The inaugural MLS NEXT Pro season will kick off this Friday night with St Louis CITY2 hosting Rochester New York FC at Hermann Stadium (8p p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT) in St. Louis. That match is slated to be one of the two game-of-the-week that MLS NEXT Pro will stream this weekend. Nine games will be played from Friday through Sunday, and all will stream live on mlsnextpro.com
MLS NEXT Pro Teams 101
There are 21 teams broken into two conferences, 10 in the Eastern and 11 in the Western. The Western Conference features the Pacific and Frontier Divisions with 5 and 6 teams respectively. We’ve gathered several details on each NEXT Pro side and today we are featuring the Frontier Division as we get ready to kick-off what’s expected to be an exciting inaugural weekend.
Colorado Rapids 2
Overview: Rapids 2 is an affiliate team of the Colorado Rapids playing in MLS NEXT Pro, which provides a defined pathway for youth players to reach the professional ranks. The new team will be composed of Rapids Academy players on amateur contracts, players signed directly to Rapids 2 and players on loan from the Rapids First Team. The Rapids 2 team is led by Head Coach Erik Bushey, Assistant Coach Brian Haynes and General Manager Brian Crookham.
Home Field: TBD
Head Coach: Erik Bushey
Players to watch:
Homegrown striker Darren Yapi will likely spend a significant amount of time with Rapids 2. The 17-year-old had offseason stints with Arsenal and Club Brugge and is poised for a breakout season. Rapids 2021 first round draft pick Philip Mayaka was a standout in an injury shortened 2021 USL season on loan at Switchbacks FC. The club has signed 27-year-old Rapids homegrown and MLS veteran Dillon Serna to lead the team both on and off the field. Midfielder Robinson Aguirre, fresh off a call up to the El Salvador U20s, leads a class of 10 Academy graduates who will participate on Amateur contracts to begin the 2022 campaign.
Did you know? The Rapids first-ever MLS match, played April 13, 1996, was against Kansas City Wiz (now Sporting KC). Rapids 2 first-ever match will be against Sporting KC 2.
Official Twitter handle: Rapids_2
Houston Dynamo 2
Overview: Houston Dynamo 2 will develop the next generation Dynamo players and create a path to the first team. The updated physical proximity will bring the first and second teams closer as they will share the same facility and training grounds at Houston Sports Park. Dynamo 2 players will hone their skills and at the same time help enhance the top-flight team’s practice as they prepare to challenge for an MLS NEXT Pro title.
Home Fields: AVEVA Stadium and PNC Stadium; Houston, TX
Head Coach: Kenny Bundy
Players to watch:
Juan Castilla signed with the Dynamo in June, 2020 as the youngest homegrown signing in Club history. He made his MLS debut last year against the Colorado Rapids on October 31, 2021. His father, Rodo Castilla, is also Dynamo Academy’s Foundation Phase Director.
Brooklyn Raines signed a homegrown contract with the Dynamo in February after playing in the USL Championship for El Paso Locomotive. Prior to playing with El Paso, Raines was a member of the Barcelona Academy in Arizona, which he joined in 2018. He also spent time training with Austrian side RB Salzburg this past winter.
Finally, Ethan Bartlow was selected sixth overall in the first round of the 2021 MLS SuperDraft. He is a Generation adidas player who was very highly touted coming out of college. He missed most of 2021 with a concussion but should be playing with Dynamo 2 a fair amount as he looks to rebound from that injury.
Official Twitter handle: houstondynamo2
Sporting KC II
Overview: Sporting KC II announced on December 6 of last year that it was going to be one of the 21 inaugural MLS NEXT Pro clubs in 2022.
Home Fields: Rock Chalk Park; Lawrence, KS and Swope Soccer Village; Kansas City, MO
Head Coach: Benny Feilhaber
Players to watch:
Rauf Salifu is on loan from Ghanaian side Accra Lions FC and scored 21 goals in Accra’s Ghanaian Division One title and promotion earning season.
Spencer Glass is SKC II’s first MLS NEXT Pro signing out of Indiana University. He spent a majority of preseason with the first team.
Coby Jones is an 18-year-old Sporting KC Academy product and the first academy player to sign with Sporting KC II in MLS NEXT Pro. He scored in his first appearance at Children’s Mercy Park as a 17-year-old.
