The best academy passers

[Jeanious]

The final "Biggest passing impact" is based on the following statistics (converted to a per match ratio) and weights.
"xa_pm_z": 1.6,
"chances created_pm_z": 1.4,
"key passes_pm_z": 1.3,
"open play key passes_pm_z": 1.2,
"assists_pm_z": 1.2,
"progressive passes_pm_z": 1.3,
"successful passes_pm_z": 1.0,
"pass%_pm_z": 1.0,
"successful crosses_pm_z": 0.8,
"successful open play crosses_pm_z": 0.8,
"cross%_pm_z": 0.6,
"open play crosses%_pm_z": 0.6

Let's dive into more statistics but this time not in roleplaying sense of our man Dennis van Huntelrooy but straight facts!

Pass%
Pass% is the easiest starting point, it basically tells us who is most comfortable just keeping the ball moving without overcomplicating it. The top end is extremely close with Leonardo Stone leading at 93.55% and Jimothy Erickson right behind on 93.43%, meaning there is almost nothing separating them in terms of pure reliability.

Don BebeZ, Umaq Yupanqui and Martin Krpan are following closely, all sitting above 90%. Usually this is the point where you stop talking about “safe passing” and just assume the player is very hard to press into mistakes. Peter Castellani and Tim Quackareedoo are right in that same group just under 90.5%, keeping the gap between 1st and 7th surprisingly small.

The final three, Reece Munro, Emmanuel Ofusu and Ewan Purves, are all basically in the same boat, just slightly under 89.5%. The main takeaway here is that we have a very solid set of passers in the academy.


Successful passes
Successful passes shifts the focus from just keeping possession to being involved in how much a player is involved in buildup play. Jimothy Erickson leads with 455 which lines up nicely with his earlier Pass% appearance, suggesting he is not only safe on the ball but also heavily involved in buildup rather than just recycling it.

Martin Krpan follows on 419 and continuing his presence near the top of passing related lists and reinforcing him as a consistently involved player in possession. Reece Munro and Don Banjo are right behind both around the 400 mark, showing a similar profile of steady involvement rather than occasional impact.

Below them sit S Sei, Tim Quackareedoo and STAR SCREAM form a middle group in the high 300s, all contributing without breaking away from the group. Peter Castellani appears again after his strong Pass% showing, while Jay Pea and Ewan Purves round out the top 10. Purves once again showing up in multiple passing categories without necessarily leading any single one (yet).


Progressive passes
Progressive passes is where you start to see who actually moves the ball (and their team) forward instead of just going for the easy back or wide pass. Jay Pea leads with 73, standing out as the main driver of forward play in the academy and creating a noticeable gap between himself and the rest.

Ewan Purves follows on 63, continuing a strong presence in the passing charts overall. Don Banjo and Scorp E. Unshark sit just behind on 61 each, showing consistent ability to break lines rather than just recycle possession. The top group feels like the main engine for forward movement.

Behind them sit STAR SCREAM and Alex Peña in the mid 50s, adding steady progression without dominating the category. Walter Blanco and Baptiste Azzola follow closely. Tim Quackareedoo and Peter Castellani round out the top 10, both contributing but with less volume compared to the leaders in this statistic.


Cross%
Cross% should give us mostly wide players, and the top end is clearly led by Van Hieu Tang at 50%, which is a big jump compared to the rest of the list. He is basically operating in a different efficiency bracket when it comes to crossing the ball into the box.

Arsene Cardinet follows on 45%, still very strong and comfortably ahead of the chasing group. After that, Jack Pow and Josh Harper form the next 'tier', both around the high 20s to low 30s, showing more volume but less consistency in delivery.

The middle and lower section is a tight race with Owen Bryant, Alex Peña, and a group on 25% including Baptiste Azzola, Barry McGlynn, Blaise N’Kufo and Dennis van Huntelrooy all together. This grouping suggests a fairly even spread of crossing output once you move away from the top two specialists, where small differences in success rate decide the ranking more than anything else.


Successful crosses
Successful crosses shifts the focus from just pure accuracy to 'real' output, this includes things like corners. The top end looks a bit different compared to Cross%. Owen Bryant takes the lead with 20 crosses, showing he is not just attempting crosses but someone (from his own team) is also getting to the end of it.

Sadie Black follows closely with 19 and Alex Peña just behind on 18, forming a clear top three who are consistently delivering from wide positions or set pieces. These three are clearly the most productive crossers in the academy in terms of end result, not just percentage.

Below them, Geronimo Datbasted, Roberto Chávez, and Walter Blanco all sit on 14. Forming a tight middle group where output is very even. Jack Pow, Joe Mormor, Joshua Homme III Esquire Limited and Arsene Cardinet round out the top 10, all contributing but with a noticeable step down in total completed crosses compared to the leaders.


Successful open play crosses
Successful open play crosses narrows things down to only the active play crosses, stripping away set pieces and showing who is actually creating from live phases. Alex Peña leads again with 18 and this one feels more meaningful than the previous crossing statistic because it confirms he is consistently dangerous in real attacking situations, not just deadball situations.

Geronimo Datbasted follows on 13, showing a strong attacking contribution from wide areas, while Walter Blanco sits on 10, rounding out a clear top three that is actively involved in open play progression into the box. These three are basically setting the standard.

