The Homegrown Player Rule is a Major League Soccer program that allows MLS teams to sign local players from their own development academies directly to MLS first-team rosters. Before the creation of the rule in 2008, every player entering Major League Soccer would have to be assigned through one of the existing MLS player allocation processes, such as the MLS SuperDraft.
MLS roster rules allow a team to sign players to contracts similar to Generation Adidas contracts, which do not count against the MLS salary budget and may earn a much higher salary than the league minimum. MLS has since removed this wording from the roster rules. That means homegrown players will not count against the salary budget only if they are registered using supplemental roster slots, but will still count against the salary budget if they are registered using senior roster slots. There is, however, a supplementary salary budget made by MLS only for homegrown players that are registered using senior roster slots called homegrown player funds.
To place a player on its homegrown player list, making him eligible to sign as a homegrown player, players must have resided in that club's home territory and participated in the club's youth development system for at least one year, as well as meeting other unspecified league requirements. The restrictions for homegrown players were modified in 2022 to allow clubs to prioritize signing rights of nine non-academy players within their territory. Non-protected players were then allowed to sign with any MLS club without requiring compensation to be paid to another team.
If a player on a team's homegrown list goes to college or U17, U20, and U23 United States men's national soccer teams, he remains eligible to sign as a homegrown player at any time as long as he is registered with the club as a homegrown player first. Since the program's inception, some players have elected to skip years in college to play in MLS academies and sign with senior clubs.
In 2014, Seattle's DeAndre Yedlin became the first MLS homegrown player to compete in a World Cup."Soccer in America: Plenty of growth, plenty more to go", The Seattle Times, June 29, 2014.
Homegrown territories
the homegrown territories for most MLS clubs is defined as a radius around the team's home stadium, with some exceptions when another team is nearby. Certain teams are also granted entire states or portions of adjacent states. San Diego FC is allowed to claim players from Mexico within a driving distance of from their training facility.
Homegrown players history Notes
This list only includes players who were fully eligible to be a homegrown player and officially signed a homegrown player contract with MLS. This is not a list of academy players for each respective MLS team. Players with their names in Bold have received a full international cap. Former MLS sides Miami Fusion and Tampa Bay Mutiny were dissolved before the introduction of the homegrown player rule. The following list of players have been reported as or claimed to be homegrown players, but never officially signed a homegrown player contract identifying them as such for MLS roster rule purposes; Julián Araujo, Freddie Braun, Eduardo Cortes, Kyle Duncan, Raheem Edwards, Steven Emory, Jake LaCava, Chris Lema, Nico Lemoine, Pierre da Silva, and Zack Steffen. Nizar Khalfan was classified as a homegrown player, despite never been part of the Vancouver Whitecaps academy.
Atlanta United FC
