Five U23 MLS Players to Follow in the Western Conference by Zach Lowy
The 2025 Major League Soccer season is up and running, and there are more than a few promising young talents who are worth keeping your eye on. Today, we’re taking a look at five U-23 players who are poised for a breakthrough campaign in MLS’ Western Conference.
Bernard Kamungo
Age: 23
Club: FC Dallas
Nationality: Tanzania
If the United States is still the land of opportunity, it’s because of stories like Bernard Kamungo’s. Born in a refugee camp in Tanzania, Kamungo was able to move to Abilene, Texas, when he was just 14 thanks to the International Rescue Committee. After his graduation from high school, he started looking online for potential tryouts, only to run into a brick wall due to the astronomical costs of participation fees.
He finally found a trial with North Texas SC, FC Dallas’ reserve side, for just $90, and his performances impressed head coach Eric Quill enough to sign him to a permanent deal in March 2021. Having impressed for North Texas, Kamungo started playing regularly for Dallas’ first team in 2023 and bagged 6 goals in 16 MLS appearances, before racking up 5 assists in 29 MLS appearances in 2024. Now working under Quill, Kamungo is expected to play a vital role in Dallas’ attack this season alongside the likes of Petar Musa and Anderson Julio.
Boasting breathtaking speed, elusive dribbling and an eye for goal, Kamungo is an exciting right winger who has already made a name for himself in Texas, and there’s reason to believe that he will contribute even more to Dallas’ first team after a season that saw them lose various key attacking outlets like Alan Velasco and Jesús Ferreira. Whilst he hasn’t scored in his first 10 MLS appearances this season, he did chip in two goals and one assist in two U.S. Open Cup appearances, and it’s only a matter of time before he opens his account in league play.
Obed Vargas
Age: 19
Club: Seattle Sounders
Nationality: Mexico
He doesn’t turn 20 for another few months, but Obed Vargas is already staking his claim as one of the best midfield talents in Major League Soccer. Born in Anchorage, Alaska, Vargas moved to Washington in 19 and developed at Seattle Sounders’ academy before making his debut on July 22, 2021 and becoming the third-youngest player in MLS history at 15 years and 351 days old. Vargas quickly emerged as a key figure in the center of the pitch, prompting head coach Brian Schmetzer to predict that he was “going to be a tremendous player for our club.”
Vargas helped Seattle defeat Cruz Azul in the 2022 Concacaf Champions League Final, becoming the first American team in 22 years to claim North American club soccer’s highest honor. He hasn’t looked back since, emerging as a vital cog in Seattle’s double pivot alongside Cristian Roldan. Skilled at wriggling out of pressure, turning on a dime and keeping the ball glued to his feet, Vargas’ technical prowess and ball control is matched only by his superb vision and passing placement. Despite his tender age, he is skilled at dictating the tempo and filtering in well-measured passes in between the lines for his teammates to receive.
From Ricardo Pepi to Herculez Gomez to Jonathan Perez, we’ve seen quite a few Mexican-American players make their mark in MLS, and Vargas is yet another Chicano who is staking out a reputation in the league. Unfortunately for USA fans, however, Vargas has committed to playing for El Tri after completing a one-time switch in 2024.
Nicolas Romero
Age: 21
Club: Minnesota United
Nationality: Argentina
More and more Argentine youngsters are choosing to kickstart their professional development in MLS rather than Europe, and Nicolas Romero is yet another player who is making a positive impact in the top American soccer league. After developing at Atletico Tucuman’s academy, Romero became a regular contributor for the first team during the 2023 campaign, making a total of 74 appearances in the Argentine Primera División before taking his talents to Minnesota United in January 2025.
Standing 6’1”, Romero is far from the tallest player, but he’s nevertheless asserted himself as an integral figure under Eric Ramsay and enjoyed a seamless introduction to life in MLS. Operating on the left side of the Loons’ back three, Romero has the physicality and brash tackling approach to put out fires, capable of doing his job and keeping out goals by the skin of his teeth. He ranks third in Minnesota’s squad with 4.9 clearances per game, whilst he is narrowly behind Wil Trapp (1.3) for the most interceptions per 90 (1.2) in their squad. All in all, Romero has proven instrumental in a Minnesota side that boasts the third-stingiest defense in the league behind Vancouver and New England with just 14 goals conceded.
After just a few months played in the USA, Romero has established himself as one of the finest center backs in MLS alongside the likes of Lucas Bartlett and Walker Zimmerman, leading Minnesota to the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals, where they will face Chicago. He’s also showcased his quality in possession by grabbing an assist in each of his last three league matches at home, while he also sits second in their squad for accurate long balls per game (1.9).
Diego Luna
Age: 21
Club: Real Salt Lake
Nationality: United States
If 2024 was Diego Luna’s breakout season, 2025 may very well be his confirmation season – the one that proves that he’s not a flavor of the month, but the real deal. Born in California, the Mexican-American attacking midfielder enjoyed spells at San Jose Earthquakes’ academy and the Barça Residency Academy before spending a year with USL Championship side El Paso Locomotive. It wasn’t long before Luna’s talents drew the attention of MLS teams, with Real Salt Lake signing him in 2022 for a USL-record fee of $250,000.
Luna has staked his claim as one of the finest talents in MLS thanks to his stellar ball control and dribbling skills, his ability to thread the needle and take risks where others might not be as audacious, and his penchant for taking the game by the scruff of his neck and changing the match at a moment’s notice. He is constantly on the lookout for extra space, roaming around the pitch and picking out teammates with a deftly timed killer ball, and keeping opposition defenders honest with his nonstop runs into the box.
After a year that saw him named the MLS Young Player of the Year and voted into the MLS All-Stars, Luna kicked off 2025 by making an impression on USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino. Despite breaking his nose after being elbowed by a Costa Rican player, Luna had cotton shoved up his nostrils and changed into a fresh jersey, provided an assist to Brian White’s opening goal in a 3-0 win, before going to the hospital after halftime. With seven goals since the start of April, the future is now for Luna.
Jack McGlynn
Age: 21
Club: Houston Dynamo
Nationality: United States
Arguably the most jaw-dropping transfer of the offseason took place with Jack McGlynn’s trade from the Philadelphia Union to Houston Dynamo. After developing in Philly’s youth ranks, McGlynn made his first-team debut on April 14, 2021, coming off the bench in a 4-0 victory against Deportivo Saprissa in the Concacaf Champions League. The following year, McGlynn helped Philadelphia reach the MLS Cup Final, only to fall to Gareth Bale’s LAFC. It wasn’t long before various MLS pundits like Marcelo Balboa and Derek Rae were dubbing him one of the top midfielders in the league.
And yet, on February 3, 2025, McGlynn was sold to Houston for a $2.1 million transfer fee – Philadelphia would also retain a sell-on percentage of any future transfer, as well as potentially receiving a further $1.3 million if certain performance-based metrics are met. It hasn’t taken long for McGlynn to make that fee look like a bargain and establish himself as a fan favorite in Texas: having scored 8 goals and 16 assists in 135 appearances for the Union, McGlynn has already racked up 3 goals and 3 assists in 16 appearances for Houston.
Capable of weaving together intricate passing plays and firing in dangerous set-pieces, McGlynn has developed a reputation for scoring long-range firecrackers, which was on display in their recent derby win vs. FC Dallas. At just 21 years of age, there’s reason to believe that McGlynn will be a pivotal contributor for not just Houston, but the USMNT in the years to come.