Philadelphia remains at the top despite the 2009 class, looking like one of their weaker classes in some time, outside of Cavan Sullivan They will need to rebound with the 2010 class, RBNY are knocking on the door. Nonetheless, they are still stacked from a talent perspective. They have the top U.S. prospect in the country in Cavan Sullivan and the top 2007 prospect in Neil Pierre. They have four total players in my top 50 rankings and seven of their players are in the top 20 of their respective class rankings.

Developmentally they continue to show that they can prepare their players for the subsequent level. I see consistent growth from players year to year and they have done as good of a job as any MLS club exporting talent to Europe. They seem to have a logical approach to promoting players through the pathway and they have used MLS Next Pro well to test their young players. The only pathway move I question as of late is not getting CJ Olney on a first team, I am not sure what the hold up is there.

From a player retention standpoint, an academy as talented and deep as theirs is going to have attrition. In recent years they have lost Marcos Zambrano, Bajung Darboe, Devin De Corte, Jeremiah White and Stefan Chirila. Zambrano was always going to be a tough signing. They could never agree to terms with Darboe and with Minnesota United for his rights. Their evaluation of De Corte might looks to have been off; he has done well in Belgium since leaving Philly. Chirila was another talent evaluation miss. He has exploded at FC Cincinnati and appears that Philly was playing him out of position as a midfielder instead of a striker. 

All but one of RBNY's top 10 prospects are from the 2008 and 2009 class and that does not count Jack Mize who left for Borussia Dortmund. They have put together stacked back to back classes and 2010 looks promising as well. The problem is that their 2005 to 2007 classes are struggling. They lost a key player in Nate Worth from the 2007 class and the other two classes just haven't netted much. Bento Estrela hasn't quite lived up to the type and Davi Alexandre hasn't taken the steps forward they would have hoped.

Is the problem with the 2005 - 2007 bad luck or bad development? They answer is usually somewhere in the middle. It will be interesting to see how the 2008 and 2009 class turn out and that will be a great barometer for their ability to develop and nurture top talent.

No club scours the United States harder for talent than RSL. They envision a future where the majority of their roster consists of homegrown players. Will that happen? Unlikely, but I love their ambition.

In the next few years we are going to see if their scouting and development efforts will come to fruition. Gavin Beavers looks like he will lead the way, he is ready to take over the starting goalkeeping responsibilities now. After that, there are some strong players in their 2007, 2008 and 2009 classes that could impact the first team. Overall, RSL have five players in their respective class rankings top 20 and many other players with professional trajectories.

Improvement and development have been a small concern for RSL. Many players look like top prospects at the U15 or U17 level, but do not continue on that path as they move up to the professional ranks. Let's see if that trend continues or changes with the 2007/2008/2009 classes.

RSL has been committed to moving players aggressively through the pipeline, especially from U15 to U17 to MLS Next Pro. The path has not been as open at the first team level, that is mostly because players have not gotten to that level.

From a retention standpoint, RSL does a good job keeping their top talent recently. The most talented player they lost recently was center-back Josh Munson, who now plays at RBNY. 

NYCFC does not invest as many resources as their rivals in recruitment, but they know how to identify their top players, develop them and prioritize them. They have the most talented 2007 class in MLS with three homegrowns and Jacob Arroyave could be another. Maxi Carrizo is a top 10 U.S. prospect and is getting close to his MLS debut at the age of 16.

Developmentally, they do a good job grooming technical players with a decent understanding of playing expansive soccer. Their  players tend to get better and add to their game as they move through the pathway and new players tend to emerge at later stages — all good signs.

They are not afraid to sign young players to first team contracts early, perhaps too early at times, but it's great to see them give their academy kids that opportunity. It's been good to see Christian McFarlane get a chance with the first team. Carrizo and Baiera shouldn't be too far behind.

The biggest challenge they face is retention. They seem to lose a lot of top players early in the process. Julian Hall, Sebastian Chavez, Davi Alexandre, Sean Petrie and Dino Klpajia are all talented players that have been in their system and left, many to their biggest rivals, New York Red Bulls.

