YNT-Eligible Lower Division-Pro Players (‘01-Younger): 2023-24 Offseason Thread

Discussion in 'Youth National Teams' started by Dave Marino-Nachison, Oct 26, 2023.

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  1. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Dave Marino-Nachison Member+

    Jun 9, 1999
    #1 Dave Marino-Nachison, Oct 26, 2023
    Since playoffs are a thing now, seems we can move to off-field news (transfers, club news, etc.) in this thread while keeping anything that happens on the field in 2023 in this thread -- and hopefully we'll remember to start an actual in-season thread next season...

    Things to note:

    The United Soccer League today announced it has entered into an exclusive partnership with USL Texoma, a group dedicated to bringing a professional soccer club to the Texoma region.​

    https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1288994

    Aequus Sports, LLC, the ownership entity bringing professional women's (USL Super League) and men's (Spokane Velocity FC - USL League One) soccer to the new ONE Spokane Stadium next year, is excited to welcome an investment group featuring athletes with a legacy of success on and off their respective fields.
    ​
    https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1289140
     
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  2. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Dave Marino-Nachison Member+

    Jun 9, 1999
    #2 Dave Marino-Nachison, Nov 7, 2023
    Fidel Barajas made the USL-C second team. Couple "That Guy" guys also got mention -- Conor Donovan on the first team, Cam Lindley on the second.
     
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  3. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Dave Marino-Nachison Member+

    Jun 9, 1999
    #3 Dave Marino-Nachison, Nov 13, 2023
  4. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Dave Marino-Nachison Member+

    Jun 9, 1999
    #4 Dave Marino-Nachison, Nov 15, 2023
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  5. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Dave Marino-Nachison Member+

    Jun 9, 1999
    #5 Dave Marino-Nachison, Nov 16, 2023
    Snip (from the inbox);

    The Charleston Battery’s Fidel Barajas was announced as the 2023 USL Championship Young Player of the Year on Thursday, with the 17-year-old winger claiming the award after a sparkling first full professional season for both club and country.

    ...

    Barajas received 58 percent of the ballot to earn this year’s award. San Antonio FC’s Rida Zouhir finished second on nine percent after recording eight goals and four assists in the regular season, while Phoenix Rising FC’s Rocco Rios Novo – who on Sunday claimed the USL Championship Final Most Valuable Player award – finished third on seven percent after notching 102 saves, a save percentage of 73.7 percent, and a Goals Prevented mark of -6.74 in the regular season.

    ​
     
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  6. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Dave Marino-Nachison Member+

    Jun 9, 1999
    #6 Dave Marino-Nachison, Nov 16, 2023
    Seems to be an '05:

    Oakland Roots SC announced on Thursday it had signed 18-year-old academy product Etsgar Cruz to his first professional contract ahead of the 2024 USL Championship season. The transaction is pending league and federation approval.
    ​
    https://www.uslchampionship.com/news_article/show/1291597

    Side note: Off the top of my head I'm not totally familiar with the new teams for next year, but Rhode Island kicks off in USL-C next season and has announced a few signings. You could see them looking to snag a few younger guys from the Northeast.
     
  7. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Dave Marino-Nachison Member+

    Jun 9, 1999
    #7 Dave Marino-Nachison, Nov 17, 2023
    Snip:

    Sacramento Republic FC announced on Friday the club had signed two standout players from its Youth Development Academy to their first professional contracts. Midfielder Blake Willey and defender Chibuike “Chibi” Ukaegbu will be added to the club’s First Team roster for the 2024 USL Championship season pending league and federation approval.
    ​
    https://www.uslchampionship.com/news_article/show/1291711
     
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  8. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Dave Marino-Nachison Member+

    Jun 9, 1999
    #8 Dave Marino-Nachison, Nov 20, 2023
    I guess it's not exactly news that '05 Nighte Pickering is expected to return to Memphis next season, because he evidently had a multiyear contract, but if you're of a certain age, you recall that some years ago it seemed like nobody in the lower-divisions had multiyear contracts, so the idea that it would be a pretty normal thing for a young American player to have seems notable.

    Also, since he is already in Memphis, he doesn't have to... move to Memphis.

     
  9. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Dave Marino-Nachison Member+

    Jun 9, 1999
    #9 Dave Marino-Nachison, Nov 20, 2023
  10. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Dave Marino-Nachison Member+

    Jun 9, 1999
    #10 Dave Marino-Nachison, Nov 27, 2023
  11. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Dave Marino-Nachison Member+

    Jun 9, 1999
    #11 Dave Marino-Nachison, Dec 4, 2023
  12. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Dave Marino-Nachison Member+

    Jun 9, 1999
    #12 Dave Marino-Nachison, Dec 5, 2023
  13. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    #13 Clint Eastwood, Dec 5, 2023
  14. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Dave Marino-Nachison Member+

    Jun 9, 1999
    #14 Dave Marino-Nachison, Dec 5, 2023
    Ya mean this?



    It was a really long time ago, but I kind of remember him as a smooth and speedy winger type as a YNT player. Nowadays IIRC he sees a lot of the ball for a team that generally sees a lot of the ball, more of pull-the-strings kinda guy.
     
