Of the 93 teams in the MLS Next U15s, only 3 have won all their games (having played a minimum of 3). Austin, NYCFC and LAFC. Note, both NYCFC and LAFC have both played at least two other MLS Academies.
They are not the same. They are separate leagues. It's also one age-level... u15-U19 with restrictions/requirements on the numbers of 15s, 16s, 17s, etc... It sold as a pro-development pathway for a youth to go from USL Academy, to USL 2 to USL 1 to USL Championship then to the USL first team. What I don't know is... is a team like Ventura Fusion or Phoenix Rising putting their top teenagers in their USL-Academy team or their MLS Next team?
MLS Next Playoffs & Showcase: June 25-July 3rd. Location rumored to be Oceanside, CA Regional Event(s): May 14-15, 2022. GA Cup: April 9-17 I know some of those dates have floated around but I'm seeing more confirmation from multiple clubs on those dates... and no clue what the May event is.
I am curious what the May event is as well. I recall hearing something about the top-2 teams in each division qualifying to play Liga MX academies, but that might have been a reference to the GA Cup structure for this season. The winter showcase might serve as GA Cup qualifying.
The 2020 GA Cup was to include international. You may be right. https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/expa...adidas-cup-feature-future-stars-global-soccer
I've seen the May Event called an "inter-league event" which I didn't get at first.... until I saw the standings. Inter-league refers to the games in which an MLS academy plays against non-MLS academies. So, in SoCal, LAFC and LAG are not in the same "league" as Chula Vista, TFA, Murrieta, City SC, etc... When those teams play LAG or LAFC, it is an inter-league game. LAFC and LAG play Seattle, Vancouver, RSL, San Jose and Colorado as part of their "Pro + Pathway league."
MLS Next's website has added a place for standings. See, e.g., the link below for U15. Note that you have to click the "inter-league" to get the full standings, which includes the MLS Academy teams and confirms that they are positioning the MLS Academy and MLS Next as two different leagues that have cross-league play. https://www.mlssoccer.com/mlsnext/standings/2021-2022/u15_mls-next-standings
So they are treating MLS Academies as a separate league by ranking them based on performance against other MLS Academies. Could this mean they will use this ranking for GA Cup qualification?
Not sure if they’ll make stats and rosters public yet. On the Mod 11 backend it’s all there and you just have to click the crest in the game schedule if the club’s team you want to see and hope that club uploads stats
Should we make a ones to watch list for each team before the season starts? Like 3-6 players from each team
There is a silver lining to clubs not uploading stats, because the only stat that tends to be posted is goals (and yellow/red cards), and that stat can be so misleading. Placing too much weight on who scores the goals promotes selfishness, leads to poor decision-making by players, and results in the wrong players being promoted. There was a play in a prominent game this weekend that was a striking example of this. While I agree with some of the observations and analyses on this board, I also see certain players cited as "top prospects" on this board that I just roll my eyes at. These are players who hurt their team because they are consumed with building their own personal stats when that type of decision-making will never work at the next/higher level. Meanwhile, the player who created the goal - without whom the goal would have never happened and who made a much bigger contribution to the play than the player who happened to kick the ball in - doesn't get credit when the "goals" stat is posted.
I agree that a lot of stuff is easy to overlook when soccer stats have a tendency to be over weighted. On the other hand, many of the regular posters in this particular forum spend a LOT of time watching video or attending matches and tournaments in person. Most of the praise (or criticism) is based on observation instead of stats. It goes without saying that people have their own bias and opinions, but I tend to agree with a lot of the analysis I read here after watching the same game they did. Because posting is anonymous, we don't even know the level of professional expertise being posted. I have been on Big Soccer for over 20 years and I know a few posters in real life that have A level licenses so there are some pretty knowledgeable posters around here.
