2022 Youth Series: MLS Club Youth Talent Rankings

Series Overview

This is this last article in a series of articles that looks at the landscape of United States eligible youth soccer players. US eligible players have the ability to play for the United States and have not yet been cap-tied at the senior level. This means there will be some players on this list that might surprise you and may never play for the United States, but they could, and isn’t that possibility what makes tracking all of these guys fun?

In this series I will be reporting on players born in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 — the U19 to U15 levels from the 2022 season. The first part of this series will focus on who I grade as the top 20 prospects for the 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 class and then it will commence with a youth talent ranking of all the United States MLS clubs, specifically looking at the talent that each club has within their 2003 to 2007 classes. 

MLS Grading Framework

Let’s start by saying it is really difficult to scout and grade youth soccer players and it gets even harder the younger you go, which is why I don’t typically scout players below the U15 level. My grading system consists of three categories: physical profile, technical ability and soccer intelligence / intangibles. There are a lot of sub-categories within each, but I won’t go that deep here. The grades that I give are based on where the player is at relative to their age level, not where I project them to be. With this framework, it’s possible that a player grades out as an elite U17 player, but doesn’t progress in any of the aspects of the game and turns out to be a very average player. 

MLS Rankings

This is not a MLS Academy Ranking. Well, not exactly. It’s a look at which United States based MLS club is doing the best job of recruiting, identifying, developing and giving opportunity to players born in 2003 to 2007. I based these rankings off of which clubs have the most talent, have given homegrown contracts to worthy talent and have shown a plan for integrating talent into the first team. I have not seen every play from every club from 2003 to 2007, so I may have missed some players and I may have not seen enough from each Academy because film can be difficult to get, but this is a good representation for how these clubs are doing for the 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 class. 

#1 | Philadelphia Union

Overview 

• Philly is the model MLS club when it comes to youth development
• They identify and recruit talent incredibly well 
• They scout their geo well and they recruit prospects away from other academies
• They have balance across their classes, each level has good talent
• They have also done a great job of identifying the right talent and signing good players to homegrown deals
• They have five players U19 that are on deals and there are likely more on the way from the 2005 class
• Not only do they offer homegrown deals, but their players have a role on the first team as well
• They have also had success selling talent to Europe and seeing those players succeed. 

If I am a sporting director for a club in a talent rich region that doesn’t have an enormous budget, Philly would be the model to emulate. 

Key prospects 

AM, Paxten Aaronson, 2003 / CM, Jack McGlynn, 2003 / LB, Anton Sorenson, 2003 / SS, Quinn Sullivan, 2004 / CB, Brandan Craig, 2003 / CF, Marcos Zambrano-Delgado, 2005 / CF, Nelson Pierre, 2005 / WING, Luciano Sanchez, 2005 / AM, Bajung Darboe, 2006 / DM, Alex Perez, 2006 / WING, CJ Olney Jr, 2006 / DM/CB, Gavin Wetzel, 2006 / AM, David Vazques, 2006 / SS, Ed Davis, 2006 / WING, Diego Rocio, 2007 / CB, Andrew Craig, 2007 / CB, Neil Pierre, 2007 / RB, Jeremiah White, 2007

#2 | Real Salt Lake

Overview 

• Real Salt Lake does not have the most talent rich territory, but they recruit outside of their territory better than any club in the MLS
• They are able to do this because they have an Academy that allows players to live and go to school on campus. 
• They have as much high end talent of any MLS club from 2003 – 2007 classes.
• Have done a great job of giving out homegrown contracts, not always to the players I would have, but they are trying to bring youth into their first team. 
• They have not yet integrated young players super well to the first team, that is the next big step in their youth development.
• Their 2007 class specifically was already stacked, but they recruited more good prospects away from other academies this offseason and now they are fully loaded. 

Key prospects 

AM, Diego Luna, 2003 / WING, Chris Garcia, 2003 / GK, Jeff Dewsnup, 2004 / CB, Jaziel Orozco, 2004 / GK, Gavin Beavers, 2005 / CM, Julio Benitez, 2005 / WING, Terron Williams, 2005 / AM, Jude Wellings, 2006 / WING, Izahi Amparo, 2006 / GK, Blake Kelly, 2006 / CB, Gershon Henry, 2006 / CF, Axel Kei, 2007 / WING, Zavier Gozo, 2007 / LB, Luis Rivera, 2007 / CB Nicholas Nobles, 2007 / CM, Dominic Berrios, 2007 / CB, Jahmani Stapleton, 2007 / GK, Ty Rinker, 2007 / CM, Owen Anderson, 2007 / AM, Brice Miller, 2007

