Mauricio Cuevas is coming off a strong 2020 season for LA Galaxy II, the versatile fullback and dead ball marksman starting training camp with the LA Galaxy first team this year.
But the 18-year-old is turning heads around the world, too, with the CIES Football Observatory ranking him the 15th player in the world for his age this week, based on his experience and the level of play.
The only other American-based player on the list is D.C. United’s Kevin Paredes, who clocked in at No. 13.
The list is topped by Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz, with English star Jude Bellingham right behind, several players from Ajax’s system, and Bayern Munich youngster Jamal Musiala on there as well.