Mls next u13 standings
2025 MLS Academy Rankings
August 2025
It’s that period again — the full thick dive into every MLS academy, ranked from top to bottom. These rankings weigh four key factors: overall talent level (driven by scouting and recruiting), the academy’s track record in developing professionals, how effectively they transfer players through the professional pathway, and the resources they contain at their disposal. Each category is scored on a 1–10 scale.
1. Philadelphia Union (no change)
Talent: 10
Development: 9
Pathway: 8
Resources: 10
Philadelphia Union remains the foremost academy in the country for the third straight year. No other U.S. club is producing more high-level prospects. They maximize their MLS Next Pro team as a development tool, consistently fielding one of the youngest rosters while still achieving on-field success. That said, critics discuss — and I agree — that the first team could give even more opportunities to its top young talent. The upcoming age groups aren’t quite at the level we’ve reach to expect, so it will be interesting to see how they leverage their strong scouting and recruiting network to boost those classes. They’re not ideal, but they’re still
MLS NEXT rolls out new U13, U14 rankings to emphasize development over wins. How it works
When we win a game in a team sport, what does it mean for our individual development, especially when kids are still growing and maturing?
It’s a question youth sports parents ponder, and it’s one Major League Soccer has wrestled with during the five years its MLS NEXT youth program has existed.
"If we just have a bunch of dominant 13- and 14-year-olds that don't end up being dominant 18-year olds, I think that's a huge miss on the return on our investment,” said Luis Robles, MLS NEXT’s technical director and a former USMNT goalie. "So this is why we have to tinker with different ways to evaluate players.”
The organization will announce Wednesday a pilot program to evaluate its U13 and U14 age groups that looks beyond traditional results of games, focusing on complete performances of individuals. Its Quality of Play rankings move away from wins, losses and draws to measure progress of teams based on their players' offensive and defensive actions, including their off-the-ball movements in games we sometimes don’t see.
This is the first time MLS NEXT will have a list of standings for tea
MLS NEXT 2023/2024
Lou Fusz Athletic will officially be expanding it’s participation in Major League Soccer’s Youth Development League, MLS Next. LFA and it’s teams will now compete in a full MLS Next Player Pathway for the 2023-2024 season.
In the decision-making process for extension clubs, MLS Next evaluates several factors including leadership, club environment, coaching staff, and player development. After having success at the U13 and U14 age levels for the past two years, MLS Next has granted the club with the full player pathway including U13, U14, U15, U16, U17, and U19 teams.
LFA Managing Director, Dan Gargan, emphasizes, “This is another major step for soccer in St. Louis. The wealth of knowledge and passion for the game in this town is seen and felt on a daily basis. We want to provide the youth as many avenues towards opportunity as possible. Celebrating our 30th Anniversary, it’s fitting that we take a big step forward on the shoulders of all the players, coaches, and families that have built the great reputation of the Club to this point. This has been a goal of our for the past few years, and now we get to refocus our intentions and compete on the bigge
Club Soccer Team Rankings
MLS NEXT debuts Quality of Play Rankings for U13-U14 age groups
NEW YORK – MLS NEXT today unveiled its groundbreaking Quality of Play Rankings for the U13 and U14 age groups, which will go beyond the traditional results of the game to focus on complete performance of individuals and teams.
This pilot program will mark the first time that these age groups are ranked on this metric rather than the traditional win-draw-loss standings. The Quality of Play rankings are calculated via Taka’s analytical formula that evaluates game play and focuses on the caliber of a team’s offensive and defensive actions in a match.
MLS NEXT aims to shift the paradigm in player development to focus predominantly on the process and progress in conjunction with individual match results. These rankings are designed to promote positive in-game moments and strategic development among younger age groups rather than placing sole emphasis on athletic traits, which can disproportionately impact games at the youngest ages. Each club or team will be encouraged to have its own identity (possession, transition-oriented, etc.) and coaches will now have further opportunities to highlight team strengths and area