US/SC – Top 20 USMNT prospects born in 2008

The 2008 class is one of the strongest in the pool, just behind 2009, and continues to trend in a positive direction. Terry remains the top prospect for me, and Julian Hall is teetering on five-star status thanks to improved technical polish. While Nimfasha Berchimas has lost some momentum due to injury, a strong summer could get him back on track.This group has started to make early pro debuts—most notably strong center-back performances from Christopher Cupps and Ian James.

It’s a deep winger class with new names emerging, and the center-midfield pool offers both depth and variety. The center-back group is trending up, and the striker, right-back, and goalkeeper positions are all solid. Left-back and defensive-mid are weaker spots: left-back lacks both depth and high-end talent, while the defensive-mid pool has thinned due to dual-nationals committing elsewhere. Attacking-mid is also light outside of Maximo Carrizo.

Top European-based players like Alexander Staff (Germany), Landon Emenalo, and Wesley Okoduwa (both England) are currently aligned with other federations, but all could realistically be in play for the U.S. long-term.

Overall, this is a strong and well-rounded class that’s progressing well—and they’ll have a major opportunity to showcase their talent at the U-17 World Cup later this year.

1. CM, Jude Terry, LAFC (No change)

Grade: 5 ✮
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.

2. WING, Julian Hall, New York Red Bulls (↑1)

Grade: 4.5 ✮
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 can be a little loose with the ball at times. If he can tighten up his close control and expand his one on one arsenal, he could move up into that elite, five star territory.

3. CF, Alexander Staff, Eintracht Frankfurt (↑2)

Grade: 4.5 ✮
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.

4. WING, Nimfasha Berchimas, Charlotte FC (↓2)

Grade: 5 ✮
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇧🇮
Youth National Team: 🇺🇸 U-19

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. His biggest area for growth is improving his consistency and control in one-on-one situations, but his knack for big moments makes him a high-upside prospect.

5. CB, Ian James, Sporing Kansas City (↑3)

Grade: 4.5 ✮
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇱🇻
Youth National Team: 🇺🇸 U-17

Ian 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, and can further develop as a one-on-one defender.

6. CB, Christopher Cupps, Chicago Fire (↑5)

Grade: 4.5 ✮
Nationalities: 🇺🇸
Youth National Team: 🇺🇸 U-17

Cupps has prototypical center-back size, solid mobility, and stands out as a strong one-on-one and off-ball defender with leadership qualities and a great attitude. He's comfortable on the ball with good passing range and vision, though he can occasionally make a poor decision under pressure.

7. AM, Maximo Carrizo, NYCFC (↓3)

Grade: 4.5 ✮
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇦🇷 🇮🇹
Youth National Team: 🇺🇸 U-17

Carrizo is a technically pristine midfielder with exceptional ball control, vision, and passing ability. He is highly secure in possession and is becoming increasingly effective in the final third. Though he’s undersized and unlikely to ever be a major factor defensively, his quality on the ball, strength, balance, and quick burst still make him a very viable pro at a high level.

8. DM, Landon Emenalo, Chelsea (↑2)

Grade: 4.5 ✮
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇳🇬
Youth National Team: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 U-17

Emenalo is a big, strong, left-footed player who can play as a 6, 8, 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.

9. CB, Ramiz Hamouda, Birmingham Legion (No change)

Grade: 4.5 ✮
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.

10. RB, Wesley Okoduwa, Wolves (↓4)

Grade: 4.5 ✮
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.

11. CF, Chase Adams, Columbus Crew (↑8)

Grade: 4.5 ✮
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.

12. DM, DeCarlo Guerra, LAFC (↑2)

Grade: 4.5 ✮
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.

13. WING, Jamir Johnson, Philadelphia Union (↑3)

Grade: 4.5 ✮
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. Despite not being a perfect positional fit in Philadelphia’s system, his high work rate, creativity, and motor allow him to consistently make an impact.

14. CM, Leo Gitau, Houston Dynamo (↓2)

Grade: 4.5 ✮
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.

15. CF, Austyn Jones, PSV (↓2)

Grade: 4.5 ✮
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇳🇱
Youth National Team: 🇺🇸 U-17

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. CM, Cristiano Oliveira, New England Revolution (↓9)

Grade: 4.5 ✮
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.

17. GK, Aidan Stokes, New York Red Bulls (New addition)

Grade: 4 ✮
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
Youth National Team: 🇺🇸 U-17, 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 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 goalmouth.

18. RB, Gio Villa, Real Salt Lake (↓3)

Grade: 4 ✮
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇲🇽
Youth National Team: 🇺🇸 U-17

Villa is a tenacious one-on-one defender with elite lateral quickness and footwork, rarely overwhelmed by bigger attackers thanks to his toughness and ability to compress space. 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.

19. GK, Jack Kortkamp, Sporting KC (New addition)

Grade: 4 ✮
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. WING, Gabriel Wesseh, Atlanta United (New addition)

Grade: 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.

Disclaimer

I have not had the opportunity to thoroughly scout the following players in the last 12-months. If you have full game film for any of these players from the last 12-months, please contact me at marcus@ussoccercollective.com.

GK, Mick Tiel (Utrecht), RB, Keehan Barrett-Underwood (Sheffield United), RB/CB, Brandon Dayes (Louisville City), RB/CB, Victor Vandenbroucke (Gent) and WING, Kaelen Dougan (Greuther Fürth).

2008 Top 20

2008 Class at a Glance