YNT-eligible lower division-pro players: 2021 IN-SEASON thread

Maybe the USL MVP is a little outlandish with actual production, but he's an excellent dribbler and passer and is 6th in the league for xG+xA. The team basically runs through him and if he was on a better team, he'd have more than 3 assists.. He's fun to watch and probably means more to his team than Lomis does to Greenville or McLaughlin to Toronto.

Jay Tee Kamara is probably the best player in the league but no way is an NCFC player getting MVP recognition.

 

The Reynolds brothers are from Fort Worth.

 

Fair enough. I watched some of their games earlier in the season and haven’t seen anything recently because I didn’t see much of a reason to be watching that team, and Rivera was not a player I would’ve considered a good MLS prospect or someone that is one of the best USL L1 players, but I haven’t seen any of his recent games.

 

Does that last sentence not sound like an invitation to Barca, San Antonio, Sacramento Republic, PDA to field teams with possibly some system where MLS teams can purchase their players for their first team with some small compensation going to these non-MLS clubs?

Big notebook w/ the dudes @PaulTenorio, @FelipeCar and @jeffrueter:

✔️Timbers working to sign Colombian attacker
✔️USMNT planning to call expanded squad for WCQs
✔️Rapids, Fraser talking new deal
✔️Kyle Duncan w/ French interest
✔️Nelson Rodriguez is backhttps://t.co/Wr655LCCWs

— Sam Stejskal (@samstejskal) July 22, 2021

 

I would imagine that would be part of the arrangement.

I’m not sure USL is going to participate, but they seem to be trying to create a path where strong youth clubs can field a U23 team.

There’s already a number of youth club connections team by team that i imagine come with resources.

I could see them formalizing it.

 

While USL teams wouldn’t seem to initially be part of this league, I don’t know why they wouldn’t want to be part of it. They know that this is probably about as good competition as their non-match day squad first team players can get.

 

We'll see. Right now USL seems to be chartering a course fully independent of MLS as a business strategy, and that make take precedence.

I would say that if MLS said it was going to cascade Solidarity and TC to members of MLS Next, or help with some kind of operating, that would be a pretty significant incentive, I'd think.

 

Louisville: Jonathan Gomez ('03) probably had his weakest game of the season. He was pretty average. I wouldn't call his performance bad because it wasn't, but he didn't have his usual impact. He still ended up with two assists, which shows that his baseline is so high that a two assist game where the rest of the game he didn't play well is a bad game for him. Gomez didn't play the second Louisville game that they played last week. Is he now gone or is there some other reason?

I believe Joshua Wynder ('05) played in both games for Louisville, but I'm having trouble figuring out which of the two brothers was playing in each game. I've seen different sources suggest Joshua played and some suggest Elijah played. Maybe they also split the two games. I didn't see much to be impressed with though from either performance. CB with decent size, not a bad athlete, slightly above-average passer. Struggled defensively, especially in the air.

Las Vegas: Antonio Leone ('04) continues his really strong season. He's starting to dominate games defensively now. He's made big defensive improvements this season, and I think he may be ready next season to play with the first team. Julian Gaines ('02) was decent in both games, but I don't feel like the RWB role suits his game as well as the RB role. He's more really solid on both ends with offensive ability that is underrated than incredibly dynamic. I feel like he tries to do too much in a RWB role, and plays both sides of the ball better in a RB role. Erik Duenas ('04) played in both games, but he's not well suited to playing any role other than the one Gaines is playing, so they are trying to work around that problem. He's added energy and some skill in a midfield role.

Sacramento: I didn't think Mario Penagos ('02) or Hayden Sargis ('02) had the best games. Sargis might've been a little better of the two, considering he was playing CB and didn't make any real errors, although I wouldn't say he was much better than average. Penagos had very little involvement. It wasn't entirely his fault because his team had very little possession.

Atlanta United II: Caleb Wiley ('04) continued his usual types of performances. Not very clean from a defensive perspective. He's a step slow at recognizing the defensive side of the game, but he's usually able to recover well enough because he's athletic. His passing was also sloppy. He did get forward and made some nice defensive plays, but his performances are very hit or miss and lot of inconsistency from minute to minute. Jonathan Villal ('05) was very good in his second pro appearance. He added some creativity off the bench. His first performance wasn't that good, but he adjusted quickly.