#3 | FC Dallas

Overview 

• Without a doubt the most acclaimed and accomplished academy in large part because they prioritized before other clubs did
• Other clubs have seen the rewards and are now catching up
• Dallas is also a great territory for talent and they did not have a lot of competition for that talent. Houston, Austin and others are stepping up their efforts and as a result Dallas is weakening, but only slightly.
• Losing Matthew Corcoran to USL was a big loss 
• A great collection of talent throughout the age levels and 2007 got a big boost this offseason with the acquisitions of Scabin, Swann and Munson, but lost a couple of key guys to Real Salt Lake
• Their 2007 class is about as good as any in the MLS Next. 
• Their two top 2003s are on loans at big clubs: Justin Che at Hoffenheim and Dante Sealy at PSV, both would likely be impacting the first team right now in Dallas if they were there. 
• It will be interesting to see if they give homegrown deals to Scott, Ramirez and Norris who I believe are their top 2005s and will be turning 18 next year, which means they will have more options available to them. 

Key prospects 

RB, Justin Che, 2003 / WING, Dante Sealy, 2003 / RB, Collin Smith, 2003 / GK, Antonio Carrera, 2004 / WING, Tarik Scott, 2005 / AM, Anthony Ramirez, 2005 / LB, Nolan Norris, 2005 / GK, Julian Eyestone, 2006 / RB, Malachi Molina, 2006 / CF, Nairobi Vargas, 2006 / RB, Kaka Scabin, 2007 / AM, Caleb Swann, 2007 / RB, Michael Cortellesa, 2007 / LB, Kaden King, 2007 / CB, Myles Nicholes, 2007 / CM, Jeyden Arboleda, 2007 / CB, Luke Munson, 2007 / AM, Jaidyn Contreras, 2007

#4 | Chicago Fire

Overview 

• Chicago Fire ranks well for first team integration, specifically with Gaga Slonina and Brian Gutierrez, both key players for Chicago at a young age
• Duran was also a great signing that is still a U19. 
• Chicago does a pretty good job of both collecting talent and giving out homegrown contracts, though I am not sure how many of their current HGs will impact the first team in the future outside of Brady and Oregel. 
• The concern for the fire is that they did lose a lot of prospects from their 2007 class and the 2006 and 2007 class does not look great, so Chicago could start trending in the wrong direction in future ranking lists, though the 2008 class looks promising, especially with a huge recruiting win over LAFC with Decarlo Guerra  

Key prospects 

AM, Brian Gutierrez, 2003 / CF, Jhon Duran, 2003 / CM, Javier Cesas, 2003 / AM, Missael Rodriguez, 2003 / WING, Alex Monis, 2003 / GK, Gaga Slonina, 2004 / GK, Chris Brady, 2004 / RB, Justin Reynolds, 2004 / CM, Sergio Oregel, 2005 / DM, Tino Vasquez, 2006 / RB, Jayden Quezada, 2007

#5 | San Jose Earthquakes

Overview 

• The San Jose Earthquakes have one of the most talent rich territories in all of MLS and they don’t have a ton of competition in their area
• San Jose’s ranking is led by some high end talent like Cade Cowell, Niko Tsakiris and Cruz Medina
• They have defined a pretty high standard for homegrown deals and have lost some pretty good prospects because of it. 
• They also lost a few 2006 and 2007s players this offseason like Fidel Barajas to Charleston Battery and Owen Anderson to RSL. 
• Big concern with them is their ability to develop older prospects as we have seen Cade stall out a bit as an example
• The incoming manager Luchi Gonzalez, a key figure in the FC Dallas Academy rise, should be a boon for development and opportunity

Key prospects 

WING, Cade Cowell, 2003 / CB, Casey Walls, 2003 / CB, Alejandro Cano, 2004 / CM, Niko Tsakiris, 2005 / DM, Ethan Kohler, 2005 / GK, Emi Ochoa, 2005 / CB, Drew Murray, 2005 / AM, Cruz Medina, 2006 / RB, Oscar Verhoeven, 2006 / DM, Edwyn Mendoza, 2006 / CF, Tomo Allen, 2007 / CB, Scott Chavira, 2007 / DM, Rohan Rajagopal

