It's not hype: Why Cavan Sullivan is the best prospect the USMNT has ever had

There's something incredible happening in MLS right now, and the average World Cup watcher probably has no clue. These people now have opinions about VAR, England's prevent defense and the general moral fiber of the Argentina national team. They're primed to care about soccer, especially American soccer, and especially a kind of greatness we've never seen before from a player of a certain age. No, I'm not talking about Lionel Messi, who somehow might still be the greatest soccer player in the world. No, I'm talking about Cavan Sullivan, the 16-year-old phenom who, somehow, still feels as if he's being underhyped.

Here are some numbers for why you should get excited: 1,675 minutes. The best predictor of future stardom is minutes players at a young age. Sullivan is currently in his age-16 season. And so far, he has played 1,675 league minutes in MLS. Only 21 outfield players have played more league minutes than Sullivan, who still has at least eight games left in his season. If we expand the dataset to include the Big Five, then only five other players -- Eduardo Camavinga, Alex Song, Gavi, Lamine Yamal, and Nuri Sahin -- have played more minutes than Sullivan before their age-17 season.

€1.54 billion. Though we don't have much useful leaguewide data dating to 2006, when Adu was wrapping up his age-16 season, I do feel confident in saying the following: MLS is a lot better than it was 20 years ago. Heck, it's a lot better than it was even 10 years ago.

There's something incredible happening in MLS right now, and the average World Cup watcher probably has no clue. These people now have opinions about VAR, England's prevent defense and the general moral fiber of the Argentina national team. They're primed to care about soccer, especially American soccer, and especially a kind of greatness we've never seen before from a player of a certain age. No, I'm not talking about Lionel Messi, who somehow might still be the greatest soccer player in the world. No, I'm talking about Cavan Sullivan, the 16-year-old phenom who, somehow, still feels as if he's being underhyped.

Here are some numbers for why you should get excited: 1,675 minutes. The best predictor of future stardom is minutes players at a young age. Sullivan is currently in his age-16 season. And so far, he has played 1,675 league minutes in MLS. Only 21 outfield players have played more league minutes than Sullivan, who still has at least eight games left in his season. If we expand the dataset to include the Big Five, then only five other players -- Eduardo Camavinga, Alex Song, Gavi, Lamine Yamal, and Nuri Sahin -- have played more minutes than Sullivan before their age-17 season.

€1.54 billion. Though we don't have much useful leaguewide data dating to 2006, when Adu was wrapping up his age-16 season, I do feel confident in saying the following: MLS is a lot better than it was 20 years ago. Heck, it's a lot better than it was even 10 years ago.

There's something incredible happening in MLS right now, and the average World Cup watcher probably has no clue. These people now have opinions about VAR, England's prevent defense and the general moral fiber of the Argentina national team. They're primed to care about soccer, especially American soccer, and especially a kind of greatness we've never seen before from a player of a certain age. No, I'm not talking about Lionel Messi, who somehow might still be the greatest soccer player in the world. No, I'm talking about Cavan Sullivan, the 16-year-old phenom who, somehow, still feels as if he's being underhyped.

Here are some numbers for why you should get excited: 1,675 minutes. The best predictor of future stardom is minutes players at a young age. Sullivan is currently in his age-16 season. And so far, he has played 1,675 league minutes in MLS. Only 21 outfield players have played more league minutes than Sullivan, who still has at least eight games left in his season. If we expand the dataset to include the Big Five, then only five other players -- Eduardo Camavinga, Alex Song, Gavi, Lamine Yamal, and Nuri Sahin -- have played more minutes than Sullivan before their age-17 season.

€1.54 billion. Though we don't have much useful leaguewide data dating to 2006, when Adu was wrapping up his age-16 season, I do feel confident in saying the following: MLS is a lot better than it was 20 years ago. Heck, it's a lot better than it was even 10 years ago.

There's something incredible happening in MLS right now, and the average World Cup watcher probably has no clue. These people now have opinions about VAR, England's prevent defense and the general moral fiber of the Argentina national team. They're primed to care about soccer, especially American soccer, and especially a kind of greatness we've never seen before from a player of a certain age. No, I'm not talking about Lionel Messi, who somehow might still be the greatest soccer player in the world. No, I'm talking about Cavan Sullivan, the 16-year-old phenom who, somehow, still feels as if he's being underhyped.

Here are some numbers for why you should get excited: 1,675 minutes. The best predictor of future stardom is minutes players at a young age. Sullivan is currently in his age-16 season. And so far, he has played 1,675 league minutes in MLS. Only 21 outfield players have played more league minutes than Sullivan, who still has at least eight games left in his season. If we expand the dataset to include the Big Five, then only five other players -- Eduardo Camavinga, Alex Song, Gavi, Lamine Yamal, and Nuri Sahin -- have played more minutes than Sullivan before their age-17 season.

€1.54 billion. Though we don't have much useful leaguewide data dating to 2006, when Adu was wrapping up his age-16 season, I do feel confident in saying the following: MLS is a lot better than it was 20 years ago. Heck, it's a lot better than it was even 10 years ago.

