A breakdown of U.S. youth boys soccer tiers from MLS NEXT Academies down to recreational leagues, with college recruiting targets for each. Players in top tiers should aim for Division II or III initially, with Division I possible if they excel in MLS NEXT or ECNL. Lower tiers should focus on Division II/III first.
What is the youth soccer pyramid for boys? At the top of the list, you have MLS Next Academies that are directly affiliated with MLS Next professional teams. Number 2 are MLS Next Academies. This could also include an IMG or a Barça residency, which while they're not technically amongst pro teams, they're that level. Then you have MLS Next teams that are super highly ranked despite maybe not being connected to a professional team. Then you have MLS Next teams that are just MLS Next teams. Then you have ECNL teams that are going to playoffs. Then you have ECNL teams that are ECNL teams in existence. Then, this is when it gets a little bit split. You have ECNL RL, Elite Academy, and NAL. ECNL RL is great because it's directly connected to the ECNL team, so there's an easier jump. NAL is kind of that same system. And Elite Academy, as of recently, is now under the MLS NEXT umbrella. But for now, those levels are around the Tier 3, and you would aim for Division II or Division III schools, at least at the beginning. We have helped students play Division I from those levels, but you want to be mindful and not only email Division Is. If you're playing above those in the MLS NEXT Worlds or in the ECNLs, you should also still be mindful and not only email DIs, but you can probably get to the DIs a little bit faster. You have NPL, DPL, US Youth Soccer, or EDP. These you have to aim for Division 3 and Division 2 almost primarily until you get significant interest, then you can aim for Division 1. And then below that are what we would call rec leagues relative to your state. If you want a list of all the best MLS NEXT teams or ECNL teams in your area, comment the word state and I will send you a DM asking you what state you live in so I can send you that list.