I'm still trying to piece together roster info. It is ridiculous that MLS is trying to hide roster info about these teams from the public. If anyone has any that they want to send me, it could be of use to me. Right now though there are games I've watched and have written up that I'm lacking the names of the players. These are the games I believe I have enough info on. One or two of these names may be incorrect because I've had to piece all of this together without central lists for all teams, but I'm pretty sure the roster info I compiled in watching these games is entirely accurate or almost entirely accurate. Columbus U-17: Josh Bartels (‘05) is a craft winger/attacking mid. He has good foot skills, a lot of trickery, and some quickness. I don’t know that he’s hugely dynamic or fast, but he’s able to beat players with a lot of deception. Gabe Cox (‘05) is a #8 with some good passing ideas and soccer IQ. He can dictate the pace of the game. Athletically, he’s a little below average, but probably good enough. Owen Presthus (‘06) has gotten bigger. They were using him as a winger. I think he needs to be playing centrally. I don’t see him being able to play as a winger any longer. He’s less effective, and has less touches as a winger, and doesn’t have the quickness to beat players off the dribble. He has great field vision, and ability to find players for attacking chances, so I think you’d want him playing centrally. Columbus U-19: Noah Hall (‘03) was pretty weak for a player of his ability. They were playing 3 at the back, and he was being used as a RWB, which may not suit him as well as playing as a RB. I think his all-around game fits the traditional full-back role better than wing-back, but he still should’ve been better. Levi Stephens (‘04) and Nolan Miller (‘04) are two very fringe CB prospects. Stephens is a little faster, and Miller may be a little more consistent defensively. Zion Scarlett (‘04) is a CF/winger with above-average ball skills, very smooth athleticism, good enough size, and a direct approach. He scored a nice goal on a header, and does get himself into a lot of scoring positions. Caleb Borneo (‘05) is one of the better prospects in the Columbus academy. He’s playing up an age group. He’s a very small attacking midfielder, can play either out wide or centrally. He looks like he is too small to be effective, but how small he is plays to his advantage. He has a very low center of gravity, so defenders aren’t able to take the ball from his that easily, and he’s able to navigate very well in small spaces. He’s also very deceptive. I don’t know that he’s incredibly fast or creative, but he’s good enough in all these areas and his tools all play up a little bit due to his deception and low center of gravity. He reminds me a little of the younger Aaronson, but before Paxten had a growth spurt. LAFC U-17: Jay Sonthalia (‘05) is a good shot-stopper, but I’m not sure the rest of his game is too good for a GK. Bryan Moyado (‘05) and Robert Willcot (‘05) were two of the standouts. Javen Romero (‘06) had some good passing and size at CB. Not overly impressive, but looked like a good prospect. Chicago U-17: Patrick Los (‘07) had a weak game. He made a big error coming off his line on a through ball, and didn’t get to it before the attacker. It might’ve ended up in a great chance anyway, but if you come past the 18 yard box, you must get the ball, and he didn’t. Aside from that, he wasn’t bad, but it’s hard to suggest a goalie was anything other than bad when they make such a key error. He’s playing up an age group, is very highly rated, and Chicago is very good at producing goalies, so one bad game shouldn’t mean that much, but it wasn’t a good performance. Joel Ineh (‘06) had a very up and down performance. He was playing CB in this game. I’m still not sure about his best position, although I think it’s likely CB. The biggest problem in his game is that he’s too anxious to try to come out from the back, and vacate his position. He tries to do too much. You’ll see him overrun the ball trying to get to the ball to clear it. He needs to slow down, and play with more discipline. He’s a very talented player with great size, athleticism, and technical ability. He’s almost too talented to not advance to the pro game, but I think whether he can learn to play better positionally will determine if he’s a star or if he’s a low-level and very inconsistent yet talented player. FC Cincinnati U-17: Nicholas Samways (‘05) read the game very well from the back, and