22 Under 22: Who are the top young players in MLS? | OneFootball

By Matthew Doyle

Every fall, Major League Soccer’s 22 Under 22 list sparks the same debate. What matters more: What a young player is, or what he might become? Do we reward the raw teenager whose ceiling looks limitless, or the 20-year-old who’s already proven he can drive winning soccer week after week?

About six or seven years ago, I finally came down on the latter's side – and this year is no different. Production at the MLS (or national team) level, not just promise, is my great filter, because as intoxicating as potential is, it’s also speculative. And for every prospect who fulfills it, a dozen never quite make the leap.

So this list, for me, is less about dreaming on who might command an eight-figure transfer in three years and more about recognizing who is already helping MLS teams win right now. That doesn’t mean I’m ignoring upside; it’s all part of the rubric, and an 18-year-old doing the same things as a 21-year-old will thus rate higher.

But production is the truest sign of potential realized; that’s what my vote most reflects. We'll see where all the ballots net out when this year's results are unveiled on Wednesday, Oct. 8.

22. Brooklyn Raines

Defensive Midfielder · Houston Dynamo FC

His field coverage is a key element of Houston’s mix this year, as is his ball security and general sense of where to be.

Nothing about Raines is game-breaking at this point, but he’s a reliable plug-and-play option in a pretty complex system at age 20. Not bad.

21. Sergio Oregel

Central Midfielder · Chicago Fire FC

Oregel gets on the ball a lot (87th percentile in attempted passes, as per FBRef), completes more than he should (98th percentile in pass completion percentage) and makes them mean something (77th percentile in progressive passes, and 59th percentile in progressive passes received).

He is, in short, a very reliable cog in the overall machine. But he doesn’t provide much in the way of end product just yet, and his physical limitations are a real defensive, uh, limitation.

20. Darren Yapi

Forward · Colorado Rapids

I’ve got “forward” next to Yapi's name even though his best run of goalscoring form as a pro has come as a more withdrawn attacker. He’s not a guy who quite understands the finer points of No. 9 play – he struggles to find chances when the Rapids are in pure possession phases – but he’s gotten better at making late-arriving runs from deep, and he’s a weapon in transition. Plus, he’s one of the hardest-working defensive attackers around.

I could see Yapi making a huge leap on next year’s list if he keeps refining his off-ball work. The Rapids are right to keep investing minutes in him.

19. Nathan Ordaz

Forward/Winger · Los Angeles Football Club

Ordaz has already shown he can add value in two different spots for one of the best teams in the league. The question is whether he becomes a “jack of all trades, master of none” kind of attacker.

I think his best long-term spot is as a No. 9, though it’s obviously going to be tough getting minutes there for the time being with LAFC.

Still, this is the radar of a young forward you’d absolutely bet on succeeding:

There are about a dozen MLS teams who should think hard about making cash transfer offers this winter.

18. Kevin Kelsy

Forward · Portland Timbers

Kelsy is the soccer equivalent of a five-tool player: big, strong, fast, soft feet when receiving the ball and a rocket of a left foot when shooting it (his xWallop is extremely high).

The reason he’s this low, and why he’s been on three different teams in three years and hasn’t broken through with Venezuela yet, is that he hasn’t quite figured out where goals come from. Instead of making hard runs to the near post or drifting to the back post, Kelsy often plants himself at the top of the box and demands the ball to his feet. As such, his average shot distance this year is 13.4 yards, up from 13.0 last year.

Will he figure it out? If yes, he’s a 20-goal scorer in MLS. If not, he’ll continue to be a part-time starter who produces insane highlights, but not a ton of winning soccer otherwise.

17. Noah Allen

Center Back/Left Back · Inter Miami CF

If Allen were three inches taller, he might be No. 1 on this list. His reading of the game, toughness and passing are all impressive, and it’s why he’s become one of the most reliable pieces of Javier Mascherano’s backline.

Alas, his aerial weakness can make him a liability at center back (he’s in just the 2nd percentile for aerial duels won among center backs, which… yeah, not great) and he’s not going to displace Jordi Alba at left back. So, he's just a good soccer player without an obvious spot (for now).

16. Ilay Feingold

Right Wingback · New England Revolution

In terms of maximizing his individual skills, Feingold is in an almost perfect position: He’s spent most of the season as an attacking wingback who’s allowed to push forward at will into the final third, and usually receives the ball on the move.

We haven’t seen much more of him than that (and I have some real questions about his defensive instincts), but what’s been on display so far is compelling and useful.

15. Zavier Gozo

Forward/Winger · Real Salt Lake

Is Gozo a forward? A winger? An insanely low-usage, box-arriving No. 10? Honestly, I’m not sure. You could talk me into – or out of – any of the above.

