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Julian Hall’s Swift Rise to MLS Stardom and USMNT Stature

The Red Bull New York academy graduate has enjoyed a breakout campaign this season.
Sophia Vesely|
Julian Hall has enjoyed a swift rise to stardom.
Julian Hall has enjoyed a swift rise to stardom. | Shaun Clark/Getty Images

It was Feb. 21, the first game of the regular season.

A 17-year-old Julian Hall got the nod from new manager Michael Bradley. He’d be leading the line against Orlando City. It was a remarkable trust that the striker didn’t expect, but certainly one he wasn’t going to waste.

By the eighth minute, Hall had found the back of the net, tracking the movement of teammate Emil Forsberg into the box before posting up at the back post for a damning finish. The teenager added a second goal just before the half, pouncing on a bouncing cross near the goal mouth. Red Bull New York left with a 2–1 victory in Orlando to kick off the 2026 season, while Hall left forever changed.

“With my coach, Michael, and the rest of the coaching staff in the organization trusting me to start the first game of the season, that was huge for me and my confidence,” Hall, now 18, tells Sports Illustrated.

“I wasn’t necessarily sure yet if I was ready to be starting all the time,” he adds. “That kind of just gave me that boost, like ‘I’m able to live in these games.’”

That temperate Florida day ignited a goalscoring spree for the now-permanent starter, who added 10 more goals across all competitions by mid-May, including three in a 3–2 win over Columbus Crew to become the youngest player in MLS history to record a hat trick. As a result, he was named an MLS All-Star in July, the youngest player to be included in the league-wide roster.

“That [first game] kind of just led to everything for the rest of the season,” Hall says.

His latest honor is earning his first-ever senior call-up to the U.S. men’s national team. Manager Mauricio Pochettino has included Hall in his 28-man roster for the September–October international window, where Hall will likely feature in some or all of the Stars and Stripes’ four fall friendlies. The American-Polish dual national had previously only featured at the youth levels for U.S. Soccer, including at the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Hall’s Record-Setting MLS Debut

hall running onto the pitch
Julian Hall made his debut at 15 years old. | Stephen Nadler/ISI Photos/Getty Images

It’s been a swift rise to the top for Hall, but he has nonetheless come a long way from his record-setting debut at Sports Illustrated Stadium.

He first took the pitch for the Red Bulls’ senior team in September 2023 in the waning minutes of a match against the Chicago Fire. At just 15 years, 190 days old, the Homegrown forward became the club’s youngest debutant and the second-youngest player to debut league-wide, trailing only D.C. United wunderkind Freddy Adu (14 years, 206 days old), who debuted back in 2004.

“My debut was an amazing moment for me and my family and all of the people in my life,” Hall says.

“Honestly, I think for the first couple of minutes, I wasn’t really sure what to do. To be honest, I was looking around, kind of taking in the moment.”

There were over 20,000 fans in the stadium that Saturday night, a much larger crowd than the few thousand he was used to playing in front of with New York Red Bulls II.

“If I was still playing the way that I was feeling in that moment, it would be pretty tough, to be honest,” Hall chuckles. “I’ve definitely found my way this season for sure.”

Hall’s Rise Through the Ranks

hall dribbling
Hall built his foundation with Red Bull New York II. | Andrew Katsampes/ISI Photos/Getty Images

Hall’s career trajectory proved that the league’s new youth academy, MLS NEXT, could do exactly what it was designed to do: provide calculated, step-by-step growth for young players within MLS franchises until they’re ready to compete at the highest league levels.

Hall’s debut came just 23 days after he inked a three-and-a-half-year Homegrown contract, a deal he earned through his standout careers in, first, RBNY’s academy and then the MLS NEXT Pro team. Hall joined the Red Bulls’ academy in 2020, the same year MLS NEXT was founded, and played three highly-successful seasons in the youth ranks. He scored 28 goals in 39 total matches and even led the U-15 squad to the 2023 MLS NEXT Cup, earning tournament MVP awards for his five goals en route to the trophy.

He began competing with RBNY II in MLS NEXT Pro in the spring of 2023, getting his first career professional goal and assist under his belt that June, three months before signing his first-team deal.

“I joined the Red Bulls academy when I was around [12], and honestly, as soon as I joined, I felt like I was a part of a family, really,” Hall says. “The way they developed me to move to the second team and the first team, I’m super grateful for it. It was a great experience.

