Cover photo belongs to Tom Flathers/Getty Images. To see how the top 100 rankings have evolved since July 2013, click here.
1. Zack Steffen, 26 - Manchester City
2. Ethan Horvath, 26 - Nottingham Forest (England.2)
3. Matt Turner, 27 - New England Revolution
4. Brad Stuver, 30 - Austin FC
5. Sean Johnson, 32 - New York City FC
6. Josh Cohen, 29 - Maccabi Haifa (Israel.1)
7. Brad Guzan, 37 - Atlanta United
8. Tyler Miller, 28 - Minnesota United FC
9. Jimmy Maurer, 33 - FC Dallas
10. Tim Melia, 35 - Sporting Kansas City
One to watch: Ethan Horvath. Horvath joined Nottingham Forest on a free transfer this summer after seeing barely any minutes after Simon Miglonet joined. In mid-August, Horvath did impressively well in a 4-0 EFL Cup loss to Wolves, making a number of top saves to keep the scoreline from nearing double digits (highlights). Unfortunately, all progress feels undone when he gifted a goal away in a 2-0 league match against Middlesbrough, losing possession on a simple build-out in his own box. Horvath’s career has been stop-and-go for much of the past four years so in some sense this is nothing new. On the other hand, at 26 years old, there really isn’t much time left to “develop”. While the competition is great, ultimately Horvath needs traction to reach his ceiling. Horvath doesn’t need every minute from a club but he will need more than two games a year.
11. Steve Clark, 35 - Portland Timbers
12. Bill Hamid, 30 - DC United
13. William Yarbrough, 32 - Colorado Rapids
14. Stefan Cleveland, 27 - Seattle Sounders
15. Sean Lewis, 29 - FC Tulsa
16. Andrew Tarbell, 28 - Austin FC
17. Logan Ketterer, 27 - El Paso Locomotive
18. Joe Willis, 33 - Nashville SC
19. Kyle Morton, 27 - Houston Dynamo
20. Stefan Frei, 35 - Seattle Sounders
One to watch: Stefan Cleveland. As the Stefan Frei-era in Seattle enters its final hours, Cleveland has stepped up as an unlikely replacement. Similar to how Seattle obtained Frei from Toronto, the Sounders picked up Cleveland for essentially pennies (trading their first-round draft pick for Chicago’s second round). As of October 6th, Cleveland has 15 starts this season with an eight-game unbeaten streak to kick off his campaign. Cleveland’s style can be a bit chaotic but his quick feet and “nose for the ball” have produced a number of head-scratching saves for opposing strikers. It’s hard to say how far Cleveland can take his approach in the league but so far he’s made a strong case for starting for the Sounders in 2022.
21. Michael Nelson, 26 - Houston Dynamo
22. Pablo Sisniega, 26 - Los Angeles FC
23. David Bingham, 32 - Los Angeles Galaxy
24. Zac MacMath, 30 - Real Salt Lake
25. Jeff Attinella, 33 - Portland Timbers
26. Mike Lansing, 27 - Aalesunds FK (Norway.2)
27. John McCarthy, 29 - Inter Miami
28. Jon Kempin, 28 - DC United
29. Bobby Shuttleworth, 34 - Chicago Fire
30. Kendall McIntosh, 27 - Sporting Kansas City
Ones to watch: Michael Nelson. Similar to Austin FC’s Brad Stuver, Nelson entered 2021 without finishing a 90-minute league match since 2019. With 25-year-old Croatian goalkeeper Marko Maric on the depth chart for the Orange, Nelson’s road to seeing minutes has been tricky. In 2019 USL action, Nelson displayed an effortless combination of mobility and explosiveness and fortunately that didn’t evaporate when his opportunity arrived in 2021. Nelson notched eight straight starts this fall and helped end Houston’s 16 game winless streak. Nelson seems to have the tools to be more than an MLS backup but if he can’t get the minutes to lead him there then he’ll end up as yet another American caught in the MLS goalkeeper logjam of "what could have been”.
