Seattle Sounders FC midfielder Cristian Roldan and forward Jordan Morris have been included in MLSsoccer.com’s annual 24 Under 24 rankings.
The rankings were announced Thursday afternoon with Roldan being named No. 13 and Morris No. 7. The 24 Under 24 series annually ranks the top 24 players in Major League Soccer under the age of 24. In last year’s rankings, Roldan was ranked 24th and Morris third.
Roldan, 22, has six goals and three assists in 30 appearances so far in 2017. The University of Washington product was drafted in the First Round (16th overall) in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft and has since been a mainstay for Sounders FC, recording 85 regular season appearances with 10 goals and seven assists.
Roldan earned his first U.S. Men’s National Team cap earlier this summer at the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Morris, 22, is in his second season for Seattle after signing as a Homegrown Player prior to the 2016 season. The Stanford product earned 2016 MLS Rookie of the Year honors after recording 12 goals and four assists in his first professional campaign.
Morris has three goals in 23 games played this season, while also adding four tallies for the USMNT in 2017, including three at the Gold Cup.
The MLSsoccer.com 24 Under 24 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.
Sounders FC is one of two clubs (FC Dallas) to have more than one winner since the rankings began in 2010, with Fredy Montero (2010) and DeAndre Yedlin (2014) each previously being voted to the top spot.
All MLS players aged 23 or younger before October 22, 2017 were eligible for consideration. The final list of 24 players was determined by a panel made comprised of soccer media members and the MLSsoccer.com editorial staff.
More information on the MLSsoccer.com 24 Under 24 presented by EA Sports, including past lists, is available at MLSsoccer.com/24under24.
Following a 3-0 victory on Wednesday evening against Vancouver, Sounders FC (12-8-11, 47 points) hits the road this weekend for a Sunday matchup with the Philadelphia Union at Talen Energy Stadium (10:00 a.m. PT / ESPN, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360 AM)
