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

That’s a good question that I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to. I know they use machine learning at ASA to figure it out.

It’s worth noting that the receiving sub score can never be negative, unlike passing which often is. I think that’s a flaw in the model.

 

I watched the game from Sunday. Mitchell could’ve and should’ve had about five goals. Best performance from any player I’ve seen in USL so far this season.

Here was the one goal he scored. As you can see, you can’t teach this type of athleticism with good enough dribbling coordination. This guy is really starting to emerge as a top level talent.

First professional start, first professional goal for Roald Mitchell 💪#CHSvNY | @NYRBII pic.twitter.com/pVm2KWA46i

— USL Championship (@USLChampionship) May 23, 2021

 

Ooooh, he’s got those Mbappe legs. Time to add to the watch list.

I used to think that the best moments to be a YNT fan were when a guy like CP or Reyna had their first preseason, but I’m starting to think it’s when guys like this pop up out of nowhere after their U17 cycle. It feels like Christmas.

Also, it should be noted that this only seems to happen at the really good academies. McKenzie, Aaronson, Richards, and Ledezma are the prime examples for me, and they came from those academies for a reason. A late bloomer doesn’t succeed in Houston. It’s perhaps the most stark indicator, to me, in what defines a good academy.

 

@TarHeels17

They basically compare the possession to a bunch of prior similar possession and assign a goals value based on how often those possessions ended up as goals. So basically if at point A the goals historically is .1 and at point B it's .2, then the G+ for that pass is +.1.

They don't seem to explain how they came up with the split, and I'm really not sure how it could be data driven on the same data. But they do say this:

Basically, they go from 0 to 50/50. Why they chose 50/50, I can't seem to find, and I think it *might* be a number not based on data so much as logic.

I suppose you could run a regression to basically see how much of the likelihood of a strong G+ on a pass is due to the individual passer or due to the individual receiver -- basically, if a high percentage of Seattle's passes are concentrated in a small number of passers (say, Nico Lodeiro) but a large number of receivers, it might say the passer is more important.

But I think that could be really altered by scheme and location on the field, and the 0-50 range is suspect, so it feels hard coded, so to speak.

https://www.americansocceranalysis.com/what-are-goals-added

 

That was also the comparison I saw. I’m not saying he’s anywhere as good, but the athleticism and sprinting style is very similar. One area where Mitchell is pretty good that a lot of similar style players are not is that he has a good soccer IQ and doesn’t make that many errors. I’m not convinced about his finishing, but he makes good runs, doesn’t turn the ball over that often, and is able to play quick combinations pretty well.

 

His finishing will only get better as he gets older.

 

After watching, I'm not as convinced. For positives, he might be the fastest player I've ever seen, and it doesn't take him long to accelerate to that speed. He also seems to have the correct style - the way his body moves on that goal and on some other shots was exactly how you like to see a player open up his body when shooting far post. He also had some need little touches to put him into space.

For negatives, he has no idea how to use his body. That's probably because he appears to be 6'0" and 130 pounds, but still, it's an important skill. It makes him pretty useless when receiving the ball with his back to goal. If these things were happening at 16 or 17, you'd ignore them, but I'm not sure you can at 18 and almost a half.

His play style is exactly like Mbappe. I think you show this kid to a French team and they start fawning. I'm just not sure there's time to pull the whole package together, especially when he's playing in an environment like Red Bull when you rarely have the ball at your feet.

However, I remember feeling really similarly about Weah on the U17 team. I thought the kid was athletic and had the look of a good finisher, but I wasn't impressed with anything else. Then he grew up, put on some muscle, and now I'm a big fan. The difference is that Weah was in the PSG academy and knew he couldn't out-athlete everyone and his IQ and all-roundedness kept developing, but I'm not sure you can do in that in the Red Bull academy with inferior players around you.

 

I don’t know this for a fact but I’ve heard that Mitchell had a late growth spurt, which might explain the frame/body control issues. At any rate he’s lightning fast and shifty as well. Obviously needs to put on muscle and work on the mental side of the game but what 18 year old doesn’t?

 

One other thing - this is the last type of player we want playing college soccer.

 

Real Monarchs: I didn't watch the full game from last Friday. I only watched the sub appearance of Chris Garcia ('03). He was really close to scoring a goal. Added his usual attacking threat of being able to accelerate past defenders, and causing havoc that way.