made some nice passes. He may not have the size/speed for CB. Matt Dreas (‘05) was similar to Dreas, but he was playing in midfield. Matthew Schenfeld (‘06) had an up and down game. Not unusual for a U-16 player at the beginning of playing against U-17’s where most of the guys they go up against are an age group older. Let’s see if his consistency improves at this level as the season goes on. San Jose U-17: The two players on San Jose whose games I liked were Drew Murray (‘05) and Mateo Lopez (‘06). I don't think Murray is a high upside guy, but I've consistently liked his game. He has good size at CB, can defend, move well (for a player around 6'3), and his passing is around average. He may get crowded out by the multitude of good CB's from the academy (Akanyirige, Walls, Cano), but he's one of the best 05's in the academy at least IMO. Lopez is a tall GK. He wasn't tested that often, so I'd like to see more, but he looked very coordinated and pretty athletic. Feet weren't bad either. Austin U-15: Watched this team play again. Nothing to really add. Mason Miller (‘07) is maybe a little better defensively than I thought (not that I thought he was bad). Houston U-17: Brian Alanis (‘06) and Luis Moreno (‘06) both look good making the team step full-time from the U-15 level. Moreno’s soccer IQ and passing ability has translated up, and he’s not struggling much against bigger and faster players. Alanis looks a little more athletic than what I saw last season. Athletically, he stood up pretty well, and was capable of running by a few players. The passing vision, soccer IQ, combination ability, reading of the game, tackling ability is all there. If he’s average athletically, which I think he is, he’s a very good LB. Houston U-15: Chris Guillen (‘07) has great ability on the ball. His ball control and composure is about as good as you’ll see from a CB. He also steps into midfield often with the ball coming out as a sweeper. His passing range is also very good. I find his defending to be slightly above-average. He’s good for this level, but could be better. His average pace/size doesn’t help his defending. His value will come mostly from his ability with the ball. He’s probably more of a #6 than a CB at higher levels. He has plenty of time to get taller, but he’s slightly undersized for a CB right now in his own age group. He reminds me a little of Angel Martinez. Sebastian Rodriguez (‘07) is a high floor/low ceiling central midfielder. Can play as a #6 or #8. Slightly above-average size, wins the ball well, athleticism is around average, as is his passing. Not too adventurous going forward, but will bring an important role to the midfield. He has some similarities in how he plays to Javier Casas. I can see his game translating well to higher levels, but I don’t think it will translate to a big difference maker type of player. Isaac Mwakutuya (‘06) didn’t have the best game. His positioning at CB was weak. His speed helped him recover often, but at higher levels players will punish weak positioning. He’s not that talented with the ball either. His defending will likely have to be his calling card, so I think positioning is something he needs to improve. #3 (LCB), #9 (CF), and #11 (AM) are a few other players I was impressed with, but need to see more of. Atlanta United U-17: Jonathan Villal (‘05) was dominant in the three games I saw. I think he’s improved significantly from what I had seen earlier in the year. I’ve mentioned before that he’s a very talented player on the ball, but he doesn’t do much in the final third. He has tended to over-complicate plays, and not influence goals at the level a player with his ball skills should be able to. His dribbling ability, speed, creativity, soccer IQ, and passing all looks improved. It’s possible these were the two best games of his life, but I think it’s more likely he’s improved significantly. He’s still somewhere between a LW and CAM, but I think he can play either position. Alan Carleton (‘05) was also very good. Not as good as Villal in these games, but a standout. He was being used as a #6. I don’t think that’s his best position. I think he’s a #8. Playing as a #6 showcased his defensive game. I find that he’s right around an average defensive player. He reads plays so well, has excellent positioning, and works hard. His pace and height is a little-below average for a CM. Neither are a huge liability though, and with his work-rate and soccer IQ, I think he covers the defensive side of the game. With the