NEW YORK (Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016) – The revered and hotly debated list ofMajor 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.
To download the MLSsoccer.com 24 Under 24 presented by EA Sports logo, please CLICK HERE.
2016 MLSsoccer.com 24 Under 24 presented by EA Sports 50-player short list:
Anatole Abang (New York Red Bulls, on loan at Hobro IK, Denmark)
Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas)
Luciano Acosta (D.C. United, on loan from Boca Juniors, Argentina)
Juan Agudelo (New England Revolution)
Fatai Alashe (San Jose Earthquakes)
Jordan Allen (Real Salt Lake)
Federico Bravo (New York City FC, on loan from Boca Juniors, Argentina)
Victor Cabrera (Montreal Impact)
Jonathan Campbell (Chicago Fire)
Jay Chapman (Toronto FC)
Sean Davis (New York Red Bulls)
Marky Delgado (Toronto FC)
Tsubasa Endoh (Toronto FC)
Diego Fagundez (New England Revolution)
Kianz Froese (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)
Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake)
Jesse Gonzalez (FC Dallas)
Carlos Gruezo (FC Dallas)
Marlon Hairston (Colorado Rapids)
Jordan Hamilton (Toronto FC)
Jack Harrison (New York City FC)
Cristian Higuita (Orlando City SC)
Femi Hollinger-Janzen (New England Revolution)
Cyle Larin (Orlando City SC)
Mikey Lopez (New York City FC)
Kekuta Manneh (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)
Ronald Matarrita (New York City FC)
Jimmy Medranda (Sporting Kansas City)
Lucas Melano (Portland Timbers)
Eric Miller (Colorado Rapids)
Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC)
Alex Muyl (New York Red Bulls)
Lucas Ontivero (Montreal Impact, on loan from Galatasaray, Turkey)
Tim Parker (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)
Matt Polster (Chicago Fire)
Alvas Powell (Portland Timbers)
Rafael Ramos (Orlando City SC)
Rodrigo Ramos (Chicago Fire)
Tommy Redding (Orlando City SC)
Carlos Rivas (Orlando City SC)
Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders FC)
Keegan Rosenberry (Philadelphia Union)
Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids)
Tommy Thompson (San Jose Earthquakes)
Erick ‘Cubo’ Torres (Houston Dynamo, on loan at Cruz Azul, Mexico)
Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC)
Jose Villarreal (LA Galaxy)
Brandon Vincent (Chicago Fire)
Joshua Yaro (Philadelphia Union)
Walker Zimmerman (FC Dallas)
