D1 Men: New England natives key to nation’s top teams

Former New England Revolution Academy player Izaiah Jennings features for No. 7 Louisville. (University of Louisville Athletics)

When each United Soccer Coaches national poll is released, there are seldom any New England-based programs included in the top 10. But that doesn't mean local connections are absent from these national rankings – far from it.

Six teams in this week's top 10 – Wake Forest, Indiana, Michigan State, Louisville, Notre Dame and Duke – feature local players in their starting XIs or in prominent substitution roles.

Early on, these programs have set themselves up nicely to possible feature in the 2018 College Cup, held early December in Santa Barbara, Calif. Nearly three months remain before the D1 national title is crowned, but there very well could be a New Englander at the center of it all.

Here are the seven locals starring outside of the region, with each program's ranking included in parentheses.