It's called, colloquially, "the 18-22 gap," and conventional wisdom says that's where promising youth in the US and Canada have traditionally stalled in comparison to their peers elsewhere. While the most promising of those peers are usually taking their first steps into the pro arena at that age, in North America all but the exceptional few have taken at least a pit stop in college.
That may be about to change. With the announcement of two moreMLS teams running USL PRO reserve teams next season, there are suddenly more pro contracts, a clearer path to the first team and – hopefully – a more comprehensive development plan for legitimate prospects.
Will it be enough to close the 18-22 gap? Definitely not right away, and maybe not all the way. But it's a move in the right direction.
Those in the best position to benefit immediately are those who've already spent time in MLS academies and are currently in college. Nine such players were signed to Homegrown Player contracts last offseason, and on Tuesday Sigi Schmid name-dropped two of them who would have benefitted greatly if S2 existed this year.
With that in mind, here’s a list of 10, compiled by our college expert Nate Sulat, who should sign Homegrown Player deals this year, and who might be among the first to help both the US and Canada mind the gap. –Matt Doyle
Brandon Allen, junior forward, Georgetown/New York Red Bulls (pictured) – Let’s start with this: It’s by no means official that Thierry Henry is going to retire, but it looks like a pretty good bet. That means that RBNY are going to have a job opening at the forward position. Brandon Allen is not Thierry Henry. Is Allen a like-for-like switch? No. But he’s skilled, even at 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, and outside of Bradley Wright-Phillips, the Red Bulls don’t have a particularly inspiring striker corps.
DOB: 10/8/1993
Jay Chapman, junior midfielder, Michigan State/Toronto FC – Chapman has been one of the Spartans’ best attacking players since arriving in East Lansing three years ago, and one scout told us that, if Toronto passed on him, Chapman would be worth “moving heaven and earth” to pick up. The sooner the Reds bring him in, the sooner the vultures will stop circling.
DOB: 1/1/1994
Sean Davis, senior midfielder, Duke/New York Red Bulls – Davis is good and all, but here’s the reason why he’s going to be with New York next year: Mike Petke likes him. Hard to see why he wouldn’t, though. The 6-foot New Jersey native is fantastic at serving up assists from central midfield, and he can occasionally whip in a free kick from 25 yards out. After spending most of the summer training with New York, Davis helped the Red Bulls' U-23 team win the NPSL championship in August.
DOB: 2/8/1993
Darwin Jones, senior forward, Washington/Seattle Sounders (pictured) – Jones is not an out-and-out striker in that he’s quite good at serving up assists, and he’s fast enough that you really want to give him some space to run at guys. Trust us, when you see him running down defenders, it is truly a glorious sight. He’s sort of a positionless attacker in the same way that Lamar Neagle was, but that worked out for the Sounders pretty well, and Jones will have the benefit of USL PRO to rack up the minutes he needs to develop.
DOB: 4/4/1992
Charlie Lyon, redshirt senior goalkeeper, Marquette/Chicago Fire – In his first two seasons as a starter, Lyon allowed 37 goals in 42 games while making 168 saves, and this season he has allowed three goals through 10 games. Is he better than Chicago’s current starter, Sean Johnson? Seems doubtful. But as a senior prospect, he looks a likely choice. Plus, did having both Andy Gruenebaum and Eric Kronberg on the roster hurt Sporting KC this year?
DOB: 4/10/1992
Darius Madison, junior winger, Virginia/Philadelphia Union – OK, we know, why would the Union sign a junior forward to a Homegrown deal if he’s not even starting at Virginia? Excellent question. Madison, though, has the talent to be a professional. He’s quick, incisive and knows where the goal is. It just comes down to development, and the Union could easily give him competitive minutes with the Harrisburg City Islanders while still training with Philadelphia most weeks.
DOB: 5/31/1994
Dan Metzger, senior midfielder, Maryland/New York Red Bulls (pictured) – God forbid Dax McCarty should get injured, but if he did, the Red Bulls don’t have a like-for-like switch on their bench. They could fix that pretty easily by signing Metzger. The Maryland man probably doesn’t have the same engine that McCarty does, but he’s a sharp, shutdown defensive midfielder and worth a look.
DOB: 8/6/1993
Jordan Morris, sophomore forward, Stanford/Seattle Sounders – Morris was named first team All-Pac-12 in his freshman season last year with six goals and seven assists, and this season he’s scored twice and added four helpers. Oh, and he got called up to the US national team. It seems inevitable that Morris will end up with the Sounders. His dad is the team’s chief medical director, after all. With Seattle starting their own USL PRO team for 2015, he certainly would get minutes. Still, Morris is still just a sophomore, and the Sounders have some pretty decent forwards already.
DOB: 10/26/1994
Boyd Okwuonu, senior defender, North Carolina/FC Dallas – Okwuonu is only 5-foot-8, but don’t be fooled by anyone who says that his future is as an outside back in MLS. It’s not, because Okwuonu doesn’t have the skillset to be an outside back. He’s just a center back, pure and simple, and if he makes FC Dallas’ first team, it will be at that position. But that’s a good thing. His height belies how muscular he is, and he can get up in the air with the best of them. More than that, Okwuonu has all the instincts of a center back, and it should not surprise you that no UNC team since he arrived in Chapel Hill four years ago has finished the season with worse than a 0.72 goals-against-average.
DOB: 2/24/1993
James Rogers, senior winger, New Mexico/Colorado Rapids – Rogers is super quick. That is the first and best thing to know about him as a player, and maybe the only thing to really, truly know at this point. Over the last two seasons, Rogers has 15 goals and 11 assists, and most of it is due to his ability to beat his man for pace. He’s pesky and difficult to guard going forward, and he’ll most likely make his money as a winger at the next level. Originally from Sierra Leone, Rogers played for Real Salt Lake in 2008-09 before his family moved to Colorado for his last two years of high school, so his will be an interesting test case to see if the Rapids control his rights or if he will enter the draft.
DOB: 6/27/1993
