Welcome to the start of a new recurring series on Sounder at Heart focused on the performance of the various academy teams the Sounders operate. The current season kicked off on Sept. 6, so this first instance will report the performance from that point through the end of November. Moving forward, this series will come out on a monthly basis.
MLS Next Structure
The Sounders academy teams play in the youth development platform called MLS NEXT which was founded by the league in 2020 after the dissolution of the United States Soccer Development Academy. MLS Next is split into two different tiers, the Homegrown Division and the Academy Division. This two-tier structure is an expansion to how the platform previously operated and was announced going into this season.
“Today’s announcement of the MLS NEXT Homegrown Division and the MLS NEXT Academy Division marks a significant evolution in our program,” said Kyle Albrecht, MLS NEXT General Manager. “The Homegrown Division is the standard for player development in North America, offering a clear pathway to the professional game, while the Academy Division illustrates our commitment to elite competition and creating opportunities for all players to reach their highest potential.”
This change doesn’t impact the Sounders as they will continue to play in the renamed Homegrown Division alongside the rest of the MLS academy teams and 122 elite academies that are not affiliated to any MLS team.
During the season, the academy teams will play two different season-long competitions, the League and MLS NEXT Flex. The League matches will be against other MLS academies while MLS NEXT Flex will see the teams play both MLS and other elite academies.
Teams and Divisions
The Sounders operate three different academy teams and the rosters of each team can be found on the club's website. Note that the age groups are defined slightly differently by the club, the U15 team plays in the U16 age group, the U16 team plays in the U17 age group and the U18 team plays in the U19 age group.
For the League competition, they compete in the West Division with LAFC, San Jose, RSL and Portland Timbers. The Vancouver Whitecaps are also a part of the division but do not operate a U16 team.
For the MLS NEXT Flex competition, all MLS academy teams are put in the same division.
Performance
There is very limited information about the games beyond the results so the performance of the teams will be looking primarily at their standings and record. However, if the teams compete in bigger tournaments that have more information available there will be further insight provided.
Overall the academy teams are performing incredibly well to start this season. All of the teams are in the top three of the League division and also in the top third of the MLS division in MLS NEXT.
They are also showing up in important games as they are perfect against their Cascadian rivals in League play with a clean sweep against Portland in early October and Vancouver a couple weeks ago.
The scoreboard stats highlight some eye-popping scoring numbers, especially for the U17 and U19 age groups. The U17s are the second highest goal scoring MLS academy in League and the third highest in MLS NEXT Flex. The U19s are scoring more than any other academy (MLS or elite) in MLS NEXT Flex averaging 5 goals scored a game.
The notable academy graduates in recent years have been midfielders and defenders, however this offensive prowess of the academy is something to keep an eye on. It could result in some exciting young players coming through further up the field.
