The revered and hotly debated list of Major League Soccer’s most talented and promising young stars under the age of 24 will be revealed next week exclusively on MLSsoccer.com. The MLSsoccer.com 24 Under 24 presented by EA Sports will launch on Monday, Sept. 19, with the top five ranked players announced on Thursday, Sept. 22.
The MLSsoccer.com 24 Under 24 presented by EA Sports is an annual ranking of the league’s best young players all under the age of 24. Past ranked players have gone on to play key roles on national teams, garnered multi-million dollar transfer fees and have been recognized with some of the league’s top awards, including Rookie of the Year and MLS Best XI. Past No. 1 ranked players include U.S. Men’s National Team players Brek Shea (2011), Darlington Nagbe (2013) and DeAndre Yedlin (2014), and Colombian international Fabian Castillo (2015).
MLSsoccer.com will provide exclusive and in-depth coverage on the league’s burgeoning talent and the growth of youth development in MLS, the U.S. and Canada, including special videos and interviews, leading up to the final unveil. The final 24 Under 24 list will be revealed via social media (@MLS) and on MLSsoccer.com over the span of four days:
- Monday, Sept. 19: Players 24 to 16
- Tuesday, Sept. 20: Players 15 to 11
- Wednesday, Sept. 21: Players 10 to 6
- Thursday, Sept. 22: Players 5-1
All MLS players aged 23 or younger before October 23, 2016 were eligible for consideration. The final list of 24 players was 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
More information on the MLSsoccer.com 24 Under 24 presented by EA Sports, including past lists, is available at www.mlssoccer.com/24under24.
2016 MLSsoccer.com 24 Under 24 presented by EA Sports 50-player short list:
Abang, Anatole (New York Red Bulls)
Acosta, Kellyn (FC Dallas)
Acosta, Luciano (D.C. United)
Agudelo, Juan (New England Revolution)
Alashe, Fatai (San Jose Earthquakes)
Allen, Jordan (Real Salt Lake)
Bravo, Federico (New York City FC)
Cabrera, Víctor (Montreal Impact)
Campbell, Jonathan (Chicago Fire)
Chapman, Jay (Toronto FC)
Davis, Sean (New York Red Bulls)
Delgado, Marco (Toronto FC)
Endoh, Tsubasa (Toronto FC)
Fagundez, Diego (New England Revolution)
Froese, Kianz (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)
Glad, Justen (Real Salt Lake)
Gonzalez, Jesse (FC Dallas)
Gruezo, Carlos (FC Dallas)
Hairston, Marlon (Colorado Rapids)
Hamilton, Jordan (Toronto FC)
Harrison, Jack (New York City FC)
Higuita, Cristian (Orlando City SC)
Hollinger-Janzen, Femi (New England Revolution)
Larin, Cyle (Orlando City SC)
Lopez, Mikey (New York City FC)
Manneh, Kekuta (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)
Matarrita, Ronald (New York City FC)
Medranda, Jimmy (Sporting Kansas City)
Melano, Lucas (Portland Timbers)
Miller, Eric (Colorado Rapids)
Morris, Jordan (Seattle Sounders FC)
Muyl, Alex (New York Red Bulls)
Ontivero, Lucas (Montreal Impact)
Parker, Tim (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)
Polster, Matt (Chicago Fire)
Powell, Alvas (Portland Timbers)
Ramos, Rafael (Orlando City SC)
Ramos, Rodrigo (Chicago Fire)
Redding, Tommy (Orlando City SC)
Rivas, Carlos (Orlando City SC)
Roldan, Cristian (Seattle Sounders FC)
Rosenberry, Keegan (Philadelphia Union)
Serna, Dillon (Colorado Rapids)
Thompson, Tommy (San Jose Earthquakes)
Torres, Erick (Houston Dynamo – on loan)
Trapp, Wil (Columbus Crew SC)
Villarreal, Jose (LA Galaxy)
Vincent, Brandon (Chicago Fire)
Yaro, Joshua (Philadelphia Union)
Zimmerman, Walker (FC Dallas)
