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Why Nashville SC top prospect Chris Applewhite represents bright future for MLS team
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- Why Nashville SC top prospect Chris Applewhite represents bright future for MLS team
It's difficult for Taylor Washington to fathom.
Washington is the last remaining player from Nashville SC's time in the United Soccer League. Now going into his eighth season in Nashville, the defender has watched his club transform from a second-division operation that practiced at a high school into a fully-fledged MLS franchise capable of spending several million dollars to acquire promising young talent .
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The latest signal of Nashville SC 's evolution is its ability to produce young talent of its own. Nashville's youth academy was the starting point for three current players: forward Adem Sipić , midfielder Isaiah Jones and defender Chris Applewhite . Applewhite was just 10 years old when Washington signed with Nashville in 2018.
As crazy as that is for Washington, 31, to think about, perhaps even crazier is the character shown by a teammate barely half as old as him.
"Chris, being the new guy, he's so professional," Washington said. "Locked-in, great kid, great work ethic. I'm excited to see how he does this year."
For a Nashville team that has historically had one of the oldest rosters in MLS, the future has never been nearer. Applewhite, who turned 17 in August, is proof.
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Top Drawer Soccer ranks Applewhite, a center back, as the No. 30 prospect under 20 years old in MLS going into 2025 — Sipić is also ranked in the top 50. Last season, Applewhite earned Nashville SC academy player of the year honors.
Ask anyone at NSC about Applewhite and they'll give rave reviews for his technical skills, his composure and his maturity. His deep voice and 6-foot-2, 182-pound frame paint him as a veteran rather than a rookie.
"He's a player that, first and foremost, is really a student of the game," Nashville coach B.J. Callaghan said. "For a 17-year-old kid, the amount of video in meetings and information that he consumes is great. (He asks) great questions, and then he has an ability to apply it."
Added forward Hany Mukhtar : "He has a lot of potential. He's very agile, good on the ball and has good size for a center back. Now it's trying to get as close to possible to the squad, to the starting 11. He just has to continue working. … It's good to see for the future of the club."
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While Applewhite joined Nashville's academy after a tryout two years ago, his soccer journey started much earlier. Growing up outside of Washington, D.C., he'd go to his older sister's games and kick a ball around on the sidelines. At age nine, he decided he wanted to play professionally one day.
Applewhite's favorite team is Manchester United , and his favorite player of all time is Paul Pogba . It's possible to see shades of that influence watching Applewhite today — his size and athleticism combined with smooth on-ball ability, what Applewhite terms "French flair." Some of that came from futsal and pickup games he played in as a kid.
"I don't really like to go out much," Applewhite told The Tennessean. "I really put my faith and family above most things. I don't really like to do much other than play (soccer) and go home and hang out with my family. ... Whatever I can do to help this club, help this team, help this family win a championship one day, I'm all for it."
Nashville SC defender Chris Applewhite heads a ball away from the goal during practice at Nashville Soccer Club Training Facility in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025.
Maturity isn't just a buzzword with Applewhite. Last season, he was named an MLS Next Pro All-Star with Huntsville City FC, Nashville's minor league affiliate. He did that as one of the league's youngest players, on a team that went through three different coaches. Huntsville coach Chris O'Neal called Applewhite "one of the most respectful human beings on the planet" and said he always clipped together his own film for feedback and self-improvement.
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"He's a player that showed extreme adaptability," O'Neal said. "The biggest compliment I can pay the kid is that he was one of our more consistent players ... being able to shoulder that responsibility and burden and being a leader in a group where, in an ideal situation, you have a lot more experience at the second-team level."
O'Neal's arrival in Huntsville last summer coincided with Callaghan's hiring in Nashville. It was part of an overarching process to link Nashville's whole organization under a set of core principles. While O'Neal and Callaghan might not use the same formation in every game, they'll attack, defend and press teams similarly. That makes it easier for players like Applewhite to progress through the system.
"You can definitely see in training, (Callaghan) wants the younger players be a part of the team," Applewhite said. "You need to work for those chances, but it just shows how much he trusts in the players and the opportunity he provides. I think we're definitely seeing a full pathway from the academy to Huntsville to the first team."
MORE: Can BJ Callaghan build a Nashville SC team that fits its 'young, dynamic' city?
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O'Neal doesn't know how much time Applewhite will spend with Nashville and how much time he'll spend with Huntsville, only that the club's goal is to find "the right stimulus" for him — whether that's starting games in MLS Next or pushing for time at the highest level.
Nashville's central defense won't be easy to break into — two-time MLS Defender of the Year Walker Zimmerman leads the group, and Jack Maher , Josh Bauer and Jeisson Palacios have plenty of experience — but the fact that it's even a conversation for Applewhite is impressive enough. The nature of an MLS academy typically results in one player out of 50, if that, might eventually sign a professional contract with that team, so Applewhite has already beaten the odds.
What's next for Applewhite — and Nashville — is up to him.
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Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville SC: Why Chris Applewhite represents bright future