Colorado Springs: Another game from Friday where I only watched a sub appearance. Dantouma Toure ('04) looks like he's gotten taller, which isn't surprising, considering he's still 16. He was also making better decisions with the ball, which is very good to see. If he can make better decisions with the ball, along with his physical development, he could be a top level attacker because he has dynamic speed and he's good in the final third.

Louisville vs. San Diego: Another very good performance from Jonathan Gomez ('03). Not much to add from previous performances. Gomez has improved from last season, and he's now one of the best players in USL of any age IMO. The San Diego coach that watched Gomez tear his team apart should get on the phone with his former USMNT teammate, and tell him to increase the recruiting interest in Gomez. Calvin Fodrey ('04) got his debut for San Diego coming off the bench. I'm not sure he touched the ball. He looks to be a tall center forward with good athleticism. Thats about all I could tell from his appearance.

Las Vegas Lights: Alex Rando ('01) had a great performance. As others have mentioned already, he was probably the MOTM, and he did that in a game he gave up 5 goals. I think his save totals were a little inflated (I believe the total was 15), but he made 5-6 saves that were really good saves, and with a lesser GK performance, it could've been 8-0 or 9-0. This was the usual good independent USL team destroying a bad MLS reserve team type of game. Las Vegas had no midfield in this game.

Antonio Leone ('04) struggled in this game. He was far from the worst Las Vegas player, but he made some defensive errors, including being involved in one or two of the goals Las Vegas gave up. I've mentioned before that Leone is exactly the type of player who needs to iron out some defensive issues against pro competition. Kids his age don't challenge him because he's too big, strong, and fast for them.

I think he has a great combination of ability to pass the ball, carry it out from the back, size, speed, strength, aerial ability. He plays the game similarly to a player like Dayot Upamecano. I am not concerned about his ability to defend long-term, but a season or two in USL will help him improve his defending, and I would probably never expect Leone to be excellent defensively. If he gets to above-average defensively, he'll be a star due to his athletic/technical profile.

Julian Gaines ('02) had another good performance, all things considered. He committed a penalty, but it looked soft to me. Also, he's doing a very good job of not getting caught in behind defensively by movement. Thats a problem that a lot of new fullbacks have. They do a good job 1v1, but once they have to recognize a player who they don't see or expect to move into their area of the field, they don't recognize the movement of the attacker fast enough. Gaines has had very little trouble with that, and he's been a positive player going forward due to average attacker skills that are translating to above-average from the RB position.

NYRB vs. Charleston: Roald Mitchell ('03) was excellent. Probably the best performance I've seen so far this season in USL. He had a goal, drew a penalty, and missed a number of other chances. As I've said before, I am very skeptical about his finishing. I think it's a weakness. However, what I saw in this game, which I didn't see in prior games (although very limited viewings prior to this) was dynamic speed. I liked his athleticism prior to this, but in this game he looked to have a different athletic gear than I had previously seen. If this is what he can normally show, he will be abroad very soon. As I've said before, he's not a bad dribbler, he has a decent soccer IQ, he's good in the air, and has good size. I like his game better as a winger, but he can play CF.

Curtis Ofori ('05) is not ready for USL. I think keeping him at the academy level for the rest of the year would probably make the most sense. Erik McCue ('01) played for Charleston. I haven't seen him play since last season, if not longer. I thought he was about average. Like every Charleston defender, he struggled with Mitchell's pace, but I thought McCue showed well enough besides from that. He scored a goal on a set piece, and his defending wasn't bad. He didn't stand out, which you may want to see from a player his age in USL, but I think he's someone who could still turn into a good CB.

Atlanta vs. Memphis: Efrain Morales ('04) had a mediocre first half, picked up a yellow, and then was taken out at the half. Defensively, his game needs work with positioning, and how quickly he can read plays. As I've said before, he also has some errors with the ball, but that wasn't his issue in this game before. I didn't think he was terrible, but taking him out at the half probably wasn't a bad decision. Caleb Wiley ('04) was better than the prior game. I thought he was about average. He still struggles a little with the speed of the pro game around him, but I think he's been getting better. I'm not sure I see big upside either, but he should eventually be a good defender with good athleticism, and good enough ability going forward from the LB position.

For Memphis, Andre Reynolds ('01) had a pretty good game. Reynolds is a player I've seen very little of. I believe the last time I saw him play was probably two years ago. I liked what I saw. He looked better offensively than I expected. He was more aggressive and came inside dribbling the ball more than I would've thought. Defensively, he wasn't bad, but not really tested.

