This is the first in a short series on the rosters for the FC Dallas Academy teams in the Dallas Cup. MLSNext has so little info available this is the first time I’ve even gotten rosters for the 2020-21 FCD Academy sides.
In this space I’m going to list the entire roster for Dallas Cup here – and give you a few names to watch and why – with each team. Starting with the U19s.
There’s been such turnover with the U19s, there are five players on here I’ve never seen on an FCD Academy roster before. Consider the U19s – 2002s and 2003s – have “lost” Ricardo Pepi (FCD), Dante Sealy (FCD), Justin Che (FCD/Bayern), David Rodriguez (NTX/San Luis), Jonathan Gomez (Lou City), Diego Letayf (Tigres), Eric Gunera (Orlando City), Erik Centeno (Sac Republic), Edwin Villareal (Pachuca then El Paso Locomotive), Michael Sosa (left, came back, but not on this roster), Beni Redzic (NTX), and Collin Smith (FCD/NTX).
That’s a stunning amount of talent gone – literally a teams worth.
And it doesn’t even include the 2002s that graduated high school on time and moved on like Joel Bustamante and Nico Carrera who joined SpVgg Fürth and Holstein Kiel respectively. Or Jonathan Tomkinson who left FCD for Solar and then Norwich City.
Who to Watch
So even with all that talent already gone there are still some interesting players. The four U17s (2004s) playing up are for sure interesting – I’ll talk about them first – and I’ll throw in some other names.
Antonio Carrera – 2004. For me, the best GK in the Academy since Jesse Gonzalez. He’s trained with NTX and is currently in camp with FC Dallas. He played the last 30 minutes for FCD against OKC Energy on Saturday. So he might not even come down to the 19s for the DC.
Ty Reynolds – 2004. Most of you will know by now he’s Bryan’s younger brother. Like Bryan, he’s a wing converted to right back although he made the conversion earlier so he has a head start. Not quite the world-class athlete of Bryan but still a fantastic pro prospect.
Jose Gutierrez – 2004. A forward or wing who made the jump from Texans at the U17 level. He’s the best attacker left in this group along with Philip Akem.
Danny Elizalde – 2004. A former US U15 mid who’s being tried at left back and was promoted to the 19s in that capacity. I have yet to see him play in this spot so I have no idea how it’s going… I’m really looking forward to seeing what’s he’s got.
Grady Easton – Played two games with NTX last year and was a spring camp invite with NTX/FCD this month. Committed to SMU. He joined the FCD at the start of the 2019-20 season from RISA Texans so he’s another Eric Quill recruit.
Cesar Garcia – A linking mid who graduated high school last year and was going to play at SMU before covid derailed everything. He chose to play a gap year with the Academy instead. I said a year ago I wanted to see him signed to a North Texas SC contract as I think he’s got pro potential that Eric Quill could develop.
Riley O’Donnell & Josh Ramsey are both former Solar players who joined FCD this season, O’Donnell straight from Solar, Ramsey after a season with San Antonio FC.
Complete U19 Roster
| No | Name | Pos. | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Marcos Cortez | GK | 2003. |
| 2 | Emiliano Hernandez | D | 2002. |
| 3 | Gavin Gall | D | 2003. |
| 4 | Grady Easton | CB | SMU Commit. Trains with FCD, played with NTX. |
| 5 | Slade Starnes | CB | 2003. |
| 6 | Ivan Villatoro | — | |
| 7 | Eduardo Ruiz Gonzalez | — | |
| 8 | Luis Medina | — | |
| 9 | Philip Akem | F | 2003. West Point Commit. Grown Ass Man. |
| 12 | Alcibiades Duran | M | 2003 |
| 13 | Antonio Carrera | GK | 2004 (U17). Trains FCD and NTX. 13 is his number of choice. rather than the 1. AKA Juan Antonio Carrera-Zarzar |
| 14 | Ty Reynolds | RB | 2004 (U17). Converted attacker. |
| 17 | Riley O’Donnell | F/W | 2002. Former Solar and US U17. UTD Commit. |
| 18 | Johan Guereca Garcia | — | |
| 19 | Jose Gutierrez | F | 2004 (U17). Trained with NTX. Former Dallas Texan. |
| 20 | Reece Fragle | D | 2003. |
| 22 | Joel Hernandez | M | 2003. “JJ.” |
| 23 | Cesar Elizalde | LB | “Danny.” 2004 (U17). Former US U15 mid. |
| 24 | Josh Ramsey | CB | 2002. Former Solar, SAFC, & US U17. Norte Dame Commit. |
| 25 | Cesar Garcia | M | 2002. SMU Commit. |
| 26 | Pedrojose Reyes | — |
Dallas Cup Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Time | Field |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun, March 28 | Black Rock FC RA Northwood U19 | 2 pm | MoneyGram #5 |
| Mon, March 29 | Capital City SC 01/02 Sky | 6 pm | Classic League Complex #10 |
| Wed, March 31 | Solar 02 Castro | 8 pm | Classic League Complex #5 |