Earlier this month United Soccer Coaches announced the association’s 2025 High School Boys and Girls All-America Teams. In total, 199 kids nationwide (110 boys, 89 girls) were honored. Three of which came from the Mahoning Valley, which is an all-time high for the area.

Badger senior Dax Harnett, Canfield senior Drew Snyder and Niles junior Madelyn Yost were each named to their respective team.

It’s a long process that starts at the district and only goes up. Players that are named All-American have to pass through multiple selection processes before reaching the top. And as you get closer to All-American, the more strict the guidelines become.

“It’s not an easy process,” Scott MacMillan, president of the Mahoning Valley High School Soccer Coaches Association, said. “It all starts off with their coach. Their coach nominates from their team, and we go into the district, and then the district coaches vote for district teams, and then after that, pool is made. They submit so many to the state to make All-Ohio and then take the All-Ohio team, and it goes to the regional committee. The regional committee picks the regional players, and then from there, it goes to the national office in Kansas City, and then they pick the All-Americans. For us to get as many this year as we got (is special). Prior to this year, we’ve only got nine boys and three girls All-American since 1976 when they started.”

MacMillian also coaches the Niles girls program, and got to see his star junior earn national honors.

Yost recorded 29 goals and 28 assists for the Red Dragons and helped Niles reach its first regional title game. In addition to All-American honors, Yost also received a sea of other honors including All-Midwest, All-Ohio, Miss Mahoning Valley, Steel Valley Player of the Year, Division IV Player of the Year, All-District, NE8 Player of the Year and was the team MVP and captain of the Dragons this season.

While Yost is the only name attached to the honor, she insists that it was a team effort.

“I share this honor with my teammates and my coaches, and then obviously my parents and my family,” Yost said. “My coaches and my teammates have been so supportive, like throughout the whole season and throughout my whole high school career. My parents, they made a lot of sacrifices for me to be the player who I am, and then my club team, Soccer Vision Academy, and my coach there, Greg Mitchell. He’s developed me to be the player that I am, so I share this with those people that are supporting me.”

The lone junior of the trio, Yost has the chance to be the first Mahoning Valley girl since Ashley Cuba (Cardinal Mooney) to be named All-American in consecutive seasons. Cuba received the honor in both the 2007 and 2008 seasons.

But Yost is far more concerned with getting the Dragons back on a deep tournament run again.

“We’ll put in a lot of work during the summertime, conditioning, and just getting ready,” she said. “We are going to lose two seniors from this year, and they were key players for us. I think it’s just going to be developing the freshmen coming up. I think we have a few coming up, so definitely just developing them, and then just continue to push each other during practice, because we really do want to get farther than we did this year.

“It’s hard to believe that I’ll be a senior. I feel like these past years went by so fast, but I think I definitely am ready (for the challenge). With it being my last year, I want it really bad for our team to succeed. Just to go out with a bang my senior year would be great.”

Harnett is just the second boy from Trumbull County to receive the honor, following the selection of Gabriel Altawil (Howland) in 2020.

Harnett averaged 2.1 goals per game, scoring 39 goals during his senior season. He also had nine helpers.

“It means a lot,” he said. “I’m proud of it. I’m proud of all the work I put in to get it.”

He was told that there was a 1% chance he’d receive the honor, so it came as a surprise when he heard the news.

Despite being ready to go to college and not continue playing, this award has Harnett reconsidering his future.

“At first the plan was not to play soccer and focus on my degree, which I want to pursue nursing, but when I received all these awards and All-American, it made me reconsider playing in college,” Harnett said. “I feel like I’ll miss soccer, and I would want to keep playing, so as of now, I’m seeing what my options are to play soccer in college.”

Snyder averaged just over a goal-per-game, finishing the year with 17 goals. He also recorded 25 assists.

Snyder was the second Canfield player to receive the honor. Mike Pepe was the first player from the Mahoning Valley to earn an All-American nod in 1989. Snyder is proud to uphold the legacy, especially knowing that playing for Canfield means every team they go against is throwing the kitchen sink at them.

“Canfield gets everyone’s best shot,” he said. “Canfield is the team that every other team circles on their calendar. It’s just an honor to be able to play and be able to get everyone’s best effort and go and compete. (Canfield has) had such a great tradition of great athletics and academics as well. It’s just been a complete honor to be able to battle for Canfield with my teammates, my best friends. We’ve built up a brotherhood together, and it was just an honor to be able to go out battle with them and eventually win that district championship we’ve been looking for, for so many years.”

The Cardinals senior was surprised with the news at breakfast. After giving up on baseball and basketball to focus solely on soccer, Snyder talked about how rewarding it felt to receive the honor.

“(My family and I) went to breakfast, and I didn’t know yet. Coach (Phil) Simone came walking in and told me, and I instantly just lit up,” Snyder said. “Big smile on my face, my parents said they could see the light in me just glow. It was definitely something I was working towards all year, and it was just such a great feeling that all my hard work throughout my whole high school career paid off. It’s everything I’ve been working toward.

“(Giving up basketball and baseball) was a very difficult decision for me, but knowing that decision paid off in the end with this award, it shows that all my hard work paid off and that I made the right decision. It means the world to me.”

Snyder plans to continue his athletic career in college, but has yet to decide where he’ll attend.

Harnett, Yost, and Snyder will be recognized at the United Soccer Coaches All-America Ceremony on Jan. 17 in Philadelphia. 

ALL-TIME MAHONING VALLEY HONOREES

BOYS

Mike Pepe – Canfield (1989)

Tony Volpe – Boardman (1992)

Kenny “Kiki” Willis – Mooney (2002)

Kenny “Kiki” Willis – Mooney (2003)

Kenny “Kiki” Willis – Mooney (2004)

Cannan Johnson – South Range (2019)

Gabe Altawil – Howland (2020)

Brian Philibin – Mooney (2020)

Camden Thomas – South Range (2021)

Dante Degenove – Mooney (2022)

Madox Andrea – United (2023)

Madox Andrea – United (2024)

Drew Snyder – Canfield (2025)

Dax Harnett – Badger (2025)

GIRLS

Marisa Simon – Mooney (2005)

Ashley Cuba – Mooney (2007)

Ashley Cuba – Mooney (2008)

Gabby Lamparty – South Range (2021)

Madelyn Yost – Niles (2025)