Eleven Major League Soccer clubs now boast a professional reserve team in the USL, where even young academy alumni can get valuable minutes on a weekly basis. Ahead of Friday’s opening matches, here are five rising stars to keep an eye on in 2016.
Marco Bustos (Vancouver Whitecaps)
The sky is the limit for the Winnipeg native. Already signed to an MLS contract, the 19-year-old attacking midfielder bagged 7 goals and 2 assists while on loan with Whitecaps FC 2 last season, and earned his first senior cap for Canada in October.
Nansel Selbol (Swope Park Rangers)
Nansel Selbol, 18, signed for Swope Park Rangers directly out of the Sporting KC academy, where he led the U-18s in scoring. The speedy Nigerian stands just 5-foot-4, but is tricky on the ball and eager to take on defenders one-v-one. Sharing a training pitch with experienced goalscorers like Dom Dwyer and new Ranger Dane Kelly will be a huge boost ahead of the club's first-ever season.
Ricardo Velazco (Real Monarchs)
Born and raised down the street from Grande Sports World, home of the Real Salt Lake Academy in Arizona, Ricardo Velazco is a crafty No. 10. His coach at RSL-AZ, Freddy Juarez, is now his coach at Real Monarchs in the USL. The 22-year-old attacking midfielder is dynamic on the ball, but doesn’t ignore his defensive duties. Velazco assisted on four goals for the Monarchs in 2015 and grabbed two of his own. He was especially sharp at home against Austin, setting up the first goal and scoring the second.
Luca Uccello (Toronto FC II)
A Canadian U-18 international, Luca Uccello has a year of pro soccer on his growing résumé thanks to Toronto FC II. The midfielder was a mainstay in head coach Jason Bent’s inaugural squad and grabbed a goal and an assist in 22 appearances. A frequent goalscorer in the youth ranks, Uccello can also hit a pretty nice free kick. Look for him to take them more often with Mo Babouli recently signing an MLS contract with TFC.
Ryo Fujii (LA Galaxy II)
The Galaxy were the first MLS club to start their own USL team, and 19-year-old midfielder Ryo Fujii made the jump from the academy in February 2015, signing a contract that will also pay him a stipend to attend Cal State-Dominguez Hills. If the Galaxy want to keep this academy alum so badly that they were willing to pay for him to finish college, it figures MLS fans should keep him on their radar as well. Fujii made 12 appearances for LA Galaxy II in 2015.
