Behind NESJ's Best of New England Rankings

Matt Doherty and Matt Langone discuss their “Best in New England” rankings for boys and girls in the classes of 2026 and 2027, explaining their evaluation process using in-person scouting, input from coaches, league honors, team success, and college commitments while acknowledging the difficulty of positional comparisons and “splitting hairs” within tiers. The hosts describe the 2026 boys list as MLS Next-heavy near the top and discuss balancing MLS Next, prep, and commitment context and explain why only 25 2027 boys were ranked due to slower recruiting. They call the 2027 girls class exceptionally deep, with many FC Stars commits, and discuss club and school representation across New England. In Extra Time, they answer questions about favorite New England soccer venues, unusual moments seen in games, and differences between men’s and women’s soccer and coaching approaches.

Topics

01:00 Podcast Intro and Rankings Recap

01:59 How the Rankings Were Built

03:56 2026 Boys Top Tier Breakdown

04:58 MLS Next vs Prep Weighting

08:29 Splitting Hairs and Tier Gaps

10:21 Positions and Goalkeeper Value

11:33 Owning Mistakes and Updates

17:10 2027 Boys List and Recruiting Trends

22:10 2027 Girls Loaded Class

25:51 New England Club Powerhouses

27:53 Girls Clubs and Commit Numbers

28:36 High Schools Producing Talent

30:49 Rankings Updates and Next Steps

31:32 Regional Gaps Beyond Mass and Conn

32:52 Extra Time Segment Begins

33:21 Best Soccer Venues in New England

36:42 Craziest Never Seen That Moment

40:01 Men vs Women Soccer Differences

43:32 Coaching Women vs Men

48:14 Wrap Up and July Tease