D.C. United Academy

The D.C. United Academy is the youth and development program for the Major League Soccer club D.C. United. The program consists of teams at four age levels:[1] the under-23 and under-20 teams, as well as the Academy (U-17, U-16, and U-15).

D.C. United Academy
Full nameD.C. United Youth and Development Academy
Founded2005
GroundRFK Auxiliary Fields
Washington, D.C.
LeagueMLS Next
WebsiteClub website

The D.C. United Academy has been one of the most successful MLS academies.[2] Many players have been signed directly from the Academy to the professional team, or have later played professionally. Notable players to have graduated from the D.C United Academy include Bill Hamid, who has been called up by the U.S. national team and who was the MLS 2014 Goalkeeper of the Year, and Andy Najar, who has been capped for Honduras and who was the MLS 2010 Rookie of the Year.[3][4][5]

History

The D.C. United Academy was created in 2005 in an effort to provide local talent an opportunity to have professional training. D.C. United was one of the first MLS clubs to develop its own academy.[5] The D.C. United Academy gained some press in 2013 when D.C. United Academy graduate Michael Seaton made his league debut with D.C. United; Seaton was the first player to play an MLS game who was born after MLS began play in 1996.[6] D.C. United decided in 2015, however, to reduce its outlays on its academy in part to help defray the expenses associated with the team's new soccer-specific stadium.[7]

Structure
D.C. United Academy Structure
Level Type League
Senior team Professional Major League Soccer
Reserve team Professional USL Championship
U-17 Development Academy MLS Next
U-16 Development Academy
U-15 Development Academy

Like most Major League Soccer teams, United's academy features youth pre-academy teams that ascend to the ranks of the senior team on the professional level. Starting in 2016, United will field their reserve team in the second-division USL Championship. Beneath their reserve and senior squads is the under-23 side, whom play exhibition matches.

The U-16 team playing Triangle F.C. in the 2006 Super Y League semifinals.

The teenage brackets represent the main academy as well as the pre-academy structure. Players from the under-15 to the under-18 age level play in MLS Next, playing against other academy teams around the nation. Formerly, the academy played in the USSDA.

Consisting of players aged from under-12 to under-14, the Pre-Academy is a stepping stone for younger players to adapt to an academy setting. This age group of players participates in Northeast Pre-Academy League.[8]

For players at the U-10 level and below, United offers specialty training camps.

D.C. United Academy is fully funded and does not charge any fees for its players.[9]

Notable alumni

Andy Najar, who transferred from D.C. United to Belgium's Anderlecht for a reported $2 million, was the first player from the D.C. United Academy — and first from any MLS academy — to move to Europe on a permanent contract.[10] The youngest D.C. United Academy signing is Chris Durkin, who signed for D.C. United in 2016 at 16 years old.[11] Furthermore, several D.C. United Academy players have played with U.S. national youth teams.[12]

MLS players

The following list includes players who, after leaving the D.C. United Academy, have played at least one match in Major League Soccer.

D.C. Academy prospects who played in MLS
Name Turned Pro DCU apps Left DCU Departure National team (caps)
Bill Hamid 2009 240 — —  United States (7)
Andy Najar 2010 100 2013 $3 million transfer to Anderlecht (Belgium).[13]  Honduras (36)
Conor Shanosky 2010 5 2014 Released. Signed with Louisville City FC. United States U20
Ethan White 2010 38 2013 Traded to Philadelphia for Jeff Parke. United States U20
Michael Seaton 2013 5 2015 Traded to Portland.  Jamaica (14)
Collin Martin 2013 15 2016 Traded to Minnesota for 4th round draft pick. United States U20
Jalen Robinson 2014 26 2019 Contract ended. United States U18
Romain Gall 2014 0 2010 Moved to Real Salt Lake academy. United States U20
Tyler Rudy 2015 0 2011 Played college soccer for Georgetown.
Chris Durkin 2016 36 2020 $1.1 million transfer to Sint-Truiden (Belgium). United States U20
Ian Harkes 2017 33 2018 Released. Signed with Dundee (Scotland). United States U20
Eryk Williamson 2017 0 2018 Traded to Portland Timbers. United States U23
Antonio Bustamante 2019 2 2019 Released. Signed with Blooming (Bolivia).  Bolivia (2)
Donovan Pines 2019 44 — —  United States (1)
Griffin Yow 2019 25 — — United States U18
Moses Nyeman 2019 30 – — United States U16
Kevin Paredes 2020 41 2022 $7.35 million transfer to VfL Wolfsburg (Germany) United States U16
Ted Ku-DiPietro 2022 2
Jackson Hopkins 2022 2

Notes:

  • D.C. United appearances updated as of November 29, 2020.
  • Where a player has played with multiple levels of a national team (e.g., men's team, under-20 team, under-18 team), only the highest level is listed.

