O ver the course of its first 19 years, Columbus Crew SC has been blessed to have some talented players don the black and gold uniforms. Striker Brian McBride, goalkeeper Brad Friedel, defender Frankie Hejduk and striker Stern John all played for Columbus in MLS alongside successful careers in Europe.

As Crew SC prepares to embark on the club’s 20th season, the next star has emerged in midfielder Wil Trapp. Here with the lowdown on the young American is Patrick Murphy.

Wil Trapp: The Basics

Name: Wil Trapp

Date of Birth: 15th Janurary 1993

Age: 22

Position: Midfield

Club: Columbus Crew SC

Nationality: American

Who is Wil Trapp?

Unlike the club’s previous stars, Trapp is one of the city’s own. Born and raised in the Columbus suburb of Gahanna, Trapp has been a fan of the Black and Gold since he was young, attending matches when his busy soccer scheduled allowed.

Trapp was a member of the Crew SC’s Academy, captaining his team at the U-16 and U-18 level. He was named the Crew Soccer Academy Player of the Year in 2009 and 2010 and was a member of the 2012 U-19 NYSA National Championship team.

The midfielder attended Gahanna Lincoln High School where he led the team to the state championship in 2009. He also won the Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year and NSCAA National High School Player of the Year award in his senior season.

Trapp has represented the United States on the youth level with the U-14, U-15, and U-18 national teams as well as captaining the U-20 team at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2013.

After his youth career, Trapp elected to go to college and played for the University of Akron for two years. He finished his career with the Zips starting all 45 games and registering one goal and eight assists from a central midfield position.

Trapp signed a Homegrown contract with Crew SC in December 2012 and made his professional debut on 6 July 2013. Since that match, the 22-year old has become a mainstay in Columbus’ midfield, appearing in 44 out of a possible 50 games and earning his first cap for the United States Men’s National Team in January.

With the 2015 season on the horizon, Crew SC head coach Gregg Berhalter will once against look for Trapp to control the midfield and build off the success of his first two seasons with his hometown team.

Playing style

At 5-foot-8, 150-pounds, Trapp is not going to dominate the midfield with his physicality. Although he has demonstrated the capability to battle in the center of the pitch, Trapp uses his smarts and technical ability to regulate the midfield for Crew SC.

In Berhalter’s system, Trapp is required to do much of the defensive work. As the wing backs push forward offensively, the halfbacks slide out and Trapp fills in the middle, creating a back three. This requires constant awareness from the youngster to know when he needs to drop in, but also when to step back into the midfield in order to prevent a counter-attack through the centre of the park.

To take this in a different direction, this 2014 @tempofreesoccer table is why Trapp is The Truth. pic.twitter.com/ZrlJiMe0Yk — Will Parchman (@WillParchman) February 13, 2015

Trapp is also an important cog in the Black and Gold’s possession game. For such a young player, Trapp has great field vision and his passes are normally precise. Although he prefers the short, quick passing game, the midfielder has the ability to put a long ball on the foot of an attacker. But his consistency with these types of passes remains a work in progress.

Although he doesn’t shoot often (just 19 career shots), Trapp has the ability to score from the outside of the box. His only professional goal came when he was allowed too much space before unleashing a rocket shot from distance that skimmed across the pitch and into the bottom corner.

What are people saying about him?

Former US Men’s National Team player and current U.S. U-20 head coach Tab Ramos praised Trapp’s performance with the team in the 2013 U-20 World Cup.

“From the beginning, Wil was one of those guys who fit into the puzzle,” the coach said at the time. “He continued to get better camp after camp and as time went by. He’s one who connects everybody together. He’s one of those players who makes everyone around him better. “Since I took over the U-20 national team, it’s been one of the important things to me, having players who are comfortable with the ball. Wil is certainly one of those players that no matter what situation you get him the ball in, he can get out of it and he can make it better.”

Former Arsenal great and France legend Thierry Henry had nothing but praise for Trapp after Crew SC defeated his New York Red Bulls side 3-1 last season, despite the midfielder not being involved in any of the goals.

“Wil Trapp was outstanding today,” Henry said after the October 19th match. “I know [Federico] Higuain usually gets all the [credit]. Their striker will get [some] I’m sure because he scored two goals and [Ethan] Finlay wasn’t bad either, but Wil Trapp is the key of that team and today, given the tempo of that team, bringing the ball out of the back, Higuain doesn’t have to drop and get the ball. He will get it in good positions because Wil Trapp does his job. He brings the ball out for them and it’s difficult to stop. “They carried on trying to pass the ball from the back, from the goalkeeper, very composed too. Every time trying to find Wil Trapp and he was trying to pass the ball to his midfielders. He did it. We couldn’t find a solution and that’s why we lost the way we lost.”

How far can he go?

As Trapp’s play continued to improve in 2014, Crew SC fans began to wonder how long the local product would remain in Columbus and Major League Soccer.

The 22-year old’s position in the Black and Gold’s midfield is cemented and he will continue to play and grow. He fits perfectly into what Berhalter wants from his central midfielder and the only injuries or suspensions will keep him from earning more playing time.

Trapp’s debut for the national team wasn’t a major success, playing just 31 minutes in an unfamiliar position. But it showed he is in the future plans of head coach Jürgen Klinsmann. Trapp is already being projected as a member of the 2018 US World Cup team, but he must continue to improve to achieve that dream.

As he continues to play for the US men’s side, his exposure overseas will grow and likely attract the interest of European clubs. As long as Trapp is somewhere he can play regularly, he will continue to develop. The danger could be if he elects to make a move to Europe, only to get lost on the bench like many American players in recent years.

Are you a Trapp believer? Who’s your choice for best young player in MLS? Let us know on Tiwtter:

Patrick Murphy is a new contributor to Just Football specialising in MLS and the Columbus Crew. You can find more of his work online at his Crew SC-related blog, The Massive Report. You can also follow Patrick on Twitter @_Pat_Murphy_