31. Evan Louro, 25 - Tampa Bay Rowdies
32. Alex Bono, 27 - Toronto FC
33. Cody Mizell, 30 - New York City FC
34. Bobby Edwards, 26 - Indy Eleven
35. Joe Bendik, 32 - Philadelphia Union
36. Zac Lubin, 32 - Phoenix Rising
37. Alec Kann, 31 - Atlanta United
38. Quentin Westberg, 35 - Toronto FC
39. Ryan Meara, 30 - New York Red Bulls
40. Spencer Richey, 29 - Seattle Sounders
One to Watch: Bobby Edwards. Edwards’ exit from Cincinnati wasn’t a pretty one. While Edwards only conceded three goals in two games, it was the dropped cross against DC United that many criticized and ended up being the last time Edwards started for Cincy. [Read Edwards’ own words on how he overcame the setback here.] Edwards moved west to Indy Eleven and replaced former Indy goalkeeper Evan Newton as the club’s starter. At 25, Edwards still has plenty of time ahead of him but 2021 needs to be a year where Edwards shows doubters that not only has he put the error behind him, but that he deserves another shot as an MLS goalkeeper. Being 6’7” has its obvious advantages but correctly executing on nuanced and difficult situations is its own challenge for any goalkeeper.
41. Evan Bush, 35 - Columbus Crew
42. Danny Vitiello, 25 - Pittsburgh Riverhounds
43. Eric Dick, 27 - Columbus Crew
44. Bryan Meredith, 32 - Nashville SC
45. Alexandros Tabakis, 28 - New Mexico United
46. Clint Irwin, 32 - Colorado Rapids
47. Kyle Zobeck, 31 - FC Dallas
48. Earl Edwards, 29 - New England Revolution
49. Adam Grinwis, 29 - Orlando City SC
50. Tomas Gomez, 28 - Sacramento Republic
One to Watch: Eric Dick. Butler alum Eric Dick received strong backing straight out of college, seeing 22 starts with SKC’s USL side from 2018-19. However, minutes have been difficult to come by since then, only earning six starts in the past two seasons. Dick has an odd kit to work with: game-changing saves look easy for him but movement in the box can look clunky at times. Depending on who you ask, Dick definitively does or doesn’t pass the eye test for most viewers but it’s hard to get a fair assessment on a goalkeeper whose playing time has been so erratic over the past four years. If Dick can get more consistency and not just bounce from place to place, we should get a better idea of his ceiling. However, if Dick can’t make a strong case for himself to deserve the added resources, reaching his ceiling won’t be a possibility at all.
51. JT Marcinkowski, 24 - San Jose Earthquakes
52. Joe Kuzminsky, 27 - Charleston Battery
53. Brandon Austin, 22 - Tottenham U23s (England.1)
54. Danny Rogers, 27 - Oldham Athletic (England.3)
55. Evan Newton, 33 - Vancouver Whitecaps
56. Jonathan Klinsmann, 24 - Los Angeles Galaxy
57. Matt Lampson, 32 - Hartford Athletic
58. Andrew Putna, 27 - Real Salt Lake
59. Brandon Miller, 31 - Charlotte Independence
60. Matt Bersano, 29 - San Jose Earthquakes
One to Watch: Brandon Austin. Although there are questions about his eligibility to represent the US, it’s safe to say that Austin’s loan to Orlando was a positive one. The lanky youngster was an immediate boost for Orlando City’s goalkeeping core with his polished foundation and ability to pull a save out of the corner of the goal through precise timing and fluid reactions. Austin’s ceiling is hard to pinpoint at this time with sparse playing time in the last 24 months but loans like this might help him become an intriguing talent for the English club down the line.
