Mississippi now has an MLS Next club. Here’s what it means for soccer in the state
HATTIESBURG — Tucked around the corner of tall pine trees off a short dirt road in rural Oak Grove lies a pristine soccer complex.
There’s a stadium with seating on both sides and a VIP balcony attached to the club’s office building. Next to the stadium are two well-kept practice fields.
It’s all surrounded by those tall pine trees with the sun setting behind them on a picture-perfect night at kickoff for a Southern States SC versus Dothan United exhibition match. It’s a tight-knit community, but one that is buzzing at the news that was two years in the making.
Southern States was recently announced as an MLS Next expansion club. It’s the first in Mississippi and will begin play next year.
“MLS Next was probably the biggest part of that plan purely for the reason that we get to play against the best teams in the country – with a little bit more travel – but we get to play against the best players in the country,” Southern States strategic partnerships consultant Danny Reynolds said.
What is MLS Next?
MLS Next is not to be confused with MLS Next Pro.
MLS Next is a youth developmental league, while MLS Next Pro is a professional league similar to that of a AAA minor league baseball team. Most MLS Next Pro teams have MLS affiliates, while most MLS Next clubs don’t.
MLS Next fields 677 teams for the 2023-24 season between the United States and Canada. Its divisions range from U-13 to U-19, though Southern States will only have teams at U-13, U-14 and U-15 that will debut in 2024-25. Reynolds said Southern States hopes to be granted the full-player pathway next year, meaning having MLS Next teams from U-13 to U-19.
“It’s the highest youth league in America,” Reynolds said. “You’re going to play against the best.”
Cavan Sullivan, for example, was part of the Philadelphia Union’s MLS Next system. The 14-year-old is now playing for Philadelphia’s MLS Next Pro team and just last week reportedly signed a first-of-its-kind $5 million contract with Philadelphia and Manchester City.
USM FOOTBALL: Inside Southern Miss football’s spring transfer portal losses, what it means for 2024 season
What MLS Next means for Mississippi
Southern States was founded in 2016 by Sid and Wendy Reynolds, Danny Reynolds’ parents. Carl Reynolds, Danny’s brother and the director of player development, is a former All-American at William Carey.
Southern States is one of eight expansion clubs for the 2024-25 season.
Danny Reynolds said MLS Next status will mostly help with exposure. Sullivan’s case is a more extreme example, but players in the community will have better opportunities to play collegiately, too.
“It's going to increase the exposure in Mississippi and it's going to increase the exposure in the southern states area,” he said. “A big thing is that college coaches don't normally come to Mississippi to recruit. With an MLS Next team, now college coaches are going to have to come to Mississippi to recruit, otherwise they're missing some of the very, very good players that we have.”
Sam Sklar is the Southern Miss beat reporter for the Hattiesburg American. Email him at ssklar@hattiesb.gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: MLS Next in Mississippi: What Southern States' expansion means
