Who are the breakout players of the USL season?
Assessing three surprise stars that are defining the 2023 campaign
I’m a big fan of niche accolades, from the Selke Award for the best defensive forward in the NHL to the Sixth Man of the Year designation in the NBA. Yes, the best of the best deserve plaudits, but players who do the most within their specific role can be similarly impactful, or at least worthy of note and praise.
With that in mind, I want to nominate a few names for the USL’s biggest breakouts this season. Who’s exceeding expectation by the greatest extent and really making a difference in 2023? These aren’t MVP candidates, but they’re all doing the dirty work and cementing their status as legitimate starters or more in the second division.
Nick Markanich (AM, Charleston Battery)
Over the offseason, Charleston brought in a slew of attackers with experience under Ben Pirmann like Handwalla Bwana, USL tenure a la Emilio Ycaza, or proven worth in South Carolina in the form of Aidan Apodaca and Fidel Barajas. Minutes would seemingly be hard to come by.
Nick Markanich has racked up 1,200 minutes of ‘em, solidifying himself as the first name on the team sheet in the midfield. This is a player who could hardly buy an appearance in MLS, but he’s demanding prime billing for the Battery.
#13 has seven goals and one assist this year in addition to 17 shot-creating key passes. He’s seen time as the central No. 10 underneath Augustine Williams but looks equally good on the right flank, pairing wonderfully with an overlapping Derek Dodson.
The highlight here makes Markanich’s quality clear. You see him probe between the opposing defenders, taking a position ahead of Williams at striker. When #13 receives, every one of his touches is considerate and controlled, and he knows when to drop his shoulder to stay on the front foot. A tiny shooting window eventually appears, and Markanich takes it with a subtle, well-placed grace rather than try to hammer home a thunderbolt into the top corner.
Markanich can rotate with a proper No. 9 to confuse defenses, or he can drop lower to find touches and keep offense flowing. All of his decisions happen with an eye towards opening angles for his left foot as a passer or shooter. Markanich has the poise of a seasoned veteran already, and he’s going to be a USL star for years to come.
Zach Ryan (FW, Loudoun United)
There were few fates worse than playing for New York Red Bulls II in 2022. This was a team that used 45 different players with an average age of 20.6, and they allowed 76 goals in 34 games amidst the muddle. In that context, Zach Ryan contributed just one goal and zero assists, operating as a ball-carrying No. 10 best in transition.
Things couldn’t be more different for Ryan with Loudoun United this season. Loudoun’s average age is a full two-and-a-half years above New York’s, and they play competent defense. More importantly, they’re a possessive unit that give Ryan the opportunity to shine in attack. The result? Eight goals and two assists already for #28.
Ryan’s output is up from 0.09 goals per game last year to 0.59, near the best in the USL. Even though he’s playing higher up as a striker, his expected assists are also up a tick from 0.07 to 0.08; he’s improving in every way.
Ryan’s game is defined by an ability to contribute in deeper positions in addition to the scoring. Take the examples above; #28 drops in for a touch, continues to probe and draw the defense’s attention, and makes a clean first-time pass for the hockey assist. In the second clip, he’s carving between the lines and ripping a long-distance attempt off the woodwork.
This season, Ryan averages 32.1 touches per match, up from 27.1 last year in that more proper midfield role. With Loudoun on the fringe of the playoff field, he’ll continue to be crucial, and he seems to be set up as an impact player for the extended future in this league.
Marc Ybarra (CM, Pittsburgh Riverhounds)
Bob Lilley famously loves a bit of squad rotation, and he’s always liable to change out his lineup and tactics without shedding a tear. It’s rare for someone to emerge as a nailed-on favorite in his sides. For a second-year player like Marc Ybarra to do so is therefore remarkable.
Ybarra has played in 76% of available minutes this season, and he’s at least appeared in each of the Riverhounds’ 17 matches. He’s the second-most-used player in the Pittsburgh midfield behind Kenardo Forbes, an all-time legend in the USL and a long-term Lilley disciple.
For Ybarra to be so crucial wasn’t a given; this team added Junior Etou, Burke Fahling, and Trevor Zwesloot as potential rivals in the No. 6 spot during the offseason. Why is this the case? The former Michigan Wolverine is 15 for 24 on tackle attempts in 2023, and he completes 41 passes per game. That latter number is more than any non-defender on the squad.
In the clip, you can see some of that defensive value. Pittsburgh advances with a long ball that’s cleared away, but #23 steps in to make a crucial counterpressing tackle and keep his side in attack mode. Within the team’s 5-1-3-1 shape, Ybarra is that lone “1” in the midfield, and he’s most often seen probing behind the high press and plugging in any and all holes.
Ybarra is also metronome in possession, but he has a certain fluidity when the Riverhounds possess. The latter chunk of the clip above shows him dropping into the back line, taking a clean touch but bending the defense high in the process. Because of his run, Pittsburgh can build out.
It’s that poise and intelligence that set Ybarra apart. The 24-year-old seems like he’s destined for a long run under Lilley in the Steel City, and the numbers and tape illustrate how valuable he can be.
Bonus: Miles Lyons (FB, El Paso Locomotive)
I wanted this article to highlight three players, but I also feel the need to talk about how exciting Miles Lyons has been this year. If you want an argument against him as a top-three breakout guy, you could point to the fact that he’s only participated in 54% of El Paso’s minutes and that Lyons is solidly second-choice behind Marc Navarro when the latter is healthy.
Still, the kid is just 20 years old, and he’s having an exceptional year at right back. Lyons has one assist to date, but he’s in the 94th percentile for fouls drawn and has beaten 10 players on the dribble in about 800 minutes of time.
Defensively, #16 stands out for his athleticism and his ability to cover from end to end. He has 11 interceptions whereas Navarro has just one in comparable minutes; Lyons is also 10 for 13 on tackle attempts, putting him in the 85th percentile for his tackle win rate.
Lyon’s ability to stretch the right side and keep opponents honest behind the exploratory movement of Denys Kostyshyn is a real asset; you see it in the second clip above. At the start of the video, it becomes obvious how #16 can hug wide, use his speed and acceleration on the ball to find space on his right foot, and cross in very accurate balls; he’s got a respectable 26% cross completion rate this year.
A product of the vaunted Barca Residency Academy, Lyons looks more than ready for the big time. He’s a Tucson native and proud standard-bearer for Southwestern soccer, and he increasingly looks like a piece of the Locomotive core for years to come.