El Paso: Diego Luna ('03) had a good performance. Combined well, made good decisions. Nothing outrageous, but a credible performance. He's adapted well to the speed of the pro game.

San Antonio: Leo Torres ('04) came on at the end and added some energy. Not that many touches.

Los Dos: Marcus Ferkranus ('03) was mostly credible, but he made a big error for a goal, so it's hard to call it a good performance. Felix Barajas ('03) is an attacking midfielder/winger. Left-footed, good technique. Not that quick, and not dynamic enough. I need to see more, but he looks like a very fringe prospect.

Real Monarchs: Haroun Conteh ('05) once again was pretty average at LB. Not bad, but he can't easily create offense from the LB position, so he pushes his starting position in possession to high, and it leads to the team defending in less numbers when the team loses the ball. When he's in position, he's been defending well, and he's able to make all the passes he needs to, but LB is clearly not his best position.

Jeff Dewsnup ('04) was great. This might've been his best game of the season. He's become remarkably consistent, and a difference maker with his shot stopping, coming for balls in the air, and starting attacks with his feet. As I've mentioned before, this kid is a complete GK who is good or better in every part of the game. I think he's pretty quickly become the top GK prospect in the system. If David Ochoa does not get himself to Europe within the next two seasons, I think Dewsnup will take his position.

 

Gomez is now third in USL in assists. He also has two goals. He has 2G, 5A in 972 minutes. That’s a G+A every 139 minutes. That’d be very good for a #10. It’s unheard of for a LB.

The type of electricity we're after, @AntoineHoppenot. ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/287C1Jjp2e

— Louisville City FC (@loucityfc) July 24, 2021

 

Make that ✌️ for Jeffrey Dewsnup.

The 17-year-old @RealMonarchs goalkeeper claims his second Save of the Week award this season!

More 👉 https://t.co/aWJrZKbOtz pic.twitter.com/HPVIf8aDAm

— USL Championship (@USLChampionship) July 23, 2021

 

@Thundering165 with the analysis.

We'll start with the strikers. NYRBs Roald Mitchell is performing almost twice as well as expected for his amount of minutes. Lots of players with some minutes, but few with staying power. pic.twitter.com/GI6aaHbgUW

— Paul Harvey (@Thundering165) July 22, 2021

Due to the way ASA codes positions, there are few AMs across the board in the database. Jay Tee Kamara from NCFC is crushing it on loan from Louisville. Jose Gallegos, a U20 YNT member, looks great as well. pic.twitter.com/qhot8ljNfg

— Paul Harvey (@Thundering165) July 22, 2021

Daniel Edelman is far and away the most productive youth DM. He's earning his minutes and should be looking to move up after this season. pic.twitter.com/P4RhZyZweq

— Paul Harvey (@Thundering165) July 22, 2021

Finally, CBs. The most important thing for young CBs is minutes, but it's interesting to see the offensive impact that young Antonio Leone is having with Las Vegas. He's a USA and Mexico dual national and playing like a seasoned vet. pic.twitter.com/ndXmYz07Qi

— Paul Harvey (@Thundering165) July 22, 2021

 

I've heard that they will be in the MLS Reserve league rather than staying in USL. The last thing they had announced pre-Vardy was an affiliation with Empire United so if that is still on it makes sense. They will also be the only independent team in 2022 as of right now.

The 4 MLS2 teams that will be in USL in 2022 appealed to stay in the league, USL definitely wants MLS out of their leagues, that being said MLS and USL still have a good relationship. Per the source the Athletic article was "spoon-fed by the league". I'm skeptical of this but I've also heard that the USL champion will most likely have a CCL spot in the future.

 

Austin: Casey Walls ('03) got his pro debut coming off the bench for 13 minutes. He did well in those 13 minutes. He was playing a hybrid LB/CB position. He had a few clearances, won a tackle or two, and had a nice pass out of pressure into the front line. He didn't put a foot wrong. The fact that he has only 13 minutes on loan in USL is ridiculous. I have not watched much of Austin this season because there's no reason for me to, but I know the level of soccer played in this league. There's no way they have two CB's good enough to be keeping him out of weekly minutes. This is the issue when MLS players are sent to independent USL teams. They often don't play, unless that club's own players aren't available.

