Who are the emerging homegrowns you need to know?
Here are the next MLS-developed talents who are set to generate transfer buzz, dominate headlines, and turn heads throughout the 2025 season.
He’s still too young to have a driver’s license; thankfully his older brother Quinn, an excellent Union player in his own right, can give him a lift to training. But with his lightning-quick feet, creative flair and relentless engine, Cavan’s already bordering on a Brazilian-style first-name basis with North American soccer sickos, thanks to the superlative talent that’s made him a hyped prospect since he was 12 or so, rapidly rising through the Union’s academy and shining for US youth national teams.
He holds a German passport via his mother and was on Borussia Dortmund’s radar even earlier. Despite the hot pursuit of Europe’s biggest clubs, the wunderkind elected to stay in Philly, signing a historic homegrown contract – the biggest-ever in MLS – with the Union last year. He soon broke Freddy Adu’s 20-year-old record for youngest player in league history when he debuted in a July 2024 win over New England.
Sullivan more than held his own in MLS NEXT Pro last year, notching 4g/4a in 1,194 minutes, and now looks primed to carve out a role with the first team in ‘25, perhaps as an attacking spark off the bench. He’ll reportedly move along to mighty Manchester City when he turns 18, so catch this train before it leaves the station.
Like Sullivan, Hall is so far ahead of the curve that his participation in first-team activities before his 16th birthday was circumscribed by state child labor laws. The hard-running, goal-dangerous attacker became the youngest player in Red Bulls history, and MLS’s second-youngest behind Adu, at 15 years, 190 days old when he debuted in September 2023.
When he snatched a last-gasp equalizer at CF Montréal in June, Hall became the club’s youngest-ever scorer, and again the second-youngest in MLS behind Adu. It was the first of several impactful supersub appearances highlighted by two goals, one assist and a foul drawn leading to an opposition red card – just the sort of results that laid the groundwork for RBNY’s Audi MLS Cup Playoffs qualification and subsequent Cinderella run to the final.
“If you see the individual development of Julian Hall – he’s 16 years old – it’s unbelievable,” head coach Sandro Schwarz said after his first goal. “He’s a great person, he’s a great guy and he’s always listening [to] what we want to improve with him. What is very good in his skills and it’s good and he has today an important goal. A good feeling for [him] and that he is also the feeling that he’s a very important player for us.
“Not only an academy player who makes a little bit of the next step and plays some minutes. No, he’s in our roster every weekend.”
Can Hall make the next step in 2025? With a Polish passport and keen interest from both the Poland and US youth national team staffs, he’ll be closely watched on both sides of the Atlantic.
Ahh, the life of a goalkeeper. A transplanted homegrown from Bakersfield, California, Pulskamp has been in Kansas City for five years now and has 28 MLS starts under his belt, but to his understandable frustration has only now gained pole position on Sporting’s starting job.
“He’s our No. 1,” manager Peter Vermes told reporters during preseason. “John has the opportunity. He’s worked hard for it. He deserves it. We’ll work with him to get him as prepared and ready for each game as possible.
“When you’re an ambitious person – in this case, an ambitious player – you want to fly. And John has always been wanting to fly, [which] goes with wanting to show yourself, wanting to climb the ladder. He’s worked hard.”
He’s only 23, though, still young for a ‘keeper and fresh off the inspiring experience of being an alternate on the US men’s Olympic team in France last summer. A big, nimble shot-stopper with solid distribution, he’s got the tools; now he has to produce with consistency – not so simple on a squad in the midst of a profound rebuild.
Montréal defied almost everyone’s expectations by making a late run into one of the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spots last year, and Saliba’s box-to-box labor was a huge ingredient. Like Ismaël Koné before him, the local product is a beneficiary of CFM’s commitment to player development and their resulting trust in young’uns, even in high-leverage areas like central midfield.
Though he only turned 21 this month, Saliba’s already logged north of 3,500 MLS minutes over the past two seasons, honing a well-rounded skill set marked by tempo-setting passing, diligent ground coverage, an increasingly physical edge and the occasional goal contribution.
All this understandably drew Canada coach Jesse Marsch’s attention, earning Saliba his first Les Rouges cap in September’s historic win over the United States and Canada Soccer’s 2024 Men's Young Player of the Year. He was the only Canadian to make MLSsoccer.com’s 2024 22 Under 22 rankings, and now multiple reports state he’s being monitored by Eintracht Frankfurt and other clubs in Europe.
A star is on the rise in Quebec.
It’s not easy for youngsters to dig out first-team minutes with so much star power in Black & Gold, particularly attackers. Ordaz, 21, currently appears to be competing with highly-rated teenage import David Martínez for time on the LAFC flanks, and while he can also work through the middle, there he has the likes of Olivier Giroud, Jeremy Ebobisse and Denis Bouanga for competition.
But there’s just something about the kid from Van Nuys. He’s been in the club’s colors since Under-14 level and served as a ball kid in the early years, notably getting a front-row seat to the chaotic drama of the fifth edition of El Trafico. And the silver lining of all those elder players in front of him on the depth chart is beginning to show: A growing nose for where, when and how to inflict the most damage on opposing defenses, as he did with 1g/3a in just 372 MLS minutes last year.
