Key differences in game understanding
I had a very interesting conversation with a coach and parent of one of the top 2011 players in the country. In that conversation we talked about the key differences we noticed between our kids and kids from high-level environments in Europe. We discussed this as we watched Valencia play on their way to the U-15 tournament win. We both agreed that the key difference from a game understanding perspective is that teams like Valencia have a shared understanding of the space they need to play to and the space they need to move into given certain game situations. Conversely, the MLS teams play to people. They see someone open and they play to them. When your team can play to space, you can play proactively before things materialize and require less time and space. When you don't make a play until you see the player, you've often already missed the opportunity.

Shortage of dynamic 1v1 attackers
Anyone that follows my coverage likely knows that I love wingers that are direct, athletic, brave and creative. We don't have enough of these profiles. This became more and more clear to me as I moved from field to field searching for attackers that got me excited. It's not to say there weren't any — I'll highlight a few later in the article — but there aren't enough of them being developed in the United States. And this is arguably the most important player to a potent attack in modern soccer.

Where are the alphas?
Another concerning trend that I've discussed with many who understand our players and our landscape as well as anyone is the reality that our most talented players are not typically our nastiest players, and I think that's a problem. I'm not saying that a player needs to be talking shit, overly arrogant or loud, but I do think fearlessness and a desire to dominate every game is a mentality that's needed to reach the highest levels. Very few of our most talented players very clearly possess these intangible attributes. If you look at some of the top USMNT prospects that are having early success — Zavier Gozo, Adri Mehmeti, Mathis Albert, Cavan Sullivan and Julian Hall — these guys are super talented and they're absolute killers on the pitch. Mentality is what separates a good talented player from a great player.

Midfielders that want to and know how to get on the ball
One of the most important qualities of a young midfielder is their ability to find and dictate the rhythm of the game. I talked to many within the game that felt there was a shortage of midfielders who both wanted and understood how to have a high involvement in the game, no matter the game state.

No shortage of quality center-back profiles
While we don't have a ton of elite center-back prospects in the United States pipeline, there's no shortage of great profiles. What I mean by great profiles are guys with size, speed and ability on the ball. We might lack highly intelligent and physical center-backs, but there are tons of players that look the part.

Germany in the house
I attend MLS Next Fest and GA Cup every year and have for the last few years. What is absolutely clear to me is that the European country with the most interest in the United States market is Germany. Their scouts are always here in far greater numbers than other countries. I believe this is because they believe in the talent here, there have been enough success stories to continue to invest, they play a similar style in Germany and they have more flexible roster rules for international players.

I'm only one human and I couldn't see every team live, but I did speak with a lot of people I trust and I followed up and watched a lot of games that I felt I needed to based on information I received throughout the week. Based on these data points along with my own live experiences, I put together a list of players that helped themselves:

2010s

LB, Seyi Fakiseyi, Atlanta United
‍Fakiseyi played well for a team that didn't deliver on big expectations. He continues to separate himself from the pack of 2011 full-backs.

‍LB, Alejandro Malave, Inter Miami
‍Malave is a player that caught my eye throughout the season and he also caught a few other people's attention through his play at the tournament.

‍RB, Dominick Lester, FC Cincinnati
‍Lester just looks like a modern-day full-back when he's playing and he checked the boxes for me in my first time watching him live.

‍DM, Nathan Tchoumba, Colorado Rapids
‍I spoke to several people who agreed that Tchoumba was probably the highest-floor prospect at GA Cup — there is so much about his game that translates to "very good pro."

‍AM, Eddie Niles, St. Louis City
‍Maybe the first thing you notice when watching Niles is that he's not very big, but very soon after that you notice that he's an absolute baller. All this kid does is make impactful plays that make you say "wow." Even when he isn't having a great game, he still seems to make plays that impact the game.

‍W, Ikenna Chidebe, LA Galaxy
‍Chidebe continues to look like one of the most polished 1v1 players in the youth system. He had a few plays where he literally made me chuckle because he made defenders look silly.

‍CF, Kane Kraus, St. Louis City
‍Kraus was one of the players that really elevated my opinion of him. He scored in a variety of ways and looked a little more dynamic athletically than I had previously given him credit for.

‍CF, Timoni Gbalajobi, Philadelphia Union
‍Gbalajobi is another player that's rebuilding his stock this year and was one of the few Philly players that did well for himself in the games I saw.

‍CF, Simeon Cruickshank, Vancouver Whitecaps
‍I don't usually report on Canadian players, but a lot of people liked what they saw from Cruickshank.

2011s

‍GK, Zach Lapierre, New England Revolution
‍Lapierre was very good in the games I saw, most notably the Cedar Stars Bergen game where he single-handedly kept them in it.

