Patrick Agyemang took unique path from Division III to legit shot to make USMNT

ATLANTA — While the U.S. Men’s National Team has long searched for reliable finishers, a sudden glut of in-form strikers has turned this summer’s World Cup roster race into a genuine contest. Among the contenders, none arrived here with a résumé quite like Patrick Agyemang’s.

The 25-year-old is one of three U.S. forwards currently scoring in double figures in Europe, yet his journey began far from the bright lights of the English Championship or Ligue 1. Agyemang’s first collegiate touches came at NCAA Division III Eastern Connecticut State University, a starting point so modest that even the most thorough scouts rarely bother to look. From there he transferred to Rhode Island, spent a summer with USL League Two’s Western Mass Pioneers, and eventually parlayed steady improvement into a 2023 MLS SuperDraft selection by Charlotte FC.

Two-and-a-half productive seasons in MLS caught the attention of Derby County, where Agyemang has wasted no time acclimating to the physical demands of England’s second tier. Ten goals in his debut Championship campaign have propelled him onto the senior national-team radar and, thanks to an injury to Coventry City’s Haji Wright, into this pivotal January camp ahead of friendlies against Belgium and Portugal.

“I feel myself building in all types of areas, on and off the field,” Agyemang said after training at the Falcons’ facility. “When I got to England it was obviously an adjustment factor, but it’s been amazing. I think it could obviously translate here.”

Translation is precisely what U.S. coaches will be evaluating. With the Americans hosting the 2025 World Cup, competition for striker spots has tightened. AS Monaco’s Folarin Balogun has 13 goals across all competitions this season; PSV Eindhoven’s Ricardo Pepi also sits on 13 and has been linked with a Premier League move to Fulham. Agyemang’s tally of five goals in 12 senior caps in 2025 keeps him firmly in that conversation.

“It’s good to see all the boys doing well,” Agyemang said. “With the national team it’s always competitive. You’re competing against a lot of top guys … I like to dial into what I can control and keep working hard.”

That self-reliant mindset was forged during years when few were watching. Unlike Balogun, who came through Arsenal’s academy, Agyemang crafted his game in relative anonymity, relying on work rate and adaptability rather than a prestigious youth pedigree. His former Charlotte teammate Tim Ream, a 12-year veteran of English football, believes that background has prepared him for the moment.

“You just never know with the Championship what kind of reaction you’re going to get from guys, especially someone like him who got a very unique path,” Ream said. “He’s in a place mentally and physically that he feels good. And when you feel good, you feel like you can do anything.”

Ream has tracked Agyemang’s progress from afar and likes what he sees: a confident striker meeting the primary job requirement—putting the ball in the net. “Double digits in his first year, that says a lot to me,” Ream added. “So it’s great to see it.”

For Agyemang, the immediate objective is straightforward: perform in camp, impress against Belgium and Portugal, then return to Derby County and keep scoring. The larger prize, a World Cup roster spot on home soil, remains tantalizingly within reach.

“Right now I’m focusing on doing my best with the boys here … taking it each day at a time,” he said. “I’ve been trying to do that the whole year … I just want to continue doing it until the end of the season and potentially the World Cup.”

If the goals keep coming, the kid who started in Division III could find himself leading the line for the United States when the world’s biggest tournament kicks off on American soil this summer.