PlayerCurrent clubYear signed Andrew Carleton retired 2016 Chris Goslin retired 2017 Lagos Kunga Portland Hearts of Pine 2017 George Bello LASK 2018 Patrick Okonkwo retired 2018 George Campbell West Bromwich Albion 2020 Jackson Conway 2020 Tyler Wolff Sacramento Republic(on loan from Real Salt Lake) 2020 Efrain Morales CF Montréal 2021 Machop Chol Ansan Greeners 2021 Bryce Washington Birmingham Legion 2021 Justin Garces retired 2022 Caleb Wiley Preston North End(on loan from Chelsea) 2022 Ajani Fortune Atlanta United 2023 Noah Cobb Colorado Rapids 2023 Luke Brennan Atlanta United 2024 Adyn Torres Nõmme United(on loan from Atlanta United) 2024 Garrison Tubbs Orange County SC(on loan from D.C. United) 2024 Matt Edwards Atlanta United 2024 Ashton Gordon Chattanooga FC(on loan from Atlanta United) 2025 Will Reilly Atlanta United 2025 Dominik Chong-Qui Atlanta United 2025 Cooper Sanchez Atlanta United 2025 Santiago Pita Atlanta United 2026 Kaiden Moore Philadelphia Union(on loan from Atlanta United) 2026
Austin FC PlayerCurrent clubYear signed Owen Wolff Sporting Kansas City 2021 Damian Las Austin FC 2022 Micah Burton Austin FC 2024 Ervin Torres Austin FC 2026
Charlotte FC PlayerCurrent clubYear signed Chris Hegardt Orange County SC 2022 Brian Romero Charlotte FC 2022 Nimfasha Berchimas Charlotte FC 2023 Brandon Cambridge Orange County SC 2023 Jack Neeley Charlotte FC 2023 Aron John Charlotte FC 2026
Chicago Fire FC
PlayerCurrent clubYear signed Victor Pineda retired 2010 Kellen Gulley retired 2012 Chris Ritter retired 2014 Harry Shipp retired 2014 Patrick Doody retired 2015 Collin Fernandez Spokane Velocity 2015 Joey Calistri retired 2016 Drew Conner retired 2016 Djordje Mihailovic Toronto FC 2017 Grant Lillard retired 2018 Jeremiah Gutjahr retired 2019 Andre Reynolds II retired 2019 Gabriel Slonina Chelsea 2019 Nicholas Slonina retired 2019 Chris Brady Chicago Fire 2020 Javier Casas retired 2020 Brian Gutiérrez Guadalajara 2020 Alex Monis CT United 2020 Mauricio Pineda Chicago Fire 2020 Allan Rodriguez retired 2020 Victor Bezerra retired 2021 Sergio Oregel Chicago Fire 2021 Missael Rodríguez Sporting Kansas City II 2021 Justin Reynolds Sporting Kansas City 2023 Dylan Borso Greenock Morton(on loan from Chicago Fire) 2025 Robert Turdean Chicago Fire 2025 Christopher Cupps Greenock Morton(on loan from Chicago Fire) 2025 Sam Williams Colorado Springs Switchbacks(on loan from Chicago Fire) 2025
Chivas USA (defunct)
PlayerCurrent clubYear signed Jorge Villafaña retired 2007 Gerson Mayén Limeño 2008 César Zamora retired 2009 Bryan de la Fuente retired 2010 Chris Cortez retired 2011 Mark Delgado Los Angeles FC 2012 Caleb Calvert retired 2013
FC Cincinnati
PlayerCurrent clubYear signed Zico Bailey New Mexico United 2020 Beckham Sunderland retired 2020 Arquímides Ordóñez FC Tulsa 2021 Harrison Robledo 2022 Stiven Jimenez Fluminense(on loan from FC Cincinnati) 2023 Malik Pinto Brooklyn FC 2023 Paul Walters FC Cincinnati 2023 Gerardo Valenzuela FC Cincinnati 2023 Ștefan Chirilă FC Cincinnati 2025 Ademar Chávez FC Cincinnati 2026 Andrei Chirilă FC Cincinnati 2026 Connor Dale FC Cincinnati 2026
Colorado Rapids PlayerCurrent clubYear signed Davy Armstrong retired 2010 Josh Janniere retired 2011 Dillon Serna retired 2012 Shane O'Neill 2012 Kortne Ford retired 2017 Cole Bassett Portland Timbers 2018 Sam Vines Houston Dynamo 2018 Sebastian Anderson Hartford Athletic 2019 Matt Hundley retired 2019 Abraham Rodriguez 2019 Michael Edwards Oakland Roots 2019 Ricardo Pérez retired 2019 Sam Raben retired 2019 Will Vint retired 2020 Darren Yapi Colorado Rapids 2020 Oliver Larraz Vancouver Whitecaps 2021 Dantouma Toure 2021 Jackson Travis Colorado Rapids 2022 Adam Beaudry Colorado Rapids 2024 Sam Bassett Pittsburgh Riverhounds 2025 Zack Campagnolo St. Louis City(on loan from Colorado Rapids) 2026
Columbus Crew
