From MLS Academies to USL First Teams

A lot has happened over the last few years regarding MLS and youth academies here in the U.S. As COVID struck, the league and structure formerly known as the ‘US Development Academy’ folded and led to the creation of what is now called ‘MLS Next’: the official professional youth academy league in the country. As the MLS grows and develops, it continues to learn from experience and attempts to optimize its Pro Player Pathway with one focus in mind – develop the best youth soccer talent in the country and worldwide.

As noted in our previous newsletter, the homegrown player rules have also been reformed this year. This presents a ripple effect of changes and opportunities for players, scouts, coaches, agents, and clubs. Long gone are the days of clubs being able to claim all players based on their place of residency. Academy Directors and scouts now must identify the highest potential players within their area or academy and put them on their potential homegrown list. Here’s the kicker, that list is limited. This means players now have more freedom to explore other clubs and options if they are not on this homegrown priority list.

With the MLS continuing to work through how it can improve its youth development model, Another professional soccer league in this country known as the USL has taken this as an opportunity to join the party. Over the course of the last year or so, more and more MLS Academy players who are not being offered professional contracts with their respective clubs have gone and signed contracts with USL clubs. Just earlier this year, Da’vian Kimbrough, a 13-year-old made his professional debut with Sacramento Republic. Da’vian was a member of the New York Red Bulls Academy last year until Sacramento offered him a professional contract – something that New York Red Bull was most likely not going to do for a couple more years.

Given his age and the news around this earlier in the year, he’s certainly one of the most notable prospects that have made the change - but there are plenty more. We’ve listed a few more names below that have made the switch to USL from MLS in the last 12 months.

As the MLS may not be happy about this, we believe this can only benefit youth development in this country. Since the inception of professional soccer in America, there’s been an age-old claim that many players have ‘slipped through the cracks’ and gone unnoticed or undiscovered and it’s true. With the USL being more competitive and offering further access to professional soccer for players that didn’t receive MLS offers, we believe that we can finally head down a path of growing the beautiful game in this country and the quality of players involved in it. This is a trend we expect to continue leading into the 2026 World Cup.

MLS Academy Players that have Sign with USL Clubs:

• Da’vian Kimbrough - Age: 13 From: New York Red Bull Academy To: Sacramento Republic
• Luis Moreno – Age: 17 From: Houston Dynamo Academy To: El Paso Locomotive
• Fidel Barajas – Age: 17 From: San Jose Earthquakes Academy To: Charleston Battery
• Matthew Corcoran – Age: 17 From: FC Dallas Academy To: Birmingham Legion
• Eric Kinzner – Age: 20 years old From: Seattle Sounders Academy To: Rio Grande Valley Toros
• Nate Worth - Age: 16 From: New York Red Bull Academy To: FC Tulsa