Power Rankings never cease to spark outrage. But here at Backheeled? We’re not here to cause anger. No, we’re here to dissect the latest performances, trends, tactics, and news for each of MLS’s 30 clubs. Every week during the MLS season, Ben Wright will guide you through the Eastern Conference teams and Joe Lowery will do the same for the West.
Okay, fine. We’re also here to spark some outrage, because we’re ranking all 30 teams, too. Power Rankings are based on each club’s average position across Ben and Joe’s individual rankings. Onwards.
1. Vancouver Whitecaps
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Sunday night’s catastrophe shouldn’t totally overshadow what the ‘Caps have accomplished so far in 2025. Still without the injured Ryan Gauld, they’ve played a ton of excellent ball under Sorensen this season. They were worthy CCC finalists, have a legitimate chance to win the Shield, and look like an MLS Cup threat, too.
That’s one of the closing lines from my section on Vancouver in Sunday night’s Winners and Losers column. After a 5-0 defeat to Cruz Azul in the Concacaf Champions Cup final, you’ll be shocked to learn that they were a ‘Loser’ in that piece. I picked that line to include here because I still believe Vancouver is the strongest team in MLS. But boy-oh-boy were they humbled on Sunday. You can read more about that humbling here:
Joseph Lowery
They’ll need a mental reset before heading back into MLS play on Sunday. What they’ll get, though, is a spate of key players leaving for international duty. Things are about to get really, really tough for the Whitecaps. Let’s see what they’re made of. - Joe Lowery