 

I've watched his clips since 2018 on. At 2018 he was one of the taller kids, at 2019 probably the tallest field player amongst his teammates. Pretty amazing clips actually, his abilities are at a different level from any our youth striker I've seen since Jozy.

 

A neat goal, and a useful surname pronunciation guide for those who've never heard it said aloud.

Fine footwork from @selmirmiscic puts @NorthCarolinaFC on the board! 🕺

1-0 | #NCvTUC pic.twitter.com/M0xjA0gwTe

— USL League One (@USLLeagueOne) May 29, 2021

 

‘04.

Simeon Betapudi:

4.96 GPA
35 ACT score (99th percentile overall nationally)
Geography Bee winner for the state of Tennessee

And now the second-ever academy signing for Memphis in USL. https://t.co/A4jEhqg8lY

— ChuckMe92 Soccer (@ChuckMe92Soccer) May 28, 2021

 

Ugh why sign with Memphis 901, he should have gone somewhere more challenging like IFK Norrköping or
Gençlerbirliği SK or Mjøndalen Idrettsforening...

 

Fjardabyggd.

 

TOTW recognition:

GK – John Pulskamp, Sporting Kansas City II: John Pulskamp recorded a six-save shutout including five saves on shots inside the penalty area and also completed 27 of 30 passes in SKC II’s 0-0 draw with El Paso Locomotive FC on Sunday.​

 

USL Early Season Most Impressive Players. It's almost two months into the season. I've seen all these players play twice or more so far this season, and watched all the relevant YNT-eligible players once or more. By most impressive, I am listing the players whose play I've been most impressed by. It doesn't mean they are the best players. They could be, but some of them started at a lower base, and have elevated their stock in a major way. Think of this like whose improved their stock the most.

Last season included players such as Clark, McGlynn, Alvarado, Neal, Azcona, Valencia, (Paxten) Aaronson, so while you can't expect that many standouts among YNT-eligible players each season, there will be some players who will become big names.

Top 5:

1. Jonathan Gomez ('03): Gomez was pretty good last season in USL. He looked like he belonged last season for Louisville (the best team in USL IMO). His problem was that he had a few too many young-defender playing pro soccer type of error. It wasn't anything that suggested any type of problem with his skillset, but he was needing more game time and practice against pros. This season, he's gotten rid of those errors, and he's been one of the best players for one of the best teams in USL. Every game he's made a big impact down the left side.

He's starting to play a lot more like he did in the FC Dallas academy where he positionally played LB like a LWB as a main attacking source for the team. Gomez is an elite prospect, potentially the best player in the youth system, and has no real weaknesses, and many strengths. He will be playing at a high level in Europe, and for the USMNT or Mexican National Team within the next year or two IMO.

2. Jeff Dewsnup ('04): Dewsnup is a very talented GK. I hadn't seen him play in about a year prior to this season in USL. The scouting report was that he's a high upside keeper whose only real weaknesses (stupid errors) is the type of thing a young goalkeeper of his caliber would typically improve on with more reps. While he's only played a few games this season, he already looks to be more consistent. The talent level is elite. Size, shot stopping, command of his area, and ability to play out of the back.

3. Roald Mitchell ('03): Mitchell is probably the top newer name in USL this season. Like with his NYRBI II teammate, Acosta, I don't believe I had seen Mitchell play prior to this season, or if I saw him play once or twice, I did not note that he was a worthwhile prospect. Mitchell is an attacker. I've seen him play as a LW, RW, CAM/SS, and CF so far this season. He's able to play in any of the attacking positions, but he's probably best as a winger. He has dynamic athleticism. He's very fast, especially with the ball, which you rarely see. Most players are fast, but not as fast with the ball. He also has good height, coordination, and he's good in the air.

He has a good soccer IQ, combines well, and he has some skill. Where he can improve is his finishing, which isn't that good, but he gets himself into great positions due to his athleticism and understanding of the game. He's either in the upper echelon of '03 prospects or not far behind the upper echelon.

4. Noah Allen ('04): Allen has shown well for Ft. Lauderdale (Inter Miami's reserve team). Previously, I regarded him as a very fringe level prospect. He was a LB, had average tools, played up in some age groups. He was a relevant name, but not a great pro prospect. While I still would not call him a great pro prospect, I'd suggest he's a good pro prospect now. He's shown much better crossing ability than I previously saw (he's a very good crosser), and I think most of his other tools (athleticism, defensive read of the game, foot skills) all look slightly improved. It's led to a player who is a better prospect this season than previous seasons. He should be in contention to be a YNT regular in his age group at LB, and I think he'll be on the MLS roster next season.

