United Defender Lucas Bartlett #3 (Photo by Brien Aho/Getty Images)
Over the past decade, DMV (Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia) sports fans have witnessed their teams achieve glory and reach the apex of their respective leagues. In 2018, the Washington Capitals crowned themselves the kings of hockey by winning their inaugural Stanley Cup. The following year, the baseball franchise Washington Nationals captured their first-ever World Series title, while the Virginia Cavaliers’ men’s basketball team also ended their long-awaited drought for a first national championship in 2019. And in January 2025, the Washington Commanders came within touching distance of the Super Bowl, only to lose to the eventual champions — the Philadelphia Eagles — in the NFC Championship Game.
But while success has slowly started to trickle towards the region’s oft-beleaguered fanbases, that hasn’t quite been the case for D.C. United. The Black and Red reached each of the first four MLS Cup Finals (winning three of them) before claiming their fourth title in 2004. However, recent years have seen D.C. go from an all-encompassing powerhouse to an underachieving outfit, failing to reach the playoffs in each of the last five seasons.
It is a drought that Lucas Bartlett is all too keen to terminate.
“We all want [to return to the postseason], we all desire that, we all fight for that: It’s the elephant in the room that everybody talks about all the time,” stated D.C. United center back Lucas Bartlett in an exclusive RG interview. “From the athletic trainers to the front office, it’s the goal on everybody’s mind. We recognize it, we understand it, and we know the history of where we were and where we want to be. It’s not just to make the playoffs, it’s to be where we were before, win trophies, make deep runs in tournaments, and beat the best teams in MLS.”
Growing Up in the Midwest
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Bartlett was raised in a soccer-hungry family. His older brother Alec played collegiate ball at Creighton and Drake before playing professionally for USL sides Des Moines Menace and Charlotte Independence from 2013 to 2016, while his sister Grace is entering her final year with Grand Canyon University’s soccer team. And while his younger brother Jacob was an unused substitute for MLS side Sporting Kansas City when they travelled to D.C. on March 8, he has since evolved into an integral member of their midfield.
“My childhood was sports-specific,” revealed Lucas. “My parents didn’t really give us any other option; they played sports in college, so we were going to do our best to make it there at any level. Having an older brother who chased the pro dream was all I needed to do that: You always want to compete against your family and chase what they did. I just wanted to follow what he did, and if I made it farther, or made it anywhere in my career, I was doing what he loved, but something I love to do as well.”
Lucas stood 5’7” when he was entering high school, but he would soon hit a growth spurt that saw him shoot up to 6’3” and transition from central midfield to central defense. He bounced back from a knee injury to earn a First Team All-State Selection as a junior before securing All-American honors from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America in his senior year, winning the Defensive Player of the Year for the state of Kansas, and being awarded Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year.
After four years of starting for St. Thomas Aquinas’ varsity team – in addition to playing club soccer at Sporting Kansas City-affiliated side Sporting Blue Valley – Bartlett committed to Loyola University Chicago but was forced to redshirt his freshman year due to injury. He rebounded in 2017 by starting in 17 of 18 appearances and registering four clean sheets with the Ramblers, before transferring to Drake, where he was named First-Team All-Missouri Valley Conference. Following an unsuccessful trial with Atlanta United, Bartlett traded Iowa for New York and competed as a graduate student at St. John’s University in 2021, where he scored five goals and three assists in 20 appearances and was named First Team All-BIG EAST.
Coming to Grips with Major League Soccer
Bartlett balanced his collegiate adventure by playing for USL League Two side Kay Valley FC in Lawrence, Kansas, from 2018 to 2021. He was selected with the sixth overall pick of the 2022 MLS SuperDraft by FC Dallas, but he would spend the majority of the campaign with their MLS Next Pro affiliate North Texas SC. With starting center back duo Matt Hedges and José Martínez remaining healthy and leading Dallas to a third-place finish in the Western Conference, Bartlett struggled to break into the side, making just two first-team appearances (both in the U.S. Open Cup).
“I didn't really know what I was getting into before the draft. As anybody who goes into it knows, you enter the draft blind, you don’t know where you’re going to fall, you don’t know what’s going to happen. I was so happy about going to Dallas, I had a great time there, but I didn’t play any MLS minutes, which was a chip on my shoulder. I think I grew from not being given an opportunity – I had to prove myself and take the rookie route, put my head down, and keep working.”
When one door closes, another door opens: After Dallas declined his contract option, the newly formed expansion side St. Louis City SC signed him on March 8, 2023. Bartlett emerged as a key figure in defense for St. Louis as they finished atop the West in their first-ever season, playing in 17 matches (14 of those in MLS). However, after losing 4-0 to Mexican heavyweights América in the Leagues Cup on July 27, 2023, Bartlett was frozen out from the team.
“When you enter MLS, you have a ton of uncertainty and insecurity in your mind. Am I good enough? Am I capable of keeping up with the pace of the forwards whose teams spent a lot of money on?
But once you're able to put your foot on the ground, and say, ‘This is what I want to be about and what I need to do, this is what I need to improve on,’ that's where you can take the next step. It was a blessing for me to [go to St. Louis]. It was monumental in my career, and you have to give credit to the coach for giving opportunities to young players trying to make a name for themselves. If I didn't have that moment, I wouldn't be here today.”
Making his Mark in the Nation’s Capital
On December 12, 2023, Bartlett and his teammate Jared Stroud were traded to D.C. United alongside $300,000 in 2024 General Allocation Money, with Chris Durkin heading the other way and joining St. Louis.
