The Seattle Sounders have all the time made it a serious precedence to instill early confidence into their academy gamers. From Jordan Morris to DeAndre Yedlin to Obed Vargas, the checklist has continued to develop of gamers which have pressured their method into the first-team image and used that as a springboard to success at membership stage.
Snyder Brunell is seeking to change into the most recent participant on that checklist.
Brunell, 19, is 9 matches into his first full season with the Sounders first group, persevering with a optimistic begin in Brian Schmetzer’s squad. The younger midfielder nonetheless has a protracted technique to go within the 2026 marketing campaign, however has loved the opening couple of months throughout a number of competitions.
“I’m feeling nice,” Brunell informed SBI in an interview. “The beginning of the season, I used to be on the bench, however I used to be prepared for no matter second I may get. Because the video games saved going, I progressed, I acquired extra minutes and was simply prepared mentally and bodily. Proper now I’m feeling bodily nice, mentally nice, and blissful simply on the ball as nicely.”
Brunell may need grown up within the state of Texas, but it surely didn’t cease his early love for the sport of soccer. An early publicity to the game as a younger child carried over with him to his transfer to Washington as a nine-year-old earlier than finally becoming a member of up with the ever-popular Crossfire Premier Soccer Membership.
After a number of years with Crossfire, Brunell joined the Sounders’ academy in 2021 and has since labored his method by means of the ranks. Brunell credited his youth days in Texas, his transfer to Washington, and his brother for serving to him change into who he’s at present.
“I moved to Washington after I was 9 for my Dad’s work,” Brunell mentioned. “Clearly it has a scorching local weather in Texas, very totally different from Washington, however I really feel like Texas actually formed the participant who I’m. I used to be all the time doing further classes, enjoying like 3 vs. 3 video games, simply all the time touching the ball, desirous to play soccer. My brother was initially enjoying baseball however then he acquired into soccer after which I used to be born I used to be all the time going to a match. Soccer was massive to us and to our neighborhood.
“Then after I moved to Washington, I felt like Crossfire helped with my attacking total and in addition performed a component in making me who I’m,” Brunell added. “It was a tough change to maneuver away at a younger age as a result of we didn’t have any household or connections right here, however I used to be in a position to make some mates and that helped. Being adjustable and adaptable positively helped me.”
Brunell’s subsequent bounce got here to Seattle’s MLS NEXT Professional affiliate, Tacoma Defiance, from 2022-25, the place he scored seven targets in 57 appearances. In MLS NEXT Professional, Brunell was in a position to earn constant minutes earlier than finally making his first-team debut in 2024 and later keep as a squad participant.
MLS NEXT Professional allowed Brunell to not solely compete towards different golf equipment’ promising academy abilities, but additionally veteran gamers who might have dropped down from the first-teams squads. He mirrored on his MLSNP experiences and why they had been so essential in serving to him change into a constant MLS participant now.
“MLS NEXT Professional was an important device as a result of everytime you see these older veterans drop down and play with different different groups, you recognize that provides you extra incentive to need to play higher and actually assault it from a group perspective,” Brunell mentioned. “It gave me the sense that I can actually hold with these gamers and I can carry out at this stage.
“It was actually about sticking to it and simply persevering with to carry out, even on the MLS NEXT Professional stage,” he added. “I performed there a few occasions final 12 months and even after I signed with the primary group, however that doesn’t imply you possibly can take it simple. You need to play nicely and also you’re making an attempt to enhance your stage, it doesn’t matter what it takes. The Sounders hold the id the identical it doesn’t matter what stage you’re in, so I used to be all the time making an attempt to stage up and progress my future with the primary group.”
When Brian Schmetzer’s managerial profession is over, he will definitely go down as among the best to work in MLS. Schmetzer performed for the Sounders at each the indoor and out of doors stage earlier than changing into head coach from 2002-08′ after which once more from 2016 to the current.
The 63-year-old has been a part of two MLS Cup-winning squads, 4 U.S. Open Cup titles, one CONCACAF Champions Cup triumph, one Leagues Cup, and one Supporters’ Defend success (mixed between head coach and assistant). Schmetzer has continued to maintain the Sounders as one in all MLS’ constant golf equipment every 12 months, a testomony to his perception in offering alternatives to younger gamers.
Brunell hasn’t labored with Schmetzer fully lengthy on the first-team stage, however praised the longtime head coach’s influence on his profession up to now.
