Alex Freeman’s ascent with the USMNT—after a goal against Australia and a World Cup roster spot at 21—has drawn fresh attention to American Heritage High School in Plantation, Fla., a school known more for football production than soccer. The spotlight lands o
When the United States played Turkey and then moved toward its Round of 32. it wasn’t just the scoreboard that carried the conversation. The name that kept resurfacing belonged to Alex Freeman—21 years old. a USMNT right back finding his footing on soccer’s biggest stage. and the son of former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Antonio Freeman.
Freeman is accustomed to living at the intersection of two sports. During his soccer journey, outsiders have drawn comparisons between his early international breakthroughs and his father’s NFL career. Even after his goal against Australia in the United States’ second match of group play. he couldn’t escape the family narrative—until the question shifted from “can he play?” to “what did he choose. and why?”.
The answer has pulled American Heritage High School in Plantation, Fla., into the spotlight.
American Heritage is known for football in a way few schools can match. The school won the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 4A title for the second consecutive year in 2025. yet it’s Freeman’s soccer rise that now puts the spotlight on an institution often treated as a football factory.
Freeman attended American Heritage as a burgeoning soccer star. He acknowledged feeling pressure to pursue a football career because of his background. But by the time he enrolled, he was already fully committed to soccer—so committed that he later called it a “clear choice.”
“I had my doubts when I first chose soccer,” Freeman told ESPN. “In my heart, I wanted to continue playing football, but I knew that if I wanted to be the best, I had to limit my area of concentration and I had to limit it all to soccer at that point.”
That focus matters because American Heritage’s football pipeline is extraordinary. Per the NFL, the school had nine alumni on active NFL rosters for Week 1 in 2025, tying it with St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for the second most of any high school in the country. Only IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., had more, with 17.
The list reads like a who’s-who of recent NFL defensive and special teams impact: Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II; New York Giants outside linebacker Brian Burns; Cleveland Browns cornerback Tyson Campbell II (who began the season with the Jacksonville Jaguars but was traded); Los Angeles Chargers tight end Oronde Gadsden II; Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker James Houston; Seattle Seahawks defensive end Mike Morris; Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle T.J. Slaton Jr.; Tennessee Titans linebacker James Williams Sr.; and Miami Dolphins cornerback Marco Wilson. who spent last season with the Cincinnati Bengals.
The school didn’t produce any picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, but the pro presence didn’t stop there. It could continue to expand after outside linebacker Marvin Jones Jr. signed with the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent.
Other notable alumni who reached the NFL include former New England Patriots running back Sony Michel, kicker Greg Joseph, and former wide receivers Anthony Schwartz and Isaiah McKenzie.
At American Heritage, Freeman’s decision didn’t happen in a vacuum. In the NFL orbit, the temptation of football never went away.
Of the current American Heritage products in the NFL. only Oronde Gadsden was a contemporary of Freeman. with the two sharing school circles while Freeman was carving his soccer path. Freeman had plenty of people around the program interested in him following in his father’s footsteps. according to Antonio Freeman.
“There were a number of guys who I played (in the NFL) with that were around the program. ” Antonio Freeman told The Athletic. “Guys used to call me and say. ‘When are you gonna let Alex come out for the football team?’ Oronde Gadsden (Sr.) called me every year – his son was the star receiver. He said, ‘We could put (Alex) in the slot!’”.
Eventually, Antonio Freeman said, the answer had to be firm.
“I had to tell them, ‘No, he’s gonna play academy soccer.’”
Freeman’s soccer rise: a straight line, starting before the spotlight
Long before the World Cup roster announcement at 21 made the question feel urgent, Freeman’s route was already underway. He played three years for Weston FC in his early teen years, then joined Orlando City Academy in 2020. He later signed a homegrown deal with Orlando City at 17.
Reserve-team time followed, and then the breakout came in a way that even his earliest choices suggested it would: a 2025 campaign earned him the MLS Young Player of the Year Award.
Now, as the youngest player on the United States World Cup roster, Freeman can end the debate people sometimes make for athletes with high-profile football genetics. After all, his story isn’t just about switching sports—it’s about doing it early enough to build real momentum.
“The evolution is massive,” USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino told reporters on June 20. “He’s such a humble guy, he has an amazing profile, he wants to learn, he always listens. He’s a player that you really enjoy being with, not only coaching. He’s a lovely guy, and he’s an amazing player. For me, he has the potential to be one of the best players in his position in the world.”.
Between the USMNT’s Round of 32 preview and the reaction to the loss to Turkey, Freeman’s presence is doing something unusual for a football-dominant school: it’s forcing a new kind of attention on what American Heritage can produce.
The school’s track record is still unmistakably built on football. But Freeman’s international ascent is the reminder that talent and pressure can travel different directions—and that sometimes the loudest factory in a town doesn’t make the product everyone expected.
Alex Freeman USMNT World Cup roster American Heritage High School Plantation Florida MLS Young Player of the Year Orlando City NFL pipeline Mauricio Pochettino Antonio Freeman Marvin Jones Jr Seahawks