Top 100 College Players

Wow - 7 from UCLA and 0 from CAL!! that should be good bulletin board material in Berkeley.

 

Because there are 8 players ranked ahead of him?

 

I think if all drew up a list wed have at least 25 different names as the authors. There are fine soccer players at poor college programmes too but because they are in that position their talents arent that obvious. On the whole its a pretty fair list but maybe id have have maybe 20 changes.

 

These lists are fun to look at, but not much relevance to them. I guarentee nobody had Tim Ream from SLU in the top 100 when he arrived at SLU (maybe his junior year), but he looks to be doing pretty good for himself.

Fun to look at though and makes for a good debate.

 

The fact that two players from Long Island University, a team that is middle/to below middle of the pack in a mediocre (at best) conference, are on the list means that we can basically throw it out the window. Conklin and Jakubowski are OK, and nothing against them as individuals, but there are PLENTY of other seniors out there that have a much better chance of playing professionally.

I seriously question Mauceri's ability to evaluate talent... just because you have season tickets to professional teams and have been an enthusiast for 30+ years, doesn't make you an expert.

 

The fact that a player plays for a mediocre side does not reflect their individual ability. Joe watches a lot of games, good and bad sides, and his views are balanced.

I watch a lot of games in the MAAC an admitedly poor conference, but I expect two players to make and impact this season Johnny Raj of Fairfield, and Gerwyn Jones of Loyola. Both play defense, and both have are youth Internationals. Both would be selected for any college/PDL sides as automatic picks. Would be interested as to Joes views on these two.

 

Doesn't stop Mel Kiper.

 

Totally agree!!! likes his .xls files that's all. Anyone can sling $hit at a wall and see if it sticks

 

I absolutely agree that a player can be mediocre and can be PDL/USL/MLS prospects. What I disagree with is just putting two kids on the list just to put them on the list. I saw LIU play two scrimmages today against Columbia and Princeton, and their best player was Josh Maley. And even he was middle of the pack against a few of Columbia's seniors. Francois Anderson was every bit as good as Antoine Hoppenot, and if he's consistent this year he has a chance to be dominant on the right side for the Lions.

Columbia tied Princeton 2-2, BTW. Should have won. Could be a nice year for the Lions.

 

What about Bryan Gaul? Is he the real deal, or is he a flash in the pan?

 

Bryan Gaul is the real deal. I think it is hard for players at schools of his size and conference to garner the attention, but hats off for him living up to the preaseason hype... so far.

I think his technical ability, reading of the game, and physical presence are going to take him quite far. Wouldn't be surprised to see him get better offers from Europe compared to what MLS might offer him.

 

You gotta figure a 6-5 forward who is scoring goals will get a look, first at forward and then, barring that, as a centerback project a la Bobby Burling.

I don't think Bradley's size as a program or school will hold him back. Plenty of good players have come from smaller schools and gotten plenty of accolades and pro attention.

And it's not like MLS has ignored Bradley players in the past. Bryan Namoff, Gavin Glinton, Luke Kreamelmeyer...

I also don't think Gaul is a flash in the pan since he scored a dozen goals last year. If he has another double-figure year scoring goals, he'll get some MLS interest.

 

I've heard there already is interest. I think he'll adapt to professional level very well and move on to big things because for a 6'5 striker, he has the skills of a center mid. This kid is the real deal.

You could argue bradley has moved on some great talent, but... I think some has also been passed up. Joe Ducci, Chris Cutshaw, Degurian... all never seemed to get the attention at the next level even though displayed the potential.

 

My point was not that the player was mediocre, but the team and conference. I wasnt just grabbing 2 names and putting them on a list, I made the suggestions on the fact that both players looked the real deal playing for Chicago and DC over the summer in the U23, and that both are experienced at International level have represented their countries are different levels.

 

I think we're a little off on where I'm going with this. The whole premise of my argument is that Joe Mauceri, a resident "expert" at TopDrawerSoccer and elsewhere, added these two players to the list of the top 100 seniors in the country.

I didn't think you were grabbing names at all. I wasn't talking about your talent evaluation or anything. I have no doubt you have the ability to evaluate players.

Having seen these LIU players first hand, and having seen others in the Northeast fairly regularly, I would venture a guess to say that Mauceri just added them because they were convenient, rather than taking the time to think about and check the rosters of all D1 teams in the country.

Just my 2 cents... which isn't worth much, I'm sure.

And yes, Mel Kiper does do this and he does get paid. And there's a reason he has very, very little respect amongst NFL personnel people.

 

I get your point, soccer is all about opinions, thats what makes it the no 1 sport in the world. One thing about Mauceri is that you see him at games, other pundits dont even do this. He talks to fans and coaches, and players. Others dont do this. Even though we dont agree with all his picks, he does put in the miles and effort.

 

Where would you put him in the draft? Second round?

