EL PASO, Texas – El Paso Locomotive FC made club history on Monday as it announced the signing of 15-year-old Locomotive Academy defender Kenneth Hoban to his first professional contract ahead of the 2025 USL Championship season. With the move, Hoban becomes the youngest player in Locomotive’s history.

The transaction is pending league and federation approval and the terms of the deal will not be disclosed per club policy.

“Kenny’s signing marks a great achievement for our club,” Locomotive Technical Director Ray Saari said. “His progression through our youth system is a testament to the work of our Academy and its staff. He’s a player with a lot of potential and we believe he has the ability to become a quality center back in our organization.”

Born and raised in El Paso, Hoban is Locomotive’s first new signing as preparations begin for next season under Saari and Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera, whose contract was recently extended.

Additionally, Hoban is the first player in club history to go through each step of Locomotive’s Youth Soccer pathway, starting off in Locomotive’s grassroots soccer programs and working way his through the team’s Club Soccer, Academy and USL Academy U-20 teams, and signing a USL Academy Contract for the 2024 season at 14 years old.

“This deal is a positive representation of the pathway we at the Academy have worked so hard to build,” said Locomotive Academy Director Ivan Militar. “Kenneth has now moved on to the professional level and we will continue to support him as he navigates this next step in his athletic career. As his coach, I am amazed at how quickly he adjusted to playing multiple years above his age group, how much he has developed and how ambitious of a young man he is. All the values of our Academy are instilled in Kenneth, who embodies a Loco through and through.”

Hoban was a standout defender throughout the year for Locomotive’s fully-funded USL Academy U20 side, which recently came back from competing in its second straight USL Academy Finals. He was a key contributor to the U20s second-place finish in the USL Academy League’s Cactus Division in which the team ended the season with a 7-2-1 record and +9 GD (22 GF/13 GA).

Hoban has also been a member of some of the U20s most notable appearances in recent years, including the 2023 USL Academy Finals and the 2024 Dallas Cup Final.

“This is huge for me and it’s such an honor to become the youngest signing ever for Locomotive,” Hoban said. “Ever since Locomotive came to El Paso, signing a professional contract was something that I dreamed of. To sign for my hometown team, the feeling is unexplainable. I wanted to play here in El Paso and to have the opportunity to do that in front of friends and family, it’s just a dream come true. I’m looking forward to 2025 and being on the pitch.”

Hoban joins 20-year-old midfielder Emiliano Rodriguez, a Borderland native, as the second Locomotive Academy product to be on the 2025 roster.