Who are the top players for Nashville SC U-15s?

<!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size">Nashville's U15 team isn't one of the strongest in MLS Next, but they do have a potential Youth National Team player in [player_tooltip player_id='279965' first='Liam' last='Devan']. The team also plays without a top U15 eligible player, [player_tooltip player_id='124142' first='Charly' last='Dealmonte'], who primarily plays with the U17 team. Overall, the 2008 class lacks some depth and top level talent. The 2009 class is led by Devan and he has a chance to be the best player to come out of the Nashville academy to date. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"large"} --> <p class="has-large-font-size">My grading system</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>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.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tier 1</strong>: </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>High impact Youth National Team Player, often times playing up an age group</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>High impact club player, often times plays up an age group and still heavily impacts games</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>On the fast track to the first team</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tier 2:</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Depending on strength of the age group, likely Youth National Team pool or core player</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>High impact player within his age group</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Potential future first team player</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tier 3:</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>On the outside looking in to the Youth National Team</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Consistently one of the more impactful players on his club team</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>On track for a look in MLS Next Pro, USL or NCAA soccer</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Possesses some high level skills or traits, but also holes in his game</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"large"} --> <p class="has-large-font-size">CF, Marshall Gunter (2008)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>What kind of player is he? </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gunter is a big and athletic striker, not dissimilar profile to Adem Sipic, Nashville's first ever academy graduate. Gunter shows a variety of ways he is able to finish in the box and shows flashes of decent decision making and movement. He still needs work in how consistently he receives the ball cleanly and sets himself up for his next move. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tier:</strong> 3</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"large"} --> <p class="has-large-font-size">LB/LCB, [player_tooltip player_id='279965' first='Liam' last='Devan'] (2009)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>What kind of player is he? </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Devan is my top rated player in Nashville's academy. He has played up consistently this year and has played both as a left-back and more recently as a left-footed center-back. Nashville may feel that Devan is going to grow and have a bigger ceiling as a center-back. Devan is a super advanced player in terms of his tempo, mental processing and decision making on the ball. He is also an extremely good passer for his age. Devan has been in U.S. Youth National Team ID camps and is a good bet to be the first Nashville academy player to get capped by a U.S. Youth National Team. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tier:</strong> 2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->