The IMG Academy 150 fall update for girls in the 2017 graduating class is out today, and there are a few changes to the top 20. The first player to mention is So Cal Blues forward Ashley Sanchez, who breaks into the top 10 at No. 9. Sanchez has four goals and six assists for the Blues’ U16 ECNL squad and is a regular member of the U.S. U17 Women’s National Team. Tennessee SC midfielder and U17 WNT member Karlie Paschall just completed the first weekend of US Youth Soccer National League play at the U17 level, finished the weekend as the age group’s leading scorer with three goals, and climbs from No. 19 to No. 15. And Tophat forward Belle Briede has spent time at both U18 WNT camps this fall in September and October, recently committed Stanford(w), and climbs from No. 20 to No. 17.

Several other players moving up the ranks with this update include JFC Storm defender Jacqueline Schaefer, FC Dallas forward Ariel Diaz, Michigan Hawks midfielder Madison Wolfbauer, and Eclipse Select forward Channing Foster. Schaefer, fresh off her first camp with the U17 WNT in Los Angeles, completed the opening weekend of National League play and led her team to a tie for first place in the Red Division, climbing to No. 54 in the process. Diaz, who climbs from No. 136 to No. 106, has six goals for the FC Dallas U16s who sit in third in the Texas Conference. Wolfbauer has helped her Hawks to a stellar 10-0-1 record at the midpoint of the season and is her team’s leading scorer with six goals, climbing from No. 96 to No. 66. Finally, Foster, who moves from No. 93 to No. 83 plays up on Eclipse Select’s U17s, ranked No. 1 in the Grande TeamRank Top 25, and has six goals to her credit.

More: Grande Sports Academy TeamRank Top 25 | ECNL Phoenix Top Players

Highlighting just a couple of players new to the rankings this month, we mention West Coast FC midfielder Mikenna McManus, Sporting Blue Valley defender Kacie Kinley, and TSC Hurricane forward Nayeli Perez. McManus, who was part of September’s U18 WNT camp, lands at No. 80. Kinley was named to the Best XI at the TDS Raleigh Combine, has subsequently made her verbal commitment to Oklahoma, and lands at No. 105. And Perez is having a fantastic year in the ECNL, adding 10 goals and five assists for TSC’s U16s that currently top the Texas Conference. Perez was also named one of the best at the ECNL Showcase in Phoenix.

Not only has the IMG Top 150 received scrutiny, but the regional lists have been updated as well. Keep checking back this week as we unveil newcomers such as West Florida Flames defender Mikala Rhody, McLean SA forward Courtney Miles, SC Del Sol forward Aubree Incardone, Colorado Storm center back Jess Hixson, and many more.

As far as how we arrive at the rankings, it’s no simple task.

We keep a national database of players as the starting point for our rankings (if you’re not in it, enter a profile here).

We track an extensive list of selections to national team camps and other honors including USSF Development Academy (Boys), ECNL (Girls), and U.S. Youth Soccer National League event and season awards, plus U.S. Soccer Training Centers, ODP, id2 and other player identification programs.

From there we look at additional signs of top player performance in a club environment, with the help of an extensive network of observers around the country. The priority here is for club, college, national team and other select team coaches on the ground, but especially when we can gain corroborating opinions. The more layers of opinions we can gain accumulate the better, as our role is primarily to aggregate those viewpoints, rather than making our own determination as to a player’s quality.

As a matter of policy, we never share which coaches said what about whom so that coaches will be freer to share their assessments. Another policy is that parents’ opinions about their own children are not considered, but you are welcome to provide feedback about honors and other details that may be of help to us in keeping their profiles up to date as well as our challenge of sifting through thousands of players nationwide. That kind of data can be helpful, but the: “How can you not have rated my kid? He is awesome” communique, while compelling, will be consigned to the virtual trash.

In the end, there’s always some level of subjectivity about players, because after all, how good someone is relative to someone else is largely a matter of opinion, but we do our best to make our rankings as educated an opinion as can be.

The rankings will be updated every quarter. Keeping current rankings for 8 classes of 150 players each is no small task, and it is counterintuitive to think the rankings would change daily or weekly. We will announce each update. 

So that’s it. You can see the newest version of the rankings here. 

---

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

MLS NEXT Fest: U19 Players to Know

Wake Forest’s Path to Women’s College Cup

Stanford’s Path to Women’s College Cup