#6 | New York Red Bulls

Overview 

• The New York Red Bulls Academy is one of the most storied in all of MLS
• They have a lot more competition in their region now, but still do a good job of identifying talent, giving homegrown opportunities and integrating young talent into the first team
• Serge Ngoma has developed an incredible amount this year, as has Daniel Edelman
• Caden Clark has not been as consistent as you’d like to see and their use of him this year has been a little questionable.
• Bento Estrela, Davi Alexandre and Nate Worth look to be the next wave of high end talent
• Continue to do a good job of getting young players opportunities with Red Bulls II in USL

Key prospects 

AM, Caden Clark, 2003 / DM, Daniel Edelman, 2003 / WING, Serge Ngoma, 2005 / CM, Bento Estrela, 2006 / RB, Copeland Berkely, 2006 / CB, Davi Alexandre, 2007 / CM, Nate Worth, 2007 / CF, Pipeloore Olanrewaju, 2007 / DM, Brady Boulanger, 2007 

#7 | Inter Miami

Overview 

• Inter Miami is a growing Academy powerhouse that I expect to continue to rise over the next few years
• They are investing well and identifying and recruiting talent in the very rich area they reside in
• They have yet to integrate a homegrown player really well within the first team and that is the next challenge for them, we will see if Azcuna and Allen get more of an opportunity next year
• The 2005 – 2007 class have as much talent here as any club in MLS and it will be interesting to see who they offer homegrown deals to
• Now we wait to see how they develop and integrate them
• I think they mishandled Kaka Scabin last year and have now lost him to Dallas, which in a few years could be seen as a big miss. 

Key prospects 

WING, Edson Azcuna, 2003 / LB, Noah Allen, 2004 / WING, Felipe Valencia, 2005 / CM, Ben Cremaschi, 2005 / AM, Kobi Thomas, 2005 / RB, Izzy Boatwright, 2005 / CF, Bryan Destin, 2006 / CB, Tyler Hall, 2006 / WING, Miles Perkovich, 2006 / LB, Ezequiel Abadia-Reda, 2006 / CF, Justin Ellis, 2007 / CB, Nicholas Almeida, 2007 / LB, Tyler Bush, 2007 / RB, Tyler Austin, 2007 / CB/DM, Victor Fung, 2007 / CM, Santi Morales, 2007

#8 | DC United

Overview 

• Good balance of talent from U19 to U15 level with a few potential high impact players
• Moving Moses Nyeman when they did was a questionable decision
• Lost a big talent last winter in Kevin Paredes
• Showing willingness to give young players opportunity with first team, but the change in leadership has made for inconsistent plans and preferences
• They do a good job of recruiting players in their rich territory to the academy 
• Do a good job of moving high potential players up through the academy levels 
• Big question is if they can keep a consistent plan for the first team with these players

Key prospects 

RB, Jacob Greene, 2003 / WING, Tyler Freeman, 2003 / AM, Jackson Hoplins, 2004 / WING/CF, Kristian Fletcher, 2005 / CB, Jace Clark, 2005 / CB, Matai Akinboni, 2006 / CB, Garry Zhang, 2006 / GK, Luke Peacock, 2006 / LB, Graham Jones, 2006 / CF, Sydney Aggrey, 2006 / CB, Dash Papaz, 2006 / DM, Gleb Bagdanov, 2006 / WING, Ignacio Alem, 2006 / AM, Gavin Turner, 2007 / CM, Nelson Hernandez, 2007

#9 | LAFC

Overview 

• Very good talent from 2004 – 2007 group, nobody from 2003
• Has shown a good bar for homegrown deals, but nobody signed from the 2005 class and younger
• 2007 class is extremely talented
• Will always have recruiting battles with LA Galaxy, but the territory is as rich as any in the country and there is plenty of talent to go around 
• Have yet to show the ability to integrate a U19 players into the first team, understandable this year given the talent in the first team, but that is what these young players are going to be looking for

Key prospects 

CB, Tony Leone, 2004 / WING, Nate Ordaz, 2004 / RB, Erik Duenas, 2004 / DM, Bryan Moyado, 2005 / CB, Tyler Bindon, 2005 / LB, Carlos Diaz, 2005 / WING, Adrian Wibowo, 2006 / CB, Christian Diaz, 2006 / CB, Javen Romero, 2006 / CM, Kyrome Lumsden, 2007 / WING, Dempsey Resich, 2007 / AM, James Arteaga, 2007 / RB, Josh Santiago, 2007 / CF, Charlie Rosenthal, 2007 

