Sporting Kansas City announced on Wednesday the addition of play-by-play commentator Blake Aerni and analyst and fellow KC native Jon Kempin as two new local voices for the team’s radio broadcasts for the 2024 Major League Soccer season.
At the age of 17, Kempin started his professional career in 2010 as Kansas City’s first Homegrown Player (2010–16). He has 13 years of MLS expertise and has played for the United States junior and senior national teams at every level. then, the Overland Park, Kansas native played for clubs that won two MLS Cups (2013, 2020), two U.S. Open Cups (2012, 2015), a USL Cup (2013), and then joined the LA Galaxy (2017), Columbus Crew (2018–20), and D.C. United (2021–22). A graduate of Southern New Hampshire University and a member of the Blue Valley North High School and Kansas Soccer Halls of Fame, Kempin began covering Sporting KC games on the radio in the 2023 regular season and playoffs.
Aerni has contributed to Sporting KC’s radio shows for the previous two seasons, co-hosting the team’s postgame program on air in addition to working as a producer in 2023 and a statistician in 2022. Aerni, who attended Mill Valley High School in Shawnee, Kansas, majored in broadcasting and sports media at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He provided play-by-play analysis for the school’s football, basketball, and volleyball teams on 90.3 KRNU, in addition to Nebraska Soccer on B1G+.
Aerni has contributed to Sporting KC’s radio shows for the previous two seasons, co-hosting the team’s postgame program on air in addition to working as a producer in 2023 and a statistician in 2022. Aerni, who attended Mill Valley High School in Shawnee, Kansas, majored in broadcasting and sports media at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He provided play-by-play analysis for the school’s football, basketball, and volleyball teams on 90.3 KRNU, in addition to Nebraska Soccer on B1G+.
The two will serve as the team’s commentary team for games throughout the 2024 season. They will also serve as the team’s official radio partner, Sports Radio 810 WHB, for all broadcasts of the Sporting KC Show, which will premiere on February 23 and air weekly on Fridays to preview each weekend’s match. Fans in the United States and Canada will be able to choose to watch the broadcast audio during Sporting KC home games on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, in addition to being able to do so via the upgraded Sporting KC app.
The largest all-sports radio station in America, Sports Radio 810 WHB, covers more than 42,000 square miles in parts of five Midwest states: Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. In addition to boasting the strongest sports radio signal in the nation, Sports Radio 810 is available to listeners via the ESPN Radio app and live streaming at 810whb.com around-the-clock.
Sports Radio 810 WHB has been a part of Kansas City’s radio landscape for over a century. It is owned and run locally by Union Broadcasting, which also operates the ESPN Kansas City stations 94.5 FM and 1510 AM. Sporting KC matches have been aired on Sports Radio 810 WHB since 2011, when the team played its first game at Children’s Mercy Park.
