A couple of abysmal seasons for Red Bull II from 2020-2022 in the USL Championship left the reserve team in a state of turmoil. But after a change in leagues a new coach and a re-loaded roster, the “Baby Bulls” were BACK!
2023 would finally shine a light on the club once again as the team would get back to its winning ways in MLS Next Pro. Heading into its second season in Next Pro, Red Bull II is looking to build off this momentum and end the season with a second banner hanging at MSU Soccer Park on the campus of Montclair State University.
The goal of Red Bull II is to continue to provide a new pathway to the pros for younger players and coaches alike. Red Bull often used their second team to get their promising academy players and draft picks. Players such as Tyler Adams, Derrick Etienne Jr, John Michael Tolkin, and Daniel Edelman all got their first taste of professional soccer at Red Bull II.
The future is now at Red Bull II, so who’s going to be the next star that is able to walk the halls of Red Bull Arena in the next year or two?
2023 Recap
Coming off a season where the team fired its coach midseason and finished the year with just three wins out of 34 matches, Red Bull had some major rebuilding to do with its reserve team.
The first move was to hire Ibrahim Sekagya full-time as manager, and boy did that move to pay off. Red Bull II finished the regular season in 4th place, seeing an improvement all over the pitch. in 2023, Red Bull II won 14 games, ended the season with 51 points, a 36-point increase, and finished with a goal differential of +17, the second-best number in the Eastern Conference.
In the playoffs, Red Bull II matched up against Chicago Fire B and disposed of them with a 4-1 win at MSU Soccer Park to advance to the Conference Semi-finals. Unfortunately, that’s where the season would come to an end for Sekagya’s side.
On the road against New England, a late goal from young attacker Julian Hall would draw Red Bull II within one goal, but that’s how the match would end, 2-1 in favor of Revolution II. A tough pill to swallow, but Ibrahim Sekagya and crew were building something special in Montclair and this was just the beginning.
2024 Preview
After 2023 blew everyone’s expectations out of the water, 2024 will be a year to see if Red Bull II can repeat the success that they had last season. Can the main group of guys outproduce what they did in 2023?
Head coach Ibrahim Sekagya has a challenge on his hands with all the talent that Red Bull II has at its disposal. Here’s what a group of 26 players that we could see every week at MSU Soccer Park.
US Open Cup
For the first time since 2015 when the team was founded, New York Red Bulls II will be represented in the US Open Cup. The Open Cup is the country’s oldest ongoing national soccer competition, starting back in 1913.
With MLS clubs previously stating they would be opting out of the Open Cup, before USSF stepped in, a majority of affiliated MLS Next PRO clubs would be replacing their senior teams in the tournament, including Red Bull II.
The hope for Red Bull II this time around is that they can progress in the tournament as in 2015 they were eliminated in the second round by PDL side Jersey Express S.C. 1-0.
Roster rules for the competition are a little up in the air, but it sounds like seven players from the first team will be allowed to play with the II’s during the competition.
This season Red Bull II starts the Open Cup against USL League 2 side Hudson Valley Hammers, co-owned by former Red Bull homegrown & current USMNT captain, Tyler Adams. If Red Bull II wins, they will likely move on and play the winner of FC Motown & NYCFC II.
Departures From 2023
- Amos Shapiro-Thompson, CM, –> Rhode Island FC
- Will Meyer, GK, –> Free Agent
- Henry Wise, CM, –> Free Agent
- Oladayo Thomas, ST, –> Free Agent
- Diego Kauan (Dija), RB –> RB Bragantino
Of the players who didn’t return to the club, the two that will be missed the most are Amos Shapiro-Thomas and Oladayo Thomas. Before unfortunately tearing his ACL in June, Thomas tallied three goals and two assists in 11 appearances (915 minutes) in 2023. More than anything, Thomas was a great influence on such a young attacking core, especially 15-year-old Julian Hall.
Shapiro-Thomas was also a sound player and leader out of Boston College for Ibrahim Sekagya’s side in 2023. In 20 games (1,287 minutes) last season, Amos scored one goal from midfield.