‍CB, Pietro Lolos, New York Red Bulls
‍Lolos was another player that was identified by many people, including scouts from Europe. He isn't the biggest CB and some question whether that's his position long term, but he has a fantastic soccer brain and he's a true leader on the pitch.

‍DM, Immanuel Adewunmi, Columbus Crew
‍Adewunmi had maybe my favorite performance that I saw live. In Columbus' knockout round game against eventual winner Valencia, Adewunmi was forced to play center-back because of an injury. In the second half he moved to midfield and single-handedly changed the game. He was the best player on the pitch, recorded a nice assist and almost led a comeback. His feel for pressure, space and technical ability were completely on display.

‍DM, Nick Harris, St. Louis City
‍I loved the way Harris disrupted the game, led his team with vocal instruction and encouragement and worked throughout the game I watched. He looked like a commanding number six.

DM, Sebastian Tejada, NYCFC
‍Tejada is a player that I hadn't really noticed until I watched him live. NYCFC outperformed my expectations and I think Tejada played a huge role in that. He has excellent technical ability and game understanding.

‍CM, Dino Shang, San Jose Earthquakes
‍Shang is a player I've rated since his time at Silicon Valley Soccer Association last year. While he goes missing in games sometimes, when he's on, he can be a real game changer. Against Barcelona, he recorded an assist and should have had another — he was fantastic.

CM, Kayden Drolette, San Jose Earthquakes
‍Drolette is Shang's running mate in midfield and his size, work rate and passing ability all stood out to me in the two games I watched.

‍AM, Cris Batiz, Seattle Sounders
‍Batiz's tournament has been talked about a lot and he deserves it. Of all the MLS teams, no player had a more impressive tournament than Batiz. He made big play after big play in the final third.

‍AM, Maxwell Camara, D.C. United
‍Camara's size, fluidity, creativity and technical ability all stood out to me.

‍W, Ryan Schlotterbeck, FC Cincinnati
‍Schlotterbeck plays with great rhythm and fluidity. I'm not sure what position he ends up at, but I'm sure he's a very good player.

‍W, Leo Woehl, Columbus Crew
‍Woehl impressed again for the second live viewing in a row. He went missing a little bit against Valencia but had some other impressive moments at the tournament.

‍W, Benjamin Flowers, FC Dallas
‍Flowers was probably the most hyped and discussed player around the tournament and while he didn't have a breakout tournament, I thought he was still quietly very good playing up an age group for Dallas.

‍W, Chris Fitanidis, Cedar Stars Bergen
‍Cedar Stars was the team I was most interested to watch because I wanted to see how their big-name players would perform against top competition. They don't always get to play this level of competition consistently, so it was a big test. Well, they didn't disappoint. Fitanidis was one of the most impressive attackers throughout the tournament. His speed, power, ability to both connect, run off of the ball and take players on were all on display. He can playmake and score goals in a variety of ways. He's a super versatile attacker that can impact the game in a number of different ways.

‍W, Matthew Brusco, Cedar Stars Bergen
‍Brusco isn't as talked about as Fitanidis, but he was just as impressive to me. He had something like two goals and five assists in the five competitive games that Cedar Stars played in. He had a vicious combination of pace, power, work rate, off-ball intelligence and crossing ability and cut-back vision. He does all of this from the left-wing position where he knows how to use his deadly left foot. Maybe he's a left-back long term, maybe not, but he's a very good player.

‍W, Gabriel Velazquez Carmichael, D.C. United
‍I have to give U.S. Soccer credit on Velazquez Carmichael. He wasn't a player that was really on my radar, but he's been selected to the last two USYNT U-15 teams and I can see why. He's a left-footed inverted right winger who is super tricky 1v1, loves to attack and has moves and counter moves. He isn't a pace and power demon, but he also isn't slow. He scored a great game-winning goal in an upset win against a very good San Jose Earthquakes team.

2012s

‍CB, Caleb Loriston, NYCFC
‍A U-14 playing center-back at a big U-15 tournament like this is no easy task, but Loriston did pretty well even though he isn't the biggest kid. I was impressed.

‍CM, Hassan Sakr, FC Cincinnati
‍No 2012 playing up an age group impacts games as consistently as Sakr. He had numerous big plays for FC Cincinnati at this tournament.

‍CF, Rashid Gbla, Columbus Crew
‍Gbla has improved a ton from the start of the year to now. He's starting to apply his physical gifts more regularly and is starting to look like a very interesting striker prospect.

2013s

‍CF, Almamy Barry, Philadelphia Union
‍Barry was one of a few 2013 players playing up two age groups at GA Cup and was by far the most impressive. He's an elite athlete that also has a very good technical foundation. He can impact the game in many ways.