#10 | Atlanta United

Overview 

• A few top prospects in Wiley, Gordon and Torres 
• Integrating Wiley in first team well, giving him opportunities to learn, injuries have helped open door for opportunity
• Morales is a high talent player they have not been able to develop super well
• Opportunities for mid level talent have been lacking 
• 2006 class looking pretty weak, but 2007 could be very good
• Lost some potentially good 2004s to NCAA

Key prospects 

SS, Tyler Wolff, 2003 / LB, Caleb Wiley, 2004 / DM, Efrain Morales, 2004 / LB, Mathieu Brick, 2005 / CB, Noah Cobb, 2005 / AM, Jonny Vilal, 2005 / AM, Michael Howard, 2006 / LB, Malachi Grant, 2006 / WING, Ashton Gordon, 2007 / CM, Adyn Torres, 2007 / LB, Kaiden Moore, 2007 / GK, Dillon Griner, 2007

#11 | Seattle Sounders

Overview 

• Develop players well throughout the academy system and have had good success at the team level in academy
• Not a super deep pool of talent, but high end talent with Leyva, Vargas, RBW, Hawkins and Veillard 
• 2004 class is empty
• Yet to really integrate a player with first team and sell to a big club, but Obed Vargas could change that
• Concerned about development trajectory of Reed Baker-Whiting
• They seem to have Danny Leyva back on track, which is very encouraging
• Stuart Hawkins could be a special player, likely on track for homegrown deal very soon
• Veillard played up a level last year with U17s, good to see

Key prospects 

DM, Danny Leyva, 2003 / DM, Obed Vargas, 2005 / AM, Reed Baker-Whiting, 2005 / CB/DM, Angel Martinez, 2005 / CB, Stuart Hawkins, 2006 / AM, Chris Aquino, 2006 / CF, Michael Luande, 2006 / WING, Etienne Veillard, 2007

#12 | Orlando City

Overview 

• Competing with Inter Miami in a rich Florida market, but losing the recruiting battle right now
• Waiting to see their plan for Halliday, Freeman and Williams with the first team
• Alex Freeman has a super high ceiling, but lots of risk
• Loyola likely next in line for homegrown deal
• Lot of high potential players in the younger classes, could see some breakouts
• Doing a good job of giving young talent opportunity in MLS Next Pro
• A lot of above average players, not too many elite prospects 
• Balanced classes from 2003 to 2007

Key prospects 

RB, Michael Halliday, 2003 / RB, Alex Freeman, 2004 / CB, Thomas Williams, 2004 / AM, Favian Loyola, 2005 / CF, Ethan Subachan, 2005 / CB, Dominic Bell, 2006 / LB, Tahir Reid-Brown, 2006 / DM, Alejandro Granados, 2006 / CF, Majed Abdullah, 2006 / CB, Shawn Platts, 2007 / GK, Zackary Campagnolo, 2007 / AM, Bernardo Goncalves, 2007 / CF, Theo Franca, 2007

#13 | LA Galaxy

Overview 

• Shares massive talent territory with LAFC and right now I think LAFC is winning, but it is close
• They have been good about giving homegrown deals to top prospects, but none of the U19 players have been given a chance with the first team yet
• 2003, 2005 and 2007 classes look strong, but nothing from 2004
• Good recruiting win to bring Javen Romero over from LAFC
• Didn’t get a chance to scout the 2007s very much, hard to get tape

Key prospects 

CB, Jalen Neal, 2003 / CB, Marcus Ferkranus, 2003 / WING, Jonathan Perez, 2003 / AM, Alex Alcala, 2005 / CM, Brandon Tellez, 2005 / WING, Justin Knighton, 2005 / CM, Paulo Rudisill, 2006 / LB, Riley Delgado, 2006 / CF, Ruben Ramos, 2007 / DM, Jose Magana, 2007 / WING, Harbor Miller, 2007 / WING, Christian Coreas, 2007

#14 | Houston Dynamo

Overview 

• They are trying to catch up to Dallas, but they gave them a big head start
• Isn’t much in the 2003 and 2004 class
• Brooklyn Raines was a great get from Barca Residency, likely the first player to impact the first team
• Will they keep Pinilla or will he go abroad?
• Potential stars in the 2006 class but they haven’t signed any of them to homegrown deal yet
• Lost Jaidyn Contreras so FC Dallas