There's something incredible happening in MLS right now, and the average World Cup watcher probably has no clue. These people now have opinions about VAR, England's prevent defense and the general moral fiber of the Argentina national team. They're primed to care about soccer, especially American soccer, and especially a kind of greatness we've never seen before from a player of a certain age. No, I'm not talking about Lionel Messi, who somehow might still be the greatest soccer player in the world. No, I'm talking about Cavan Sullivan, the 16-year-old phenom who, somehow, still feels as if he's being underhyped.

Here are some numbers for why you should get excited: 1,675 minutes. The best predictor of future stardom is minutes players at a young age. Sullivan is currently in his age-16 season. And so far, he has played 1,675 league minutes in MLS. Only 21 outfield players have played more league minutes than Sullivan, who still has at least eight games left in his season. If we expand the dataset to include the Big Five, then only five other players -- Eduardo Camavinga, Alex Song, Gavi, Lamine Yamal, and Nuri Sahin -- have played more minutes than Sullivan before their age-17 season.

€1.54 billion. Though we don't have much useful leaguewide data dating to 2006, when Adu was wrapping up his age-16 season, I do feel confident in saying the following: MLS is a lot better than it was 20 years ago. Heck, it's a lot better than it was even 10 years ago.

There's something incredible happening in MLS right now, and the average World Cup watcher probably has no clue. These people now have opinions about VAR, England's prevent defense and the general moral fiber of the Argentina national team. They're primed to care about soccer, especially American soccer, and especially a kind of greatness we've never seen before from a player of a certain age. No, I'm not talking about Lionel Messi, who somehow might still be the greatest soccer player in the world. No, I'm talking about Cavan Sullivan, the 16-year-old phenom who, somehow, still feels as if he's being underhyped.

Here are some numbers for why you should get excited: 1,675 minutes. The best predictor of future stardom is minutes players at a young age. Sullivan is currently in his age-16 season. And so far, he has played 1,675 league minutes in MLS. Only 21 outfield players have played more league minutes than Sullivan, who still has at least eight games left in his season. If we expand the dataset to include the Big Five, then only five other players -- Eduardo Camavinga, Alex Song, Gavi, Lamine Yamal, and Nuri Sahin -- have played more minutes than Sullivan before their age-17 season.

€1.54 billion. Though we don't have much useful leaguewide data dating to 2006, when Adu was wrapping up his age-16 season, I do feel confident in saying the following: MLS is a lot better than it was 20 years ago. Heck, it's a lot better than it was even 10 years ago.

There's something incredible happening in MLS right now, and the average World Cup watcher probably has no clue. These people now have opinions about VAR, England's prevent defense and the general moral fiber of the Argentina national team. They're primed to care about soccer, especially American soccer, and especially a kind of greatness we've never seen before from a player of a certain age. No, I'm not talking about Lionel Messi, who somehow might still be the greatest soccer player in the world. No, I'm talking about Cavan Sullivan, the 16-year-old phenom who, somehow, still feels as if he's being underhyped.

Here are some numbers for why you should get excited: 1,675 minutes. The best predictor of future stardom is minutes players at a young age. Sullivan is currently in his age-16 season. And so far, he has played 1,675 league minutes in MLS. Only 21 outfield players have played more league minutes than Sullivan, who still has at least eight games left in his season. If we expand the dataset to include the Big Five, then only five other players -- Eduardo Camavinga, Alex Song, Gavi, Lamine Yamal, and Nuri Sahin -- have played more minutes than Sullivan before their age-17 season.

€1.54 billion. Though we don't have much useful leaguewide data dating to 2006, when Adu was wrapping up his age-16 season, I do feel confident in saying the following: MLS is a lot better than it was 20 years ago. Heck, it's a lot better than it was even 10 years ago.

There's something incredible happening in MLS right now, and the average World Cup watcher probably has no clue. These people now have opinions about VAR, England's prevent defense and the general moral fiber of the Argentina national team. They're primed to care about soccer, especially American soccer, and especially a kind of greatness we've never seen before from a player of a certain age. No, I'm not talking about Lionel Messi, who somehow might still be the greatest soccer player in the world. No, I'm talking about Cavan Sullivan, the 16-year-old phenom who, somehow, still feels as if he's being underhyped.

Here are some numbers for why you should get excited: 1,675 minutes. The best predictor of future stardom is minutes players at a young age. Sullivan is currently in his age-16 season. And so far, he has played 1,675 league minutes in MLS. Only 21 outfield players have played more league minutes than Sullivan, who still has at least eight games left in his season. If we expand the dataset to include the Big Five, then only five other players -- Eduardo Camavinga, Alex Song, Gavi, Lamine Yamal, and Nuri Sahin -- have played more minutes than Sullivan before their age-17 season.

€1.54 billion. Though we don't have much useful leaguewide data dating to 2006, when Adu was wrapping up his age-16 season, I do feel confident in saying the following: MLS is a lot better than it was 20 years ago. Heck, it's a lot better than it was even 10 years ago.

