MLS academy rankings & guide

Buy the MLS academy guide for in-depth analysis and information on how I arrived at these rankings.

Philadelphia Union operates on of the best-resourced academies in Major League Soccer and has produced more high-level professional players than any club in the country over the last five years.

Red Bulls New York pair the newest $100 million facility in the country with a modernized style of play and a first team that gives academy graduates real minutes, making it one of the clearest academy-to-Europe pathways in Major League Soccer.

FC Dallas runs the broadest program in Major League Soccer and holds the strongest output record in the country, and it is prioritizing nationwide recruiting again after a stretch of struggling to develop elite talent.

Chicago Fire pairs one of the newest facilities and largest staffs in Major League Soccer with a deliberately local scouting model, producing one of the best goalkeeper pipeline in the league.

Atlanta United converts one of the strongest local talent markets in the country into the second-most top-50 USMNT prospects of any academy, supported by one of the better educational offerings in MLS.

Seattle Sounders back an $80M facility and a deeply individualized development model with a track record of exporting top talent to Europe, working from a good rather than great local market.

Real Salt Lake operates one of the most substantial residency programs in the country and has signed more homegrown players than any club in MLS history, with recent classes marking a dip that a rebuilt scouting department is working to reverse.

New England Revolution gets one of the best returns on investment in Major League Soccer, pairing a lean, efficient scouting operation with player development that consistently outpaces the competition from U14 through the second team.

Columbus Crew runs one of the more well-rounded programs in Major League Soccer, combining an efficient, system-fit recruiting approach with one of the clearest top-to-bottom playing identities in the league.

LA Galaxy have won the Los Angeles recruiting battle for several years running and develop technically sound players in a genuinely modern system, with a first-team pathway that opens for the right player and a sales record still waiting on its first major transfer.

Orlando City assembles some of the strongest team-wide rosters in the country and has produced two high-level homegrowns in Alex Freeman and Justin Ellis, with an offseason exodus of scouting and performance leadership leaving the program's next chapter unclear.

FC Cincinnati is one of the most aggressive national recruiters in Major League Soccer, building a legitimate talent base out of a modest local market while it waits on its first true first-team breakthrough.

NYCFC starts its academy at U9 and teaches the game as well as any club in the league, while operating out of three separate sites and working a narrow local recruiting model that recent classes suggest has room to widen.

LAFC develops players well with one of the more experienced academy staffs in the league, operating in one of the richest talent markets in the country while working to establish a clearer route to first-team minutes.

Colorado Rapids run one of the more efficient academies in Major League Soccer on a lean budget, with a sound player pathway and the most talented prospect in program history now moving through it.

San Jose Earthquakes are investing more under new leadership and have started defending Northern California properly, with two strong young classes suggesting the program is finally positioned to produce at the rate its region should support.

Sporting Kansas City runs one of the leaner academy operations in the league out of a very good facility, and as of late, it moves its best prospects toward the first team as aggressively as any club in Major League Soccer.

Charlotte FC has built a facility, residency and education setup that competes with most of the league in under six years, moving its classes from the bottom tier to the middle of the pack while it works out the final step to the first team.

Inter Miami sits on one of the deepest youth talent pools in the country and has already produced three first-team contributors and a Serie A sale, but recruiting, retention and pathway movement all have big question marks.

Houston Dynamo have closed the leakage in one of the country's stronger local markets and accelerate young players as aggressively as any academy in the league, with the final step to the first team still to be established.

Austin FC has built one of the largest scouting departments in the league to recruit nationally against a thinner local market, and it has developed and it is starting to promote the few top-end talents it has brought in.

D.C. United sits on one of the richest talent territories in the country and continues to identify high-level prospects, with tight budgets and the absence of a second team limiting what the academy can currently convert.

St. Louis City SC has built a small, tightly integrated academy with strong local relationships in one of the great soccer cities in American history, and five years in it is still working to convert that inheritance into elite prospects.

Nashville SC pairs one of the better school partnerships and deepest housing programs in the league with national recruiting to offset one of the thinnest local talent markets in Major League Soccer.

Minnesota United runs one of the leanest academy operations in Major League Soccer, with a thoughtful education partnership and improved regional identification marking the early stages of a rebuild.

Portland Timbers work from one of the thinnest talent markets in Major League Soccer, have shown little in the way of academy ambition, with one of the leanest academy staffs, but have a major facility investment now underway.

San Diego FC has built a fully residential academy with Right to Dream that sets a new standard for investment in Major League Soccer. This year they will operate a U13, a U14 and a hybrid U15/U16 team. It's too early to rank them: this is only their second year in operation, and I don't have a reliable sample size from a talent ID, development or outcomes perspective. They will enter the rankings next summer, and I expect they will have made the fastest start of any new academy in MLS.