NYRB: I thought it was a pretty weak game for the Americans at NYRB. Jake LaCava ('01) had a nice assist and some involvement. Daniel Edelman ('03) rarely plays badly, and didn't in this game either. Besides that, not much involvement. Cameron Harper ('01) had his first weaker game in USL, and the subs made no impact.

Ft. Lauderdale: Noah Allen ('04) put in a good shift. Nothing that incredible on either side of the ball, but he's become more reliable and consistent over the course of this season. I think he's had a much better season, keeping in mind the difference in competition, than a fellow '04 LB like Caleb Wiley. Allen isn't as athletic, but is athletic enough, has a much better read of the game defensively, and is a little better technically. Felipe Valencia ('05) got a late appearance, and had some involvement. I'm not sure why he's had so little playing time in USL L1 this season. Edison Azcona ('03) was playing centrally again. He played well in the ideas he had and involvement, but lacked the end product.

Madison: Javier Casas ('03) started and Alex Monis ('03) came off the bench. Both are on loan from Chicago Fire. I didn't think either were that effective or involved in the game.

Louisville: Jonathan Gomez ('03) had another very good performance. This one was a little quieter in that he wasn't running the offense, like he usually does, but he was still so impactful on both sides of the ball, and had a very nice assist. I think the way this game played out forced him to be more defensive. The Colorado RW was their best player, and forced Gomez to not take such aggressive offensive starting positions.

Colorado: Dantouma Toure ('04) and Darren Yapi ('04) both got in the game late, but neither had much involvement.

Las Vegas: Antonio Leone ('04) had another good performance. Not as good as his last few where he was MOTM, but he didn't need to be MOTM in this game because he didn't have as much defending to do. His passing was extremely good in this game. Alex Rando ('01) has been one of the better young American players in USL this season. He's not discussed as often as other players because he's an '01 and a GK, but there haven't been many better GK's in USL this season IMO. He's been very consistent, and I don't see him as having many real weaknesses in his game. I don't know what happened with moving from NYCFC to LAFC's affiliate. There'd be an easier chance at MLS playing time with NYCFC than LAFC. Romero is only a year older.

Christian Torres ('04) had a goal and an assist. He's taken some attacking chances this season well. Aside from that, I have to say that he's been pretty unimpressive. He isn't adding as much as the other young players in that team on a minute to minute basis. There are some attributes there for a pro soccer player (above-average athlete, some technique, finishes well, can play multiple positions), but I don't know that anything he does stands out to make him one of the better 04's. I was initially lower on this guy, and then his first few USL games I was more impressed than I initially was, but midway through this season I'm reverting towards not being that impressed for different reasons than my initial opinion.

Real Monarchs: Haroun Conteh ('05) had a quiet game at LB, which isn't a bad thing. Jeff Dewsnup ('04) is starting to really dominate in USL. The last two games he's been MOTM in both of them. Every facet of the game for a keeper he's really good at. His passing range, which I initially was very impressed with a year or two ago, but he was a little more conservative with showing in his first few USL games, is something he's starting to show more of. This was the best passing performance I've seen from a young GK all season at any level. Passes of every range, very accurate, started most of the Monarchs attacks, no panic level when players press him. On the keeping side of things, he made a few really nice saves, and had his usual very steady performance. Still no real errors all season.

 

I found this Luna goal impressive.

Diego Luna finds the back of the net in the 69th minute to put @EPLocomotiveFC up 2-0. The 17-year-old has scored four goals this season for El Paso. #KTSM9Sports pic.twitter.com/0XfCuqrOVd

— Andy Morgan (@AndyMorganTV) July 29, 2021

 

Assuming this is thread-relevant with no additional research...

Not the result we wanted, but huge shoutout to #SportingKC Homegrown player @OzzieCisner10 on his first-ever professional goal tonight 🔵👊@SKCAcademy // @Audi pic.twitter.com/UfOeI8lrnx

— SKCII (@SportingKCII) July 29, 2021

 

"He knows he has a long way to go but I hope to one day see him competing for the U.S. National Team."