Source: D.C. United

The Academy

U23 Team
Further information: D.C. United U-23

U18/U19 Team
As of September 23, 2017 [14]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
00 GK  USA Austin Chanock
0 GK  USA Dane Jacomen
1 GK  USA Quantrell Jones
2 DF  URU Elian Nalerio
3 DF  USA Chandler Vaughn
4 DF  USA Michael Edwards
5 DF  USA Jake Gusler
6 MF  SLV Alexis Cerritos
7 MF  USA Andres Cabrera
8 FW  USA Jonathan Godette
9 FW  USA Kyle Davis
No. Pos. Nation Player
10 MF  USA Nelson Martinez
11 MF  USA Everson Amaya
12 MF  USA Alec Townsend
13 DF  USA Allexon Saravia
14 DF  USA Aldo Moreno
17 MF  USA Daniel Nugent
18 FW  USA Paul Bangura
19 MF  USA Sandor Bustamante
24 MF  USA Juan Benevides
25 DF  USA Shany-Jo Kayo
27 MF  USA Ethan Stewart

U16/U17 Team
As of February 19, 2022 [15]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK  USA Drew Hartman
— GK  USA Jeremiah Paulin
— GK  USA Saxon Wolcott
— DF  USA Matai Akinmbomi
— DF  USA Joost Almekinders
— DF  USA Abu Bockarie
— DF  USA Marvin Cabrera Reyes
— DF  USA Jace Clark
— DF  USA Janne Rodriguez Aguirre
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF  USA Abdellatif Aboukoura
— MF  USA David Ayala
— MF  USA Isaiah Chisolm
— MF  USA Diego Diaz
— MF  USA Dominic Dubon
— MF  USA Jon Heintz
— MF  USA Jonathan Izaguirre
— MF  USA Arvid Lindquist
— MF  USA Alessandro Maldonado
— MF  USA Brandon Meminger
— MF  USA Marques Nana-Sinkam
— MF  USA Ethan Pendleton
— MF  USA Markus Ramsey
— MF  USA Sebastian Richardson
— MF  USA James Snaith
— MF  USA Gavin Turner
No. Pos. Nation Player
— FW  USA Ignacio Alem
— FW  USA Adrian Buri
— FW  USA Isaac Espinal
— FW  USA Hosny Garcia
— FW  USA Dale Gordon
— FW  USA Gage Lyons
— FW  USA Augustin Paul
— FW  USA Hugo Portillo

U14/15 Team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK  USA Jason Guevara
— GK  USA Owen Pschigoda
— GK  USA Ethan Talapatra
— DF  USA Alexander Aguilar
— DF  USA Michael Bosley
— DF  USA Myles Mercer
— DF  USA Dash Papez
— DF  USA Kemari Kerr
— DF  USA Diego Vasquez
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF  USA Jonathan Aguirre
— MF  USA Ayaan Ali
— MF  USA Christopher Argueta
— MF  USA Nicholas Beil
— MF  USA Luka Bentt
— MF  USA Emidio Castro-Valdez
— MF  USA Orlando Cavaceppi-Dove
— MF  USA John Chisholm
— MF  USA Ejani Christian
— MF  USA Javier Contreras Leon
— MF  USA Walter Covert
— MF  USA Neil Das
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF  USA Braxton Hayes
— MF  USA Nelson Hernandez
— MF  USA Jimmy Juarez
— MF  USA Ada Karatepe
— MF  USA Damilola Olupona
— MF  USA Diego Torres
— MF  USA Makai Wells
— MF  USA Brayden Zavala-Lopez
— FW  USA Raul Avalos
— FW  USA Noel Calix
— FW  USA Haadi Khalid

