Dale Schilly leads an evolving St. Louis CITY SC Academy

It’s been a busy year for St. Louis CITY SC Academy director Dale Schilly and the players under his watch. 

For starters, the former St. Louis FC manager returned pitchside to assist CITY2 interim manager John Hackworth with the squad’s daily training. The role provided Schilly with a first-hand look at a pivotal step in the club’s professional pathway—a step that will increasingly come into focus under new sporting director Corey Wray.

“My biggest takeaway was in the professionalism of our older group,” Schily says. “Our players coming up need to see that side of the game; they’re playing up, but they’re also there to learn how to become a professional.”

Schilly was impressed with a core group that included players such as Seth Antwi, Brendan McSorley, Jaziel Orozco, and Wan Kuzain, who have experienced the highs of MLS play, with the latter trio earning first-team call-ups this season. Experience has also quickly shaped the growth of Mykhi Joyner, who’s now considered one of MLS’ promising young players. Joyner has grown through his movement up and down the program, and while some players may grow frustrated, Joyner has taken it all in stride. “That’s just Mykhi,” Schilly says. “He doesn’t dwell on it. He shows up, he does the work, and he’s really grown as a professional.”

The next step will be to ensure a pathway that provides more opportunities for a U15 and U16 group that will need to experience play at the upper levels sooner rather than later. “We’ll need to define the purpose of CITY2,” Scilly says. “It may be worth sacrificing some of our results if it means that we can give this younger group more opportunities to develop against more mature opponents.”

The MLS Next Pro squad saw a cavalcade of younger players advancing from the Academy this season. While players such as Joyner, Miggy Perez, Caden Glover, and Tyson Pearce made strides in 2025, the group also featured young players such as MLS NEXT U15 MVP Eddie Niles, Emiliano Chavez, Tripp Clancy, and Lorenzo Cornelius, among other players on the bench during any given matchday. The Academy has been a crucial pillar in the club’s strategy since its inception and became a key highlight in Wray’s introductory press conference. 

At the same time, the club has been preparing a new generation of youth internationals. In September, the club touted four international call-ups for the first time in the Academy’s history, with Niles, Sam Anderson, Ryan Cloninger, and Blake Wilson selected for the U16 domestic training camp.

The feat is a testament to how the Academy has evolved since its inception five years ago. The coaching staff has grown to include former LAFC and Toronto FC assistant manager Dale Sorber, who oversees an important U16 group while fostering the growth that fueled caretaker manager David Critchley’s success this season and saw director of player pathway Megan McCormick become one of three women to participate in the 2025 ECFL coaching certification class. 

The club will become increasingly fueled by its success beyond the surface of MLS play during the next few seasons. The success of St. Louis soccer in general can be seen through Schilly’s lens. Schilly is proud of the collaborative efforts between CITY SC and the city’s other MLS NEXT academies.

Schilly also keeps close tabs on the city’s college players. This year’s Bronze Boot match between Saint Louis University and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville saw nine former CITY SC academy players take the pitch, while former CITY2 player Ryan Dugan has carved out an important role as a freshman at the University of North Carolina. “I am always cheering for their success.” Schilly says, “We know some of them will find their way back to the club, but their growth as players and beyond is what I like to see.” 

Schilly beams with pride as he discusses the growth of the club’s academy graduates, not just as athletes\ but in how they’ve matured as people. “It’s special,” he says.