There isn’t an academy in MLS that does more with less. New England has developed a lot of first team players from a pool that isn't particularly deep. The 2009 class looks a bit weaker than classes before it, so we will see if they will be able to maintain this trajectory.

They have done a good job of developing their top players and preparing them for the first team. Noel Buck and Esmir Bajraktarevic have both impacted the first team and Peyton Miller has looked good in his early appearances for the first team.

They have moved their top players efficiently and effectively through their pathway and while there is some concern about whether manager Caleb Porter will play young players, he has stuck with Bajraktarevic and also gave Miller his debut. Will that continue when they have more health on the first team? We will see.

New England hasn't lost any big time prospects from their program, but they did fail  to recruit top 2010 prospect, Will Recupero, who is in their region and recently moved to Stuttgart in Germany.

Seattle runs a highly efficient academy. It may not be as talent rich as other territories in the top 10, but they don't lose a lot of guys from their region and they do a good job of identifying talent in neighboring areas. Baker-Whiting, Vargas and Hassan are all big time talents and Baker-Whiting and Vargas have key roles on the first team. They do as good of a job as any bringing through academy talent and integrating them with veteran players. The next step is showing that they can export talent to bigger leagues in Europe. Baker-Whiting and Vargas are both approaching that possibility. Hassan has the potential to be one of the best players to come out of their academy and his journey will be a key one to track over the next four to five years.

They do a consistently good job developing their top players and preparing them well for first team soccer. Many players from their academy have contributed to the first team and look like highly competent players. I also think they have a good sense of who to move through the academy system faster than others. The Sounders really have not lost any players of note in recent history.

No club has taken a bigger jump forward over the last year than Columbus Crew. They have significantly improved their talent pool with strong 2008 and 2009 classes and their 2006 class has developed really nicely. If they can show that they can integrate this talent within their first team and eventually sell them, they will continue to rise on this list. They have also done a nice job of recruiting and retaining their top players. They have not lost key players to other academies.

Dallas was once the pinnacle of United States development, but others have caught up and are passing them by. There talent pool has taken a pretty big dip over the last few years. The 2007, 2008 and 2009 classes have been up to standard and three of their top players from this class have been recruited from elsewhere.

On a positive note, I do think they remain as one of the top development academies. I continue to see players improve as they move through the system and they seem to have a clear vision for what players they want to prioritize through the pathway.

From a retention standpoint, they have lost some keep players over the years including Jonathan Gomez, Julian Eyestone and Matthew Corcoran.

Inter Miami has a ton of talent, but there are a lot of politics and misalignment within the organization which creates curious personnel decisions, specifically around what prospects they prioritize through their pathway. 

IMCF has been one of the early adopters of using their MLS Next Pro team for young academy players and overall they have done a pretty good job moving players through the pathway, however their decisions on who to move through the system quickly is curious at times. Even though the first team is very much in a win now mentality, academy players have still had a chance to impact the team like Benja Cremaschi, Noah Allen and David Ruiz. 

IMCF has the luxury of residing in South Florida, a soccer rich and diverse region that delivers many young talents. Because of this Miami usually has some of the most talented rosters within MLS Next, but they also often miss on some big talents in their region due to a lack of effective scouting. 

Retention and development are areas where IMCF can improve. They have lost good young players like Axel Perez to Europe and Justin Ellis to rivals Orlando City. Developmentally, I don’t always see their players take as big of steps forward as they move from U15, to U17, through to MLS Next Pro. 

Inter Miami has the potential to be a top five academy if they build better alignment between their technical, scouting and coaching departments.

Atlanta does a lot of things well and struggles with other areas. They have the potential to be a perennial top 10 program. Their classes seem to be wildly inconsistent. The 2007 class is extremely talented, but the 2008 and 2009 classes are pretty mid. The 2010 class looks like it will be a return to a very high level. Developmentally they have some awesome success stories like Caleb Wiley and Noah Cobb, but others have failed to progress.

