Behind the Scenes: The PrepSoccer 2027 Missouri/Kansas Rankings
The PrepSoccer State Rankings for the class of 2027 are being released this week for Missouri/Kansas. The state and national rankings were a cumulative effort from the PrepSoccer National Analysts who have decades of experience with high school, club, and college soccer.
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This is the first combo state ranking we’ve done at the state level. The combination of Kansas and Missouri came because the state boundary of club allegiance was a hard line to draw for many of the top players. For instance, there were players who were playing for clubs in Missouri last season that are now in Kansas and vice versa.
We decided to combine the rankings of the two states – under the Missouri banner – for this first release. After the high school season and in the update, we could elect to split the two rankings again.
Last week, we released our preview of the rankings with a scouting report on the top players from Missouri. Check out those articles here: Boys Top Five | Girls Top Six
To learn more about our ranking process, check out this article.
PrepSoccer was launched in 2021 with the ambition of helping more players reach their goals in the sport, whether that is playing Division I, Division II, Division III, junior college, NAIA, or any other level of the game beyond high school.
Ranking the 2027 class was a daunting endeavor and will be updated frequently throughout the club and high school season. We will cover every club showcase event for the upcoming season with the hope of adding more players to the ranking and adjusting these initial ranks.
The intention of this article is to help answer some questions about the rankings process and provide clarity about this new addition to the PrepSoccer site.
How?
The rankings were brought together throughout the past year of observing the 2027 class through scouting at various club soccer events as well as conversations with scouts from all levels of soccer (professional, college, club, and youth national teams).
The feedback and insight helped shape these rankings, along with the expertise of the PrepSoccer National Analysts, who have been in this industry for decades. The starting point for any player was: Who is making an impact at the top levels in the big games? Beyond finding those players who were leaving an imprint on the game at the highest levels, we looked for players with the highest ceiling/most potential. Our player rankings will always be a balance of top contributors now as well as players we rate as having the potential to reach the top level in the game.
Why?
While rankings are not the be all, end all, they are a great database for college coaches and scouts trying to navigate the massive scope of youth soccer in the United States. The player rankings also provide a point of reference for future scouting as they help new scouts for PrepSoccer adjust to the level expected of a player to be considered for the national or state level rankings.
Who was considered?
All players from club soccer based in Missouri and Kansas were considered for the rankings. The lone disqualification for players is they must still retain amateur status. Players who had already signed professional contracts with MLS, MLS Next Pro, USL, or NWSL were not included in our state rankings.
While this is not to say that we saw every player who plays soccer at those levels, we did not discount any player beyond those who were already signed to professional contracts.
What’s Next?
The state rankings will continue to be released and updated in key markets. The national rankings for 2027 will be released early next year.