diff --git a/Dotnet.Samples.AspNetCore.WebApi/Program.cs b/Dotnet.Samples.AspNetCore.WebApi/Program.cs
index d8c798d..e96ebf4 100644
--- a/Dotnet.Samples.AspNetCore.WebApi/Program.cs
+++ b/Dotnet.Samples.AspNetCore.WebApi/Program.cs
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 using Dotnet.Samples.AspNetCore.WebApi.Data;
 using Dotnet.Samples.AspNetCore.WebApi.Mappings;
 using Dotnet.Samples.AspNetCore.WebApi.Services;
+using Dotnet.Samples.AspNetCore.WebApi.Utilities;
 using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;
 using Microsoft.OpenApi.Models;
 using Serilog;
@@ -20,26 +21,22 @@
  * Logging
  * -------------------------------------------------------------------------- */
 Log.Logger = new LoggerConfiguration().ReadFrom.Configuration(builder.Configuration).CreateLogger();
-
 builder.Host.UseSerilog();
 
 /* -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  * Services
  * -------------------------------------------------------------------------- */
-
 builder.Services.AddControllers();
-
-var dataSource =
-    $"{AppDomain.CurrentDomain.SetupInformation.ApplicationBase}/Data/players-sqlite3.db";
-
 builder.Services.AddDbContextPool<PlayerDbContext>(options =>
 {
+    var dataSource = Path.Combine(AppContext.BaseDirectory, "Data", "players-sqlite3.db");
     options.UseSqlite($"Data Source={dataSource}");
-
     if (builder.Environment.IsDevelopment())
     {
         options.EnableSensitiveDataLogging();
-        options.LogTo(Console.WriteLine, LogLevel.Information);
+        options.LogTo(Log.Logger.Information, LogLevel.Information);
+        // https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/ef/core/what-is-new/ef-core-9.0/whatsnew#improved-data-seeding
+        options.UseAsyncSeeding(DbContextUtils.SeedAsync);
     }
 });
 
@@ -84,9 +81,6 @@
  * Middlewares
  * https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/core/fundamentals/middleware
  * -------------------------------------------------------------------------- */
-
-app.UseSerilogRequestLogging();
-
 if (app.Environment.IsDevelopment())
 {
     // https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/core/tutorials/getting-started-with-swashbuckle
@@ -94,6 +88,9 @@
     app.UseSwaggerUI();
 }
 
+// https://github.com/serilog/serilog-aspnetcore
+app.UseSerilogRequestLogging();
+
 // https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/core/security/enforcing-ssl
 app.UseHttpsRedirection();
 
@@ -103,11 +100,4 @@
 // https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/core/fundamentals/routing#endpoints
 app.MapControllers();
 
-/* -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
- * Data Seeding
- * https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/ef/core/modeling/data-seeding
- * -------------------------------------------------------------------------- */
-
-app.SeedDbContext();
-
 await app.RunAsync();
diff --git a/Dotnet.Samples.AspNetCore.WebApi/Utilities/ApplicationBuilderExtensions.cs b/Dotnet.Samples.AspNetCore.WebApi/Utilities/ApplicationBuilderExtensions.cs
index d98be6c..e3fcab0 100644
--- a/Dotnet.Samples.AspNetCore.WebApi/Utilities/ApplicationBuilderExtensions.cs
+++ b/Dotnet.Samples.AspNetCore.WebApi/Utilities/ApplicationBuilderExtensions.cs
@@ -1,24 +1,38 @@
-namespace Dotnet.Samples.AspNetCore.WebApi.Data;
+using Dotnet.Samples.AspNetCore.WebApi.Data;
+using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;
+
+namespace Dotnet.Samples.AspNetCore.WebApi.Utilities;
 
 public static class ApplicationBuilderExtensions
 {
     /// <summary>
-    /// Simple extension method to populate the database with an initial set of data.
+    /// Async extension method to populate the database with initial data
     /// </summary>
-    public static void SeedDbContext(this IApplicationBuilder app)
+    public static async Task SeedDbContextAsync(this IApplicationBuilder app)
     {
         using var scope = app.ApplicationServices.CreateScope();
-        var dbContext = scope.ServiceProvider.GetService<PlayerDbContext>();
+        var services = scope.ServiceProvider;
+        var logger = services.GetRequiredService<ILogger<Program>>();
+        var dbContext = services.GetRequiredService<PlayerDbContext>();
 