They have done a pretty good job with their pathway, though I would have liked to see more opportunity for their top 2007s in MLS Next Pro this year. It will be interesting to see if both Chonq Qui and Kaiden Moore get homegrown deals — both are deserving in my opinion.

Retention has been a problem. They have lost Bryce Jamison, Nathan Gray, Benjamin Barjolo, Cole Campbell and I have heard that Cooper Sanchez might be next.

San Jose should be much higher on this list given the talent that has been within their academy. Even with the departures, they still have one of the most talented academies in MLS, with four prospects on my top 50 list. Developmentally they have done a decent job. Tomo Allen took a big step forward this year, but Cruz Medina has stalled out a bit. Given the struggles of the first team and the talent in the academy, you would think they would be more open to giving out homegrown deals and moving kids through the pathway. It's shocking that they have not played Tomo Allen in MLS Next Pro, nor have they offered a homegrown deal. I also thought they held KK Spivey back a bit this year. He has been ready for higher level academy play for some time, but did not get his opportunity until MLS Next Cup.

The biggest problem with the academy has been their departures. They have lost guys who have proven to be valuable players like Diego Luna and Fidel Barajas. And they have also lost guys that look like they could have been first team contributors like Ethan Kohler and Drew Murray. In the younger age groups, they have lost promising prospects including Marcelo Avalos, Oliver Tan and Owen Anderson. Of all the areas, this is where San Jose has to get better because they are throwing away value.

I am concerned about the direction that LAFC is heading. LA Galaxy is starting to match them from a recruiting standpoint and they continue to struggle to retain and promote their top talents. Are they going to be able to sign Jude Terry who is without a doubt in my mind the best prospect to come through their academy to date? They have been in negotiations for a while and I am starting to grow skeptical that they are going to convince him to stay. 

They are still in the top third of MLS academies in terms of talent, but given their location and the resources at their disposal, they really should be a top seven academy. Their talent pool has taken a hit recently with the losses of Ajani Nixon to UCLA, whom they may be able to sign in a year or two, as well as Pedro Guimaraes who signed with Orange County. There are rumors that more departures could be on the way. They still have solid 2008 and 2009 classes and some of their 2006s are having good success in MLS Next Pro, like Adrian Wibowo and Matthew Evans. 

They are doing a decent job from a development standpoint and their pathway is practical, but the first team has big expectations year in and year out and there hasn’t been a ton of space for academy players to have a huge impact. To be fair, I am not sure any of their homegrowns are ready to be impact first team players, but it will be interesting to see if players like Jude Terry, Decarlo Guerra and Tyson Espy can make their way to the first team and have high impact roles. 

FC Cincinnati is a program that is really on the rise and I predict that they will be a top ten program in next year’s edition. Their scouting and recruiting departments are working hard to bring in under appreciated and misevaluated players at other academies. They continue to bring in quality talent at all levels of the academy and they are also retaining talent successfully. 

Their top prospect, Stefan Chirila is a prime example of what they are doing. They identified a player that was undervalued at a top academy, switched his position and after one year in their academy he is now on a homegrown deal and playing very well in MLS Next Pro. This is the strategy they have implemented and it has led to on field success. They have a similar story with Gerardo Valenzuela who FCC brought over from Inter Miami. He is now playing an important role on a top team in MLS. 

Their pathway and developmental trajectory have been solid for their priority players as well. They are moving players through their pathway rationally and players seem to be improving from one level to another. 

The next step for FCC is to continue to improve their talent level across all ages and produce a top level talent for their first team. This should come with time if FCC continues to invest in their academy. I expect their 2010 class to be one of their best yet. 

The Chicago Fire's program is pretty solid across the board, but they are underperforming against their potential. They have one of, if not the top 2010 prospect in Robert Turdean who had a spectacular season at the U15 level in MLS Next last season. Their U15 team was one of the most talented in the country last year and they have some solid players throughout their older age groups as well. 

Their academy development has had some highlights and lowlights. Brian Gutierrez has been an incredible success story as a player who moved through their academy to becoming a standout player on the first team, and he may be on the brink of a move abroad. 

They have signed a lot of homegrown players that have not panned out. Their record on homegrown signings and development is scattered. 