ball, he’s very talented. Very accurate passer, great foot skills, passing vision, and passing range. His ability to progress the ball with turns, foot-work, finding the correct angles for passes is great. He also tries some things that’ll have him sitting on the bench if it doesn’t come off, which is maybe not what you want out of a #6. Daniel Sebhatu (‘05) showed pretty good ability to hold up the ball. I think this is an improvement from what I’ve previously seen from him in this part of the game. He’s a counter-attacking striker. If you give him space to run into, he’ll have a lot of good goal-scoring chances. Showing ability to play a slightly different style is important though. He’s able to draw fouls to relieve pressure, and lay the ball off to teammates. It’s important that he continues to develop this part of his game. Anderson Cruz (‘05) showed some good ability going forward at LB, but also lacked in positioning, although he had good defensive willingness. He’s going to need to improve his defensive game, but he has potential. Luke Brennan (‘05) is an attacker that can play anywhere in the final third. He’s a good dribbler with a direct approach. He’s a slightly above-average athlete, he has above-average ability on the ball, some creativity, combines well, and isn’t a bad finisher. I don’t know that he has a high ceiling, but I think he has a good chance to be a pro eventually. Ty Wilson (‘05) is a really talented winger, but he’s not a regular with the U-17’s now in the older of the two age groups, and I thought the half I saw him play he looked very tentative. He can beat players with speed and some skill, but he try to make enough plays. His soccer IQ was a question I previously had. It looked much better, but he didn’t play as aggressive. Italo Jenkins (‘05) still has some ability with his dribbling and he’s pretty fast with good height, but his fitness isn’t great and they don’t seem to know what position to use him. Nash Skoglund (‘06) is the best of the Atlanta 06’s IMO. He’s a very talented GK. He’s very unorthodox with some of the things he’ll do. He always adds a little extra flash to what he does. He’s a very good shot-stopper, he’s very good in the air, and good with his feet. His positioning off his line could be a little better. He’s a little too aggressive right now. His height is also a little below-average. If he grows and rounds out his game a little, he could become a star. Tyrell Moore (‘06) is a CF that doesn’t play like a CF. He’s a CB that was converted to CF, and you see it in the way he plays. He doesn’t have goalscoring instincts. He moves well with good size, he combines well, and makes quick decisions, but he’s not going to contribute many goals. Juan Hermengildo (‘06) is an RB. He’s undersized, but aside from that plays a pretty well rounded game. He’s not great at anything and he does make some errors. He’s not more than a fringe prospect, but he could become a pro eventually. St. Louis U-16: Nick Bishop (‘06) is one of the better keepers in this age group. Good size, reliable shot stopper, good in the air, and he’s good enough with his feet. I don’t know that he he’s more than an average athlete or that great with his feet, but he doesn’t have many holes in his game and is a reliable keeper. Zach Stanton (‘06) is a left-footed CB with very good ability to play the ball out of the back. He’s very proactive with his passing. He’s always trying to initiate the attack. Some of his passing is a little too risky and inaccurate, and he can turn the ball over in bad areas, but he’s a very good passer. Defensively, he’s a little above-average. His size is good and his quickness is a little below average, but not too bad. Atlanta U-15: Ashton Gordon (‘07) is a CF with great speed. His approach is the same every time his team has the ball. He is looking to isolate the defenders with his speed, and run by them. Sometimes he does that with the ball, and other times he makes runs in behind the defense without the ball. He has some dribbling ability, but I wouldn’t say it’s more than a little above-average for a CF. His soccer IQ and combination play looks good enough. Left-footed striker with good size, and he showed some pretty good finishing ability. Nathan Gray (‘07) is a #6 that plays a basic game. Above-average athlete with slightly above-average defensive skills and foot skills. Not too much of an inventive passer. Plays pretty simple. I need to see more of the full team. I only saw about 30 minutes of most of the players.
