ORLANDO, Fla. (September 19, 2016) – Major League Soccer (MLS) ranked Orlando City SC’s Cristian Higuita and Tommy Redding 21st and 23rd, respectively, on MLSsoccer.com 24 Under 24 presented by EA Sports. The first eight players were unveiled by MLS today, with the final 16 being announced over the next three days.
Cristian Higuita (22, Cali, Colombia)
- Ranked 21st on MLSsoccer.com 24 Under 24
- 39 starts in 43 appearances for Orlando City, including 14 starts and 17 appearances in 2016
- 2016: Leads team, ninth in MLS with 3.4 tackles per game; third on the team with 2.4 interceptions per game
- MLS Team of the Week in Weeks 3 and 4
- Selected to 40-man Colombian national team ahead of Copa America Centenario
- 2015: 4.3 tackles per game were second most in MLS; 87.1 pass success rate were eighth best in MLS
Tommy Redding (19, Oviedo, Fla.)
- Ranked 23rd on MLSsoccer.com 24 Under 24
- 17 starts in 20 MLS appearances, including 16 starts in 2016
- Orlando City’s youngest player to play (Aug. 8, 2015) and start a game (Oct. 3, 2015)
- Featured with U.S. U-20, U-17 national team
- Second youngest player in 24 Under 24 short list
- Became Orlando City’s first Homegrown signing at just 17 years old
In addition to Higuita and Redding, City’s Cyle Larin, Rafael Ramos and Carlos Rivas were included on the short list to be featured in the MLSsoccer.com 24 Under 24 presented by EA Sports.
The MLSsoccer.com 24 Under 24 presented by EA Sports is an annual ranking of the league’s best young players all under the age of 24. Past ranked players have gone on to play key roles on national teams, garnered multi-million dollar transfer fees and have been recognized with some of the league’s top awards, including Rookie of the Year and MLS Best XI. Past No. 1 ranked players include U.S. Men’s National Team players Brek Shea (2011), Darlington Nagbe (2013) and DeAndre Yedlin (2014), and Colombian international Fabian Castillo (2015).
All MLS players aged 23 or younger before October 23, 2016 were eligible for consideration. The final list of 24 players was determined by a panel made up of top soccer media members and the MLSsoccer.com editorial staff. The panel ranked the eligible players based on the following criteria:
Technical: first touch, dribbling, shooting, heading
Soccer IQ: positioning, reading game, situational understanding, tactical awareness
Physical Attributes: balance, agility, speed, endurance, strength, vertical leap
Personality: attitude, marketability, media savviness, charisma, intangibles
Potential: improvability, ceiling, national team potential, potential transfer value
More information on the MLSsoccer.com 24 Under 24 presented by EA Sports, including past lists, is available at www.mlssoccer.com/24under24.