 

Waayyyyyyyyyyyyyy too soon to tell.

Just too many variables. How big will the GA class be? How many kids will be plucked from the draft as homegrown players? How many international players will be in the draft? How many seniors (or underclassmen) will sign abroad? Will MLS finally let underclassmen declare for the draft sans a GA deal? Finally, what are the needs of the teams picking and how many of them and how many of them believe in a target striker?

We'll just have to see.

I will say this. MLS has been oddly cool to the big college striker. Not sure why.

Here are a few recent examples.

*Andrew Hoxie, a 6-4 forward from William & Mary, where he was third team All American and the player of the year in the CAA, a conference that has sent a lot of players to MLS (Gonzalo Segares, Adin Brown, Carlos Mendes, Jeff Parke, Steve Jolley, Brad Knighton, Wade Barrett, Ritchie Kotschau, CJ Sapong, Dominic Oduro, Kurt Morsink, David Horst, Clyde Simms, Joseph Nane). Hoxie was drafted 37th by San Jose in 2010 but was cut in preseason and has been with Rochester in the USL since then.

*Chris Wright, a 6-5 forward from New Mexico who played in the NCAA final as a freshman and as a junior was player of the year in the MPSF, another conference with a good track record of sending players to MLS. (CJ Brown, Duncan Oughton, Quincy Amarikwa, Nat Borchers, Danny Cruz, Ryan Suarez, Lamar Neagle.) Wright was undrafted by MLS and is playing in the lower divisions in Germany.

*Cam Weaver, a 6-4 forward at Seattle, which he helped win the D-II national title as a junior. Undrafted by MLS, had to play in the A-League and then Scandinavia before getting signed by the Earthquakes in 2007 and proving to be a solid bench player and part-time starter.

*Matt Delicate, a 6-3 striker from VCU (via England), he was an All-American as a senior but never got drafted and has spent almost all of his entire pro career in the USL.

*Rob Friend, a 6-5 Canadian striker from UCSB, where he was an All American as a senior in 2002, he was drafted 35th overall (how far has MLS come – that was the FOURTH round then and now it’s the second!) in 03 but opted to try his luck in Europe and has had a very solid career in Norway, Germany (including the Bundesliga) and Holland while winning over 30 caps for Canada.

*Daniel Revivo, a 6-3 Canadian from Winthrop who was second team All America as a senior in 08. Undrafted by MLS, not sure what he’s doing now.

*David Barden, 6-4 from Fort Lewis. Scored over 40 goals in his college career and was offensive MVP of the Final Four in 09 when Fort Lewis won the D-II national title. Undrafted by MLS, not sure what he’s doing now.

Now, it could all be a coincidence. And there are some examples of big college strikers who MLS has given a decent shot. But, it seems for whatever reasons that the really big forwards from the college ranks, despite their production and accolades in college soccer, don’t capture MLS’ collective fancy.

 

They're usually done a disservice in the college and PDL ranks. Instead of teaching big guys about off-the-ball movement and space (McBride, Ching, etc), big guys are generally just planted at the spot and asked to physically dominate smaller defenders.

Brettschneider - who I love - is a good example. It'll take him at least two years in the reserves to learn how to play properly in the run of play. And that's a guy with real striker's instincts.

The opposite side of the coin are guys like Cooper and Braun, who are big and strong enough to play as center-forwards in any league in the world, but think they're face-up attackers like Thierry Henry. They may produce a high volume of goals, but they need an INCREDIBLY high volume of chances, and are basically useless to good teams (a fact that will become increasingly apparent as MLS improves).

Where Gaul fits in I don't know, as I haven't seen him play. But I'm leery of "center forward with a center mid's skills!"-type reviews. I'd much rather hear "center forward with a center forward's skills!"

Revivo is in the Swedish 4th division, by the way. And Barden is playing in men's leagues out in Colorado.

MLS obviously missed the boat on Friend and, to a lesser extent, Weaver. Hell, even Ching had to spend some time in the USL to get noticed. It does make you wonder if there are a few big guys kicking around out there who could have serviceable careers if someone took a chance on them.

 

The Top 100 has been updated - National Top 100 Upperclassmen

The biggest miss is Will Bates at #3, given he tore his ACL and is out for the season. Biggest jump, UCF's McKauly Tulloch goes from unranked to #10.

Bryan Gaul is getting some love, after being unranked in the first edition he moves up to #29.

 

These lists,while fun to look at,are meaningless.

 

Most of these lists are drawn up by people with no knowledge of the beautiful game.

 

Yeah, lots of people who know nothing/do not care about soccer tend to start websites dedicated to youth and college soccer then hire other disinterested soccer haters to fly around the country, watch games, and report back on players. Then, to top things off, those soccer haters have the audacity to try and put a list together of all the good players so us REAL soccer fans will know who to watch for.