Key prospects 

GK, Xavier Valdez, 2003 / CM, Juan Castillo, 2004 / CM, Brooklyn Raines, 2005 / CB, Mateo Pinilla, 2005 / WING, Andre Gitau, 2006 / CM, Luis Moreno, 2006 / LB, Brian Alanis, 2006 / CM, Parker Jackson, 2006 / CF, Ezekiel Soto, 2007 / GK, Angel Jaimes, 2007

#15 | Columbus Crew

Overview 

• An ascending youth program with strong 2005 – 2006 class, 2007 is looking average, nothing from 2003 to 2004 (lost a lot of players to NCAA)
• Nobody on this list is on a homegrown deal yet
• Haven’t given a ton of opportunity at MLS Next Pro level
• Recruiting well, but need to see how the integrate with first team and give top talent opportunity at higher levels

Key prospects 

CM, Caleb Bornia, 2005 / CB, Ty Nero, 2005 / DM, Gio DeLibera, 2005 / CB, Jackson Lindimore, 2005 / GK, Stas Lapkes, 2006 / WING, Owen Presthus, 2006 / CM, Taha Habroune, 2006 / AM, Cole Mwroka, 2006 / CM, Aaron Hurge, 2007 / CB, JJ Volar, 2007

#16 | Austin FC

Overview 

• Also chasing FC Dallas in Texas and southern territory
• Nice to get Owen Wolff from Atlanta, showing they have a plan for him with first team
• 2005 class has a lot of solid players, but not sure any are worthy of homegrown deal
• Micah Burton has star potential, great recruiting job away from Minnesota
• Garza was a nice win from San Antonio, but they lost Agustin to San Antonio
• 2007 class has some potential 
• Overall, aside from Burton, they lack elite prospects 

Key prospects 

CM, Owen Wolff, 2004 / WING, Bryan Arellano, 2005 / LB, Anthony Gonzales, 2005 / CM, Daniel Ordonez, 2005 / AM, Micah Burton, 2006 / GK, Charlie Reed, 2006 / CF, Diego Rodriguez, 2006 / WING, Izaiah Garza, 2006 / WING, Jesus Gonzalez, 2007 / DM, Ubau Ibeanu, 2007 / CM, Ervin Torres Jr, 2007

#17 | New York City FC

Overview 

• Should be doing more given their club and their territory, losing to Red Bulls, Philadelphia and DC as east coast powers in talent recruiting and development 
• 2007 class is as loaded as it gets, but that is pretty much all they have and word is Klapija will leave for Europe when he turns 16, McFarlane, Baiera and Shore all have star potential
• McFarlane only player on homegrown deal from this group, big time prospect
• Doing a good job of bringing top players into NYCFC 2
• Lost Diego Rossi to Europe
• Cupboard is empty for 2003 and 2004
• 2005 and 2006 class is weak

Key prospects 

LB, Christian McFarlane, 2007 / RB, Drew Baiera, 2007 / CM, Jonathan Shore, 2007 / CF, Din Klapija, 2007 / CB, Jeffrey Lopez, 2007 / WING, Julian Archer, 2007 / WING, Chris Arias, 2007

#18 | Portland Timbers

Overview 

• Has been a laughing stock for player development, but starting to do a better job of recruiting out of state
• 2006 and 2007 class looking pretty good, showing signs of improvement within the academy
• 2003 – 2005 classes are pretty weak, Ikoba only player on homegrown deal and he doesn’t look close to impacting first team
• They won the U15 GA Cup, which was a huge surprise
• Giving young players lots of chances with Portland Timbers 2

Key prospects 

CF, Tega Ikoba, 2003 / DM, Alexis Moreno, 2005 / CB, Michael Dunne, 2006 / CM, Ian Shaul, 2006 / LB, Victor Enriquez, 2006 / RB, Sawyer Jura, 2006 / CF, Noah Santos, 2007 / CB, Max Schimke, 2007 / WING, Max Eisenberg, 2007 / AM, Grayson Carter, 2007 / DM, Eric Izoita, 2007 

#19 | Sporting KC

Overview 

• Disappointing trajectory for what once was a pretty stacked academy
• They seem to struggle to develop players as they get older, also had some bad injury luck
• Pierre has had some changes with first team this year and he is developing nicely
• Nati Clarke was once a top 2005 prospect but he has had a lot of injuries, but showing some signs in MLS Next Pro
• Michaeli been a pleasant surprise with Sporting KC II
• Not a ton of talent in 2006 and 2007 classes

