When the partnership between the USL and Major League Soccer began, the anticipation was it would provide a key pathway for players to make the transition to North America’s top flight.

That’s proven the case, with 2016 USL Most Valuable Player Sean Okoli becoming the 24th player this year to sign with an MLS club from a USL one, joining the likes of fellow All-League selections Jack McBean, Rob Vincent and young standouts Alphonso Davies and Derrick Jones.

What might not have been foreseen, however, was the pathway opening up for top young coaches to make the move to Major League Soccer. With Curt Onalfo’s appointment on Tuesday by the LA Galaxy after three strong seasons with the LA Galaxy II, there are set to be three former USL Head Coaches leading squads in MLS in 2017.

A trailblazer as the first Head Coach of an MLS owned-and-operated USL side, Onalfo molded a high-performing team that reached the postseason in all three seasons, including a Western Conference Championship in 2015 before a heartbreaking overtime defeat to Rochester in the USL Cup Final.