MLS NEXT 2 is a new league where playing time and exposure at showcases matter more than club reputation for college recruitment. Within three to four years it could rival ECNL and Elite Academy as a top pathway. Younger players have strong Division 1-3 prospects, but older players should check with their coaches first.
What is it that you need to know about the new MLS NEXT 2 league? The new MLS NEXT 2 league. Here's the bottom line, what you need to know. Whenever you're trying to find your goal of playing college soccer, it doesn't matter what club team you're going to play on, asterisk, because if you play minutes, it matters. If your coach is a good person, if you're getting exposure by showcases, there's a bunch of different variables. So in that case, I would tell you, if you're not sure, give me a call, description's below, and we can talk about your situation. But on the whole, MLS NEXT 2 is going to be really good because it's going to go to all the MLS NEXT Flex events and all the MLS NEXT events, which means it will get the exposure. So my prediction is in time, probably 3 to 4 years, it will be much better than ECNL RL, way better than Elite Academy or NAL, and it will become probably MLS NEXT, ECNL, and MLS NEXT 2. Probably there's USL Academy, which is pretty good, but it's a very high level, but there's no showcases. That's the problem. For MLS NEXT 2, there are going to be showcases. So if you are in 8th, 9th grade and you're part of a team that's MLS NEXT 2, that would be great because then there's opportunity to play MLS NEXT. You're on a team that could get exposure, and now Division 3, Division 2, Division 1 soccer might be in the for you. On the flip side, if you are a sophomore or junior right now and you're like, I don't know what to do, then it depends. You need to talk to your coach, you need to talk to your club. But in reality, MLS Next 2 is basically just what ECNL RL is, B team, to ECNL.
