LAFC’s young Latino stars are more than alright

The Los Angeles Football Club’s young stars continue to shine bright. Last week, the MLS 2025 22 under 22 class list featured two LAFC standouts: Nathan Ordaz and David Martínez.

The Major League Soccer’s 22 under 22 list is one of the most prestigious annual rankings for young stars, featuring the top 22 players under 22 years old in the league. LAFC is the only club to have two players in the top 10 of this year’s list.

Martínez marked his second consecutive year recognized on the list. Last season, he was featured at No. 19. This season, the forward has earned No. 5 in the rankings, with fellow attacker Ordaz making his first ranking appearance at No. 8.

From joining the club’s academy and MLS initiatives to earning roster spots with the first team, Ordaz and Martínez continue making their marks in the league.

An Angeleno dream: Nathan Ordaz

LAFC is no stranger to producing young talent. Tapping into the surrounding Los Angeles area, its academy has found success in developing homegrown talent into starters. Ordaz is one of the best examples of this.

Born in Van Nuys and raised in Encino, Ordaz started playing the game at six years old with LAFC’s SoCal Youth team (formerly Real SoCal), before joining LAFC’s U-14 academy team. At the academy, Ordaz made his way up the ranks, playing at the U-15, U-17, and U-19 levels.

In 2021, he scored five goals in eight games for LAFC’s MLS Next Pro side following the COVID-19 suspension. In total, Ordaz registered 12 goals and six assists in 14 matches, helping earn the LAFC Academy a spot in the UPSL Western Region Championship and eventually a fourth-place national finish in 2022.

“I have always felt overlooked as a player. I’ve always had the sense of being on the outside looking in. Before LAFC told me they wanted me, I had never felt like anyone’s first option,” said Ordaz in an LAFC profile piece. “I was never the guy a scout would point to and say, He’ll be on the first team one day. I didn’t have that expectation. LAFC taught me to expect success. To prepare for it.”

The preparation paid off. In 2023, he moved up to LAFC’s MLS Next Pro team (otherwise known as LAFC 2) and starred in all 10 appearances, scoring two goals and one assist. That same year, Ordaz’s time with LAFC’s first team began. He appeared with the first team in 24 matches across all competitions.

He scored his first goal as an official first-time member on August 2, 2023, in the Leagues Cup match against Liga MX side FC Juarez, becoming the second LAFC Academy product to score a first-team goal.

The momentum hasn’t stopped yet. On April 2, 2025, Ordaz scored the game-winner in the CONCACAF Champions Cup Quarterfinal match between LAFC and Inter Miami.

“He’s earned that trust. Trust is something you don’t just give;, you earn it and Nate has earned that trust. He shows us in training, he’s come on really well this season, worked hard in the off-season, and he has taken his chance,” said Head Coach Steve Cherundolo on bringing Ordaz off the bench.

This season, the 21-year-old has netted five goals and recorded three assists in 25 matches.

Ordaz wasn’t in Los Angeles for last Wednesday’s match as he trained for his sixth outing with the Salvadoran National Team against Panama for the first game of the final round of World Cup qualifiers on Oct. 10.

He first received his international call-up in 2021 with El Salvador’s U-19 team and was named to the U-19 roster for the 2022 Dallas Cup. In March 2024, Ordaz started and played a full 90 minutes with the Salvadoran senior national team during a draw against Bonaire.

“If you have nothing to lose, you’re always going to have an advantage. I’m always just going to bet on myself to win,” said Ordaz in a video for LAFC.

Desde Venezuela hasta Los Ángeles: David Martínez

On Wednesday, Martínez highlighted his speed and tactical skills as a starter in LAFC’s match against Toronto FC. During Los Angeles’ last home game of the regular season, Martinez created two chances.

He took a penalty kick in the 60th minute after being fouled by Toronto’s Kosi Thompson, but it was saved by goalkeeper Sean Johnson. In the 65th minute, Martínez sent a left-footed shot into the box, but the ball bounced on the ground and ended up to the left of the net.

Martínez, now 19, joined LAFC as part of Major League Soccer’s U22 initiative in late February of 2024 after spending time at Monagas SC, one of Venezuela’s top-tier clubs. The highly scouted Venezuelan was called “the best [Venezuelan] player of his generation” by The Guardian in October 2023, and ranked among the best players born in 2006.

In February 2024, the young star played with Venezuela’s U23 team in the CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic competition,, during which he netted a goal against Argentina in the final stage.

The cross-continental move was difficult but beneficial for the attacker. Before moving to the U.S., Martínez was playing in the same league as his older brother Esteban, with his parents at every match. With his move to Los Angeles, Martínez was navigating one of the biggest cities in the world by himself to fulfill his dreams.

“It’s crazy because it’s what I always dreamed of since I was little, what I was working for all this time,” he told MLS Season Pass insider Michele Giannone during a sit-down interview in April. “Being able to achieve this goal is beautiful, but I know better things can come,, and I’m working every day to achieve that.”

Later that season, in front of a backdrop of snowflakes, Martínez made his MLS debut against Real Salt Lake as a substitute in the 76th minute. But it was Martínez’s performance during his home debut against Sporting Kansas City on March 9, 2024has, that grabbed the stadium’s attention. Making his way on the pitch as a late substitute, Martínez created a transition chance that Cherundolo said “brought life to the game.”

Fast forward to October 2025, and Martínez’s impact on the pitch and with the club is undeniable. In 27 matches this season, he’s started in 12 and recorded three goals and four assists. Martínez netted three goals while featuring in the Concacaf Champions Cup, Club World Cup, and Leagues Cup, in which he scored another three goals for the Black and Gold. Internationally, Martínez featured for Venezuela’s senior team as they attempted to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026.

The young duo has, played an important role in Los Angeles’ success, scoring a combined eight goals out of the club’s 63 total goals this season. Under senior team head coach Cherundolo, the two attackers have continued to build a strong foundation.

Cherundolo will step down as LAFC head coach at the end of the season, creating even more motivation for the young stars to help push the club to a championship. LAFC’s last game of the season is on Saturday, Oct. 18 against the Colorado Rapids in Colorado. Although lineups have not been released, Martínez is expected to appear. The Salvadoran team’s last match in October will be on Tuesday, Oct. 14, so Ordaz may also feature on Saturday’s lineup.

LAFC’s academy system has grown tremendously since launching in 2016 with a single U-12 team. Now, the academies focus on seven age groups, and in 2020, the first three academy products were signed to LAFC’s first team. The best strategy has always been investing in the youth– they are the future after all.