Atlanta United prospects at the 2025 College Cup

The field is set. In just a few days from now, hundreds of young soccer players will compete for the pride of their school, the eye of MLS scouts ahead of the SuperDraft, and their chance to hoist the 2025 College Cup.

This is a single-elimination tournament running from November 20th through December 15th, with 22 teams automatically qualifying through conference cup championships and regular season titles and 26 teams selected at large by the Division I Men’s Soccer Committee. The top 16 teams earned first-round byes with the right to host their opponents at their home stadiums on November 23rd.

Of the 48 qualifying teams, 9 teams have Atlanta United Academy graduates or former players. This is slightly down from previous years and also leaves out prospects like Northwestern University’s Nigel Prince, but it should be a great competition for Atlanta United fans and casual fans of college soccer. If you would like to learn more about these players, check out our 2025 college season preview.

First Round

Thursday, Nov. 20

• 6 p.m. | Clemson vs. Western Michigan
• 8 p.m.  | Saint Louis vs. Kentucky
• 9 p.m. | Oregon St. vs. Washington

Players to Watch

The first round kicks off with the always-entertaining Clemson Tigers. Though they are back in the post-season again, this may feel like a disappointing season for a very talented young Clemson team that could feature prominently in the 2026 SuperDraft. Sophomore phenom Ransford Gyan leads a dynamic attacking group of Nathan Richmond, Wahabu Musah, and Misei Yoshizawa. Atlanta fans looking at who could be their pick at number 2 overall in the draft should keep a close eye on Gyan, the ACC Midfielder of the Year, who seems to still have plenty of room to grow as a prospect after finishing the season with an impressive 8 goals and 8 assists in 16 matches.

Fans should also keep a close eye on the rock of Clemson’s right flank, Remi Okunlola. The junior right-back has started all over Clemson’s right flank over his three years with the Tigers after departing Atlanta United’s Academy. Though an injury kept him on the sidelines for a few matches, he still showed why he should be considered a near-lock as a future Homegrown Player with a career-best 8 assists in 15 matches.

Atlanta United’s most underappreciated left-back prospect, Andrew De Gannes, is back in the College Cup again with Oregon State. After going undrafted in the last two SuperDrafts, the former Atlanta United 2 left-back had an impressive season at OSU with 2 goals and 8 assists in just over 1,300 minutes. De Gannes is a classic left-back with strong defensive instincts and the ability to get forward to create chances in the attack. With Pedro Amador under contract for one more season and Homegrown Dominik Chong Qui waiting for his chance to reintroduce himself, fans would be right in wondering whether there is a spot for De Gannes back in Atlanta. As the club resets and prepares to fundamentally remake its roster under Tata Martino, De Gannes is exactly the kind of talented and experienced depth that would benefit the club.

Kentucky returns to the College Cup with a couple of young Atlanta United products who will probably not be starters this year but could play a big role next season. Sophomore forward Bains Smith has continued his slow but impressive integration into a deep Kentucky attacking group. Finishing his season with a goal and two assists in 477 minutes (3 starts across 13 appearances), Smith continues to build experience and confidence. Freshman goalkeeper Dillon Griner spent his first season watching and learning, but could quickly work his way into the goalkeeping competition in 2026. He is no stranger to tough battles for minutes, competing with a packed goalkeeper room at Atlanta United. Once he gets his chance, there will be no looking back.

Second Round

Sunday, Nov. 23

• 12 p.m. | No. 6 Indiana vs. TBA
• 1 p.m. | No. 16 Furman vs. TBA
• 1 p.m. | No. 4 Maryland vs. TBA
• 5 p.m. | No. 2 Virginia vs. TBA
• 6 p.m. | No. 15 NC State vs. TBA
• 9 p.m. | No. 8 Portland vs. TBA

Players to Watch

Cristiano Bruletti joined Indiana University after spending the last couple of seasons with Michigan State. Bruletti immediately stepped into the Indiana central midfield and quietly had one of his most well-rounded seasons. Across 13 starts (16 total matches), Bruletti provided a lot of stability at the heart of the Indiana formation, finding key attacking lanes through the middle of the field while also keeping most of the game in front of him. Bruletti and Indiana will take on the winner of Kentucky vs. Saint Louis.

