8/13/26
The Academy Dream

We met Lucas at Stagecoach Park in Carlsbad,CA when he was just 11 years old. He was out getting his touches and his strikes on goal. He was out consistently, always looking to improve. From that first day, it was clear this young lad was going to do everything in his power to become the best player he could possibly be. 

At that time he was MLSnext Pre-Academy with City SC San Diego. It was a great start for him but we all could see in his eyes that he wanted something more. He continued to perform well for City SC, progressing into the full MLSNext Homegrown with City SC for the next couple of season. By the time he turns 14 years old he knew he was ready for a new challenge. 

That new challenge came by the way of leaving home and heading to Benfica Residency in Tampa,FL. It was new and had challenges that he felt would help him improve and get him closer to his ultimate goal. The technical central midfielder said, " At Benfica, our midfield was very fluid. The three that are selected to play in the middle of the park had to be able to play all three roles, the 10, the 8 or the 6 at any given time". That tachnical set up helped Lucas' football IQ and overall game play imporve and again helped him move closer to that final platform of an MLS Academy. 

After a super impressive season in Florida, the big moment arrived. Right before the 2026 FIFA World Cup was set to begin, Lucas was invited to go on trial with New York RedBull. The little 11 year old boy we met all those years ago at the park, was now 15 years old and on the cusp on achieving his goal of becoming an MLS Academy player. After an impressive showing on trial at RedBull, early July he was offered an academy contract with New York Redbull of Major League Soccer. 

Since preseason has started, we were able to check in with the savvy playmaker and ask him how MLS Academy life is treating him. Lucas went on to say, "It's very demanding and challenging but I love it". Those who understand know that playing at the MLS academy level is a very high level and difficult at times. We can't wait to hear more about this new adventure for Lucas and see what type of player he will be in the next one to three seasons at RedBull. We asked Lucas, is it all what you thought it would be so far? The new RedBull Academy attacker said, "Yes! This is all very good for me".