{"id":179152,"date":"2025-09-24T18:56:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T18:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/179152\/"},"modified":"2025-09-24T18:56:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T18:56:16","slug":"22-under-22-who-are-the-top-young-players-in-mls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/179152\/","title":{"rendered":"22 Under 22: Who are the top young players in MLS?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every fall, Major League Soccer\u2019s 22 Under 22<\/a> list sparks the same debate. What matters more: What a young player is, or what he might become? Do we reward the raw teenager whose ceiling looks limitless, or the 20-year-old who\u2019s already proven he can drive winning soccer week after week?<\/p>\n

About six or seven years ago, I finally came down on the latter’s side \u2013 and this year is no different. Production at the MLS (or national team) level, not just promise, is my great filter, because as intoxicating as potential is, it\u2019s also speculative. And for every prospect who fulfills it, a dozen never quite make the leap.<\/p>\n

So this list, for me, is less about dreaming on who might command an eight-figure transfer in three years and more about recognizing who is already helping MLS teams win right now. That doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019m ignoring upside; it\u2019s all part of the rubric, and an 18-year-old doing the same things as a 21-year-old will thus rate higher.<\/p>\n

But production is the truest sign of potential realized; that\u2019s what my vote most reflects. We’ll see where all the ballots net out when this year’s results are unveiled on Wednesday, Oct. 8.<\/p>\n

His field coverage is a key element of Houston<\/a>\u2019s mix this year, as is his ball security and general sense of where to be.<\/p>\n

Nothing about Raines<\/a> is game-breaking at this point, but he\u2019s a reliable plug-and-play option in a pretty complex system at age 20. Not bad.<\/p>\n

Oregel<\/a> gets on the ball a lot (87th percentile in attempted passes, as per FBRef), completes more than he should (98th percentile in pass completion percentage) and makes them mean something (77th percentile in progressive passes, and 59th percentile in progressive passes received).<\/p>\n

He is, in short, a very reliable cog in the overall machine. But he doesn\u2019t provide much in the way of end product just yet, and his physical limitations are a real defensive, uh, limitation.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve got \u201cforward\u201d next to Yapi<\/a>‘s name even though his best run of goalscoring form as a pro has come as a more withdrawn attacker. He\u2019s not a guy who quite understands the finer points of No. 9 play \u2013 he struggles to find chances when the Rapids<\/a> are in pure possession phases \u2013 but he\u2019s gotten better at making late-arriving runs from deep, and he\u2019s a weapon in transition. Plus, he\u2019s one of the hardest-working defensive attackers around.<\/p>\n

I could see Yapi making a huge leap on next year\u2019s list if he keeps refining his off-ball work. The Rapids are right to keep investing minutes in him.<\/p>\n

Ordaz<\/a> has already shown he can add value in two different spots for one of the best teams in the league. The question is whether he becomes a \u201cjack of all trades, master of none\u201d kind of attacker.<\/p>\n

I think his best long-term spot is as a No. 9, though it\u2019s obviously going to be tough getting minutes there for the time being with LAFC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Still, this is the radar of a young forward you\u2019d absolutely bet on succeeding:<\/p>\n

There are about a dozen MLS teams who should think hard about making cash transfer offers this winter.<\/p>\n

Kelsy<\/a> is the soccer equivalent of a five-tool player: big, strong, fast, soft feet when receiving the ball and a rocket of a left foot when shooting it (his xWallop is extremely high).<\/p>\n

The reason he\u2019s this low, and why he\u2019s been on three different teams in three years and hasn\u2019t broken through with Venezuela yet, is that he hasn\u2019t quite figured out where goals come from. Instead of making hard runs to the near post or drifting to the back post, Kelsy often plants himself at the top of the box and demands the ball to his feet. As such, his average shot distance this year is 13.4 yards, up from 13.0 last year.<\/p>\n

Will he figure it out? If yes, he\u2019s a 20-goal scorer in MLS. If not, he\u2019ll continue to be a part-time starter who produces insane highlights, but not a ton of winning soccer otherwise.<\/p>\n

If Allen<\/a> were three inches taller, he might be No. 1 on this list. His reading of the game, toughness and passing are all impressive, and it\u2019s why he\u2019s become one of the most reliable pieces of Javier Mascherano\u2019s backline.<\/p>\n