There's something incredible happening in MLS right now, and the average World Cup watcher probably has no clue. These people now have opinions about VAR, England's prevent defense and the general moral fiber of the Argentina national team. They're primed to care about soccer, especially American soccer, and especially a kind of greatness we've never seen before from a player of a certain age. No, I'm not talking about Lionel Messi, who somehow might still be the greatest soccer player in the world. No, I'm talking about Cavan Sullivan, the 16-year-old phenom who, somehow, still feels as if he's being underhyped.

Here are some numbers for why you should get excited: 1,675 minutes. The best predictor of future stardom is minutes players at a young age. Sullivan is currently in his age-16 season. And so far, he has played 1,675 league minutes in MLS. Only 21 outfield players have played more league minutes than Sullivan, who still has at least eight games left in his season. If we expand the dataset to include the Big Five, then only five other players -- Eduardo Camavinga, Alex Song, Gavi, Lamine Yamal, and Nuri Sahin -- have played more minutes than Sullivan before their age-17 season.

€1.54 billion. Though we don't have much useful leaguewide data dating to 2006, when Adu was wrapping up his age-16 season, I do feel confident in saying the following: MLS is a lot better than it was 20 years ago. Heck, it's a lot better than it was even 10 years ago.

There's something incredible happening in MLS right now, and the average World Cup watcher probably has no clue. These people now have opinions about VAR, England's prevent defense and the general moral fiber of the Argentina national team. They're primed to care about soccer, especially American soccer, and especially a kind of greatness we've never seen before from a player of a certain age. No, I'm not talking about Lionel Messi, who somehow might still be the greatest soccer player in the world. No, I'm talking about Cavan Sullivan, the 16-year-old phenom who, somehow, still feels as if he's being underhyped.

Here are some numbers for why you should get excited: 1,675 minutes. The best predictor of future stardom is minutes players at a young age. Sullivan is currently in his age-16 season. And so far, he has played 1,675 league minutes in MLS. Only 21 outfield players have played more league minutes than Sullivan, who still has at least eight games left in his season. If we expand the dataset to include the Big Five, then only five other players -- Eduardo Camavinga, Alex Song, Gavi, Lamine Yamal, and Nuri Sahin -- have played more minutes than Sullivan before their age-17 season.

€1.54 billion. Though we don't have much useful leaguewide data dating to 2006, when Adu was wrapping up his age-16 season, I do feel confident in saying the following: MLS is a lot better than it was 20 years ago. Heck, it's a lot better than it was even 10 years ago.

There's something incredible happening in MLS right now, and the average World Cup watcher probably has no clue. These people now have opinions about VAR, England's prevent defense and the general moral fiber of the Argentina national team. They're primed to care about soccer, especially American soccer, and especially a kind of greatness we've never seen before from a player of a certain age. No, I'm not talking about Lionel Messi, who somehow might still be the greatest soccer player in the world. No, I'm talking about Cavan Sullivan, the 16-year-old phenom who, somehow, still feels as if he's being underhyped.

Here are some numbers for why you should get excited: 1,675 minutes. The best predictor of future stardom is minutes players at a young age. Sullivan is currently in his age-16 season. And so far, he has played 1,675 league minutes in MLS. Only 21 outfield players have played more league minutes than Sullivan, who still has at least eight games left in his season. If we expand the dataset to include the Big Five, then only five other players -- Eduardo Camavinga, Alex Song, Gavi, Lamine Yamal, and Nuri Sahin -- have played more minutes than Sullivan before their age-17 season.

€1.54 billion. Though we don't have much useful leaguewide data dating to 2006, when Adu was wrapping up his age-16 season, I do feel confident in saying the following: MLS is a lot better than it was 20 years ago. Heck, it's a lot better than it was even 10 years ago.

There's something incredible happening in MLS right now, and the average World Cup watcher probably has no clue. These people now have opinions about VAR, England's prevent defense and the general moral fiber of the Argentina national team. They're primed to care about soccer, especially American soccer, and especially a kind of greatness we've never seen before from a player of a certain age. No, I'm not talking about Lionel Messi, who somehow might still be the greatest soccer player in the world. No, I'm talking about Cavan Sullivan, the 16-year-old phenom who, somehow, still feels as if he's being underhyped.

Here are some numbers for why you should get excited: 1,675 minutes. The best predictor of future stardom is minutes players at a young age. Sullivan is currently in his age-16 season. And so far, he has played 1,675 league minutes in MLS. Only 21 outfield players have played more league minutes than Sullivan, who still has at least eight games left in his season. If we expand the dataset to include the Big Five, then only five other players -- Eduardo Camavinga, Alex Song, Gavi, Lamine Yamal, and Nuri Sahin -- have played more minutes than Sullivan before their age-17 season.

€1.54 billion. Though we don't have much useful leaguewide data dating to 2006, when Adu was wrapping up his age-16 season, I do feel confident in saying the following: MLS is a lot better than it was 20 years ago. Heck, it's a lot better than it was even 10 years ago.