5. Marcus Ferkranus ('03): Ferkranus was really overshadowed last season by his LAG teammate Jalen Neal. Ferkranus played some games last season with Los Dos, but played mostly in a back up role. This season, Ferkranus has really taken hold of that back line, and is the leader of that defense. Los Dos are the best of the II teams once again this season (second in the Western Conference). Ferkranus looks more athletic than previous seasons. He has good height, and good mobility for a CB, and has gotten a lot more physical and better in the air. He's also a pretty good passer, and reads the game well defensively. He's not a player with any apparent weaknesses, and he rarely plays poorly. He's one of the better CB prospects in the system. Next season he should be ready for MLS minutes.

HM's: Noel Buck ('05), Alex Villanueva ('02), Julian Gaines ('02), Christian Torres ('04), Tyler Wolff ('03), Daniel Edelman ('03), Matthew Acosta ('02)

Noel Buck ('05) has physically grown a few inches taller in the last year, which helps his pro projection. Before his growth spurt, he was an undersized #8 prospect with a good passing range (left-footed) who wasn't particularly athletic, nor had dynamic skills. Now, he has about average height. While he does lack dynamic skills, he projects a lot better to the pro game. Alex Villanueva ('02) has become more attentive defensively this season. He's a former winger, so he's comfortable in the final third. He's not dynamic, but there is a pretty good ability to advance the ball by dribbling, he can combine, and he's good enough athletically.

Julian Gaines ('02) has adapted really well to RB from being an attacker (winger/striker). He has good athleticism, a good soccer IQ, and some dribbling/crossing ability. He's not as dynamic as someone like Bryan Reynolds, but is a better defensive player. It's the same type of projection though (former attacker to RB). Christian Torres ('04) and Tyler Wolff ('03) are two players that look much improved from what I have previously seen. Torres is more dynamic on the ball with his dribbling, speed/quickness than I initially thought (I saw him play mostly as a #9), while Wolff looks like a better playmaker with better end product than I previously saw. I think Torres I might've misevaluated, while I think Wolff has gotten a lot better.

Daniel Edelman ('03) is another player I misevaluated. He's a really hard player to evaluate off of one or two games because he does not stand out in how he approaches the game, and his tools are not overly impressive. However, he's a very consistent CM with a good passing range with both feet, a willingness to defend, and pretty good defensive positioning. He also is more athletic than he looks. Matthew Acosta ('02) is a player I hadn't previously seen play (or did not regard as a prospect if I saw him play once or twice before). He doesn't have high upside, but as a fullback who can play RB or LB, he shows good defensive instincts, and isn't a liability going forward.

 

MLS is finalizing a plan to launch a new league expected to apply for U.S. third division sanctioning, sources tell @jeffrueter and @MLSist. This move could have far-reaching implications for American men's soccer beyond just talent development.https://t.co/MRSbBPthy3

— The Athletic Soccer (@TheAthleticSCCR) June 1, 2021

Everything seems to indicate that the MLS reserve league will start sooner rather than later.

 

For those without a subscription, this is what I thought was most interesting.

So, this is essentially the pro level of MLS Next. It won't be better than USL at the moment, but it provides the ability for MLS to do so eventually. This will likely initially receive backlash, but it seems like a calculated move for the future. I'm a fan. USL has gotta be scared, though.

 

i don’t understand the point and also why it isn’t mandatory

 

You simultaneously don't understand the point of the league but also think everyone should have to do it?

USL has been pushing out the MLS2 teams in the last couple of years. MLS2 teams are often bad, they make no effort to grow a fanbase or do anything but develop (aside from a couple of teams). USL wants teams trying to be real teams. MLS teams also pay a substantial amount of fees to USL, so I think they are looking to recoup.

As a response, MLS needs a place for those better than academies but not quite ready for MLS. This will be more and more important as MLS gets betters as the gap will widen.

So they are making their own USL1 ... but leaving open a way to get older, tougher, competition that their league will lack. And letting some teams stay in the better USL. And creating an opening for an independent youth team to create a path to a pro, which is interesting.

 

I hearing a u23 mls league starting fall of 2021

 

You would think MLS would set up some sort of system where MLS gets first look at feeder clubs players