It's been a crazy few weeks. Illness, time away from Frisco, and that's not even the players! After a short (month) break, we're back to power rank all 41 players signed to professional contracts with FC Dallas and North Texas SC. There isn't an exact science, it's a power ranking after all, so we take into consideration which players are performing well in games and practice, who is being covered in the media, and who the fans are talking about.

Just be warned, since it's been a while there are some larger moves than usual.

Let's get down to business then...

Starting XI:

In The Mix:

Second Team:

In Reserve:

North Texas SC winger Ronaldo Damus is our joint winner with Francis Atuahene. Both leap a massive twelve spots. After not featuring much for NTXSC, the Haitian forced his way into the side at the expense of Oscar Romero. As mentioned in the comments, he's scoring every 120 minutes played, is being talked up as a contender for the USL League One Young Player of the Year. He also just missed out on the Gold Cup after making the 40-man preliminary roster.

Atuahene has had a rough go with injuries, tearing a pectoral muscle in preseason. He made the bench last week against Seattle and is looking to get back on track.

On the other end, there are a few big slides. None more so than Callum Montgomery. We last ranked as Bressan went down with a hamstring injury and Montgomery's prospects looked up as far as first team minutes. While a solid defender, Montgomery's passing needs a lot of work to suit Luchi-ball's build from the back approach. We've seen more than a few balls from the Canadian find their way to the opposing keeper in League One. With both Hedges and Ziegler out, missing out on a hometown start to a player who had never played as a center back is a huge blow.

Santiago isn't far behind, slipping 11 spots. Illness, injury, and a perceived soft mindset have all played their part. The overall feeling is to question whether Mosquera has what it takes to be a viable season-long starter.

NTX center backs Brecc Evans and Hector Montalvo also took big hits, dropping ten spots. Evans has been laid low with a long injury, while most of his slide has related to the likes of Colman, Atuahene, and Twumasi moving up after working their way back. Montalvo simply isn't up to speed yet. He's been struggling against academy kids in training, but he's also coming off a long time without playing competitively and is working back.

Who do you think makes a first-team debut in the US Open Cup and jumps up in our rankings next week? Who is the next player to experience a drop-off? Hit us up on social media individually (see byline) or at @3rdDegreeNet.