One of their biggest challenges has been with retention. They have lost high level academy players in Gui Villa, Marius Aiyenero, Leo Orejarena and they just let Dylan Borso go to Wake Forest when I believe he was worthy of a homegrown contract. 

They have also missed out on some talent in their region due to a lack of successful scouting and recruitment. Chase Adams, USYNT striker for Columbus Crew is one example. 

If Chicago can improve with their talent identification and recruitment they have the potential to be a top ten program. 

Orlando City scouts and recruits a lot of talent into their academy, but the personnel usage at the MLS Next Pro and MLS level have been puzzling. They have done a better job than their in-state rivals, Inter Miami, at retaining talent and plucked their top prospect, Justin Ellis, from Inter Miami. Their key departures include Zack Campagnolo whom I believe they lost because of a homegrown dispute with Colorado Rapids. They also lost talented striker Zach Olah who returned to IMG after one year at Orlando. 

From a talent perspective, they are strong, a top ten program in terms of pure talent. Like Inter Miami, they are able to take advantage of a rich and diverse talent region. The biggest challenge I see with Orlando is what they do with their homegrown players. They seem to be unwilling to give a chance to their homegrown players on the first team. Maybe you can argue they are not ready, but how do you know if they are not given an opportunity? Alex Freeman and Thomas Williams have been playing MLS Next Pro for three years now. You can’t tell me that is good for their development. Why not get them out on loan to a more competitive league? 

Additionally, they often prioritize non first team players on their MLS Next Pro team over homegrown players like Tahir Reid-Brown and Favion Loyola. It’s a very curious strategy. Orlando is another program that has the potential to be higher on this list with more sound decision making with their top talent. 

St. Louis City has built a solid foundation, but do they have what it takes to take the next step into the top ten? I am not sure. They have a top feeder academy within their city in St. Louis Scott Gallagher SC, but they don’t accrue a lot of talent outside of that relationship and I am not sure that will be enough to move them beyond middle of the pack. 

They have shown decent chops in developing their players and they seem to have a decent plan for their priority prospects. We have not yet seen a homegrown player really impact the first team, but the academy has only been running for a couple of years. 

North Carolina is a very good talent market and Charlotte should be doing more to take advantage of that, but they have struggled to recruit all of the top players in their area. If they are able to sort that out, they definitely have the potential to be a top ten academy. They have the ambition to bring players through their pathway into the first team, there just are not a lot of players outside of Nimfasha Berchimas with that kind of potential. Berchimas has a chance to be a massive success story. He is the kind of player that could be ready for the first team soon and eventually become a massive export to Europe. 

The tournament results are incredibly impressive, but the primary goal of an academy is to develop first team talent and they still have a lot of room to grow on that front. I am not really sure who is going to change that from within the academy. Harbor Miller has some potential, but he has stagnated a little bit this past year. They love Ruben Ramos, but I see him having a similar challenge to past academy homegrowns in that I am not sure he has the physical profile to be an impact first team player. 

The loss of Mathis Albert really hurts. He was the best academy talent they have had in a very long time, potentially ever, but he was dead set on leaving for Europe and he is now at Borussia Dortmund. The losses of Paulo Rudisill and Julian Placias do not help either. Their 2010 class looks very bright and they continue to do a good job of recruiting in LA. They are starting to pass LAFC in terms of talent in their younger age groups, however there is room to ascend for LA Galaxy.

Colorado has ramped up their scouting and recruiting and it is starting to pay dividends.They are starting to gather more talent from out of state and becoming a solid, middle of the pack academy within MLS. The academy lacks stars, but there is a lot more talent in the academy than there was a couple of years ago. 

Austin has really struggled to find pro level talent in their region and will need to add more resources to look beyond their territory to improve. Austin looked like an academy that would be compelling in it’s first couple of years, but it has been in a steady decline the last couple. You could argue that San Antonio FC has more intriguing young talent than they do. This displays a huge opportunity loss for Austin. 