PlayerCurrent clubYear signed Aaron Horton SV Mösbach 2011 Matt Lampson retired 2012 Ben Speas retired 2012 Chad Barson retired 2013 Kyle Hyland retired 2013 Wil Trapp Minnesota United 2013 Ross Friedman retired 2014 Matt Walker retired 2014 Matt Wiet retired 2014 Ben Swanson retired 2015 Alex Crognale San Antonio FC 2017 Aboubacar Keita Kalmar FF 2019 Sebastian Berhalter Middlesbrough 2020 Aidan Morris Middlesbrough 2020 Isaiah Parente LA Galaxy 2021 Jake Morris Louisville City 2022 Sean Zawadzki Columbus Crew 2022 Will Sands New England Revolution 2022 Jacen Russell-Rowe Toulouse 2022 Keegan Hughes New England Revolution 2023 Taha Habroune Columbus Crew 2024 Cole Mrowka Columbus Crew 2024 Stanislav Lapkes Columbus Crew 2025 Tristan Brown Columbus Crew 2025 Quinton Elliot Columbus Crew 2026 Owen Presthus Nashville SC(on loan from Columbus Crew) 2026 Chase Adams Columbus Crew 2026
FC Dallas
PlayerCurrent clubYear signed Bryan Leyva retired 2009 Rubén Luna retired 2010 Moisés Hernández retired 2010 Víctor Ulloa retired 2011 Jonathan Top retired 2011 Richard Sánchez San Antonio FC 2011 Kellyn Acosta Pogoń Szczecin 2013 Bradlee Baladez retired 2013 Coy Craft retired 2013 Danny Garcia retired 2013 Jesse González retired 2013 London Woodberry retired 2013 Alejandro Zendejas América 2015 Aarón Guillén Las Vegas Lights 2016 Paxton Pomykal 2016 Reggie Cannon Colorado Rapids 2017 Jesús Ferreira Seattle Sounders 2017 Bryan Reynolds Rennes 2017 Jordan Cano retired 2018 Kris Reaves retired 2018 Thomas Roberts Sporting JAX 2018 Chris Richards Crystal Palace 2018 Brandon Servania D.C. United 2018 Edwin Cerrillo América 2019 Ricardo Pepi PSV 2019 Dante Sealy CF Montréal 2019 Carlos Avilez 2020 Justin Che New York Red Bulls 2020 Eddie Munjoma Forward Madison 2020 Beni Redžić Velež Mostar 2020 Tanner Tessmann Lyon 2020 Kalil ElMedkhar FC Tulsa 2021 Collin Smith Phoenix Rising 2021 Antonio Carrera Tigres UANL 2022 Tarik Scott Lexington SC 2023 Nolan Norris FC Dallas 2023 Alejandro Urzua 2024 Malik Henry-Scott Lexington SC 2024 Michael Collodi FC Dallas 2025 Malachi Molina Huntsville City(on loan from FC Dallas) 2025 Diego García FC Dallas 2025 Anthony Ramirez 2025 Daniel Baran FC Dallas 2025 Diego Pepi 2025 Josh Torquato FC Dallas 2025 Caleb Swann FC Dallas 2026 Kaka Scabin FC Dallas 2026 Jaidyn Contreras FC Dallas 2026 Slade Starnes FC Dallas 2026 Benji Flowers FC Dallas 2026
D.C. United
PlayerCurrent clubYear signed Bill Hamid Corpus Christi FC 2009 Conor Shanosky retired 2010 Andy Najar Nashville SC 2010 Ethan White retired 2011 Michael Seaton 2013 Jalen Robinson retired 2014 Collin Martin retired 2014 Chris Durkin St. Louis City 2016 Ian Harkes San Jose Earthquakes 2017 Antonio Bustamante 2019 Moses Nyeman Columbus Crew 2 2019 Donovan Pines Grazer AK 2019 Griffin Yow New England Revolution 2019 Kevin Paredes FC Utrecht 2020 Jeremy Garay Fort Wayne FC 2021 Jacob Greene Lexington SC 2021 Ted Ku-DiPietro Colorado Rapids 2022 Jackson Hopkins D.C. United 2022 Kristian Fletcher FC Cincinnati 2022 Matai Akinmboni Dundee(on loan from AFC Bournemouth) 2022 Gavin Turner D.C. United 2025 Oscar Avilez D.C. United 2026 Grant Leveille D.C. United 2026 Kamil Castillo D.C. United 2026
Houston Dynamo FC
PlayerCurrent clubYear signed Tyler Deric retired 2009 Francisco Navas retired 2010 Alex Dixon retired 2011 Josue Soto retired 2011 Bryan Salazar retired 2009 Memo Rodríguez Sacramento Republic 2015 Bradley Bourgeois retired 2016 Christian Lucatero retired 2016 Erik McCue Örebro 2019 Marcelo Palomino Orange County SC 2019 Juan Castilla Llaneros 2021 Danny Ríos retired 2021 Brooklyn Raines New England Revolution 2022 Xavier Valdez Nashville SC 2022 Mujeeb Murana Richmond Kickers 2023 Kieran Sargeant San Diego FC 2024 Sebastian Rodriguez Houston Dynamo 2025 Logan Erb Houston Dynamo 2026 Reese Miller Houston Dynamo 2026 Matthew Arana Houston Dynamo 2026 Mattheo Dimareli Houston Dynamo 2026
Sporting Kansas City