But I know for a fact he’s a baller:

He has very, very good (and sometimes spectacular) box instincts. It’s why he’s on the field.

14. Frankie Westfield

Right Back · Philadelphia Union

Is Westfield, like Feingold, a product of a system that allows him to attack almost at will? Perhaps. But unlike Feingold, Westfield’s done it for a winning club (check the Supporters’ Shield standings). That front-foot, attacking posture also translates defensively, where Westfield’s been a real asset in the Union’s press.

I’m very curious to see how this plays out at the FIFA U-20 World Cup for the United States, who play a vastly different brand of soccer than Philly. It might turn out I’ve got Westfield 10 spots too low.

13. David Martínez

Winger · Los Angeles Football Club

On the one hand, Martínez is kind of disappointing. His struggles with decision-making on one side of the ball and defensive awareness on the other have prevented him from outright winning a starting spot for LAFC.

On the other hand, he’s played nearly 2,500 minutes for one of the best teams in the league and has produced 11g/9a while creating constant danger and the occasional highlight.

The Venezuelan international can be a frustrating player, but also a winning one. I wouldn’t be particularly shocked if he topped this list in 2026. He’s that kind of talent.

12. Nicolás Romero

Center Back · Minnesota United FC

Romero’s gone under the radar outside of Minnesota – he’s not the one taking those long throw-ins, nor is he scoring goals off of them.

But the Argentine has fit perfectly into how the Loons play, sitting deep and absorbing all kinds of pressure, then playing quick and direct into the channels to get everyone out on the run. It’s a more circumscribed type of game than other CBs are asked to play, but Romero’s done his job very well, slotting right into a starting role for one of the best by-the-numbers defenses in the league.

11. Quinn Sullivan

Right Midfielder · Philadelphia Union

Sullivan’s absolutely relentless, which is perfect for the Union since their attacking approach is based upon creating a huge volume of transition moments, which then turn into a huge volume of chances.

Here’s a taste of that engine combined with his among-the-league’s-best crossing ability:

Even if Sullivan never adds another thing to his locker, he’s already hit the level of “top chance creator for a Supporters' Shield contender.” That’d be an excellent outcome for virtually any attacker below him on this list, or off of it entirely.

10. Ronald Donkor

Central Midfielder · New York Red Bulls

Donkor has been asked to do a lot this year that wasn't thought to be in his wheelhouse. But it turns out he's not just a reliable passer of the ball: he’s a high-volume, field-tilting progressive passer with much more upside as an orchestrator than I think anyone outside of RBNY realized. That includes a little bit of an eye for the final ball (he’s not going to pick locks, but he’s clearly very comfortable combining in the final third).

When you factor in his elite field coverage and ball-winning, you get one of the most complete young midfielders in MLS.

9. Chris Brady

Goalkeeper · Chicago Fire FC

I was maybe a little guilty of being too low on Brady in my rough draft of this list, but upon reflection, here’s what we’ve got: a 21-year-old goalkeeper with around 9,000 first-team minutes who’s shown constant improvement with command and control of his box, as well as better angles and timing off his line which has led to more consistent shot-stopping.

He doesn’t lose Chicago games and keeps them in more than an average ‘keeper would. With the way the Fire play, there’s a ton on his shoulders.

8. Peyton Miller

Left Wingback · New England Revolution

Miller, like Feingold, has spent most of the year playing in a system that allows him to play to his strengths. Though with Miller, it’s less about pure attacking and more about the type of endline-to-endline coverage (at pace… sooooo much pace) that very few players in the league can manage.

There hasn’t been a lot of possession or on-ball problem-solving asked of Miller, which is fine at this stage. What he’s already brought to the table has been enough to make him a legit weapon, and the brightest spot in an otherwise sour Revs season.

7. Luca Bombino

Left Back · San Diego FC

Bombino is all about possession and on-ball problem-solving. Mikey Varas has demanded that of all his players, from the goalkeeper to the front line, and I don’t think anyone has delivered as far beyond expectations as the 19-year-old who outright won the left back spot. He’s above the 90th percentile in passes attempted and completed, as well as progressive passes completed among all fullbacks.

He’s not just a metronome, though. Bombino has a real knack for emergency defense:

San Diego pulled off an absolute heist to get him on loan from LAFC (with a purchase option), all for a one-year rental of an international roster slot.

6. Olwethu Makhanya

Center Back · Philadelphia Union

Makhanya is a classic, hard-man center back. He sees the ball and he wins the ball, whether it’s in the air or on the ground, and whether he has to run through an opposing attacker or not. It all fits very snugly into Philly’s game model.

The South African also has ideal size and speed for the position, which he deploys with an unusual amount of savvy for a 21-year-old often tasked with keeping the line high and organized.