“Red Bull, specifically, we are a team that is more physical,” he adds. “We like to run a lot, and they impose that with the academy. To find that physical presence, [explaining] that’s what you’re going to need when you move to the pros. It’s not easy going to that new environment, so I would say the Red Bulls specifically did a really good job with that.”

The commitment to Hall’s development didn’t end when he made his debut, though. He continued to split his time and compete with the second team through the 2025 season, not fully transitioning to the first team until this season.

Hall Inks New Deal

Hall up close
Hall made history with his new contract. | Shaun Clark/Getty Images

Hall affirmed his future with the Red Bulls, signing a contract extension last month through the 2029–30 season and becoming the youngest American U-22 Initiative signing in league history.

Although the financial terms of his new contract were undisclosed, the star forward could be set to receive a huge pay increase, as he is now eligible to earn as much as $1 million base salary by occupying a U-22 Initiative roster spot in his second league contract. Hall made a base salary of $175,000 as a Homegrown signing last season, with $257,241 in guaranteed compensation, per MLSPA.

“If I’m being honest, I did not expect to be here right now at 18,” Hall says of his swift rise. “For me, it was more about doing as much as I can to try to become pro. It’s not a guarantee, a minimal amount of people make it to the MLS.

“There’s more of a spotlight on MLS NEXT and people developing, but I definitely did not think this would be happening right now.”

Hall Achieves His International Dreams

Hall will be one of 12 first-timers in Pochettino’s international camp this fall.

“I got the news on Monday,” Hall told reporters Thursday after Pochettino’s roster announcement. “I got the news with my mom. It was an emotional moment for me. I grew up watching the national team and the World Cup, so it was a great moment.”

It was a particularly consequential moment for Hall, who had previously expressed indecision regarding representing the U.S. or Poland. He even wears his mother’s maiden name, “Zakrzewski,” on the back of his Red Bulls jersey, a nod to his mother and his Polish heritage.

“I don’t really have a preference,” Hall told Sports Illustrated back in July. “I’ve had talks with the Polish Federation, and I’ve already represented the U.S. as a youth player.”

Hall has now seemingly made his choice; however, he will be eligible to switch representation even after the international camp, should he choose to do so. FIFA’s rules regarding dual-nationals dictate that only once a player under the age of 21 features in more than three competitive international matches for a nation, they are locked into representing that country. The USMNT are playing four friendlies this fall, and friendlies do not count at any age toward locking in representation.

The teenager will have two USMNT stars in his corner as he begins this new chapter of his career. Most prominently, Red Bulls manager Bradley is a U.S. Soccer legend and former captain, racking up 151 caps with the men’s national team before turning to a career in coaching.

michael bradley up close
Michael Bradley was the captain of the USMNT. | Tim Clayton/Corbis/Getty Images

“He gave me a lot of advice on how to approach going to the national team,” Hall said Thursday. “It was a decision between myself and my family, and the team and Michael just want what’s best for me.

“To be able to talk to somebody like that, get advice from somebody like that, I am super grateful,” he added.

Hall will also have the support of World Cup star Tyler Adams, who likewise graduated from the Red Bull youth academy graduate and was included in Pochettino’s fall camp.

“I had never really spoken to [Adams] before, but he contacted me,” Hall said. “I am very grateful that he did. He’s someone I looked up to coming through the academy. He was one of the guys who did the pathway for Red Bulls.

“He just wished me luck. Obviously, he’s going to be there too. He said he was excited to link up with me.”

adams up close
Tyler Adams came up through the Red Bulls’ youth academy. | Tim Clayton/Corbis/Getty Images

Hall was one of eight teenagers to receive the call from the USMNT, amid a push from Pochettino to train and develop more young talents in preparation for the 2030 World Cup. It’s a grand stage Hall is determined to be at.

“I’ve been dreaming of it since I was a little kid, and I think that’s something I definitely want for myself in the future,” he says.

“I was able to watch it in person [this summer], and the atmosphere and the environment, it just made me want to be on the field, a part of it,” he adds. “And that definitely lit a fire under me to want to be there the next time.”

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Sophia Vesely
SOPHIA VESELY

Sophia Vesely is a writer, reporter and editor for SI FC, with an emphasis on North American coverage. Her experience comes from regional journalism as a former sports reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, Dallas Morning News and Seattle Times. Vesely graduated from Swarthmore College, where she played collegiate soccer as a wingback. She specializes in MLS, NWSL and NCAA soccer.

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