61. Tim Murray, 34 - FC Honka (Finland.1)
62. Cody Cropper, 28 - MLS Pool
63. Matt Van Oekel, 35 - Birmingham Legion
64. Justin vom Steeg, 24 - Los Angeles Galaxy
65. Chris Seitz, 34 - DC United
66. Jeff Gal, 28 - Degerfors (Sweden.1)
67. Matt Cardone, 28 - San Antonio FC
68. Ben Lundgaard, 26 - Atlanta United
69. Richard Sanchez, 27 - North Texas SC
70. Jeff Caldwell, 25 - Hartford Athletic
One to Watch: Jeff Gal. Gal has quietly been chipping away at a career in Sweden. Starting in the lower leagues in Sweden, Gal has climbed to the first division with Degerfors after joining the club two summers ago. 2021 has seen him once again battle for the starting position with Swedish goalkeeper Ismael Diawara and English youth international Alfie Whiteman. Gal tends to shoot from the hip and relies heavily on instinct, which can provide some game-saving moments or some soft goals, depending on the day. If Gal can display consistency his club can build confidence on, look for him to nail down the number one position with either Degerfors or another club in the Allsvenskan moving forward.
71. Joe Rice, 25 - New England Revolution II
72. Adrian Zendejas, 26 - Minnesota United FC
73. Tyler Deric, 33 - Rio Grande Valley FC
74. Kenneth Kronholm, 36 - Chicago Fire
75. Andre Rawls, 31 - Colorado Rapids
76. Trevor Spangenberg, 30 - Birmingham Legion
77. CJ Cochran, 30 - Oklahoma City Energy FC
78. Carlos dos Santos, 21 - Benfica B (Portugal.1)
79. Micah Bledsoe, 27 - Michigan Stars
80. Benjamin Machini, 25 - Sollentuna FK (Sweden.3)
One to Watch: Benjamin Machini. It’s been some time since Machini was first featured on Everybody Soccer back in February of 2016 but the young Swedish-American has been carving out a respectful season in Sweden’s third division. Through September, Machini started 16 matches to help Sollentuna into the top half of the table. Watching Machini from over the years, it’s easy to see how his time in Spain has paid off. He’s confident on the ball, moves effortlessly in the box, and has no issue stepping forward to stop an attack. If Machini can clean up some of the post-to-post timing and find his set position in rhythm within tricky attacks, he could continue climbing the ladder in Sweden.
81. Jake McGuire, 27 - North Carolina FC
82. Kyle Ihn, 26 - Oklahoma City Energy FC
83. Luis Barraza, 24 - New York City FC
84. Thomas Olsen, 26 - FF Jaro (Finland.2)
85. Austin Rogers, 26 - San Diego 1904
86. Dylan Castanheira, 26 - Inter Miami
87. Matt Freese, 23 - Philadelphia Union
88. Rashid Nuhu, 25 - Union Omaha
89. Keegan Meyer, 24 - Loudoun United
90. Akira Fitzgerald, 34 - Richmond Kickers
One to Watch: Matt Freese. As Chicago and Real Salt Lake find ways to distribute minutes to their teenage goalkeepers, Freese has struggled to find ways to get on the field. Despite being a backup for the US U23s, Freese saw 15 starts in 2019, 8 in 2020, and just 237 minutes this year. Philadelphia putting their USL team on hiatus hasn’t helped his cause - nor has him receiving a red card in his first match with the Union this year - but either way, fans are still waiting to see more of the Harvard alum who sits behind Jamaican international Andre Blake.
91. Carlos Saldaña, 25 - Sacramento Republic
92. Benny Diaz, 22 - Club Tijuana (Mexico.1)
93. Ben Beaury, 25 - El Paso Locomotive
94. Ford Parker, 25 - Birmingham Legion
95. Eric Lopez, 22 - Los Angeles Galaxy
96. Elliot Panicco, 24 - Nashville SC
97. Parker Siegfried, 24 - Louisville City FC
98. Andrew Thomas, 23 - Seattle Sounders
99. Kevin Silva, 23 - Toronto FC
100. Jahmali Waite, 22 - University of Connecticut
One to Watch: Carlos Saldaña. Saldaña joined Sacramento midseason after Sacramento has worked to replace injured starter Tomas Gomez. Just within 30 minutes of Saldaña’s debut, the 25-year-old Mexican-American goalkeeper made a phenomenal stretch on a skipping header towards the side-netting to keep a 1-0 scoreline in Sacramento’s favor. Saldaña is in desperate need of minutes and Sacramento has quickly inserted him, giving signs that they’re willing to continue to develop him. Sacramento has done well with scouting goalkeeping talent in the past and this is yet another win for the ambitious USL side.