  15. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Dave Marino-Nachison Member+

    Jun 9, 1999
    #15 Dave Marino-Nachison, Dec 14, 2023
    From the inbox:

    The United Soccer League (USL) announced today that Palm Beach Sports Holdings LLC, led by polo superstar Ignacio “Nacho” Figueras and his wife, Delfina Blaquier, have acquired the exclusive rights to bring professional men’s and women’s soccer teams to Palm Beach County, Florida.

    USL Palm Beach aims to field teams in both the USL Super League, the new professional women’s soccer league launching in August 2024, and the USL Championship, the highest level of men’s professional soccer in the USL pyramid. This initiative would establish the first professional soccer franchise in The Palm Beaches.​
     
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  16. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Dave Marino-Nachison Member+

    Jun 9, 1999
    #16 Dave Marino-Nachison, Dec 18, 2023
  17. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    #17 ussoccer97531, Dec 18, 2023
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  18. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    #18 Clint Eastwood, Dec 19, 2023
    Last edited: Dec 19, 2023
    It's a shame, but not a surprise.
    For me, the writing was on the wall when they were separated from Houston.

    Having a team there just wasn't enough of a money-making enterprise.
    Particularly in the USL Championship.

    That club is very isolated from most of the USL Championship.
    Their travel costs must have been some of the most in US soccer, for a club that probably didn't rake in a ton of money. When they had the financial protection of Houston, that was one thing.

    Hell, its isolated from the United States. :) For heaven's sake, it takes at least 7 hours to drive from Dallas to Edinburg. Longer if you hit traffic in Austin (which these days you always do). And that's to Dallas.

    You know who soccer fans root for in Edinburg, Texas?
    That's quite close to Monterrey, Mexico as the crow flies.
    They're competing with the monsters of Liga MX.

    [And by the way, its very difficult to name soccer players from the Rio Grande Valley. Its a place where we've talked about wanting to cultivate soccer talent, but it hasn't happened. I don't know why that is. North Texas is the soccer behemoth. For generations.]

    RGV is a different type of community than El Paso. El Paso is part of a big freakin' metroplex with Ciudad Juarez.

    upload_2023-12-19_6-47-54.png
     

    Attached Files:

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  19. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    #19 ussoccer97531, Dec 19, 2023
    That’s fair. Maybe it just isn’t as conducive to being a market for producing talent as El Paso, but even if it was able to produce half the talent, that’d still be a lot.

    I simply don’t like the idea of there not being a pro club in such a big area for interest in the game. The challenges you mentioned are fair points, but I don’t think shutting down the operation is the solution.
     
  20. gogorath

    gogorath Member+

    None
    United States
    May 12, 2019
    #20 gogorath, Dec 19, 2023
    I mean, I'm sure they didn't want to.

    I don't know what a USL1 team costs to run, but the last two years the Oakland Roots lost $10M each, with expenses ranging up to $13M a year. Now, their situation sucks in terms of stadium and they likely have some other expenses, but getting a financially viable team is not necessarily easy.
     
  21. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    #21 Clint Eastwood, Dec 20, 2023
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2023
    I agree. Its a shame. There are semi-pro clubs in that area. FC Brownsville in the NPSL and that type of thing. There are some good little teams in that NPSL division based in Texas. Fort Worth Vaqueros. Denton Diablos. Laredo Heat. Teams that people have heard of. There's also a division of USL League 2 based in Texas with teams all over the state. Corpus Christi FC, Round Rock, SC., Texas United. The Houston Royals coached by former MLSer Josh Gardner. There are literally four whole divisions of the UPSL in Texas. But you're not playing and maintaining a stadium the Toros' size to play in NPSL, USL2, or UPSL.

    I haven't really heard the details of why the Toros shut down. Hondo Candeleria just came out and said "we're ceasing operations immediately" and didn't offer much than that.

    ................i just would totally get it if running an independent USL Championship club in that market would be a difficult task financially.

    FCD runs programs down there near McAllen.
    They partnered with an existing youth organization named Golazo soccer.
    Golazo Soccer

    Hopefully that bears some fruit like the El Paso collaboration has.
     
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  22. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Dave Marino-Nachison Member+

    Jun 9, 1999
    #22 Dave Marino-Nachison, Dec 22, 2023
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  23. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Dave Marino-Nachison Member+

    Jun 9, 1999
    #23 Dave Marino-Nachison, Dec 22, 2023
    Some re-signings and a new one:

    CARY, N.C. – North Carolina FC announced on Wednesday it has signed goalkeeper Nick Holliday, defender Adrian Pelayo, and midfielder Kyrome Lumsden to new contracts ahead of the 2024 USL Championship season and had signed newcomer Julian Placias to a pro deal.​

    https://www.uslchampionship.com/news_article/show/1294943

    Placias is a big '06 attacker from the Galaxy setup.
     
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  24. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    #24 ussoccer97531, Dec 22, 2023
    Placias is headed abroad when he turns 18. Belgium.
     
  25. Balerion

    Balerion Member+

    Aug 5, 2006
    Roslindale, MA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    #25 Balerion, Dec 22, 2023
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