The month of December saw the academy teams' seasons pause, where no League or Flex games were played. However, this break was partially filled with the first major academy tournament of the year, MLS NEXT Fest.
“MLS NEXT Fest brings together the top youth teams from across the United States and Canada, and it continues to stand as the best winter recruiting event in North America,” said MLS NEXT Technical Director Luis Robles. “With the introduction of the MLS NEXT Academy Division this year, we are proud to make this the largest event in our program’s history. We expect more than 1,400 teams from both the Homegrown and Academy divisions to participate, along with nearly 500 college scouts representing approximately 250 collegiate programs in attendance.”
The 2025 edition of the tournament was held in Mesa, Ariz. from Dec. 4-15. The Sounders had two of their three academy teams participate (U17, U19) where they competed in the Pro Player Pathway divisions against only other MLS academy teams.
The Sounders had average performances where each team finished with 1-1-1 records that resulted in the U17 finishing 18th and the U19 finishing 16th.
One notable takeaway from the results was the U17 team continued showing their offensive prowess with 10 goals scored over the 3 games they played. Through all competitions that has them sitting at 3.6 goals scored per match over 15 total matches played.