Alas, his aerial weakness can make him a liability at center back (he\u2019s in just the 2nd percentile for aerial duels won among center backs, which\u2026 yeah, not great) and he\u2019s not going to displace Jordi Alba<\/a> at left back. So, he’s just a good soccer player without an obvious spot (for now).<\/p>\n

In terms of maximizing his individual skills, Feingold<\/a> is in an almost perfect position: He\u2019s spent most of the season as an attacking wingback who\u2019s allowed to push forward at will into the final third, and usually receives the ball on the move.<\/p>\n

We haven\u2019t seen much more of him than that (and I have some real questions about his defensive instincts), but what\u2019s been on display so far is compelling and useful.<\/p>\n

Is Gozo<\/a> a forward? A winger? An insanely low-usage, box-arriving No. 10? Honestly, I\u2019m not sure. You could talk me into \u2013 or out of \u2013 any of the above.<\/p>\n

But I know for a fact he\u2019s a baller:<\/p>\n

He has very, very good (and sometimes spectacular) box instincts. It\u2019s why he\u2019s on the field.<\/p>\n

Is Westfield<\/a>, like Feingold, a product of a system that allows him to attack almost at will? Perhaps. But unlike Feingold, Westfield\u2019s done it for a winning club (check the Supporters\u2019 Shield standings). That front-foot, attacking posture also translates defensively, where Westfield\u2019s been a real asset in the Union<\/a>\u2019s press.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m very curious to see how this plays out at the FIFA U-20 World Cup<\/a> for the United States<\/a>, who play a vastly different brand of soccer than Philly. It might turn out I\u2019ve got Westfield 10 spots too low.<\/p>\n

On the one hand, Mart\u00ednez<\/a> is kind of disappointing. His struggles with decision-making on one side of the ball and defensive awareness on the other have prevented him from outright winning a starting spot for LAFC.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, he\u2019s played nearly 2,500 minutes for one of the best teams in the league and has produced 11g\/9a while creating constant danger and the occasional highlight.<\/p>\n

The Venezuelan international can be a frustrating player, but also a winning one. I wouldn\u2019t be particularly shocked if he topped this list in 2026. He\u2019s that kind of talent.<\/p>\n

Romero<\/a>\u2019s gone under the radar outside of Minnesota<\/a> \u2013 he\u2019s not the one taking those long throw-ins, nor is he scoring goals off of them.<\/p>\n

But the Argentine has fit perfectly into how the Loons play, sitting deep and absorbing all kinds of pressure, then playing quick and direct into the channels to get everyone out on the run. It\u2019s a more circumscribed type of game than other CBs are asked to play, but Romero\u2019s done his job very well, slotting right into a starting role for one of the best by-the-numbers defenses in the league.<\/p>\n

Sullivan<\/a>\u2019s absolutely relentless, which is perfect for the Union since their attacking approach is based upon creating a huge volume of transition moments, which then turn into a huge volume of chances.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a taste of that engine combined with his among-the-league\u2019s-best crossing ability:<\/p>\n

Even if Sullivan never adds another thing to his locker, he\u2019s already hit the level of \u201ctop chance creator for a Supporters’ Shield contender.\u201d That\u2019d be an excellent outcome for virtually any attacker below him on this list, or off of it entirely.<\/p>\n

Donkor<\/a> has been asked to do a lot this year that wasn’t thought to be in his wheelhouse. But it turns out he’s not just a reliable passer of the ball: he\u2019s a high-volume, field-tilting progressive passer with much more upside as an orchestrator than I think anyone outside of RBNY<\/a> realized. That includes a little bit of an eye for the final ball (he\u2019s not going to pick locks, but he\u2019s clearly very comfortable combining in the final third).<\/p>\n

When you factor in his elite field coverage and ball-winning, you get one of the most complete young midfielders in MLS.<\/p>\n

I was maybe a little guilty of being too low on Brady<\/a> in my rough draft of this list, but upon reflection, here\u2019s what we\u2019ve got: a 21-year-old goalkeeper with around 9,000 first-team minutes who\u2019s shown constant improvement with command and control of his box, as well as better angles and timing off his line which has led to more consistent shot-stopping.<\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t lose Chicago<\/a> games and keeps them in more than an average \u2018keeper would. With the way the Fire play, there\u2019s a ton on his shoulders.<\/p>\n

