2008 Top 20
December 2025
The 2008 class is entering a critical stretch in its development, with several players pushing for first-team breakthroughs, many set to establish themselves in MLS Next Pro next season, and the entire group turning 18 and becoming eligible for moves abroad. Christopher Cupps, Ian James, Julian Hall and Maximo Carrizo are all working to secure permanent first-team roles, while Jude Terry and Nimfasha Berchimas need to begin threatening for senior minutes—though both face complicated club situations.
Positionally, the center-back group has shown the most promising growth, highlighted by strong early first-team performances from Cupps and James. Goalkeeper is also solid, led by J.T. Stokes and Kortkamp, but the full-back group remains thin in both depth and high-end upside. Outside of Terry and Landon Emenalo, the defensive-mid and box-to-box midfield cohorts are light, and the winger pool—while still talented—has stagnated slightly over the past year. The striker group is trending in the right direction with emerging depth, even if there’s no clear star yet.
Fair or not, this class saw its stock dip after a disappointing U-17 World Cup, but the professional pathway matters infinitely more. If a handful of these players hit at the senior level, no one will care—or even remember—how that tournament went.
W, CB
Positional Strengths
LB, RB, DM, AM
Positional Weaknesses
1. CB, Christopher Cupps, Chicago Fire (↑5)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸
Youth National Team: 🇺🇸 U-17
Cupps' stock continues to rise thanks to his mature frame, defensive instincts, mentality and discipline. He has the ability to execute all of the passes you want from a modern day center-back, but I'd like to see him become more aggressive on the ball. Defensively, his one on one defending in space is where he needs to focus his development.
2. CM, Jude Terry, LAFC (↓1)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇲🇽 🇦🇷 🇮🇹
National Team: 🇺🇸 U-17
Terry is one of the highest-floor players in the youth pool, with few weaknesses and strong contributions across all three phases of play. Though slightly undersized for a central role, his pace, technique, instincts, and the rhythm and strength he plays with make him a consistently effective presence.
3. CB, Ian James, Sporing Kansas City (↑2)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇱🇻
Youth National Team: 🇺🇸 U-17
James has an impressive physical profile with size, strength, mobility, and pace, and he’s comfortable breaking pressure with either the dribble or pass. He often carries into midfield with good timing and vision, defends with discipline off the ball. He needs to become a more consistently good decision maker on the ball and improve his ability to defend in space.
4. W/CF, Julian Hall, New York Red Bulls (↓2)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇵🇱
Youth National Team: 🇺🇸 U-17
Hall is a powerful and explosive attacker that does his best work off of the ball. On the ball he wins with pace and power and has a good feel for making plays for teammates in the final third. He is a little bit of a tweener between a nine and eleven. He has shown the ability to hold up play as a nine, but his goal contribution record has been a bit better as a wing.
5. DM/LB, Landon Emenalo, Chelsea (↑3)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🏴 🇳🇬
Youth National Team: 🏴 U-17
Emenalo is a big, strong, left-footed player with a ton of versatility and a high ceiling. He can play as a six, eight, left-back or center-back and brings physicality and reliability to every position. He’s composed and secure on the ball, excelling in duels, though he’s not consistently dynamic in possession.
6. CF, Alexander Staff, Eintracht Frankfurt (↓3)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇩🇪
Youth National Team: 🇩🇪 U-17
Staff is an elite poacher who scores in a variety of ways, combines well as a playmaker, and serves as a reliable hold-up option with constant off-ball movement. While he lacks standout physical traits, his strength, balance, and pace are sufficient, and he brings excellent work rate and intelligence to the press.
7. W, Nimfasha Berchimas, Charlotte FC (↓3)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇧🇮
Youth National Team: 🇺🇸 U-17
Berchimas is an explosive winger with the ability to strike from distance and deliver quality crosses with either foot, while also bringing strong defensive work rate and pressing intensity. Berchimas has not grown in several years and is now on the smaller side for his position, which could hinder his ability to win one on one consistently at higher levels.
8. RB, Wesley Okoduwa, Wolves (↑2)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🏴 🇳🇬
Youth National Team: 🏴 U-18
Okoduwa has an elite physical profile for a full-back, combining size, pace, and footwork that give him the potential to be a lockdown defender. Offensively, his skill set is still raw—he lacks consistent threat and a clear understanding of how to be effective and impactful in the final third.
9. CF, Chase Adams, Columbus Crew (↑2)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸
Youth National Team: 🇺🇸 U-17
Adams is a strong, physical striker who holds up very well, connects instinctually with teammates, and is extremely ball secure with great movement in the box. He’s still developing as a presser and is limited as a vertical threat.
