Donavan Phillip is a 21-year-old striker from Saint Lucia who plays NCAA Division I soccer for the North Carolina State Wolfpack. He was recently awarded the MAC Hermann Trophy after a 2025 campaign in which he scored 19 goals in 22 starts, putting 44 shots on target in 82 attempts. Phillip also led his school to the College Cup final, which they lost in overtime to the Washington Huskies. He opens 2026 with a preseason training camp invite to play for the Colorado Rapids, who drafted him in the third round of the 2025 MLS SuperDraft. Phillip left the door open for a return to college soccer, having one more year of eligibility following two years with the Wolfpack and one with Oakland.
Phillip is a large physical presence in the middle of the pitch, standing at 6’2” with a stocky, physically mature frame. He has the strength to dominate opponents at his current level, easily able to box them off the ball. His balance is strong with his back to goal, and he is a powerful leaper with okay timing. Phillip lacks top-end pace to consistently separate in behind, though, and players with a lower center of gravity can get an advantage on him when shoulder-to-shoulder. He dominates strength-wise at this level, but his aerial timing and pace will be points of improvement when adjusting to true senior football.
As a finisher, Phillip stands out most aerially. He has strong striker’s instincts at the back post, both in open play and set pieces, timing his runs generally well, but his lack of burst is clear. He scored multiple headers from this area, being able to go for power or placement, while also being comfortable to create with his head, centering it to maintain danger if he did not have an angle to finish himself. His other finishing types lacked some technique, like on the half-volley or bicycles, but he shows intelligent spatial awareness in front of net to get to second balls and rebounds. He is capable of keeping his composure but is prone to rushing strikes. Phillip generates a high volume of shots from high percentage positions, but lacks consistent power and placement on them, making him a good-not-great poacher. In terms of decision-making, he can be selfish when taking on 1v1, going for shots instead of cutting it back. On the contrary, he can drill in cutbacks to create 6-yard box danger with notable power and should look to show off that trait more often. His hold-up play is quite effective, as he uses his frame to effectively protect the ball and quickly lay it off first time with his dominant left foot or flick headers into the stride of runners, sometimes even combining for triangles. His scanning before receiving in direct play allows him to identify these overlaps and underlaps early to find these trailing runs with rapid ball releases. Phillip does have inconsistent distribution weight, overhitting at times. Though he is a proactive runner up the middle channel and half spaces, getting ahead of attacks, his acceleration is not there to take advantage of his solid timing. This somewhat limits him to a target man role, but that is not necessarily a bad thing considering his aerial and hold-up ability in direct play.
Phillip generally works hard pressing from his forward line. He has good enough closeout speed over short distances, allowing him to disrupt the buildup, getting close to opponents without fouling, forcing rushed clearances with the threat of his strength in duels. He can be slow to react or too passive when sticking his foot in and must take better angles. Phillip is also quite unselfish and tactically mature. He does well in time-wasting situations to keep opponents on his back in the corners for a fair amount of time. Additionally, he was willing to give penalties to his teammates without frustration. There were also moments where he was clearly injured but still pushed through it.
Phillip is a dominant striker in Division I due to his aerial threat and strength, making him a classic target man option in a more direct system. His ceiling is limited due to his technical base linking up and finishing. If he decides to stick with the Rapids for 2026, he will likely dominate Next Pro, too. He should finish what he started at North Carolina State, though, and evaluate his options from there. Phillip has a long USL Championship career ahead of him, and he definitely has a chance at becoming a reliable rotation option in the MLS.
Target Scouting 