Austin specifically struggles in bringing in athletes. Their teams are usually made of undersized, technical players that do pretty well at the academy level, but lack the profiles needed to have a MLS future. They will need to adopt a more scouting heaving strategy that allows them to look beyond their slice of Texas to put together a more talented academy. 

If D.C. United could recruit and retain the top talent in their region, they could have one of the most talented academies in MLS.There list of lost talents include Aaron Heard, Makai Wells and Gustavo Borges. They also thought Griffin Yow was a nothing player and sold him for less than 75K. The DMV is rich with talent and while D.C. does have some very talented young players, they do not bring in nearly enough talent as they should. 

Their handling of Kristian Fletcher has been highly questionable as well. Yes, he has been injured, but he has been healthy and not making squads as of late and he was not released for the Concacaf U20 Championships. They continue to make puzzling decision after puzzling decisions. 

Sporting Kansas City has done a better job scouting, recruiting and developing their younger classes, but they still lack the depth to compete with the top academies. They don’t reside in a top talent region and have to scout outside of the area to keep up with other academies. They do a decent job at that, but there is more competition now than there has ever been within scouting departments and they have been passed up by more resourceful  and ambitious talent identification departments. 

They do have some really exciting young talent and it will be interesting to see if they can retain them and integrate them into the first team. Ian James, Kashan Hines, Leo Christiano, Jack Kortkamp, Jack Francka and Young are all guys that could have first team futures. The question that these kids and their representation should have is whether the first team sporting leaders are interested in playing young players. They have not shown a real openness to do that as of late. 

They took a big loss in losing Ramiz Hamouda this past year. He was struggling at SKC and looks to be developing a bit better at Birmingham. That could end up being viewed as a major loss because Hamouda has immense talent. 

SKC would have to invest in their academy at a similar level to Real Salt Lake if they wanted to be a top ten program. The more realistic ambition in the near future should be middle of the pack.

The Dynamo have shown considerable improvement this year both in the talent levels of their younger age groups and opening up their pathway to younger players within MLS Next Pro. The big questions ahead of them are if they can retain their top young players, develop them and eventually integrate them into the first team. They don’t have any impact players on their first team from their academy. Their top first team young player, Brooklyn Raines, was brought in from outside of their program. They have seen many of their top young players walk, most notably the Gitau brothers: Andre and Lionel. 

Houston has a great talent market and has the potential to be a top half academy if they can create some stability in the program. 

Nashville struggles with a weak talent region and they are trying some creative scouting strategies to make up for that. They have done a really good job of scouting central and northern California and with the struggles that San Jose are having in retaining talent, that looks like a talent rich, albeit vulnerable region. Nashville is also getting creative about finding players from overseas, Tyler Pasnik being the latest example. He is a talented attacking player from the Rangers academy. 

Nashville must continue to think outside of the box to build up their talent pool. From a talent perspective, they are still at the bottom end and I have not seen as much improvement from their top players as I would like to see as they move through the program. They also are yet to see an academy player really impact the first team. 

There is a lot of work to be done here, but I think they want to become a better development club and the pieces are there to improve over the next couple of years. 

The Portland Timbers are showing some positive signals, but they still have a very long way to go to become a respectable development club. They did a good job in convincing their top prospect, Noah Santos, to stick around. The next step is showing that they can develop him into a usable first team player. They also signed Sawyer Jura. It’s good to see Portland show an interest in signing their top academy players.

The one thing I have noticed about the Timbers academy teams the past couple of years is that they get noticeably better from the beginning of the season to the end of the season, a testament to their coaching staff and development. 

They still have a long way to go from a talent perspective and from a pathway perspective. It’s been a long time since we have seen a Portland Timbers academy player impact the first team and their talent level from class to class is still in the bottom third of MLS. 

Minnesota sits in dead last and by a decent margin. The struggles are real within every category. Their talent pool is the weakest in MLS even though their talent region isn’t bad. They have lost players left and right over the last several years, seemingly because they have more interest in collecting homegrown rights fees than developing their players. Until Minnesota shows any commitment to building a reputable academy, they will continue to lose players and staff and they will get little to no value from their academy on the first team.