-        if (dbContext != null)
+        try
         {
-            // https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/ef/core/managing-schemas/ensure-created
-            dbContext.Database.EnsureCreated();
+            await dbContext.Database.EnsureCreatedAsync();
 
-            if (!dbContext.Players.Any())
+            if (!await dbContext.Players.AnyAsync())
             {
-                dbContext.Players.AddRange(PlayerData.CreateStarting11());
+                await dbContext.Players.AddRangeAsync(PlayerData.CreateStarting11());
+                await dbContext.SaveChangesAsync();
+                logger.LogInformation("Successfully seeded database with initial data.");
             }
         }
+        catch (Exception exception)
+        {
+            logger.LogError(exception, "An error occurred while seeding the database");
+            throw new InvalidOperationException(
+                "An error occurred while seeding the database",
+                exception
+            );
+        }
     }
 }
diff --git a/Dotnet.Samples.AspNetCore.WebApi/Utilities/DbContextUtils.cs b/Dotnet.Samples.AspNetCore.WebApi/Utilities/DbContextUtils.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b43b5af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Dotnet.Samples.AspNetCore.WebApi/Utilities/DbContextUtils.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+using Dotnet.Samples.AspNetCore.WebApi.Data;
+using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;
+
+namespace Dotnet.Samples.AspNetCore.WebApi.Utilities;
+
+public static class DbContextUtils
+{
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Seeds the database with initial data if empty.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <remarks>
+    /// This method checks if the database is empty and seeds it with initial data.
+    /// It is designed to be used with UseAsyncSeeding.
+    /// </remarks>
+    /// <param name="context">The database context to seed.</param>
+    /// <param name="_">Unused parameter, required by the UseAsyncSeeding API.</param>
+    /// <param name="cancellationToken">A token to cancel the operation if needed.</param>
+    /// <returns>A task representing the asynchronous seeding operation.</returns>
+    public static Task SeedAsync(DbContext context, bool _, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
+    {
+        if (context is not PlayerDbContext playerDbContext)
+        {
+            throw new ArgumentException(
+                $"Expected context of type {nameof(PlayerDbContext)}, but got {context.GetType().Name}",
+                nameof(context)
+            );
+        }
+        return SeedPlayersAsync(playerDbContext, cancellationToken);
+    }
+
+    private static async Task SeedPlayersAsync(
+        PlayerDbContext dbContext,
+        CancellationToken cancellationToken
+    )
+    {
+        if (!await dbContext.Players.AnyAsync(cancellationToken))
+        {
+            await dbContext.Players.AddRangeAsync(PlayerData.CreateStarting11(), cancellationToken);
+            await dbContext.SaveChangesAsync(cancellationToken);
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/Dotnet.Samples.AspNetCore.WebApi/Utilities/PlayerDataExtensions.cs b/Dotnet.Samples.AspNetCore.WebApi/Utilities/PlayerDataExtensions.cs
deleted file mode 100644
index 3a32bc9..0000000
--- a/Dotnet.Samples.AspNetCore.WebApi/Utilities/PlayerDataExtensions.cs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,23 +0,0 @@
-using Dotnet.Samples.AspNetCore.WebApi.Models;
-
-namespace Dotnet.Samples.AspNetCore.WebApi.Data;
-
-public static class PlayerDataExtensions
-{
-    /// <summary>
-    /// Simple extension method to map all properties of a Player
-    /// </summary>
-    public static void MapFrom(this Player target, Player source)
-    {
-        target.FirstName = source.FirstName;
-        target.MiddleName = source.MiddleName;
-        target.LastName = source.LastName;
-        target.DateOfBirth = source.DateOfBirth;
-        target.SquadNumber = source.SquadNumber;
-        target.Position = source.Position;
-        target.AbbrPosition = source.AbbrPosition;
-        target.Team = source.Team;
-        target.League = source.League;
-        target.Starting11 = source.Starting11;
-    }
-}