Braden Dunham has had one of the most impressive 18 months I’ve seen from an academy prospect. Though he was considered a solid defender, the young left-back was mostly overshadowed by Dominik Chong Qui and Kaiden Moore until something just clicked in the spring of 2024. That fall, Dunham became dominant as a defense-first left-back and left centerback, impressing the organization enough to get him into the 2s rotation in the Spring. As he was splitting his time between the 2s and a stacked U-18 team, Dunham leap-frogged soon-to-be Homegrown Player Kaiden Moore in Steve Cooke’s 2s rotation while also forcing Moore out wide to left-back with the U-18s. Dunham was playing at such a high level that many of us following the organization thought he would get a professional contract by the end of the summer. Dunham wasted no time integrating himself into Furman’s starting 11, becoming the most dominant defender on the team. Dunham shows incredible command of the game around him and is already drawing comparisons to Walker Zimmerman by college commentators. Part of that comparison comes from his dominance in the air on set pieces. Dunham finished the season with 6 goals and 2 assists, with 4 of those goals coming from braces against Wofford and USC Upstate. All of this earned Dunham a growing list of honors, including Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, All-Southern Conference First Team, All-Southern Conference Freshman Team, and Southern Conference Tournament Best-11.

Joining Dunham among those honor lists is sophomore holding midfielder Luke Hutzell. Hutzell plays as a traditional 6, shielding his back line while playing a key role in Furman’s build-up. Hutzell has started nearly every match for Furman in his first two seasons and is certainly on the hunt for greater things this postseason after a valiant defeat to the University of North Carolina ended their tournament dreams in 2024. Hutzell finished the season as one of four midfielders in the All-Southern Conference First Team and as a member of the Southern Conference Tournament Best-11. Furman will take on the winner of Clemson vs. Western Michigan.

Another team out looking for redemption is the University of Virginia, which narrowly missed out on another ACC Cup in a true Cinderella run for Southern Methodist University. While the team’s freshman attacking wunderkind Nicholas Simmonds may get a lot of the attention, Casper Mols (Atlanta United’s third-round pick in the 2024 SuperDraft) has had a superb final college season. If it weren’t for his international status, Mols would be in serious consideration for Atlanta United’s youth movement at goalkeeper. He is very tidy in goal, organizes his defenders well, and distributes the ball at an above-average level. Mols held 7 opponents in 14 matches to clean sheets in 2025, held four more to just a single goal, and ended up with just 15 goals allowed across 1,440 minutes in goal. That was good enough for 11 wins, 3 draws, and 2 losses. Atlanta United still holds the rights for Mols (as far as we know), so they may have a big decision to make.

At the heart of UVA’s midfield is the ever-reliable Brendan Lambe. After a toe injury in the third match of the season knocked him out for two months, Lambe finally made it back on the field in late October and is finally fit enough to reclaim his starting spot. Regardless of how this tournament goes, Lambe will likely want to make up for lost time and interrupted momentum in his Senior Season. Another player looking for a reset will be Steven Hurlock, who battled injuries in his final year with Atlanta United before slowly working his way into the UVA rotation. Within minutes of entering the match against SMU, the entire stadium watched heartbroken as Hurlock rode off the field on a stretcher. We wish him a full recovery and a strong return in his Sophomore season. UVA will take on the winner of UNC Greensboro vs. Elon.

Justin McLean showed the jump from George State to NC State was not too big for him to handle. The talented midfielder slotted in all over the attacking half of his new team and proved to be a constant threat. The highlight reel of near misses is a mile and a half long, and his final count of 3 goals and 4 assists massively undersells how impressive he looked. McLean will likely be in the SuperDraft next month, but would be an excellent candidate to return on a 2s contract. He is a big and physical player who can be a wide midfielder, wing, second striker, or 10. He might even draw some Julian Gressel comparisons. NC State is one of the most exciting teams in the tournament with stars throughout its roster. They will take on the winner of Marshall vs. Cleveland State.

If you fill out a bracket, post it in the comments below, and let us know which of these players you will be watching. All matches are available via streaming.

Join us this winter for the College Soccer Season Recap, 2026 SuperDraft Coverage, Next Homegrown Player predictions, and full coverage of Atlanta United 2 off-season.