By several accounts, he’s had a strong preseason, and getting the start in LAFC’s Concacaf Champions Cup opener at Colorado on Tuesday may offer a hint at coach Steve Cherundolo’s levels of trust. Scoring the game-winner in a recent friendly win over Club América is another sign, too.
The Revs’ teenage left back made massive strides last season, earning eight league starts and more than 900 first-team minutes at just 16, flashing top-tier athleticism and match IQ beyond his years, enough for New England to trade away DeJuan Jones to Eastern Conference counterparts Columbus.
Head coach Caleb Porter revealed in September that “he’s got scouts all over him in Europe,” and while the Revolution are in no hurry to part with Miller, gently pumping the brakes on the growing hype, the extent of his potential is exciting for all parties.
“He’s got more levels he can hit. People will notice as he does so,” writes Armchair Analyst Matt Doyle, who picked the fullback as one of his breakout players for 2025. “Given the Revs' commitment to developing academy products over the past few years, and what their left-back depth chart looks like right now, Miller could be the youngest regular starter in MLS.”
Over the past few years, arguably no one in MLS has made better use of the MLS NEXT/MLS NEXT Pro structure to foster a pipeline from youth through the second team and on to MLS level than the Crew. Wilfried Nancy & Co. have nurtured several of their current first-team starters along this path, including Patrick Schulte, Mohamed Farsi and Jacen Russell-Rowe.
Habroune might just be next in line. The son of Moroccan immigrants who arrived in central Ohio seeking a better life – his father played professionally back in his homeland – he’s a slick-passing No. 8 with impressive confidence on the ball and promising attacking instincts. Though he’s only started one MLS match thus far, he spent extensive time around the first team across a busy 2024 and has gained international experience with US youth national teams.
“He’s a box-to-box player and, technically, has quality. But he’s able also to play within the lines, but also to pass the ball behind the lines,” said Nancy when Habroune signed his homegrown deal a year ago. “He’s young, but he has a lot of personality.”
Many of the names above arrived in Columbus as reclamation projects or late bloomers, having come through the college ranks or other clubs’ youth systems. Habroune breaking through would represent a triumph for the Crew academy and an inspiration to other kids across the Ohio capital city.
Though he won’t turn 20 for a few more weeks, “RBW” has already logged more than 2,200 first-team minutes over the past four years, evolving from a center mid into a modern fullback capable of working on either corner, with tenacity, technique and intelligent decision-making his hallmarks.
Along the way, he reportedly turned the heads of European scouts and was named to The Guardian’s “Next Generation” list, a rundown of the world’s best young talents. For an ambitious club where winning trophies is an annual expectation and thus depth is always tested, Baker-Whiting has been a useful, dependable rotation option.
All that said, he’s yet to lock down a consistent starting role and injuries, particularly hamstring issues, have knocked him off course repeatedly, including right now, as the latest recurrence of the latter ailment has sidelined him for the start of Seattle’s busy 2025. With Concacaf Champions Cup and Club World Cup on the docket in addition to their MLS Cup and Leagues Cup hopes, it’s a massive season for the Rave Green and RBW.
Who was that babyfaced kid stepping up to coolly stroke home the decisive penalty kick in the shootout that capped Inter Miami’s exhibition match vs. Club América last month? Albeit just a preseason friendly, the power of the moment was evident from the warm congratulations Leo Messi and the rest of his star-studded squad lined up to give the teenager on his senior debut.
World, meet Santi Morales.
Longtime MLS watchers probably recall his father, Javier, a gifted playmaker who orchestrated the excellent Real Salt Lake teams of the late oughts and early teens – dad’s now a member of the technical staff at IMCF, with an up-close view on his son’s rapid rise with the Herons, and undoubtedly a prime influence on Santi’s skill and composure in attacking midfield.
Even at age 10, the younger Morales' promise was evident as he started his academy career at FC Dallas, where Javier finished his playing days and transitioned into coaching. Having just turned 18, he’s still filling out and may not be ready to challenge for first-team minutes just yet. But with Miami facing another packed calendar with plenty of 30-something legs in the starting XI, he might just get a chance to show he belongs in the months ahead.
If there’s any MLS club that can use a jolt of youthful homegrown energy, it’s Nashville SC, who rode veteran savvy to a very solid expansion launch but faded badly in ‘24 as their core aged and Gary Smith’s conservative tactics went stale.
Applewhite, their third-ever HGP signing, might just be the one to blossom into a poster child for an academy system still in its infancy but nevertheless a priority for the Coyotes. Originally from Washington, D.C.’s Maryland suburbs, the tall, rangy defender was recruited to Nashville in 2022 and steadily climbed the ladder, earning his first-team contract in January.
Walker Zimmerman, Jack Maher and new signing Jeisson Palacios are obstacles to Applewhite earning regular MLS minutes. But head coach B.J. Callaghan – hired last year in no small part for his player-development acumen, has spoken highly of him in preseason.
“When we talk about being brave and calm, he displayed that,” said Callaghan after a friendly match earlier this month. “You can see him directing players around to find passing lanes for him. So not only is it the execution, but now he's thinking about the game as well.”
