There could be an argument out there that young players in MLS took a step forward in 2018.

Whether it was the sale of Alphonso Davies to Bayern Munich, or the increased influence of domestic youngsters in the league, the tides are shifting in the North America domestic league. Youngsters like Chris Durkin, Jaylin Lindsey, Mark McKenzie, Auston Trusty, Aaron Herrera, Brooks Lennon and Chris Mueller were all among the players to see decent minutes last year.

Previous MLS Top 50 Prospects rankings: 2018 | 2017

That was in the back of our mind in coming up with our annual assessment of top 50 Homegrowns and signed draft picks entering the 2019 season. With the MLS calendar starting anew this weekend, there is no better time to run the rule over the league's best and brightest up-and-comers.

Simply put, which ones are the best? And what makes them great? When all is said and done, which one has the potential to be the best pro?

Over the course of the week, we're rolling out 10 top players per day counting down from No. 50 to No. 1 on our list. The rubric is simple. To be considered for our top 50, players need to be born in 1996 or later, been signed to the league via either the Homegrown mechanism or through the draft and have played 500 or fewer minutes of first division soccer.

Bottom line, with this list, we're taking stock in the next wave of talent.

Be sure to check back here throughout the week as we update this page up until the start of the 2019 MLS campaign. And for your reference, we've included our player pool of 50 on this page.

Top 50 Rankings: Nos. 50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-1  

Just Missed: F Santiago Patino (Orlando City), M Michael Baldisimo (Vancouver), F Andre Shinyashiki (Colorado Rapids) M Aidan Daniels (Toronto FC), D Matthew Real (Philadelphia Union), M Anthony Fontana (Philadelphia Union), D Sam Vines (Colorado Rapids), F Brandon Vazquez (Atlanta United), M/F Ema Twumasi (FC Dallas), F JJ Williams (Columbus Crew), D Tristan Blackmon (LAFC)

2019 Top 50 MLS Prospects

Brenden Aaronson
Ayo Akinola
Efrain Alvarez
Frankie Amaya
Isaac Angking
Theo Bair
Jon Bakero
Cole Bassett
George Bello
Tajon Buchanan
Gianluca Busio
Handwalla Bwana
Andrew Carleton
Mathieu Choinière
Simon Colyn
Cade Cowell
Omir Fernandez
Jesus Ferreira
Tyler Freeman
Matthew Freese
Gilbert Fuentes
Justin Haak
Siad Haji
Matthew Hundley
Aboubacar Keita
Jean-Christophe Koffi
Cameron Lindley
J.T. Marcinkowski
Erik McCue
Benji Michel
Benjamin Mines
Callum Montgomery
Trey Muse
John Nelson
David Ochoa
Noble Okello
Donovan Pines
Paxton Pomykal
Justin Rennicks
Bryan Reynolds
Thomas Roberts
Miles Robinson
Dayne St. Clair
James Sands
Joseph Scally
Brandon Servania
Mason Toye
Julian Vazquez
Wan Kuzain Wan Kamal
Eryk Williamson

---

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

ECNL Girls N. Atlantic Players to Watch

Women's NCAA Tournament Round Two Preview

Hornets Add 7 on National Signing Day