“I really feel like that basically pushed me and gave me confidence,” Brunell mentioned about Schmetzer’s early confidence in him as a young person. “I really feel like total although, you bought to get that confidence from your self. You bought to maintain persevering with to do issues that you simply’re doing within the gymnasium, in movie, doing extras, and the coaches will see these issues. They’re not going to let you know to go do further, go do that and that, so once they see you placing the additional work in, they get the sense you need it extra. They get the sense that we will belief him extra.
“He’s giving me a ton of confidence,” Brunell added. “‘He’s been actually optimistic and he’s given me suggestions. He’s not simply being tremendous good, he’s going to be powerful on me at occasions and I really feel like that’s what’s actually nice about him. We must be essential as a result of in an effort to be an awesome participant, you’re going to have to have the ability to take suggestions, and I like that. He’s in a position to actually type of push you and get you in that proper mindset that’s been in a position to push me to the subsequent stage.”
Not solely has Brunell been in a position to earn early minutes in MLS, however he’s additionally been in a position to characteristic in a few of CONCACAF’s hardest venues. Brunell began in each of the Sounders’ Champions Cup quarterfinal matches towards Liga MX aspect Tigres earlier this spring, together with enjoying 87 minutes in a 2-0 second leg loss at Estadio Universitario.
Not many younger gamers are in a position to expertise a highway match in Mexico earlier than they flip 20-years-old, however Brunell was a uncommon exception. Though the Sounders’ CONCACAF run got here to a disappointing ending, Brunell relished the expertise of enjoying in a hostile highway environment towards one of many federations’ finest groups.
“It was a very nice expertise,” Brunell mentioned about enjoying in Mexico. “I performed in Mexico earlier than with the Academy so I felt like that actually it had given me a great understanding of what can I count on towards Mexican groups. It was a bit extra bodily, a bit extra particular person, a type of extra particular person brilliance.
“They’ve actually passionate followers and are a very good group, a very historic group,” he mentioned. “I didn’t actually need to shrink back from it, I wished to deal with it like one other sport and go on the market and play. I felt like our group performed very well and it was type of an unlucky consequence. I wished to make use of that match as a studying expertise and assume okay how can I translate this over into my sport going ahead?”
Brunell’s surge up the membership stage ranks has additionally led to steady alternatives on the worldwide stage inside U.S. Soccer. In 2025, he featured for each the U.S. Below-18 and Below-19 males’s nationwide groups, incomes six caps between the 2 squads.
Whereas he received’t be eligible to characteristic for the USMNT U-20’s on the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Brunell stays an choice for the USMNT forward of the 2028 Summer time Olympics, in addition to the subsequent senior World Cup cycle.
Brunell can sense the rising competitors inside U.S. Soccer in any respect age ranges, understanding that everybody desires to be on the USMNT’s radar for years to return.
“I feel what’s good is that it’s so aggressive and we’re all the time going to push one another,” Brunell mentioned in regards to the competitiveness in USYNT camps. “We all know that our spot isn’t assured and that we’re going to must hold pushing at membership stage and particularly once we’re referred to as into camp. I really feel like everyone seems to be acting at camps and the senior group is the objective for everybody.
“Everybody at camp is all the time pushing so even if you’re residence it’s about making an attempt to work on the issues that you would be able to get higher so you can also make that push to the primary group stage,” he added. “Whether or not you get referred to as up or not, the angle is all the time going to be making the senior nationwide group and staying there.”
The Sounders are at the moment fourth within the Western Convention and driving a six-match unbeaten run in league play. Seattle could also be eradicated from the CONCACAF Champions Cup, however they’ve a number of alternatives to raise silverware this season, which incorporates MLS Cup, the Supporters’ Defend, and Leagues Cup.
Brunell is just not solely seeking to stay a constant starter in MLS this season, but additionally assist the Sounders win every thing potential.
“Individually I need to proceed getting extra objective contributions,” Brunell mentioned. “I simply acquired an help lately so I wished to proceed including onto that. I really feel like I can positively assist the group in that facet, however then total as a group, I really feel like we will, we will go for any trophy we put our thoughts to.
“Clearly, we’re out of CONCACAF however I felt like we represented our state and our nation fairly nicely,” he added. “So I really feel like now we will go further laborious for MLS Cup, Supporter Defend and for the Playoffs. We aren’t out of the Supporters’ Defend image and now we have matches in hand over another golf equipment so we’re positively pushing for every thing.”