The first year Sounder has had an astonishing first professional season and people are taking notice.
DeAndre Yedlin is entering some rarified air in Sounders FC’s young history.
The Seattle defender is already the first rookie to be named an MLS All-Star since 2005, was a standout at the FIFA U-20 World Cup and has become a sensation in his hometown.
On Friday, he joined Fredy Montero and Steve Zakuani as Seattle’s only players to be featured in the top four of the MLSsoccer.com “24 Under 24” feature, coming in at No. 3 on the list.
Yedlin finished behind only Portland Timbers midfielder Darlington Nagbe and Real Salt Lake midfielder Luis Gil on the fourth annual list, with Philadelphia Union forward Jack McInerney and New England Revolution forward Diego Fagundez rounding out the top five.
Yedlin is the highest-ranked defender this season, with Philadelphia’s Amobi Okugo and New England’s Andrew Farrell not far behind at Nos. 8 and 9, respectively. The only defender to be ranked higher than third was Omar Gonzalez at No. 2 in the 2010 rankings.
The Seattle native has one goal and two assists in 24 appearances while helping Seattle to the best defense in the Western Conference and second-best in MLS with a 1.00 goals against average.
In 2010, Montero finished in the top spot. Zakuani was No. 4 in 2010 and 2011.