New Blood Coming to Montclair
Coming into this new season the II’s will have a lot of new faces. Here are the “officially” signed players for Red Bull II in 2024:
- Dallas Odle, GK, FC Tulsa (USLC)
- Aidan O’Conner, CB, University of Virginia (NCAA)
- Jair Collahuazo, CB, CS Emelec (Ecuador)
- Steven Sserwadda, Midfield, New York Red Bulls (MLS)
- Malick Dembele, AM, Yeelen Olympique (Mali)
- Roald Mitchell, ST, Wake Forest (NCAA)
This season Red Bull II won’t have as many additions as they did in 2023 due to retaining much of the roster, but we could see some players that they brought in make an impact throughout the season. The biggest addition to the roster is 6’5 center back Jair Collahuazo coming over from CS Emelec and Ecuador U17s.
The other acquisition that Red Bull made this winter was in attacking midfield bringing in Malick Dembele from Yeelen Olympique of Mali. Dembele is another quick player that Ibrahim Sekagya is adding to his arsenal, with the likes of Mohammed Sofo & Julian Hall already key pieces in the attack.
In addition to the new guys, Red Bull II has exercised the options on Frank Ssebufu, Dylan Sullivan, Ibrahim Kasule, Juan Gutierrez, and Omar Valencia’s contract to keep them at the club in 2024. Players like Rafael Mosquera (7/31/24) and Mohammed Sofo (12/31/24) will remain on loan at the club in 2024.
From the college ranks, former academy striker & RBII alum Roald Mitchell signed a homegrown contract out of Wake Forest and will see plenty of time with the II’s. At the same time, center-back Aidan O’Connor out of the University of Virginia was drafted by Red Bull in the first round of the MLS Super Draft.
In addition to players signed to professional contracts, here are some academy players that we could see throughout the 2024 season:
- Copeland Berkley, RB, ’06
- Brady Boulanger, AM, ’07
- Jeffrey Bryjak, LB, ’07
- Sebasthian Chavez, CB, ’08
- Adri Mehmeti, DM/CM, ’09
- Pipeloore Olanrewaju, ST, ’07
- Alan Rutkowski, GK, ’06 [Committed to UNC in 2025]
- Gil de Souza, CM/AM, ’08
*This is subject to change throughout the season*
Ones to Watch
#82 Ibrahim Kasule, Attacking Midfield
Coming into the 2023 season, nobody knew the name Ibrahim Kasule outside of Uganda. The first time I saw him in training from afar I thought it was one of the coach’s family members. “No, that’s the new signing, Ibrahim Kasule”, someone said. That was the last time I said anything negative about Ibra.
Kasule is everything you want in a pure #10 and more. He can score, has above average pace, can pick any pass he wants, and above all else his drive on the pitch Is next to none.
If you didn’t know the name Ibrahim Kasule at the beginning of 2023, you knew it by the end of July. in 2023, Kasule scored 17 goals and had seven assists in 27 games (2,074 minutes). Ibra even went on a seven-game goal-scoring streak from the middle of June to August 1st. All of this led to Ibra being named to MLS Next PRO’s Best XI in 2023.
Coming into 2024, Ibra’s goals are much higher than just playing well in Next PRO. This preseason Kasule traveled with the first team to Florida and California. The whole organization sees Ibra’s potential and now it’s a matter of time before we see him with the first team consistently. Enjoy him at MSU Soccer Park while you still can.
Before the season started, I sat down with Ibrahim Kasule to talk to him about his time with the first team this pre-season, first team Sandro Schwarz, familiarity & chemistry with the player returning and much more! Check it out!
#3 Jair Collahuazo, Center Back
One of the big additions to the backline this season will be Ecuadorian U17 center-back Jair Collahuazo. This past November, Collahuazo played every single minute for Ecuador at the U17 World Cup where they fell to Brazil.
Red Bull II are no strangers to South American players in their squad with Juan Mina & Juan Gutierrez from Colombia and Wiki Carmona from Venezuela. Collahuazo is pretty highly rated in the Ecuadorian youth setup and will be on loan through the 2024 season from Ecuadorian club C.S. Emelec.
From what I can gather, Collahuazo is a left-footed tall & rangy defender at 6’5, positional sound, and is able to win tackles based on his strength and being able to be in the right spot at the right time.
Time will tell how Collahuazo’s game translates from his age group to the pro levels, but he should be a key player to watch in 2024 as Red Bull owns a buy option once his loan ends. Collahuazo could wind up playing his football at Red Bull Arena one day if he shows well at MSU Soccer Park these next six or seven months.
