Columbus Crew Academy
| Full name | Columbus Crew Academy |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2006 as Crew Soccer Academy |
| Stadium | Historic Crew Stadium 1 Black and Gold Blvd Columbus, OH |
| Coordinates | 40°0′34″N 82°59′28″W / 40.00944°N 82.99111°W |
| Head of Coaching and Individual Development | Dan Lock |
| Head coach |
|
| League | MLS Next |
| Website | www |
Columbus Crew Academy is the youth academy and development system of American Major League Soccer club Columbus Crew, which competes in MLS Next.
The academy plays in the U15, U16 and U18 divisions in MLS Next and also includes pre-formation teams from the ages of U10-U14 that play in friendlies and tournaments throughout the year.[1]
History
The Columbus Crew academy were founded in 2006. They joined U.S. Soccer Development Academy as a founding member in 2007. They fielded U15/U16 and U17/U18 teams in this league until the 2016-17 season. In the 2017-18 season these age groups were replaced with U16/U17 and U18/U19 teams.
U.S. Soccer Development Academy folded in 2020 and the academy teams moved to the newly founded league, MLS Next, where they entered U14, U15, U17 and U19 teams.[2]
In Fall of 2023, Columbus Crew Academy entered a team into the United Premier Soccer League.[3] They played one season and finished the season by winning the Ohio/Indy Conference, East Region and finishing 3rd place in the national playoffs.[4]
For the 2024-25 season, the age groups participating in MLS Next changed to U15, U16 and U18.[5]
OhioHealth Performance Center
The OhioHealth Performance Center opened in 2021 on the site of Historic Crew Stadium. The Crew moved their training facility from Obetz, OH during the 2021 season with the development of Lower.com Field. The facility includes 3.5 natural grass fields, plus a turf field at Historic Crew Stadium which can support a seasonal bubble during the winter months.[6]
Technical staff
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Head of Coaching and Individual Development | Dan Lock |
| U18 Head Coach | Chris Rogers |
| U16 Head Coach | Shahad Farahani |
| U15 Head Coach | Eddie Hertsenberg |
| U13/U14 Head Coach & Pre-Formation Lead | Bryan Rodrigues |
| U11/12 Lead Coach, Crew Youth Program Lead | Will Havanas |
| Academy Goalkeeper Coach | David Winner |
| Academy Goalkeeper Coach | Sam Keener |
| Academy Assistant Coach | Saad Abdul-Salaam |
| Academy Assistant Coach | DJ Ogunlade |
| Assistant Academy Coach | Daniel Suarez |
| U11/U12 Assistant Coach | Matthew Young |
| Manager of Performance, Player Development | Dean Tetley |
| Academy Performance Coach | Dominic Sanguinette |
| Academy Performance Coach | Sam Murray |
| Academy Athletic Trainer | Shelby Stimmel |
| Academy Athletic Trainer | Elissia Willis |
| Manager, Academy Scouting and Recruiting | Erik Alves |
| Head Academy Scout | Rafael Calderon |
| Head Local Scout | Callum Morris |
| Manager, Academy Operations | Kellianne Venit |
| Manager, Education | Ross Gibson |
| Education and Homestay Coordinator | Bryce Phillips |
| Academy Equipment Manager | Scott Newman |
| Equipment Assistant | Adriana Zorrilla |
Source: [[7]]
Academy graduates
The following players have joined the Columbus Crew first team on homegrown player contracts after having previously been a Columbus Crew Academy player (players in bold are currently part of the team) (as of May 10, 2025):
- Aaron Horton (2011)
- Matt Lampson (2011)
- Ben Speas (2012)
- Wil Trapp (2012)
- Chad Barson (2013)
- Kyle Hyland (2013)
- Matt Wiet (2013)
- Ross Friedman (2014)
- Matt Walker (2014)
- Ben Swanson (2014)
- Alex Crognale (2016)
- Aboubacar Keita (2019)
- Aidan Morris (2020)
- Sebastian Berhalter (2020)
- Isaiah Parente (2021)
- Sean Zawadzki (2022)
- Keegan Hughes (2023)
- Taha Habroune (2024)
- Cole Mrowka (2024)
- Stanislav Lapkes (2025)
The following players have signed for the Columbus Crew first team on short-term loan contracts for MLS, U.S. Open Cup, CONCACAF Champions Cup, or Leagues Cup matches (players in bold are currently Columbus Crew 2 players), after having been a Columbus Crew Academy player, but did not sign a full-time contract (as of May 10, 2025):
- Gio De Libera (2024)
- Owen Presthus (2024)
- Chase Adams (2025)
- Tristan Brown (2025)
The following players have signed professional contracts for Columbus Crew 2. (players in bold are currently Columbus Crew 2 players), after having been a Columbus Crew Academy player, but have never signed a first-team contract or short-term loan. (as of May 10, 2025):
The following players signed contracts with other teams in Major League Soccer, after previously being a Columbus Crew Academy player:
- Tyler Wolff (2020)
- Juan Castilla (2021)
- Parker Siegfried (2021)
- Emeka Eneli (2023)
Honors
- U-19 McGuire Cup National Champions (2): 2010,[8] 2012[9]
- USL Super-20 National Champions (2): 2010,[10] 2011[11]
- UPSL Ohio/Indy Conference Champions: Fall 2023[12]
- UPSL East Region Champions: Fall 2023[13]
See also
References
- ^ "Academy Teams | Columbus Crew". ColumbusCrew.com.
- ^ "OPENING WEEKEND | Recapping Crew SC Academy's first MLS NEXT matches | Columbus Crew". ColumbusCrew.com.
- ^ "UPSL Strengthens Ohio Conference with Addition of Columbus Crew Academy UPSL Team". September 6, 2023.
- ^ @CrewAcademy96 (2024-02-03). "What a season 👏 #Crew96 | #VamosColumbus". X (formerly Twitter).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Hatch, Charlie (2024-12-20). "Columbus Crew Academy Mid-Year Update: New Age Groups, Same Club Success". www.columbuscrew.com. Retrieved 2025-05-11.
- ^ Com, Columbuscrew. "OhioHealth Performance Center".
- ^ "Academy Staff | Columbus Crew". ColumbusCrew.com.
- ^ "Crew News & Notes - July 28 | Columbus Crew". ColumbusCrew.com.
- ^ "Columbus Crew Academy Mid-Year Update: New Age Groups, Same Club Success | Columbus Crew". ColumbusCrew.com.
- ^ "Galaxy U-20's Fall to Columbus in Super-20 Final | LA Galaxy". lagalaxy.
- ^ "Crew Juniors U-20 win National Title | Columbus Crew". ColumbusCrew.com.
- ^ @CrewAcademy96 (2023-11-04). "Ohio/Indy Conference Champions 🤩 The UPSL squad came up with the win today over FC Cincinnati to secure the conference title and advance to the Round of 32 in the UPSL National 2023 Fall Playoffs! 👊 #Crew96 | #VamosColumbus". X (formerly Twitter).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ @CrewAcademy96 (2023-12-11). "Onto the Final Four 🤩 The UPSL squad found victory tonight at @LowerFieldCbus and now move onto the UPSL National Finals! The game winning goal was scored by Cole Mrowka. 💪 #Crew96 | #VamosColumbus". X (formerly Twitter).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)