10. CB, Ramiz Hamouda, Birmingham Legion (↓1)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇸🇩
Youth National Team: 🇺🇸 U-17
Hamouda is a tall, mobile left-footed center-back who defends well in 1v1 situations and has the versatility to play left-back. He’s ambitious and confident on the ball, but his passing and decision-making can be inconsistent, and he’s occasionally caught out of position.
11. DM, DeCarlo Guerra, LAFC (↑1)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇬🇹
Youth National Team: 🇬🇹 U-20
Guerra is a well-rounded midfielder with good size, clean technical fundamentals, and the ability to spray passes all over the field. He has improved his passing aggression without increasing turnovers and pairs that with reliable defensive work and strong recovery speed.
12. GK, Aidan Stokes, New York Red Bulls (↑5)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🏴 🏴
Youth National Team: 🇺🇸 U-17
Stokes is a solid shot-stopper with good size, athleticism, and excellent flexibility, particularly effective at getting down quickly and defending with his feet. He's confident in possession and strong in distribution, but he needs to reduce errors under pressure and improve his decision-making when leaving the goal.
13. AM, Maximo Carrizo, NYCFC (↓6)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇦🇷 🇮🇹
Youth National Team: 🇺🇸 U-17
Carrizo is a technically gifted midfielder with exceptional ball control, vision, and passing ability. He is highly secure in possession and is becoming increasingly effective in the final third. He'll need to be dynamite as a playmaker to make up for his deficiencies against the ball. There just are not many players like him that make it at a high level, but I hope he is an exception.
14. CM, Cristiano Oliveira, New England Revolution (↑2)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇧🇷
Youth National Team: 🇺🇸 U-17
Cristiano Oliveira is a physically and technically gifted player who shows flashes of high-level potential. However, he can be inconsistent and struggles to impact games consistently and for that, he continues to be one of my most difficult evaluations.
15. CF, Austyn Jones, PSV (No change)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇳🇱
Youth National Team: No appearances this cycle
Jones is a vertical striker who excels at finding dangerous spaces with his off-ball movement and has a strong goal-scoring record thanks to his finishing ability and willingness to take on defenders. While he has the physical tools to be more disruptive defensively, he lacks instincts in that phase and can drift out of games at times.
16. W, Gabriel Wesseh, Atlanta United (↑4)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇱🇷
Youth National Team: No appearances this cycle
Wesseh is one of the most dynamic attackers in his class, combining elite foot quickness, sharp 1v1 ability, and a dangerous left foot. To reach his full potential, he’ll need to become more engaged without the ball and contribute more consistently on the defensive side.
17. W, Jamir Johnson, Philadelphia Union (↓4)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇯🇲
Youth National Team: 🇺🇸 U-17
Jamir Johnson is a dynamic, pacey winger with excellent footwork in 1v1 situations and the ability to create with both feet as a passer and shooter. He is undersized as a winger, so being able to win against more physical defenders is a real concern.
18. CM/W, Leo Gitau, Houston Dynamo (↓4)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇰🇪
Youth National Team: 🇺🇸 U-17
Gitau is a quick, agile midfielder with excellent close control, dribbling ability, and rhythm on the ball, making him effective in tight central spaces or out wide. Though slightly undersized, he has enough pitch coverage and skill to project as a box-to-box midfielder long term.
19. GK, Jack Kortkamp, Sporting KC (No change)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇨🇦
Youth National Team: 🇺🇸 U-17
Kortkamp is a well-sized, athletic goalkeeper with impressive strength, balance, and lateral quickness, making him an advanced shot stopper capable of pulling off spectacular saves. His distribution is still developing, but it doesn’t significantly hinder his overall effectiveness.
20. RB, Gio Villa, Real Salt Lake (↓2)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇲🇽
Youth National Team: 🇺🇸 U-17
Villa is a tenacious one-on-one defender with elite lateral quickness and footwork. While his defensive game is more advanced, he offers value in possession with good ball control and contributions in both buildup and the final third. The big question for Villa is his size and how much his defense will play as he faces bigger, stronger and faster attackers.
Disclaimer
I have not had the opportunity to thoroughly scout the following players in the last 12-months: GK, Mick Tiel (Utrecht), RB/CB, Victor Vandenbroucke (Gent), W, Lev Jenzeh (PEC Zwolle), W, Kaelen Dougan (Greuther Fürth) and Asher Artz (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
If you have full game film for any of these players from the last 12-months, please contact me at
marcus@ussoccercollective.com.
