The 22 Under 22 rankings are out and in the midst of all the takes in the aftermath of their release, it's worth looking at exactly what teams make the most use of their up-and-coming young players.
We crunched the numbers, and there are a few teams near the top of the list that may not be the first to come to mind when you think of the league's youngest rosters.
Reigning Supporters' Shield champion LAFC lead the pack, with a total of 4,529 minutes played by players under 22, which is nearly a quarter of their total minutes for the season. Bob Bradley's group also leads the league with nine players under 22 that have seen the field this year. Uruguayan attacker Brian Rodriguez, who came in at No. 2 on this year's list, highlights the bunch.
They're followed closely by the Philadelphia Union, who boast the player who took the No. 1 spot in this year's rankings in Brenden Aaronson, with under 22 players receiving 4,307 minutes for 22.90% of their team total. The Union are followed by the Montreal Impact at 3,278 minutes (17.56%), with the Vancouver Whitecaps and D.C. United rounding out the top five.
Nashville SC have the fewest minutes from under 22 players, with 2020 No. 2 MLS SuperDraft pick Jack Maher's 99 minutes accounting for just 0.56% of their 17,784 team minutes.
Team |
Minutes |
Minutes by U22 players |
% |
Players |
|---|---|---|---|---|
LAFC |
18,771 |
4,529 |
24.13% |
9: Rodriguez, Palacios, Ginella, Cifuentes, Duke, Torres, Opoku, Traore, Duenas |
PHI |
18,810 |
4,307 |
22.90% |
6: Aaronson, McKenzie, Real, Fontana, De Vries, Turner |
MTL |
18,663 |
3,278 |
17.56% |
5: Brault-Guillard, Binks, Yao, Tabla, Bayiha |
VAN |
18,702 |
3,275 |
17.51% |
6: Veselinovic, Hasal, Baldisimo, Bair, Raposo, Metcalfe |
DC |
18,715 |
3,251 |
17.37% |
4: Paredes, Sorga, Nyeman, Yow |
COL |
12,824 |
2,193 |
17.10% |
3: Vines, Bassett, Galvan |
CHI |
17,820 |
2,726 |
15.30% |
5: Aliseda, Navarro, Mihailovic, Gutierrez, Reynolds |
MIA |
17,783 |
2,679 |
15.06% |
5: Reyes, Pellegrini, Carranza, Robinson, Makoun |
RBNY |
18,809 |
2,682 |
14.26% |
6: Casseres Jr., Fernandez, Yearwood, Jorgensen, Mines, Clark |
SKC |
17,792 |
2,123 |
11.93% |
3: Busio, Lindsey, Duke |
ATL |
18,745 |
2,220 |
11.84% |
4: Barco, Campbell, Bello, Wolff |
CLB |
17,820 |
2,007 |
11.26% |
4: Diaz, Keita, Berhalter, Morris |
LA |
16,800 |
1,746 |
10.39% |
5: Araujo, Alvarez, Dunbar, Traore, Harvey |
DAL |
16,829 |
1,746 |
10.37% |
8: Reynolds, Tessmann, Ferreira, Servania, Pepi, Pomykal, Sealy, Cerrillo |
CIN |
18,810 |
1,915 |
10.18% |
3: Amaya, Barreal, Bailey |
ORL |
17,799 |
1,697 |
9.53% |
3: Dike, Perera, Bender |
NYC |
18,723 |
1,570 |
8.39% |
3: Sands, Acevedo, Scally |
POR |
18,795 |
1,393 |
7.41% |
2: Farfan, Bonilla |
TOR |
18,809 |
1,357 |
7.21% |
6: Akinola, Gallacher, Nelson, Shaffelberg, Okello, Dorsey |
RSL |
17,767 |
1,139 |
6.41% |
4: Ruiz, Ramirez, Iloski, Garcia |
SJ |
18,810 |
1,154 |
6.14% |
5: Lopez, Cowell, Akanyirige, Haji, Fuentes |
NE |
18,769 |
879 |
4.68% |
2: Buchanan, Rennicks |
SEA |
17,820 |
322 |
1.81% |
4: Bwana, Hopeau, Leyva, Atencio |
MIN |
16,820 |
172 |
1.02% |
1: Chacon |
HOU |
18,763 |
155 |
0.83% |
2: Lemoine, Palomino |
NSH |
17,784 |
99 |
0.56% |
1: Maher |