Miller<\/a>, like Feingold, has spent most of the year playing in a system that allows him to play to his strengths. Though with Miller, it\u2019s less about pure attacking and more about the type of endline-to-endline coverage (at pace\u2026 sooooo much pace) that very few players in the league can manage.<\/p>\n

There hasn\u2019t been a lot of possession or on-ball problem-solving asked of Miller, which is fine at this stage. What he\u2019s already brought to the table has been enough to make him a legit weapon, and the brightest spot in an otherwise sour Revs<\/a> season.<\/p>\n

Bombino<\/a> is all about possession and on-ball problem-solving. Mikey Varas has demanded that of all his players, from the goalkeeper to the front line, and I don\u2019t think anyone has delivered as far beyond expectations as the 19-year-old who outright won the left back spot. He\u2019s above the 90th percentile in passes attempted and completed, as well as progressive passes completed among all fullbacks.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s not just a metronome, though. Bombino has a real knack for emergency defense:<\/p>\n

San Diego<\/a> pulled off an absolute heist to get him on loan from LAFC (with a purchase option), all for a one-year rental<\/a> of an international roster slot.<\/p>\n

Makhanya<\/a> is a classic, hard-man center back. He sees the ball and he wins the ball, whether it\u2019s in the air or on the ground, and whether he has to run through an opposing attacker or not. It all fits very snugly into Philly\u2019s game model.<\/p>\n

The South African also has ideal size and speed for the position, which he deploys with an unusual amount of savvy for a 21-year-old often tasked with keeping the line high and organized.<\/p>\n

Do that for any MLS team as a starter, and you get on the list. Do that for a team that might go ahead and win the Supporters’ Shield, and you end up well into the top 10.<\/p>\n

Wolff<\/a>\u2019s spent most of the season as a left winger, a chunk of it as a central midfielder, and some of it as a pure attacking midfielder \u2013 though sometimes in a 4-2-3-1, and sometimes in a 3-4-2-1. It seems like he\u2019s never gotten to play the same position two games in a row, and certainly never with the same teammates around him.<\/p>\n

Hasn\u2019t mattered. He\u2019s been good-to-excellent all year, adding almost as much against the ball as he does with it. He stretches the line, comes back into the play to combine, and can hit the occasional through-ball.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s 5g\/7a and one soul harvested this season.<\/p>\n

This one might end up being too low. Duah<\/a>\u2019s still learning how to play center back \u2013 he was a college midfielder \u2013 but he\u2019s got the measurables at 6-foot-4, has good soccer instincts, and does stuff on the ball that you don\u2019t see often outside of the top teams in the world:<\/p>\n

He finally got healthy and into the XI in mid-July. San Diego have lost just once in league play since then, despite a spate of injuries and absences virtually everywhere on the field.<\/p>\n

Still, Duah\u2019s got around 1,000 pro minutes. Even though I think he might be the No. 1 prospect, this is as high as I could justify putting him in my final vote.<\/p>\n

Is there a danger in getting out over my skis on Toklomati<\/a>, who only entered Charlotte<\/a>\u2019s starting XI midseason? I suppose. But he was good enough in his home country (Israel) to earn a big-money move, then came here and was clearly too good for the MLS NEXT Pro<\/a> level. When you take that track record and add a seamless integration into the first team, it\u2019s pretty impossible to ignore.<\/p>\n

Bottom line: I trust a forward whose goals come from his off-ball work will continue to find goals. This is what consistent goal-scorers do, and how you know it\u2019s not just a hot streak:<\/p>\n

To compare him to several No. 9s mentioned above: as noted, the average distance of Kelsy\u2019s shots is 13.4 yards, and Yapi is at 12.9.<\/p>\n

For Toklomati, it\u2019s 10.3. That is second in the entire league among starting center forwards.<\/p>\n

He’s a tap-in merchant, and there is no greater compliment I can bestow upon a young goalscorer.<\/p>\n

