Who is the best boys soccer player in the storied history of the First Coast?
The debate is on.
As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary this summer, USA TODAY Sports will celebrate the 250 greatest American sports figures of all time. To accompany the national honors, the USA TODAY Network is also recognizing the athletes and sports figures who shaped communities and defined their states, including right here in Northeast Florida.
These boys soccer honors will form part of a series, selected by a statewide panel of USA TODAY Network experts, to roll out through 2026.
This time, the USA TODAY Network is honoring the Jacksonville area’s boys soccer stars. Here are our selections for 10 boys soccer players who defined the sport in Northeast Florida. These 10 players, listed in alphabetical order, all excelled at the high school level and progressed to further accomplishments.
More: The best all-time football players from Florida:
Jay Bolt, Bolles
An intense goal-scoring midfielder who made the transition to defense, Bolt won an FHSAA championship with Bolles in 2013, earning All-First Coast player of the year and tallying 54 career assists. He then helped the University of North Florida to its first-ever ASUN championship and an NCAA Tournament berth two years later, including conference defender of the year honors. From there, he played with the USL’s Charleston Battery, remaining there three years and winning the club’s newcomer of the year award before a coaching career that’s already included two FHSAA finals.
Michael Burke, Bishop Kenny
Burke won the Times-Union’s All-First Coast player of the year award in 1994-95, scorching the net with a Duval County record 61 goals and 25 assists in his second year at BK. After two years at Loyola (Md.), he joined the Jacksonville Cyclones, scoring 14 goals and winning the A-League Rookie of the Year in a season that finished with the Charleston Battery. Burke played in Major League Soccer with D.C. United and FC Dallas, before a decade-long tenure as a steady scorer with the USL’s Richmond Kickers.
Mac Cozier, Orange Park
Cozier owns many firsts for Northeast Florida soccer. The Orange Park graduate, the Times-Union’s All-First Coast player of the year in 1990-91 and 1991-92, Cozier went on to become the area’s first player selected in Major League Soccer’s first round (No. 10 to the Columbus Crew in 1996) and the first men’s national team selection (1996 vs. Peru). He earned college soccer honors at UNC-Charlotte, lined up in the inaugural MLS season and competed in the United Soccer League with the Richmond Kickers, Jacksonville Cyclones, Charleston Battery and Atlanta Silverbacks.
Reed Davis, Fleming Island
Fleming Island’s midfielder-turned-forward has a piece of Sunshine State history as the only player ever to win the Florida Dairy Farmers Mr. Soccer and Gatorade Florida Player of the Year awards in consecutive years. Davis hit the 50-goal mark back-to-back with the Golden Eagles in 2016-17 and 2017-18, winning the FHSAA championship in the former season. At Jacksonville University, a groin injury disrupted his career for nearly two years, but he returned to lead the ASUN in goals before transferring to Ohio State.
Rijad Kobiljar, Mandarin
An explosive winger who reached an FHSAA final with Mandarin in 2012 and won All-First Coast player of the year in 2014, Kobiljar is among numerous stars to help build the Mustangs into a perennial soccer challenger. A Jacksonville University signee, he turned professional early and is now a veteran of European soccer with more than 170 league matches and a dozen goals with clubs in Bosnia, Slovenia, Germany, Turkey and Albania. This spring, he played for KF Tirana, finishing sixth in the Albania’s Kategoria Superiore league.
Tommy Krizanovic, Englewood
Now the coach of the Jacksonville Armada U-23 squad, Krizanovic enjoyed a solid playing career on the First Coast and beyond. He went back-to-back as All-First Coast player of the year in 2000-01 and 2001-02, combining for 119 goals in those two seasons, and signed with Jacksonville University, where he earned ASUN player of the year honors in 2006 with 14 goals. Drafted by FC Dallas in the fourth round in 2007, he played briefly in Germany and then lined up for the Armada in the 2025 North American Soccer League season.
Garry Lewis, Orange Park
For Lewis, a hard-working all-around midfielder who piled up assists in each of his last three years, much of his recognition came from beyond the First Coast. He won the Gatorade Florida Player of the Year during an excellent 2002-03 season, and three times earned NSCAA All-American honors. He earned second-team All-Big East at St. John’s and then transferred to national power North Carolina, where he started as co-captain in the 2008 Men’s College Cup championship game. Lewis also played professionally in Finland before joining the Armada in 2016.
Brian Schaefer, Fletcher
Schaefer brought high-level technical skill and a scoring touch to the Fletcher midfield of the late 2010s, reaching an FHSAA final in 2018 and winning All-First Coast player of the year in 2020 with a 19-goal, 26-assist season. But the 6-3 Schaefer’s long-term position has been defense. He earned All-AAC honors in college at South Florida and landed a first-round 2024 MLS SuperDraft selection at No. 27 overall for FC Cincinnati. Currently, he plays for the USL’s Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Nathan Sturgis, Nease
Sturgis owns a head-to-head victory over Lionel Messi himself, playing in central defense in the United States’ 1-0 win over a 17-year-old Messi and Argentina on June 11, 2005 at the FIFA World Youth Championships. Sturgis played two seasons at Nease before getting the call for the U.S. youth national system, where he played in two Under-20 World Cups and would have started in the 2008 Olympics if not for an injury. Following two years at Clemson, he went to Major League Soccer’s L.A. Galaxy at No. 12 overall in 2006, playing 145 MLS games over 11 seasons with seven clubs.
Tony Taylor, Bishop Kenny
Taylor scored goals steadily at Bishop Kenny and kept it going in college at Jacksonville University, winning the ASUN Conference and defeating Louisville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. After four seasons in Portugal, and a trip to the Under-20 World Cup with the United States, Taylor returned to Major League Soccer and played for the New England Revolution and New York City FC. Taylor, who also had eligibility for Panama’s national team and was called up three times, also played for the North American Soccer League’s Armada in 2017.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Who is Northeast Florida’s all-time best boys soccer player? Vote now
Reporting by Clayton Freeman, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Clayton Freeman, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union | USA TODAY Network