Did you know? SKC II is the first professional sports franchise based out of Lawrence. They also won the USL Championship Western Conference in its first two years (2016, 2017). SKC II was founded in 2016 as the Swope Park Rangers and rebranded to SKC II ahead of the 2020 season
Official Twitter handle: SportingKCII
MNUFC 2
Overview: MNUFC2 will be one of the 21 inaugural MLS NEXT Pro clubs in 2022. The team will create a pathway for players looking to make their jump to the top-flight. MNUFC Chief Soccer Officer, Manny Lagos said, “The announcement of the league and team will have an impact in youth soccer in the state of Minnesota and it provides an opportunity for this club to expand how we develop young players for the first team.”
Home Fields: Allianz Field; Saint Paul, MN and National Sports Center Stadium; Blaine, MN
Head Coach: Cam Knowles
Players to watch:
MNUFC2 is filled with enough talent to compete for an MLS NEXT Pro title. Among the notable players to watch are goalkeeper, Fred Emmings, defenders, Devin Padelford and Callum Montgomery. Fans should also be on the lookout for midfielder Aziel Jackson and forward Tani Oluwaseyi who will look to help MNUFC2 make a title run.
Did you know? This is Minnesota United’s first professional level developmental squad
Official Twitter handle: MNUFC2
North Texas SC
Overview: North Texas SC was founded on December 6, 2018 and were the inaugural champions of USL League One in 2019. That season, the club finished with a winning record of 17-6-5, and defeated Greenville Triumph SC 1-0 in the final. That same year, North Texas also took other awards like the golden boot and the league’s MVP of the year.
Home Fields: Choctaw Stadium; Arlington, TX and Toyota Stadium; Frisco, TX
Head Coach: Pa-Modou Kah
Players to watch:
The players who could help head coach Pa-Modou Kah contend for the title are forwards, Jose Mulato and Satiago Ferreira and winger Bernard Kamungo.
Did you know? The club’s first ever signing was Ricardo Pepi, who also scored a hat-trick on his professional debut. Head coach Pa-Modou Kah can speak seven different languages. He is also the second head coach to be appointed in the history of the club.
Official Twitter handle: northtexasSC
St Louis CITY2
Overview: STL CITY2 will serve as a building block for the first team in Major League Soccer (MLS) and will allow players to get familiar with CITY’s high-pressing, intense and positively aggressive style of play as they continue to develop their professional experience.
Home Fields: Hermann Stadium at Saint Louis University and Ralph Korte Stadium at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Manager: John Hackworth
Players to watch:
Given the past professional experiences as well as the impact they have made since joining the team, Coach John Hackworth suggests the public should keep an eye on these 5 players. He expects these them to play a major role on a team that's young and exciting!
Celio Pompeu is a dynamic attacking player that joined CITY2 from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) where he was ranked number 15 on TopDrawerSoccer’s midseason Top 100 list, and also participated in the 2021 Adidas Major League Soccer (MLS) College Showcase.
Ezra Armstrong is a versatile left-footed player who joins CITY2 after several stints internationally, with German side Türkspor Augsburg and Danish sports club Skovshoved IF.
Josh Yaro is an experienced defender and Captain of the squad who was a second overall pick in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft by the Philadelphia Union, making 23 appearances for the team. Following his time with the Union, he played in the USL Championship for Bethlehem Steel FC (now Philadelphia Union II), San Antonio FC and San Diego, totaling over 75 appearances in the last three seasons.
Kyle Hiebert was a standout defender on Missouri State University (MSU) men’s soccer team. He is the first-ever Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) player to win three straight Defensive Player of the Year awards and was also a finalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy award for two consecutive years.
Vitor Dias is a creative player that joined CITY2 after a successful tenure with Marshall University. He was one of the key players Marshall's College Cup Championship in 2020 and was a member of the NCAA All-Tournament Team. Dias was drafted in the third round of the MLS Super Draft by Vancouver Whitecaps.
Fun Fact: Nine of our players were born in the St. Louis area. We have two pairs of brothers on the team (Ezra and Dida Armstrong, Karson and Ryley Gibbs)
Official Twitter handle: stlcitysc
