Final: 1/13/2011

UPDATED: 1/2/2011

After watching 100 live college soccer games this year, supplemented by another 52 games on tape, composed of 118 different college teams, here is my assessment of the seniors, international invitees and Generation Adidas underclassman. My rankings take into account the values of GA, international status and general assessment of the skill and how each player might fit into a MLS team.

Players that I haven’t seen are generally ranked lower than players that I have seen. I’m from the East coast – so it’s easier for me to see teams in the East. However, I’ve seen UCI, Sacramento State, SMU, Bradley, Cal-Northridge, Cal, San Diego, Tulsa and Drake live. I was unable to see some teams live, I’ve only seen on tape (e.g., Notre Dame, SIUE, Michigan, South Carolina, UCSB). The combine will supplement my prior observations and fill the gaps where needed.

Washington, Cal-Bakersfield and SD State are three teams that I regret not being able to see.

In addition to ranking each player sequentially, I’m assigning a letter grade using the following scale:

A=Can’t miss prospect. Should easily make the roster and may get time with the first team in 2011. By the end of the year, could be an impact player.

B=Likely to make the team. Could make roster, may take a year or more to get to the first team.

C=Probably not going to make the team. Has significant barriers to overcome. A very select few may eventually make it, but it would need to be a perfect storm (multiple injuries, playing out of their heads, fortuitous bounces, etc.).

D=Extremely unlikely to make a team.

F=No shot.

Within each grade, I’ve ranked each player.

This is a work-in-progress. I will be tweaking the rankings through the combine and I as review tape.

Below, I’ve broken out my rankings for forwards.

# Pos Grade Name College Combine?
1 Fwd A- Will Bruin Indiana GA-Combine
2 Fwd B+ Darlington Nagbe Akron GA
3 Fwd B- Omar Salgado GA
4 Fwd B- Corey Hertzog PSU GA-Combine
5 Fwd C+ CJ Sapong James Madison Combine
6 Fwd C+ Justin Meram Michigan Combine
7 Fwd C+ Amani Walker UC Irvine Combine
8 Fwd C+ Matt Eliason Northwestern 17
9 Fwd C+ Sverre Wegge Gundhus St. John’s
10 Fwd C+ Steven Beattie Northern Kentucky Combine
11 Fwd C+ Spenser Thompson UC Irvine
12 Fwd C+ Ryan Luke Portland
13 Fwd C David Zamora Cal Poly
14 Fwd C Jeb Brovsky Notre Dame Combine
15 Fwd C Andrew Adlard Indiana Combine
16 Fwd C Jason Herrick Maryland Combine
17 Fwd C Victor Estupinan combine
18 Fwd C Nick Weightman Cincinnati
19 Fwd C- Phil Bannister Loyola-MD Combine-DNA
20 Fwd C- Rafael Baca Loyola-Marymount
21 Fwd C- Steven Perry Notre Dame Combine
22 Fwd C- Aaron O’Neal Boston University
23 Fwd C- Kareem Yearwood Charleston
24 Fwd C- Elhadji Dieng Xavier
25 Fwd C- Mike Unwin Buffalo
26 Fwd C- Alan Koger William & Mary
27 Fwd C- Victor Freeman George Mason
28 Fwd C- Blake Brettschneider South Carolina Combine
29 Fwd D+ Alex Mangan DePaul
30 Fwd D+ John Salhag St Francis (NY)
31 Fwd D+ Matt Van Houten Washington
32 Fwd D+ Erik Ilisije Fairfield
33 Fwd D+ Sam Arthur South Carolina
34 Fwd D+ Samson Malijani FDU
35 Fwd D+ Miguel DaSilva Lipscomb
36 Fwd D+ Audric Kilroy Cleveland St
37 Fwd D+ Mike Worden American
38 Fwd D+ Tom Irvin Evansville
39 Fwd D Akil DeFreitas NC State
40 Fwd D Davis Paul California Combine
41 Fwd D Andrew Olsen Dartmouth
42 Fwd D Colin Baker St. Joseph’s
43 Fwd D Mike Lutrull Evansville
44 Fwd D Raymundo Reza San Diego State
45 Fwd D Scott Rojo High Point
46 Fwd D Bryan Burke San Francisco
47 Fwd D Brian Ramsey Oregon State
48 Fwd D Patrick Fleming St Francis (PA)
49 Fwd D Michael Bonilla UNCG
50 Fwd D Ernesto Marquez George Mason
51 Fwd D Faider Burbano Combine-DNA
52 Fwd D Miquel Casajuana Winthrop
53 Fwd D Nedim Hrustic Jacksonville
54 Fwd D- Bayo Adafin Columbia
55 Fwd D- Chase Neinken Rollins College
56 Fwd D- Mauricio Jimenez St. Peter’s
57 Fwd D- Wilson Hood Wofford
58 Fwd D- Mike Lindsay South Carolina
59 Fwd D- Khalil Johnson Campbell
60 Fwd D- Johannes Grahn Hofstra
61 Fwd D- Makesi Lewis Oakland
62 Fwd D- Stephen Sifuentes UNLV
63 Fwd D- Matt Spiess SIUE
64 Fwd D- Philippe Garre Gonzaga
65 Fwd D- Jon Cox Georgia Southern
66 Fwd D- Marcelo Carminatti San Diego
67 Fwd D- John Koustsounadis Adelphi
68 Fwd D- Nick Love Gonzaga
69 Fwd D- Harvey Headley Longwood
70 Fwd D- Arnie Sanchez UC Riverside
71 Fwd D- BJ Gleen Lafayette
72 Fwd F Cito Soriano UC Riverside
73 Fwd F Alex Harrison E Illinois
74 Fwd F Paul Paradise Mo State
75 Fwd F Jimmy Holmes SLU
76 Fwd F Brad Rose Yale
77 Fwd F Josh Thiermann Wisconsin
78 Fwd F Chase Barbieri Monmouth
79 Fwd F Celso Alvarez Cal Fullerton
80 Fwd F CJ Gehin-Scott VCU
81 Fwd F Brandon Stelmak Cincinnati
82 Fwd F Sam Petrone Seton Hall
83 Fwd F Adam O’Neil North Florida
84 Fwd F Kentrel Owens Wofford
85 Fwd F Bo Jelovac Albany
86 Fwd F Tyler Kincaid Evansville
87 Fwd F John Alberda Molloy
88 Fwd F Heath Cox Centenary
89 Fwd F Chris Miller Oregon State
90 Fwd F Amir Shihata VMI
91 Fwd F Sean Haglund Wake Forest