Turns out Freeman<\/a> is so good pushing forward that Oscar Pareja \u2013 one of the most successful coaches in MLS over the past dozen years \u2013 scrapped his entire system to build one in which Freeman has free rein to get into the attacking third. And it\u2019s not just \u201cget into the attacking third to whip in crosses,\u201d but actually \u201cget into the attacking third and whip in crosses or dribble directly into the box against a panicking defender or crash the back post off the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freeman averages 4.12 box touches per 90, as per Opta. The guys directly around him in that stat are all DP attackers: Lucho Acosta, K\u00e9vin Denkey<\/a>, Kelvin Yeboah<\/a>, Wilfried Zaha<\/a> and Ryan Gauld<\/a>. Not bad company for a defender who had 16 first-team minutes heading into the season.<\/p>\n

They aren’t empty touches from the USMNT<\/a> defender, either: He\u2019s got 5g\/5a across all competitions this year, and has provided that punch while managing not to be a defensive liability in any way.<\/p>\n

Beyond that, Freeman\u2019s shown the ability to play as a stay-home right center back at the international level, learning the role on the fly at the Gold Cup<\/a>. He wasn\u2019t perfect, of course, but given the degree of difficulty \u2013 new spot, new team, new teammates \u2013 there was much more good than bad.<\/p>\n

At this point, I feel there\u2019s no scenario in which he\u2019d be out of his depth. Combine that with his off-the-charts physical gifts, and you\u2019ve got an elite player, not just a prospect.<\/p>\n

This is a ton of green for a central midfielder of any age:<\/p>\n

Vargas<\/a> is fantastic at basically everything a modern No. 8 has to do. He reads the game exceptionally well; he\u2019s calm on the ball under pressure; he knows how to add value off the ball; he doesn\u2019t break the team\u2019s shape hunting touches; he knows how to suffer defensively; he’s an incisive, if not quite game-breaking passer.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s also proven with minutes at an extraordinarily high level going back to 2022, when he was on the field for Seattle<\/a>\u2019s Concacaf Champions League<\/a> win as a 16-year-old. That big-game excellence, of course, was reinforced this summer in both the FIFA Club World Cup<\/a> (where he didn\u2019t look at all out of his depth against Botafogo, Atl\u00e9tico Madrid and PSG) and Leagues Cup<\/a> (where he was dominant against the likes of Cruz Azul and Inter Miami<\/a>). Remember that part waaaay back in the lede about driving winning soccer? That\u2019s Vargas. He does that.<\/p>\n

Add in the fact that he\u2019s got more first-team minutes than anyone on this list, and that he keeps getting better\u2026 Look, I think you could argue Freeman and Duah might have higher upsides. But if so, it\u2019s probably not by a lot. Also, neither of those guys (nor Toklomati) are as good or as proven as Vargas is right now.<\/p>\n

Vargas is also younger than any of them (he recently turned 20). So yeah, that\u2019s why he\u2019s my No. 1. Kid\u2019s earned it in basically every conceivable way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every fall, Major League Soccer\u2019s 22 Under 22 list sparks the same debate. What matters more: What a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":179153,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[106355,66472,8769,106336,106349,106338,106345,106344,95299,106342,106340,106351,106354,106339,106346,106341,79468,106352,106353,106350,106347,106348,6868,106337,403,99,106343],"class_list":{"0":"post-179152","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer","8":"tag-22-under-22","9":"tag-alexander-freeman","10":"tag-armchair-analyst-matt-doyle","11":"tag-brooklyn-raines","12":"tag-chris-brady","13":"tag-darren-yapi","14":"tag-david-martinez","15":"tag-francis-westfield","16":"tag-idan-toklomati","17":"tag-ilay-feingold","18":"tag-kevin-kelsy","19":"tag-luca-bombino","20":"tag-manu-duah","21":"tag-nathan-ordaz","22":"tag-nicolas-romero","23":"tag-noah-allen","24":"tag-obed-vargas","25":"tag-olwethu-makhanya","26":"tag-owen-wolff","27":"tag-peyton-miller","28":"tag-quinn-sullivan","29":"tag-ronald-donkor","30":"tag-sendtonews","31":"tag-sergio-oregel","32":"tag-soccer","33":"tag-sports","34":"tag-zavier-gozo"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179152","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179152"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179152\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}