Breakout Youth Player in MLS / USL 2026

He wouldn't.

We'll have to see how he recovers from his injury.

This is an example of how fast a pool moves!!
Quinn Sullivan had EARNED the call-up to the 2025 Gold Cup roster.
At the time of his ACL injury, wasn't he the US-eligible assist-leader in MLS? I think so.
He was the 2025 version of Niko Tsakiris, and we were rightly excited about him.

In the 2025 22 under 22 voting, he was 6th. The top 2 have moved to Europe (Vargas and Freeman). Two others above him aren't US-eligible. The only American currently in the league higher on the list was Owen Wolff (who's missed much of 2026 after hernia surgery). Directly behind Quinn Sullivan on the list were Peyton Miller, Luca Bombino, Zavier Gozo, and Chris Brady.

Quinn Sullivan and Owen Wolff are examples of how quickly our eyes are averted by the shiny new toys. Both of those guys are very good, and have been "out of sight, out of mind." We'll have to see how they come back.

As we've said over and over................if we're developing talented players, we should EXPECT other nations to be interested. We should EXPECT Poland to be interested in Julian Hall. We should EXPCT Albania to be interested in Mehmeti. We should expect Germany and/or France to show interest in Mathis Albert. We should EXPECT Germany and Bangladesh to give Cavan Sullivan a call. We should expect the Ivory Coast to give Zavier Gozo a call. We should expect Morocco to give Taha Habroune a call. We should expect Greece to give Niko Tsakiris a call. We should expect Liberia to give Brooklyn Raines a call. The list goes on and on and on....................

Its part of the deal. Its the direct result of developing good players. Its what France, Germany, Spain, etc. have to deal with.

Heck, Owen Wolff isn't cap-tied. He's eligible for the Philippines thru his mother.

.

 

In case people didn't see this in the USYNT forum, our U15s are playing in a tournament right now in Croatia.
They beat South Korea in their first game, and handled Switzerland easily in the second. Of the goalscorers.................. Benji Flowers is at FC Dallas, Mason Washington is at LAFC, and Loyo Reynaga is at SKC. Reynaga has signed a contract with SKC. He'll be with the MLSNP team for 2026 and then be elevated to the first team for 2027.

The #U15BNT earn a 3-0 win over Switzerland and get their second-straight win at the Vlatko Marković International Tournament 💪

⚽️ Mason Washington
⚽️ Zamir Loyo Reynaga
⚽️ Benjamin Flowers pic.twitter.com/cYyzA8oyEZ

— U.S. Soccer YNT (@USYNT) May 20, 2026

 

I'm confused by that list. AI is leading you astray.
Quite a number of them are cap-tied. Others are dual-nationals.

Point being is that a vast majority of our pool is eligible for another nation.

Its impossible to retain them all. Impossible. On the youth forums they keep track of the callups of kids to other youth national team programs. Quite frequently other CONCACAF nations have 5 or 6 American kids in their lineups.

That kid Da'vian Kimbraugh keeps flopping back and forth between Mexico and the US camp by camp. Window to window he's somewhere else. I don't know what game he's playing, but at some point both nations are going to be like "Stop playing this stupid game. You're not Yamine Lamal. Pick us our we'll be fine without you."

I used to panic endlessly about dual-nationals. I can't anymore. The emotional energy I wasted on the Jonathan Gonzalez saga was the nail in the coffin. When you're a fan for 35 years you realize that 1% of the prospects were worth the consternation. That of the players that had actually been to US camps that we "lost," maybe one or two would have made a tangible difference to the program.

Like..................................Brian Gutierrez, Efrain Alvarez, Richie Ledezma, Obed Vargas, and Julian Araujo are all on Mexico's preliminary roster.

We're not making appreciably further at the World Cup if any of them are on the US roster rather than the Mexico roster. We have good players in their positions. There isn't some massive gap between those five and who we'll be fielding. Good luck to all of them if they make the World Cup roster (until they play the USMNT).

 

Start with the first guy on your list. Tanner Tessmann.
He has 14 caps including cap-tying events like the quarterfinal, semifinal, and final of the 24/25 Nations League. That's an official FIFA competition. He's cap-tied.

Others on that list are obviously cap-tied.

James Sands played in the 2021 Gold Cup, 2022 WCQer, 2023 Gold Cup, etc. How could he not be cap-tied?

DeJuan Jones played at the 2023 Gold Cup. Cap-tied.

Paxten Aaronson played in the 2025 Gold Cup. Cap-tied.

Marlon Fossey played for us in the 2025 Nations League. Cap-tied. [He was also eligible for Englland.]

 

Poor Caleb Wiley.

A couple of years ago there were plenty of folks projecting him onto the WC26 squad as the backup LB.

Hi injury problems are really a shame. Hopefully he's back for next season.............................
Where will he play? TBD. Not at Chelsea.

 

Sad but true.

Just like Argentina, Spain, France, etc....................not all highly touted prospects succeed.

Clark broke thru in dramatic fashion at RBNY, and its been a grind since.

Worth noting that he's still only 22 years old, though.
Sometimes it's just about the right opportunity, and perhaps that's not with DCU.

 

Dual-national Simmonds, who's been included in a US pre-Olympic camp, accepts a Jamaica senior team callup. Can't blame him.

Linking up with the Reggae Boyz 🇯🇲

Nick Simmonds has been called up to the Jamaican National Team for the Unity Cup! pic.twitter.com/LNY5vufxKr

— FC Dallas (@FCDallas) May 21, 2026

 

U17 World Cup group is set for the fall. My hope is that Joshua Wilbrenninck-van Cuilenborg of Feyenoord makes it just to curse all of us as we try to remember how to spell it. Domestic players in this age group are just breaking thru. Cavan Sullivan and Malik Jakupovic of Philadelphia are both eligible, for instance. Mathis Albert is still eligible, although unlikely to attend.

2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup groups set! 🚨

🇺🇸 USA
🇲🇪 Montenegro
🇨🇱 Chile
🇩🇿 Algeria

See you again in November, Qatar 🔜 pic.twitter.com/SQMV1yyt0Y

— U.S. Soccer YNT (@USYNT) May 21, 2026

 

U18s off to a camp in Spain.
Jeremy Hall Names 20-Player U.S. U-18 Men's National Team Roster for June Training Camp in Spain

A little bit of a weak roster. You get the sense that some of the "big names" in this age group might be taking advantage of the MLS break. Getting a look at a few Europe based dual-nats as well.