#21 Aidan Stokes, Goalkeeper
Red Bull is famous for having elite-level goalies throughout their history, whether it’s Tim Howard, Tony Meola or Luis Robles. Since Robles left the club in 2019, Red Bull has been searching for his replacement. At the current moment, they feature Paraguayan international Carlos Coronel between the pipes, but he isn’t the future at the position. That distinction falls to 16-year-old Aidan Stokes out of Totowa, New Jersey.
In 2023, Stokes was playing at the U15 & U17 levels of the academy and was a part of the squad that won the MLS Next U15 Championship. In August, Stokes was rewarded with a professional contract that would evolve into a homegrown contract at the start of 2024.
“Aidan has had made it hard for us not to recognize his skill that he has shown within our Academy,” said Head Coach Ibrahim Sekagya. Stokes is a tri-national, who can represent the USA, Wales, and England. As recent as this past November, Stokes was called up to a Wales U15 camp and started in goal against Northern Ireland.
This season we should be seeing a lot of Aidan Stokes with the II team whenever A.J. Marcucci, the 3rd goalkeeper on the first team, isn’t available. The big question is, can Stokes become the next Tim Howard?
#91 Bento Estrela
At the time of his signing back in 2021, Bento Estrela was the 4th youngest ever MLS Homegrown signing ever. Since then, Bento has dealt with a ton of injuries in the 2021 & 2022 seasons, hampering his development that possibly would have seen him transferred over to Europe by now.
2023 was a major bounce-back year for Bento as he was able to professional games for the first time in his young career. For Red Bull II, Bento played all over midfield, racking up 1,366 minutes over 22 games last season. In 2024, the goal should be to play 2,000 minutes while also getting a taste of the first team.
The versatile midfielder is off to a great start in the preseason, scoring in two different matches against Montreal & Unisamba. Bento is a unique type of player in the Red Bull system. Standing around ~6’2, Bento plays with the ball at his feet as if he were 5’9. His potential between both boxes is unmatched inside Red Bull at this current moment.
The question for Bento is, what’s his best position? To me, that answer is simple, Bento is an “8” at the pro level. His ability to evade a press while also transporting the ball through midfield plays to his strengths to link the backline with the attack. With his physical build, Bento could eventually grow into a prototypical box-to-box midfielder, like Johnny Cardoso, who plays for Real Betis & the USMNT
If Bento can lock down a starting spot this season under head coach Ibrahim Sekagya, we could witness the makings of the next homegrown star for the first team. Just imagine seeing a Bento Estrela & Daniel Edelman double pivot in 2025.
#16 Julian Hall, Attacker
If 2023 was a year to announce to the world his name, then 2024 is the year that Julian Hall proves to everyone that he belongs with the big boys.
Last season was Hall’s coming out party, taking home a share of the GA Cups Golden Ball, MLS Next MVP, MLS Next U15 Championship, Red Bull II’s youngest-ever goal scorer (15 years & 73 days) and even making his first team debut at 15 years & 190 old, the second youngest in MLS history.
Hall is set to turn 16 years old on March 24th and will finally be able to participate 100% at the pro level. 2024 should be all about getting Julian as many minutes as possible and he is expected to be a mainstay in Ibrahim Sekagya’s side at Red Bull II.
It is expected for Hall to have some hiccups here and there as he is still growing into his body as a teenager, but with so many quality players in the starting XI and on the bench I expect Julian to thrive. We could even see a world where Julian is a double-digit goal scorer in just his first full season at Next PRO, while also making appearances for Sandro Schwarz and the first team.
There’s a reason Julian Hall is one of the most promising prospects in Red Bull history and his stock is only going to go up from here. 2024 should be another exciting year for Julian Hall at Red Bull.
Honorable mentions
- #66 Tanner Rosbourogh, Striker (How much pro experience can Tanner get before his homegrown contract starts in 2025?)
- #37 Mohammed Sofo, Attacker (Can he build off a strong preseason where he had 2 goals with the first team?)
- #45 Copeland Berkley, RB (Will he be able to land a professional contract after a surprising 2023?)
Goals For 2024
The goal for this Red Bull II side in 2024 should be to win the Eastern Conference and make the MLS Next Pro Finals. This team has the talent and coaching staff to accomplish the team goal of some sort of silverware.
In the grand scheme of things however, the biggest goal of Red Bull II is development and identifying players that will be able to graduate to the first team in the future.
If Jochen Schnider and the rest of the front office can walk away from 2024 knowing that young guys like Julian Hall & Ibrahim Kasule and others are first-team ready or on the cusp of being ready for the next step, we can call this a second consecutive successful season for Red Bull II.