Below them, Joshua Homme III Esquire Limited on 9 and a group of Sadie Black and Joe Mormor on 8 show steady involvement without breaking away from the group. Roberto Chávez and Scorp E. Unshark sit on 7, while Nick Kasak and Owen Bryant round out the top 10, both contributing but with less consistent open play output compared to the leaders in this category.


Key passes
Key passes is where things shift to actual chance creation rather than just buildup or crossing output, and the top end is extremely close. Owen Bryant and Sadie Black share the lead on 32, splitting first place and showing they are both heavily involved in creating dangerous moments.

Walter Blanco follows closely with just one behind on 31, which keeps the top three almost level and shows there is no real single dominant creator yet in terms of key passes. Che Youz and Roberto Chávez form the next tier, both clearly active in the final touches and regularly putting teammates into attacking situations.

Below them, Nick Kasak sits on 22, while Alex Peña and Gold Ship are tied on 21, forming a compact middle group where small differences separate the rankings. John Warhurst and Jack Pow round out the top 10, both contributing consistently but with a noticeable step down compared to the very top of creators.


Open play key passes
Open play key passes filters out set pieces and shows who is actually creating chances during active play, the top is as tight as it gets. Alex Peña, Che Youz and Nick Kasak are all tied on 21, which turns first place into a threeway split rather than a clear leader.

Sadie Black follows closely on 20 with Walter Blanco on 18, keeping the top five very compact and showing that chance creation in open play is spread across multiple players rather than dominated by one. This group feels like the main creative core when the ball is moving naturally.

Behind them is Tim Quackareedoo on 17, while Scorp E. Unshark, Owen Bryant, Ozzy Boudreaux and Gold Ship all land on 16. This group makes up a large portion of the top 10, and the minimal gaps suggest that one good match could easily change this entire list.


Chances created
Chances created is where everything comes together into real opportunities and here Alex Peña starts to pull away from the rest with 16. The gap to second is noticeable and it suggests he is not just involved in buildup but consistently the final link before a real chance appears.

Walter Blanco follows on 13 and Sadie Black on 12, forming a clear top three that stands slightly above the rest of the field. After that, things normalize quickly with four players, Jack Pow, Joe Mormor, Owen Bryant and Nick Kasak all sitting on 8, showing a very even spread.

The final group has Roberto Chávez, Ozzy Boudreaux and Tim Quackareedoo all on 7, just one behind that middle group. The small gaps across most of the list make this one of the more fluid categories, where a single strong game could easily change up half the rankings.


xA (Expected assists)
xA adds a bit more context to chance creation, showing not just how many chances are made but how good they actually are. Alex Peña leads again with 5.29, and this really shows his role as the most consistent high quality creator the academy has, not just in volume but in the type of chances he’s producing.

Nick Kasak follows on 3.99, with Walter Blanco and Roberto Chávez almost identical just behind, this keeps the top four relatively tight after Peña’s lead. This group looks like the main source of dangerous opportunities rather than just general buildup play.

Behind them, Owen Bryant and Arsene Cardinet sit just above 3, while Barry McGlynn, Sadie Black, Gold Ship and Jack Pow round out the list in the high 2s. The gaps here are smaller than they look, which suggests a lot of these players are operating in a similar creative range, just with slight differences in chance quality.


Assists
Assists is where everything finally turns into goals, and Alex Peña tops it with 7. This lines up with pretty much everything we’ve seen so far. He’s not just creating chances or good chances, they’re actually being converted to goals as well.

Joe Mormor follows with 5, sitting as the clear second option, while a large group on 4 including Bruce McAllister, Nick Kasak, Tim Quackareedoo and Roberto Chávez shows just how spread out the final product is across the league. There’s no single dominant number two, more a shared responsibility behind the leader.

The final group on 3 includes Joshua Homme III Esquire Limited, Walter Blanco, Owen Bryant and Jake Ronaldo. All contributing but at a slightly lower output level. Compared to the earlier stats, this one feels a bit more dependent on teammates actually finishing chances, which makes the differences a bit harder to read at face value.


Who keeps showing up?
Looking across all the passing and creation statistics one name shows up the most and it’s not even close; Alex Peña is basically everywhere once the numbers start to matter, leading chances created, xA and assists, while also appearing in progressive passes, crosses and key pass related statistics. He’s not just active, he’s consistently involved at the highest impact level, which makes him pretty clearly the main creative hub of the academy so far.

Behind him, Nick Kasak and Walter Blanco show up the most across different categories, both appearing in key passes, open play creation, xA and assists. Neither fully dominates a single stat like Peña does but both are constantly in the mix, which usually says more about consistency than one standout number. Just behind that group, players like Owen Bryant and Sadie Black also appear frequently, especially in key passes and crossing stats, making them reliable contributors even if they’re not leading the charts outright.

Biggest passing impact
Passing impact combines everything into one final “how much do you actually influence attacking play” score, and here Alex Peña completely runs away with it. At 23.87 he is not just first, he is in a different bracket compared to everyone else. This lines up with how often he showed up across all  the statistics.

Behind him sits Walter Blanco who holds a clear second place on 14.52, followed by Owen Bryant on 13.25 and Sadie Black on 12.49. This group forms the main chasing group. While they are all very active across multiple passing categories, none of them really come close to Peña’s overall influence.

Roberto Chávez and Nick Kasak both sit around the 10 to 11 mark, showing strong but slightly less dominant overall impact. Tim Quackareedoo and Arsene Cardinet follow closely behind in the high 9s, while Joe Mormor and Che Youz round out the top 10, contributing consistently but without breaking into the higher tier of total passing impact.