Key prospects 

RB, Kayden Pierre, 2003 / AM, Ozzie Cisneros, 2004 / RB, Nati Clarke, 2005 / CF, Guy Michaeli, 2005 / DM, Edgar Bazan, 2006 / GK, Carlito Saylon, 2006 / WING, Leo Christiano, 2007 

#20 | FC Cincinnati

Overview 

• Academy program seems to be a bit of a mess, but still has some talent
• Ordonez could be an impact first teamer pretty soon
• Lack depth in the pool
• Have lost a good amount of important recruiting battles, Crew seem to be winning the region

Key prospects 

CF, Quimi Ordonez, 2003 / GK, Beckham Sunderland, 2003 / CB, Isaac Calderon, 2005 / RB, Matthew Schenfeld, 2006 / CB, Ben Manfroy, 2007 / DM, Stiven Jimenez, 2007

#21 | St Louis City 

Overview 

• Great spot to be in prior to first year in MLS
• Good territory for soccer talent, not a ton of competition 
• Have Jensen signed to a pro deal and Heard likely not far away 
• Leveraged U16 level last year and that benefitted 2006 class
• Faupel has been hit with injuries, but still has nice potential 
• We will see what their plan is to integrate young talent with first team 

Key prospects 

WING, Isak Jensen, 2003 / WING, Anthony Faupel, 2005 / CB, Fritz Volmer, 2005 / AM, Aaron Heard, 2006 / CM, Braydon Sellers, 2006 / WING, Jackson Delkus, 2006 / CB, Zach Stanton, 2006 / CF, Caden Glover, 2007 / CB, Tyson Pearce, 2007

#22 | New England Revs

Overview 

• Nothing from the 2003 class
• Lost Jack Panayotou and Isaiah Louis to NCAA
• Great job bringing Esmir and Noel into the first team and showing good signs of a good plan with the first team 
• 2006 looks pretty week, as does 2007, but I have not scouted them much and could be missing some players

Key prospects 

AM, Esmir Bajraktarevic, 2005 / CM, Noel Buck, 2005 / AM, Peyton Miller, 2007

#23 | Nashville SC

Overview 

• No homegrowns for these age levels
• 2003 – 2005 is empty
• Tough talent region for soccer 
• 2007 class looks promising, did a great job of recruiting Braxton Hayes away from DC United

Key prospects 

AM, Alejandro Velazquez-Lopez, 2006 / CB, Scott Cheevers, 2007 / RB, Ryan MacClary, 2007 / CB, Frank Manrod, 2007 / CB, Braxton Hayes, 2007

#24 | Colorado Rapids

Overview 

• Decent region for soccer talent, but not great, needs to ramp up their out of state recruiting
• 2004 class is one of the few good ones in MLS with Yapi and Toure both showing good first team potential and having nice years in MLS Next Pro
• Lost to Toure to second ACL injury which is brutal
• Travis was a surprise homegrown deal for me
• 2005 – 2007 class might lack elite talent, though Maddox Brown could be something
• Sullivan has been given some opportunity with Rapids 2, but I think he is destined for NCAA soccer 

Key prospects 

CF, Darren Yapi, 2004 / WING, Dantouma Toure, 2004 / LB, Jackson Travis, 2004 / AM, Jack Sullivan, 2005 / RB, Tadeo Razo-Sanches, 2006 / GK, Adam Beaudry, 2006 / WING, Amos Glah, 2007 / CB, Maddox Brown, 2007 /

#25 | Charlotte FC

Overview 

• New club so not a lot in 2003 and 2004 classes
• Lost their best 2005, Chris Thaggard, to NCAA — my guess is they did not offer a homegrown deal which is a missed opportunity
• Will they lose Marshall to the NCAA as well?
• Good talent region, could they steal some talent from North Carolina FC?
• Great sign that they gave Romera a homegrown deal at a young age, probably best player in their academy right now
• 2007 class has good potential

Key prospects 

CB, Brandon Marshall, 2005 / WING, Brian Romero, 2006 / CF, Anthony Pena, 2007 / CB, James Nyandjo, 2007 

#26 | Minnesota United

Overview 

• Not a great talent region and they have also not put up much of a fight for top talent in their region (see Caden Clark and Micah Burton)
• No young players impacting the first team 
• Not a lot of talent here at all, but 2008 class looks promising
• Didn’t get a chance to see much of the U15s, so there might be more here than I know of

Key prospects 

LB, David Padelford, 2003 / CF, Patrick Weah, 2003 / GK, Fred Emmings, 2004 / DM, Justin Arias, 2006

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