Phoenix Rising signs 16-yeard old defender Niall Dunn to a professional contract. He becomes the youngest player in club history to sign a pro contract.#RisingAsOne

— Phoenix Rising FC (@PHXRisingFC) July 29, 2021

 

a niall has gotta be a dual nat lol

 

Can someone pitch to me why I should believe Leo Torres (or any player at a USL academy) will amount to a real NT prospect?

I don't like judging these players based off the club a player is at or any factor that isn't purely based on the skillset or level of play. These outside factors are such a weak reason for why players should succeed or fail, but I'm just not seeing the pathway for these players at this point. There is no real example we can point to right now. It seems like these 02's, 03's, 04's, 05's, 06's at USL academies might've come just a few years too early to be successful to the same extent of their counterparts who are at MLS academies. I don't like to write off all players at USL academies, but I see no reason to believe these players have the chance to end up being the next Adams, McKennie, or Pulisic, if they don't leave these USL academies.

 

USL Midseason Review:

This is my midseason review of young American players in USL. Instead of going through every player during the midseason, I will instead be giving a stock up or stock down designation for 30 players in USL. I will rank the 20 stock up players, and I won’t rank the 10 stock down players. I don’t want to be overly critical of the players who’ve not helped their stock, so I don’t think I should rank which players have hurt their stocks more than others. I have watched just about every relevant YNT-eligible player who has played at least a game worth of minutes. Some of them I have seen every game they’ve played, and others I’ve only seen one or two games. The reviews are impacted by the sample size, but I’ve watched between 80-85 USL games so far this season by my rough count, so I believe that I’m not basing this off little info.

Down:

Up:

 

I get your point but I would say if someone like Matt Turner can make it to the National Team then you just never know how someone's career is going to go. Realize you are making a broader point but its hard to predict how players will eventually turn out.

 

In the near term?
[Long term and what the landscape looks like 10 years from now is a different question.]

Chance to be Adams, McKennie, or Pulisic? Slim.

Gomez went to Louisville as a top prospect and has remained as such.

Chance to be solid professionals with long careers in the sport? Sure. That can happen.

Jose Gallegos is older than Gio Reyna and Yunus Musah. He's older than Caden Clark, Cade Cowell, Justin Che, Kevin Paredes, Moses Nyeman, and on and on.

He's the same age as Tanner Tessmann, Gianluca Busio, and Bryan Reynolds.

At this point what are his chances of developing into a USMNTer? Not good. Every day he's still in the USL is a day he's falling farther behind.

You're a 17 year old high-flying prospect one day. The next day you're about to turn 20 and you're a good USL performer. Are "big" European clubs interested in "good" 20 year old USL players.

Leo Torres? Shrug.

 

Eyes on first place and adding more firepower 👊. We're so excited to add @USYNT Kenan Hot to the fold, and the future is VERY bright.

🔗: https://t.co/8Ppc76fr6r pic.twitter.com/fX10GC8aIQ

— Hartford Athletic (@hfdathletic) July 30, 2021

 

While I agree with your overall point that there's no way of knowing 100%, I tend to think it's more possible for someone like Turner, or say Dike, to become a USMNT player out of nowhere than it is for a kid like Torres who was highly rated but seems to be on a downward slope. It just seems like it's easier to become a high level pro if your career only involves upward slopes, even if those slopes come extremely late.

 

I don't necessarily think Torres is on a downward slope.
He's just at a club that has shown no indication that they can develop players.
Gallegos doesn't seem any better to me now than what he was two years ago.

When we talk about elite youngsters at MLS clubs, we say that they should be in the USL team for a year.
You wanna do what Caden Clark and Tyler Adams did at New York. You want it to be a quick bridge to the first team and a higher level. Pepi signed for North Texas, excelled right away, and was pretty rapidly promoted to the first team. [That dynamic is going to change when we have the U23 league. Hopefully that means unlimited use of academy players.

So if you're signing for a USL team, it needs to be a quick tenure....................if you expect to keep up with the top of the pool. Two years max. Jonathan Gomez. That's what works. A quick bridge that allows you to leave for Europe at 18. The question is how many USL clubs want to sign players to quick contracts. Louisville has expressed misgivings about their contract with Gomez.

Again, we're talking about the top of the top prospects here. I'm not entirely convinced Gallegos or Torres or any of the San Antonio kids were every really at that level. Good prospects..............but they're not Caden Clark or Ricardo Pepi.