Who are the top players for the Atlanta United U-15s?

The Atlanta United U-15 group is solid, but lacks top level talent. They have a couple of players that have youth national team and homegrown potential, but they lack an elite prospect that is an obvious projection to that level. The defense is the strength of the group with three notable prospects across the backline and a goalkeeper with above average potential.   My grading system   I use a numerical scoring framework to grade players. I look at what I consider to be the most important traits and skills for each position and apply a numerical value to each of those categories. I take into account the age of the player when grading for each category.. The categories include physical traits, technical ability, intellectual understanding of the game and their mentality in how they approach the game. I average those individual scores in order to generate a holistic grade of the player. The score helps me identify what tier of prospect a player is.   Tier 1: A high impact player with all the tools to be a first choice youth national team selection and an obvious homegrown contract candidate.   Tier 2: A very good youth prospect that should likely get youth national team consideration and a potential homegrown contract candidate.   Tier 3: A solid youth prospect that should get a look in MLS Next Pro or is likely getting recruited to play high level college soccer.   RCB/RB, Pedro Villalobos (2008)   What makes him special: Villalobos is a versatile right-sided defender with very good ball control and the confidence to push the game forward with the ball at his feet. Villalobos had a growth spurt this year and Atlanta now play him at both right center-back in a three man backline and at times right wing-back, though I think his best performances have been at center-back. Villalobos is my highest rated player on their U-15 team and is close being at a youth national team level, but his position group is very crowded so it might be difficult for him to get a look.   How he can take it to the next level: Defensively I would like to Villalobos become a bit more cognizant of where danger zones are and where danger might come from. This will take some time as he adjusts to a new position. Offensively he can at times be a little too confident in his dribbling abilities and tries to dribble out of pressure when a simple clearance is the better decision   Level: Tier 2   GK, Jonathan Ransom (2008)   What makes him special: Ransom has very good reflexes and athleticism which helps him make very challenging and acrobatic saves and also allows him to move quickly from side to side within the box. He also shows high upside with his distribution as well as his handling.   How he can take it to the next level: Ransom has simply made far too many mental errors this season. He has a bad habit of not releasing the ball fast enough which has led to mistakes that lead to big opportunities for the opponent. He needs to become more decisive and less error prone if he wants to elevate himself into the youth national team category.   Level: Tier 3, Tier 2 upside   Ransom is a player that I have heard is well thought of by US Soccer and is the only Atlanta player that has been invited to a U-15 team camp, but he has been inconsistent this year which is why he hasn't been with that group recently.   <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/03/JuniorEnamorado-CooperSanchez-AtlantaUnited08-IG.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-109016" width="512" height="512" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Junior Enamorado takes a free kick while Cooper Sanchez looks on</figcaption></figure>   CM, Cooper Sanchez (2008)   What makes him special: Sanchez really excels on the tactical and intellectual side of the game. He has a really strong understanding of space and consistently makes good decisions in possession. He also sees the field well and anticipates movement which leads to him finding teammates in dangerous positions and stopping dangerous movements defensively.   How he can take it to the next level: Sanchez's game can be subtle at times and I'd like to see him be a little bit more dynamic and leave more of his imprint on games.   Level: Tier 3   AM/W, Junior Enamorado (2008)   What makes him special: Enamarado plays as a number ten and as a wing-back in Atlanta's 3-5-2 and 3-4-3 setups. Enamorado's best with the ball at his feet where he can be creative and attack players one on one. He has good size which makes him difficult to bully off of the ball. He does his best work in central positions as opposed to playing out wide.   How he can take it to the next level: If Enamorado is going to make it as a number ten I would like to see him facilitate a little more for his teammates and slip players in for high percentage scoring chances. I haven't seen the anticipation and delivery that I'd hope to see from a high level ten.   Level: Tier 3   RCB, Ocean Lipscomb (2008)   What makes him special: Lipscomb is a smooth moving center-back with good passing technique. Defensively he is well rounded with a solid mentality, awareness and discipline in one on one situations.   How he can take it to the next level: Lipscomb's technique is sold, but his decision making can improve to become a high level ball playing center-back. One of the most important aspects of playing center-back is having a good sense of when to play the decisive simple pass, when to clear and when to go for the line breaking pass — Lipscomb hasn't quite figured out that balance yet.   Level: Tier 3   RCB, [player_tooltip player_id='150813' first='Ethan' last='Degny'] (2009)   What makes him special: Degny has been playing more and more for the U-15s and is looking really good. He's very tall for his age and incredibly disciplined positionally. His length, quick feet and timing make him dominant in duels and dispossessing players trying to dribble at him — I really enjoy watching him play one on one defense. He's also calm and skilled with the ball at his feet.   How he can take it to the next level: While he is pretty good with the ball at his feet, I'd still like to see him build more confidence and take more risks with his passes. The game relies so much on ball distributing center-backs that I'd like to see him continue to develop his technique and his willingness to push the ball down the field.   Level: Tier 2

The Atlanta United U-15 group is solid, but lacks top level talent. They have a couple of players that have youth national team and homegrown potential, but they lack an elite prospect that is an obvious projection to that level. The defense is the strength of the group with three notable prospects across the backline and a goalkeeper with above average potential.