagnosed with ALS. In 2022, we were able to donate more than $60,000 to an ALS foundation called “I am ALS”. Unfortunately, Curt’s father passed away a little over a year ago from ALS. But before he passed (while he was in treatment), we were able to do a collection all about him. The John Whigham Collection. We will continue to do more around his legacy as our company keeps progressing. The hope is to be able to donate every year to help find a cure!”
When speaking with Bartlett, one thing becomes abundantly clear. He both loves and admires his family. It’s evident in his words.
“My mom grew up in a small town of 900 people, Springfield, Nebraska,” he says. “She got the college education that she needed to succeed. Her parents pushed her to do that. My grandfather was a factory worker, so he worked nights and days, and she needed a college scholarship. She played basketball at a small school in Nebraska called Doan University. A Hall of Famer there, she did well.
“My father grew up in Boulder, Colorado, and in Nevada. He was a college athlete as well, playing football. He went to UNLV and then ended up transferring to where my mother went to school in Nebraska, and that’s where they met. He was a football and track athlete there. They left college together and got married and then lived all over the country but ended up back in Kansas City. I grew up there.
“I’ve got an older brother, Alec. He’s the inspiration for me to be where I am now at in my life. A lot of credit is due to where he is and what he’s done. He is the one who played for Drake, and he also played a bit professionally too. He’s currently doing a cardiology residency at the University of Arizona. He has a baby girl named Briar. I’m her godfather. So, it’s been amazing to get to know her and be a part of her life and the joy that she brings to us.
“I have a younger sister, Grace, who turned 22 in March. She plays soccer at Grand Canyon University in Arizona and is in her last year. So, both my older brother and younger sister are there. I think that my older brother started us all out in soccer. We were one of those families where what the oldest child did, we followed. He was amazing at the game though.
“My youngest brother, Jacob, is 19. He went to Notre Dame for one semester, played soccer there, and signed a three-year contract with MLS Kansas City, my hometown club. All my siblings and I love the game of soccer. When my younger brother signed his contract, that was really special for me and my family. On one hand, we are on two different paths, but at the same time, we are on the same path. It’s been really cool. We have to compete against each other. We played each other in DC this past March 8th and had a suite full of people watching. That’s awesome. I think a proud moment for my parents for sure. I am so happy for him. He is an incredible player, obviously, but he is an even better person.”
Lucas Bartlett has a full calendar. His life is kept busy with his play for United, his company, and his golden retriever – Charlie – who “is the sweetest thing in the world.” When asked what is most important in his life, the response is quick.
“Most important is my family,” he says. “When they come to games they stay with me. We spend a lot of time together. We cook dinners. I value that stuff a lot. I’m a faith-driven guy as well.”
Bartlett is competitive yet compassionate. Humble yet highly motivated. He is all about his sport, his family and his faith. A direct speaker, when asked if there was anything else that he would like our readers to know, his response was simple.
“That’s it – I don’t try to overcomplicate things.”
A good lesson for us all.
