MLSsoccer.com's 24 Under 24 is back and NYCFC's Jack Harrison, Ronald Matarrita, and Yangel Herrera have made the 50-player shortlist.
Last year, Jack Harrison, Ronald Matarrita, Mikey Lopez, and Federico Bravo made the 50-player shortlist but Harrison and Matarrita both made the final list. Matarrita was ranked 13th after his contributions in stabilizing the left side, and Harrison was ranked second after making an immediate impact for the club as soon as he stepped into the lineup.
Beginning next Monday the league will be revealing the top 24 young players in MLS as selected by a panel of soccer media members across North America and former MLS players. This will culminate on Thursday, Sept. 28 as the top ten will be revealed on a special edition of ExtraTime Live at 2 pm ET. The show will include exclusive interviews with players featured in the top ten.
Players who are 23 years of age and younger as of October 22 – the final day of the 2017 MLS regular season – are eligible for this year’s ranking. It's a similar age limit to the one used around the world for the Olympic soccer tournament and the PFA Young Player of the Year award in England.
The player rankings will be unveiled beginning with Nos. 21-24 on Monday, Sept. 25, 16-20 on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 11-15 on Wednesday, Sept. 27 and the top ten announced on the show.
The 50-player shortlist below was decided upon by the MLSsoccer.com editorial staff.
Evaluation Criteria
All MLS players aged 23 or younger before October 22, 2017 were eligible for consideration. The final list of 24 players is determined by a panel made up of top soccer media members and the MLSsoccer.com editorial staff. The panel ranked the eligible players based on the following criteria:
- Technical: first touch, dribbling, shooting, heading
- Soccer IQ: positioning, reading game, situational understanding, tactical awareness
- Physical Attributes: balance, agility, speed, endurance, strength, vertical leap
- Personality: attitude, marketability, media savviness, charisma, intangibles
- Potential: improvability, ceiling, national team potential, potential transfer value
50-Player Shortlist
Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas)
Luciano Acosta (D.C. United)
Tyler Adams (New York Red Bulls)
Miguel Almiron (Atlanta United)
Artur (Columbus Crew SC)
Yamil Asad (Atlanta United)
Latif Blessing (Sporting Kansas City)
Emmanuel Boateng (LA Galaxy)
Alex Bono (Toronto FC)
Andrew Carleton (Atlanta United)
Alphonso Davies (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)
Marky Delgado (Toronto FC)
Raheem Edwards (Toronto FC)
Alberth Elis (Houston Dynamo)
Jack Elliott (Philadelphia Union)
Diego Fagundez (New England Revolution)
Marco Farfan (Portland Timbers)
Kortne Ford (Colorado Rapids)
Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake)
Jesse Gonzalez (FC Dallas)
Julian Gressel (Atlanta United)
Carlos Gruezo (FC Dallas)
Marlon Hairston (Colorado Rapids)
Ian Harkes (D.C. United)
Jack Harrison (New York City FC)
Yangel Herrera (New York City FC)
Cristian Higuita (Orlando City SC)
Derrick Jones (Philadelphia Union)
Cyle Larin (Orlando City SC)
Brooks Lennon (Real Salt Lake)
Nick Lima (San Jose Earthquakes)
Kekuta Manneh (Columbus Crew SC)
Mauro Manotas (Houston Dynamo)
Ronald Matarrita (New York City FC)
Jimmy Medranda (Sporting Kansas City)
Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC)
Erik Palmer-Brown (Sporting Kansas City)
Paxton Pomykal (FC Dallas)
Alvas Powell (Portland Timbers)
Tommy Redding (Orlando City SC)
Carlos Rivas (Orlando City SC)
Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders FC)
Albert Rusnak (Real Salt Lake)
Jefferson Savarino (Real Salt Lake)
Zack Steffen (Columbus Crew SC)
Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla (Montreal Impact)
Tommy Thompson (San Jose Earthquakes)
Hector Villalba (Atlanta United)
Brandon Vincent (Chicago Fire)
Jackson Yueill (San Jose Earthquakes)
