Why 2026 Needs to Be Cavan Sullivan’s MLS Breakout Season

Cavan Sullivan has yet to post a goal contribution in MLS since his 2024 debut.

Cavan Sullivan has started just one MLS match since making his debut in 2024. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

When Cavan Sullivan stepped onto the pitch for the first time in MLS at 14 years and 293 days old in 2024, expectations were sky-high. He followed in the footsteps of Alphonso Davies and Obed Vargas among the league’s young talents in the preceding decade, with hopes that he could make an immediate impact. 

Two years on, that impact hasn’t come. The now 16-year-old has established himself as a regular in MLS Next Pro with Philadelphia Union II and is still bound to join Manchester City once he turns 18, but his rise has not been as meteoric as predicted. 

Since his debut, he has played 14 MLS matches, all but one off the bench, for a total of 224 minutes, while contributing just three shots. In MLS Next Pro, he has 10 goals and nine assists in 32 matches as he continues to develop against men. 

This week, as the 2026 MLS season kicks off, all eyes will be on the American starlet to elevate his game at the MLS level. So too will eyes be on the Union and 2025 MLS Coach of the Year Bradley Carnell, to take the reins off his limits, allowing him to learn from top-division success and failure. 

At the recent 2025 U17 World Cup, Sullivan was undoubtedly one of the best American players. 

While he didn’t start every match, he was a key influence. At this point, it’s evident just how demanding he can be as a play driver at the youth level, even if that has yet to make him unplayable in the men’s game. 

Since then, he even stated that his goal was to play for the USMNT in 2026, with a long-shot target being the 2026 FIFA World Cup roster, even if that possibility appears extremely unlikely under manager Mauricio Pochettino.

“I’m just going to say it. I hope for a flying start in MLS, and maybe I get a men’s national team call-up,” Sullivan said in January. “A lot of people think that’s a far dream. I probably said this last year. But that’s what I’m pushing for ... A lot of work is going to go into the preseason, and hopefully I can make my impact in MLS right away.”

Regardless of aspirations and a World Cup dream this season, it’s time for Philadelphia to lean on its top prospect and to give him the chance to impress and develop before heading overseas.  

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Union’s Transfer Season Benefits Sullivan 

Cavan Sullivan is seeking a USMNT call after impressing with youth national teams. | Jurij Kodrun/FIFA/Getty Images

For some of the top young talents to come through MLS, shouldering expectations and the spotlight has been vital. During his first few years with the Vancouver Whitecaps, Davies seldom spoke to the media or contributed to team content and often took days off to pursue his childhood activities. 

It was an organizational choice, led by then-Vancouver Whitecaps manager Carl Robinson. 

“With young players, they’re easily guided, and they’re easily led, but what’s important is that you manage them correctly,” said Robinson in 2018. 

“I used that based upon how Arsène Wenger had managed Cesc Fàbregas, had managed Aaron Ramsey ... he always used to say he would play three, four games and get left out, and he couldn’t work out why, and so he spoke to the manager and the manager said it’s important you keep the hunger.”

While Sullivan’s expectations have possibly been shouldered, the spotlight certainly has not. It’s rare for a young prospect, who has just 46 career professional games, to be a team representative at a league-wide media day. 

But Cavan Sullivan was.

And in many ways, he’s already the face of this Philadelphia side, which finds itself in a state of flux heading into the season after winning the 2025 Supporters’ Shield. 

Cavan Sullivan does the Say The Word On The Beat challenge. 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/Tv6WBTCtGu

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) January 21, 2026

Since seeing their 2025 MLS Cup playoff run end at the hands of New York City FC and former goalkeeping prospect Matt Freese, the Union has bid farewell to leading scorer Tai Baribo, two-time MLS Defender of the Year finalist Jakob Glesnes and three-time MLS All-Star fullback Kai Wagner. 

In all, it opens up opportunities across Carnell’s squad, allowing him to reinvent the side with potentially lesser expectations and more flexibility in 2026. It’s there, where Sullivan’s opportunity could blossom. 

“[I’m] eager for more and just ready to get out there,” Sullivan added in January. “Manchester City is a great club with fantastic people, and I’m thankful that they put their trust in me and have signed me. So the future is exciting, and I can’t wait to go there when I’m 18. 

“But, obviously, there’s so much work to do here in the MLS and here in Philadelphia, and I think it’s a great place to develop, and 2026 is a big year.”

While any decision around Sullivan’s use has yet to be established, the Union will open the 2026 MLS season against D.C. United on Feb. 21, with many hoping it’s the first of a season that could be highlighted by Sullivan’s rise to prominence in MLS.   

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