Jones, McKenzie rankings revealed in MLS 22 under 22

Major League Soccer unveiled the first 12 players of its annual 22 Under 22 on Wednesday, starting with Derrick Jones at 22 and Mark McKenzie at 21.

The league previously released annual 24 Under 24 rankings for eight seasons, but has gone younger for this year’s edition, as voted on by an expert panel.

The panel includes 19 individuals:
-Four anonymous technical staffers
-Ten members of the MLS Digital team (Matt Doyle, Sam Stejskal, Bobby Warshaw and Andrew Wiebe among others)
-Five soccer media members across North America, including Marcelo Balboa (Univision), Doug McIntyre (Yahoo Sports), Alexi Lalas (FOX Sports), Paul Tenorio (The Athletic) and Will Parchman (The Athletic)

The final 10 players will be announced tomorrow.

The Union didn’t have any players on the 2017 24 Under 24 list. Keegan Rosenberry (No. 6 in 2016), Amobi Okugo (No. 13 in 2014, No. 8 in 2013), Jack McInerney (No. 4 in 2013, No. 23 in 2011), Sheanon Williams (No. 18 in 2012), Freddy Adu (No. 19 in 2012, No. 6 in 2011), Danny Mwanga (No. 9 in 2011), Roger Torres (No. 22 in 2011) are previous Union players to be recognized.

For more information, visit www.mlssoccer.com/series/22-under-22.

Matthew Ralph

Matthew Ralph is the managing editor of Philadelphia Soccer Now. He's covered soccer at all levels for a decade in the Philadelphia region and has also written for TheCup.us, NPSL, PrepSoccer and other publications. He lives with his wife and two young children in Broomall, Pa., but grew up in South Jersey and is originally from Kansas.

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