Do that for any MLS team as a starter, and you get on the list. Do that for a team that might go ahead and win the Supporters' Shield, and you end up well into the top 10.

5. Owen Wolff

Winger/Midfielder · Austin FC

Wolff’s spent most of the season as a left winger, a chunk of it as a central midfielder, and some of it as a pure attacking midfielder – though sometimes in a 4-2-3-1, and sometimes in a 3-4-2-1. It seems like he’s never gotten to play the same position two games in a row, and certainly never with the same teammates around him.

Hasn’t mattered. He’s been good-to-excellent all year, adding almost as much against the ball as he does with it. He stretches the line, comes back into the play to combine, and can hit the occasional through-ball.

Also, he did this:

That’s 5g/7a and one soul harvested this season.

4. Manu Duah

Center Back · San Diego FC

This one might end up being too low. Duah’s still learning how to play center back – he was a college midfielder – but he’s got the measurables at 6-foot-4, has good soccer instincts, and does stuff on the ball that you don’t see often outside of the top teams in the world:

He finally got healthy and into the XI in mid-July. San Diego have lost just once in league play since then, despite a spate of injuries and absences virtually everywhere on the field.

Still, Duah’s got around 1,000 pro minutes. Even though I think he might be the No. 1 prospect, this is as high as I could justify putting him in my final vote.

3. Idan Toklomati

Forward · Charlotte FC

Is there a danger in getting out over my skis on Toklomati, who only entered Charlotte’s starting XI midseason? I suppose. But he was good enough in his home country (Israel) to earn a big-money move, then came here and was clearly too good for the MLS NEXT Pro level. When you take that track record and add a seamless integration into the first team, it’s pretty impossible to ignore.

Bottom line: I trust a forward whose goals come from his off-ball work will continue to find goals. This is what consistent goal-scorers do, and how you know it’s not just a hot streak:

To compare him to several No. 9s mentioned above: as noted, the average distance of Kelsy’s shots is 13.4 yards, and Yapi is at 12.9.

For Toklomati, it’s 10.3. That is second in the entire league among starting center forwards.

He's a tap-in merchant, and there is no greater compliment I can bestow upon a young goalscorer.

2. Alex Freeman

Right Back · Orlando City

Turns out Freeman is so good pushing forward that Oscar Pareja – one of the most successful coaches in MLS over the past dozen years – scrapped his entire system to build one in which Freeman has free rein to get into the attacking third. And it’s not just “get into the attacking third to whip in crosses,” but actually “get into the attacking third and whip in crosses or dribble directly into the box against a panicking defender or crash the back post off the ball.”

Freeman averages 4.12 box touches per 90, as per Opta. The guys directly around him in that stat are all DP attackers: Lucho Acosta, Kévin Denkey, Kelvin Yeboah, Wilfried Zaha and Ryan Gauld. Not bad company for a defender who had 16 first-team minutes heading into the season.

They aren't empty touches from the USMNT defender, either: He’s got 5g/5a across all competitions this year, and has provided that punch while managing not to be a defensive liability in any way.

Beyond that, Freeman’s shown the ability to play as a stay-home right center back at the international level, learning the role on the fly at the Gold Cup. He wasn’t perfect, of course, but given the degree of difficulty – new spot, new team, new teammates – there was much more good than bad.

At this point, I feel there’s no scenario in which he’d be out of his depth. Combine that with his off-the-charts physical gifts, and you’ve got an elite player, not just a prospect.

1. Obed Vargas

Central Midfielder · Seattle Sounders FC

This is a ton of green for a central midfielder of any age:

Vargas is fantastic at basically everything a modern No. 8 has to do. He reads the game exceptionally well; he’s calm on the ball under pressure; he knows how to add value off the ball; he doesn’t break the team’s shape hunting touches; he knows how to suffer defensively; he's an incisive, if not quite game-breaking passer.

He’s also proven with minutes at an extraordinarily high level going back to 2022, when he was on the field for Seattle’s Concacaf Champions League win as a 16-year-old. That big-game excellence, of course, was reinforced this summer in both the FIFA Club World Cup (where he didn’t look at all out of his depth against Botafogo, Atlético Madrid and PSG) and Leagues Cup (where he was dominant against the likes of Cruz Azul and Inter Miami). Remember that part waaaay back in the lede about driving winning soccer? That’s Vargas. He does that.

Add in the fact that he’s got more first-team minutes than anyone on this list, and that he keeps getting better… Look, I think you could argue Freeman and Duah might have higher upsides. But if so, it’s probably not by a lot. Also, neither of those guys (nor Toklomati) are as good or as proven as Vargas is right now.

Vargas is also younger than any of them (he recently turned 20). So yeah, that’s why he’s my No. 1. Kid’s earned it in basically every conceivable way.