Eye on the Academy- Player Stock Report

By Pat Eyler

One of the requests I’ve had was to start building a player stock report for the academy players. Since there are players at two levels at the Academy (and some solid looking alumni), I’m going to split the report into a U16, U18, and Alumni.  I’ll also include a “made it” list for players who have hit the pros and where they are now.

For an initial listing, I’m just going to post the 3 players at each level that I think are most likely to end up playing at the MLS level.  As time goes on, I’ll try to flesh out some more detail on how they’re doing, who’s moving on and off of those lists.

Here we go:

U-16s

Player	Notes
Justen Glad	Has been called into the USMNT U18 camp, and played 183 minutes (including a start) for the RSL Reserves.  In addition to his defensive chops, he recently scored 2 goals against a fellow academy side Arsenal.
Sebastian “Bofo” Saucedo	A constant scoring threat.  Bofo has also played for the RSL Reserves and looked good there.  He scored a brace against Arsenal as well.
Fito Ovalle	Frequently mentioned by Grande Sports for “stout defensive play”, a 40 yard defensive run was singled out in a recent game.

U-18s

Player	Notes
Niki Jackson	A forward who’s been scoring and assisting at the academy.  He’s also scored for the RSL Reserves.  All this despite being new to the team and feeling like “it’s going to take more time to adjust to it.”
Brooks Lennon	Another Academy player to get RSL Reserve minutes.  Lennon has also been called up to the USMNT youth teams.
Corey Baird	Another member of the USMNT U-18s.  Baird is an attacking threat who seems to be involved in a lot of Academy goals.  Check out his goal here against Guatemala earlier this year:

College

Player	Notes
Jordan Allen	Ranked the #3 freshman in the nation, Allen has played 154 minutes for the RSL Reserves, with a start against the Whitecaps during that time.
Ricardo Velasquez	A three-time ACC player of the week, Velasquez has 7 goals and 9 assists this season.
Ive Burnett	A high end defender who’s starting regularly at South Carolina, where he’s also scored a goal. Burnett has played 93 minutes for the RSL Reserves.

So, who did I leave off?  What do you think about these players?