U12 Team
As of April 21, 2018 [16]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— FW  USA Raul Avalos
30 MF  TUR Ada Karatepe
34 MF  USA Lowen Jamison
60 GK  USA Bradley Blake
61 GK  USA Tyler Francis
63 DF  USA Kaleb Simpson
64 MF  GUA Edwin Marquez
65 MF  USA Ethan Pendleton
66 MF  NGA Matai Akinmboni
67 DF  ALB Dion Salihi
68 MF  MEX Leonardo Vasquez
69 MF  MEX Diego Vasquez
70 DF  USA Braxton Hayes
71 FW  USA Graham Jones
72 DF  ITA Orlando Cavaceppi-Dove
No. Pos. Nation Player
73 MF  USA Matthew Matos
74 MF  ETH Ifasen Kwame
75 MF  USA Edwin Castillo
76 MF  USA William Scott
77 MF  USA Gavin Turner
78 FW  USA Amare Smith
79 DF  USA Nicholas Beil
80 MF  USA Ivan Hughes
81 MF  USA Barron Trump
82 MF  USA Alonzo McDonald
83 MF  USA Kemari Kerr
84 MF  USA Erickson Paz
85 DF  COL Carlos Perez
86 MF  USA Alejandro Dubon

Coaching staff
As of February 7, 2022 [17]
Position Staff
U-17 Head Coach Matt Arrington
U-16 Head Coach Keyon Khalilian
U-15 Head Coach Scott Sutter

Reserves

From 2005 until 2012, D.C. United fielded a reserve team that played in the MLS Reserve Division. The reserve team disbanded when Major League Soccer and USL Pro announced a player development partnership, and United announced Richmond Kickers as their USL Pro affiliate.[18]

Honors

Seasons
Season MLS Reserve League Top goalscorer(s)
GP W T L GF GA Pts Pos Name Goals
2005 12 8 0 4 26 21 24 1st Jamil Walker 9
2006 12 6 1 5 22 11 19 5th
2007 12 4 5 3 16 12 17 5th
2008 12 5 1 4 19 21 16 5th
2011 9 6 3 0 21 9 21 Eastern Division
2nd		 Joseph Ngwenya 4

See also

References
General
  • Academy alumni sourced to: "Alumni & First Team Signings". D.C. United. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  • Academy rosters sourced to: "Academy Teams". D.C. United. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
Footnotes
  1. "The kids are coming", ESPN, Leander Schaerlaeckens, June 1, 2010.
  2. "DC United Announces Residential Academy", Vavel, Liam McMahon, February 20, 2015.
  3. "D.C. United to launch youth academy residency program in Maryland", Washington Post, Steven Goff, February 19, 2015.
  4. "Orlando City eager to build strong pipeline from developmental academy to MLS level" Archived 2019-10-22 at the Wayback Machine, Orlando Sentinel, Paul Tenorio, July 4, 2015.
  5. "D.C. United’s Homegrown talent leads the way in MLS awards", SoccerWire.com, Chris Teale, December 9, 2014.
  6. "D.C. United Loans Michael Seaton to Örebro SK", Last Word on Sports, Alec Rivera, April 1, 2015.
  7. "D.C. United’s bizarre approach to development continues apace", Top Drawer Soccer, Will Parchman, August 5, 2015.
  8. "U–11 & U–13 Training Program: About the Program". D.C. United. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
  9. "DC United academy, now fully funded, aspires to join MLS's best | Charles Boehm | MLSSoccer.com".
  10. "D.C. United selling Andy Najar to Anderlecht", Washington Post, Steven Goff, January 30, 2013.
  11. "Glen Allen native Chris Durkin signs with D.C. United", Richmond Times-Dispatch, June 14, 2016.
  12. "D.C. United to play in U-13 Concacaf Champions League Tournament", Soccer America, Mike Woitalla, August 3, 2015.
  13. "Former D.C. United star Andy Najar extends Anderlecht contract through 2018", Sports Illustrated, Avi Creditor, April 29, 2014.
  14. "D.C. United U-18/U-19". U.S. Soccer Development Academy. ussoccerda.com. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  15. "USA - DC United U17 - Results, fixtures, squad, statistics, photos, videos and news - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  16. "D.C. United U-12". U.S. Soccer Development Academy. ussoccerda.com. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
  17. "D.C. United Academy". Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  18. "D.C. United, Richmond Kickers announce landmark affiliation". D.C. United. DCUnited.com. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
Pre-Academy
Alumni
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