“It was a new challenge that came about because of [sporting director Ally Mackay] and [manager Troy Lesesne] and the staff here. My agent brought me the proposal, and I was more than happy to see something that was a building block for what we wanted to create here. To be wanted is the hardest thing in this career, so coming here and having a team that believed in me was a dream come true. When you have a team that values you, that’s where you want to put your feet on the ground and succeed.”
“I think it’s a long-term project, there are phases where we're doing really well, and others where we still have a lot of ground to cover, but we’re doing a good job day by day. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon, and we’re getting there. We’re doing all we can to build this club to where it belongs.”
Making his first professional appearance in seven months, Bartlett oozed composure by winning eight out of 11 duels and registering five clearances in a 3-1 victory against the New England Revolution. He quickly parlayed that into a breakthrough 2024 season, becoming one of the first names on new manager Troy Lesesne’s team sheet and leading the team in clearances per match (3.6) and accurate long balls per match (3.5).
“Troy's an honest and hardworking guy, and that’s something that we respect, we try to deliver exactly what he gives us. Sometimes we don't do that, but it's honest work, and he expects us to put in the work every day and find ways where we need to improve. Our relationship has been really good over the last year and a half, and I'm really hoping that over the next 1-2 years, we can bring home some trophies.”
Fighting to Return to the Promised Land
Despite having the top scorer in MLS in Christian Benteke (23 goals), D.C. narrowly missed out on a playoff berth due to goal differential after placing 10th in the 2024 Eastern Conference. The Black-and-Red began their 30th consecutive MLS season with one win and three stalemates before succumbing to four straight defeats; they rebounded with a 2-1 win at New York Red Bulls before losing 3-0 to Philadelphia Union on April 26.
“Obviously, we’re not happy with how we’ve started the season,” lamented Bartlett. “There have been some highlights for sure, but what we’re lacking is consistency. That goes on my shoulders too, trying to find ways that we can be consistent game in and game out and show that we can produce the same results every single day.”
Since recording this one-on-one interview at D.C. United’s Inova Performance Complex in Leesburg, VA, Bartlett and his unit have enjoyed an impressive start to May, beating Colorado Rapids 2-1 in MLS and edging lower-tier Charleston Battery 2-0 in the U.S. Open Cup in extra time. Bartlett missed both of these matches, the only two matches this season where he has not played the full 90, but he would return to the starting lineup the following match and score an own goal in a 2-0 defeat at Toronto FC.
Like a rubber band, Bartlett snapped back with a measured display at Audi Field, making 11 clearances in a goalless stalemate against New York City FC. Next up, D.C. faced off against a Nashville SC side that was seeking its sixth straight home win. Despite missing Benteke, the visitors eked out another goalless stalemate thanks to another stellar performance from Bartlett, who wore the captain’s armband for the first 45 minutes before ceding it to Kyle Rowles at halftime, registering nine clearances and coming out on top in both of his aerial duels.
Pushing for Consistency and Growth
Whilst Bartlett has emerged as a fan favorite in D.C., he is under no false illusions that he’s reached his peak performance level.
“I definitely don’t think I’ve reached my potential. I got a late start: I was 24 when I was drafted, 25 when I made my debut, so maybe I have some more years in the end to give. I’m still young, I still want to be able to cover ground, and I still want to be there for years to come. The biggest thing I want to work on is just being consistent and accurate with everything I want to do, and find a form that lasts the whole season, not just a stint of months.”
“I’m hypercritical of myself in every game. I analyze everything that happened in each game, moments that you need to look at and fix. It’s not necessarily saying this was bad or good, but more ‘What’s the solution?’ That’s how I’ve grown these last few years. Overall, I’m just trying to add a lot of things to my game, like passing ability and accuracy, and dominating in the air. I still consider myself young: This is year four, so I’m really just trying to grow every single year to new heights. The #1 priority is to just be consistent every game and establish myself as a player who shows up every game with the same delivery.”
After bouncing around from Dallas to St. Louis, Bartlett is finally achieving the stability that he has long desired both on and off the pitch. He regularly goes out to dinner with his teammates, takes his two-year-old golden retriever on walks across the city, and attends Washington Capitals games. Having spent the first quarter-century of his life in the Midwest, Bartlett is finding a new lease on life in Washington D.C.
“It’s such a unique city. Almost every country in the world has an embassy here, you have such a cultural melting pot.
It’s been really cool to see different foods at different restaurants and so many amazing sites and museums, and everyone here has been really welcoming. I think the DMV offers a lot in that there’s something going on all the time: you have the Capitals, the Nationals, the Commanders. We’re looking to be a bright spot in that too, we really want to bring home a winning culture here, and I think that’s what the fans deserve.”
Following an offseason that saw them lose various starters like Cristian Dájome and Mateusz Klich and bring in 12 new players, it’s evident that D.C. United remain a work in progress. Ahead of Saturday’s visit from New York Red Bulls, D.C. sit 12th in the East, five points off the playoff spots. However, they enjoyed their best result of the 2025 season on Wednesday, coming back from a goal down on two separate occasions and forcing a penalty shootout after drawing 3-3 against Charlotte FC. On a rain-soaked night in the nation’s capital, seven of the ten penalty takers failed to beat the goalkeeper, with D.C. prevailing 2-1 to book their ticket to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 2013, where they will take on Nashville.
The last time that they reached the U.S. Open Cup’s elite eight, they made it all the way and won the tournament – their last trophy to this date. But if D.C. are to come out victorious in the 110th edition of the U.S. Open Cup, America’s oldest soccer competition, they’ll need Bartlett to bring his A-game.
Zach Lowy