Caleb Borneo is the real deal. I don’t think he’s youth national team level yet for the 2005’s but he’s super fast twitch so he’s only going to get even quicker and more explosive. He has a ton of talent, up to him to be professional on and off the field and realize the potential
A quick overview of the age groups as we're about two months from my year end rankings. I'm focusing on '03-'07. '03: As we've long discussed, this age group looks like the golden age group. Enjoy watching these players develop because this is not the norm. If you put aside that the goalkeepers are quite weak, there's almost nothing else not to like. The top end talent and depth is about as good as we've seen, and every other position on the field is a real strength. '04: This is not one of the more exciting age groups, but I think it's going to turn out to be right around average. As we've long discussed, this is an age group where we'll turn out a lot of players that have their strengths in the athletic, physical, or work-rate sphere. There's not a lot of finesse. It's a meat and potatoes age group, if there ever was one. Fullback, winger, and CF are quite weak. CB and central midfielders are strong, and GK is looking great. The goalies might turn out enough players on its own to make it a good enough age group, if 2-3 of them pan out. I don't find any of the tiers to be strong and not many new players are emerging, but I think that we've seen the tiers retain their level really well over the last year. These guys are what they are, and there will be good pros, even if this age group lacks flash or tons of high upside players. '05: This age group has really started to worry me over the past year. There's been almost every possible type of occurrence for an initially pretty talented age group to regress over the past year to year and a half. I think the very top-end is still pretty strong, but there have been so few players that I believe haven't regressed in the top few tiers, and almost no players that have emerged. The second tier is where I believe most age groups derive their strength from. There are just so few real elite players. Only a few of them combining all the age groups, but this age group is remarkably weak in that second tier. If the second tier of '03 has around 15 players and the second tier of '04 has maybe 7-8 of them, I'm of the belief that '05 might have 4 of them. Goalkeepers lack depth, but have a decent top end to the crop. There is a distinct lack of natural fullbacks in this age group. The CB's are top heavy, but a few of them could move off the position, which might lend to the fullback positions. Either way, the natural defender crop when you total it all together is at best slightly below-average. Central midfielders are the strongest position of the age group, but still only a little above-average. Not much in any of the attacking positions from what I see. Like with fullbacks, it's very weak, and it's probably generous to call it below-average. It's my theory that this has been the hardest hit age group by COVID. I think between the ages when the biggest leaps in ability happens for young players and when they receive the most initial opportunities to make a name for themselves happens, this is the age group that took the brunt of it. '04's later wave probably took a hit and 06's lacked an early start, but '05 suffered in the biggest way by far IMO. I think there's a possibility we see this age group develop much later than the others because of this, so there's a chance that we look back on '05 as not being too bad, but right now it's hard to say it's anything other than a weak age group. It's had by far the biggest rise or fall of any of the age groups in the last year to year and a half. '06: I think this age group shows very good potential. I find that there's almost no top tier to this age group. There aren't standouts, but there's a very strong and deep second tier of players that could become part of a top tier within the next year or two. I think many of these players lost chances they'd get to become part of a top tier due to COVID. These guys got a later start than they might've otherwise gotten. I don't think the talent of this age group has suffered much though. I see a lot of talent, but a lot of them aren't proven, and have some things they still need to work on. I wouldn't say there are many real weaknesses to the age group positionally. The strikers are probably the only weakness I see. It's not a good group of strikers. Maybe the top-end of the CB and GK positions isn't great, but both positions have depth in numbers. The other positions look quite strong. The Central Midfielders in particular look very good. This could be the strongest CM age group we've had so far, if these players develop as they can. This age group needs to prove themselves before they get too much credit, but it does look like a strong age group so far, and one we should see develop pretty well over the next few years. '07: I want to stress that I am still making my way through assessing this age group, and probably only have about half the information I feel I would need to have to give a good estimate about the strength of the age group. I think my ultra preliminary assessment is that the age group looks a little weak. Between top-end talent and depth, I wouldn't say it looks terrible, but below average so far. I see a few positions that I believe are strong (the fullback positions and CF's), which is quite unusual as those are positions that I believe we struggle a lot with producing good players. I don't mind the CB's either, but I think midfielders (all positions) is looking quite weak. I might still change my opinion on all of these age groups within the next few months as I gather more information, and '07 is the most volatile of those assessments for now.
So, David Kerr, now that you are the Head Academy Scout at Columbus Crew Academy, are you planning to agitate from within for public release of MLS Next rosters/stats? Didn’t see any news about it, but just saw @dkerr0118 is the head academy scout for @ColumbusCrew now and I couldn’t be happier for him. Congratulations, David! 👏 🙌 well deserved— Kranks (@dis_possessed) October 13, 2021 Congrats by the way!