19-year-old burgeoning American star Justin Ellis has been named MLS NEXT Pro Pathway Player of the Year, the league announced Thursday, picking up an award that acknowledges his unprecedented rise through the MLS ranks and into the soccer stratosphere.
The Orlando City striker made his senior debut for the U.S. men’s national team this fall, scoring twice in three outings and playing a critical role in the nation’s perfect record. He found the back of the net just four minutes into his debut against Peru, flicking a header off of a free kick into the back post to open scoring. It marked the fastest debut goal in the modern era of the USMNT.
Ellis then had the game-winner in the final friendly against Canada, scoring the match’s lone goal in the 29th minute with an emphatic deflection after suffering a bad leg injury just minutes prior.
After completely dominating the world stage, it’s hard to believe the teenager was battling his way off of Orlando’s reserve squad and onto the first team just months ago. It has been a swift turn of events that still baffles the teenager himself.
“Six months ago, I was still playing MLS NEXT Pro, which is crazy,” Ellis tells Sports Illustrated, shaking his head. “It just shows that when you have confidence in yourself and put trust in God with timing and everything, anything can happen. I felt I was ready for this opportunity with the national team, and the call came.”
He started the 2026 season splitting time between the MLS team and the MLS NEXT Pro team (Orlando City B), which competes in a professional league under MLS and completes the transition between the youth academy and the first tier. Yet, Ellis didn’t begin earning consistent minutes with the first team until late April. Now, he is up to 16 starts with the Lions, registering one goal and 11 assists in that time. It is an unparalleled level of production that has put him firmly in USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino’s good graces.
Ellis’s rise to the top has been swift, seeing him excel at every stage of the MLS youth-to-professional pathway since he joined Orlando in 2024.
Ellis’s Swift Rise Through the MLS Ranks
In just two years, Ellis has climbed the rungs to reach the highest level of professional soccer.
“Every level I’ve gone to, I’ve shown the ability to adapt and just translate my game,” Ellis says.
The youngster out of Wellington, Fla. first joined Orlando City’s MLS NEXT youth academy for the 2024–25 season at 17 years old. He immediately made an impact for the Young Lions, winning 2025 U-19 MLS NEXT MVP as well as the Golden Boot award after an 18-goal season.
He then began competing with Orlando City B, where he made his mark by racking up 12 goals and eight assists between 2024 and 2026. After honing his craft at the reserve level, Ellis made his MLS debut for Orlando City in May 2025 in a 3–1 victory over Charlotte FC.
“They just prepared me mentally,” Ellis explains of Orlando’s tiered coaching staff. “They waited for the right moment, when they felt was the right moment for me to play [with the first team].”
“They really take their time. Not just to throw you in there, but when you’re ready, physically, mentally and technically,” he adds. “Whenever you’re ready, they’ll play you. I felt it was perfect timing.”
Ellis wouldn’t sign his Homegrown contract with Orlando City until nearly a year later, in February 2026, and it would be another few months before he established himself as a starter.
“I was getting rostered to the first team, but I wasn’t playing, and the team wasn’t getting great results,” Ellis reflects.
But that all changed with a single opportunity. Fellow Orlando forward Tyrese Spicer fell sick an hour before kickoff against Charlotte FC and couldn’t show to the stadium. Ellis got the unexpected call to the starting lineup for that April 22 affair and made the most of his opportunity.
“That was our second win of the season. I got an assist, and we won,” Ellis exclaims. “Ever since then, I went on a run of 14-consecutive starts [excluding Leagues Cup play]. I’ve been playing ever since.”
Ellis played an integral role in Orlando’s current playoff position. The Lions now sit seventh in the Eastern Conference with Decision Day just weeks away, whereas before Ellis’s first start back in April, they sat dead last—15th in the conference.
MLS As Newest Hotbed for USMNT Talent
Ellis credits his success to the MLS’s youth pipeline.
“When you’re really young, obviously you want to get moved up to the first team right away,” he explains. “In my head, when I was 15 or 16 and doing my thing, I was thinking, ‘I should be playing already for the first team.’ But then I realized, it doesn’t work like that.
“You have to prove yourself at different levels and show that you’re able to dominate and then you can start getting minutes. It’s just about timing, and I was really patient. When my opportunity came, I was ready, and I took it.”
He is not the only young American star in recent time to benefit from the league’s multi-tier process.
Pochettino called up an additional 11 newcomers to the USMNT this fall, nine of whom also previously competed at the MLS NEXT Pro level and worked their way through the ranks of the U.S.’s top flight. Those players include Philadelphia Union academy graduates Neil Pierre, Frankie Westfield and Cavan Sullivan, the youngest goalscorer in USMNT history. Red Bull New York’s Adri Mehmeti and Julian Hall are also MLS NEXT academy graduates. All impressed in their first outings with the national team, especially Hall, who scored three goals in his first three appearances.
Of the 28 total on the USMNT’s roster this fall, 14 came through the MLS pipeline, including World Cup star fullback Alex Freeman, who played for Orlando City before Ellis’s time and assisted his goal against Canada. It is a pathway Pochettino can’t help but believe in when searching for his brightest stars.
“I believe more—more, more, much more—in the talent of the players here in the USA than people that talk in the media,” Pochettino said earlier this month. “It's so important that the people really trust in the process, trust in our decisions, but trust in the players and respect the players.”
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