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Aryan Montes played a key role to help the Patriots win the Allen County Athletic Conference and a sectional title last season.

While he isn’t representing Jay County this season, he is back out on the pitch, playing a key role for another squad.

Montes, a junior at Jay County High School, kicked off the season over the weekend after joining the 17-and-younger Hoosier Premier Academy soccer team as part of the MLS NEXT program.

MLS NEXT is the highest level of youth soccer in North America and provides an opportunity for high schoolers to train with and against some of the best talent. It also increases exposure to college scouts as the team travels across the country and even a little internationally with matches in Canada.

“They’ll travel regionally for the league itself,” said coach Russ Lawson. “As well as have a couple of events nationally to get in front of college coaches nationwide.”

Along with the long travel for matches — the team opened with a match in Toronto — Montes has to travel to Noblesville four times a week to practice with the team.

The first day of practice had the players working with an individual coach to focus on the skills needed for their position. (Montes is set to play center back for the Hoosier Premier Academy.) The other three days are spent working together as a cohesive team.

“It’s a whole different environment and it’s been hard because they take it really seriously,” Montes said. “Even though the traveling is rough, and it’s an hour and a half there and an hour and a half back, and sometimes I don’t get back until around 11:30 at night, it’s worth it. I just feel way better and I know that I’m going to improve here.”

Previously, Montes played for the Delaware County Futbol Club of Muncie for eight years before discovering Hoosier FC out of Noblesville between his freshman and sophomore seasons in high school. While there, Hoosier FC created Hoosier Premier Academy to join Indy 11 in the MLS NEXT program. He first learned about the team during a practice when the players from the MLS NEXT team happened to make a visit.

“My coach brought it up to me and said I should look into the team because he believed I could make the team,” Montes said. He then practiced with the 16-and-younger team, which led to an invite to try out for the 17-and-younger squad. “Me and my mom prayed before just to say, ‘If this isn’t for me then God won’t make it happen, but if it is, God will make it happen.’

“About a week later, I got an email saying that I made the team for the 2025-2026 roster and I would start practicing with them in August.”

While there are still some technical things for Montes to clean up — he only played two games at the center back position during his time with the Patriots — his new coach likes his base of skills.

“He has a foundation that we’re really excited about,” Lawson said. “Physically with his size and his athleticism, he can compete. With the transition from high school to club to now next-level club, it’s going to take some time to get adjusted to the quicker pace. …

“But when it comes to  Aryan, his foundation has worked great. He’s a fantastic teammate. He’s a joy to coach because he just wants to absorb everything in.”

Some of that foundation was built with his time as a Patriot. He spent two years with the Jay County High School boys soccer team. Largely playing as a midfielder while moving to defense at times, he totaled three goals and three assists over the two seasons.

Montes also played a key role in helping the Patriots win the 2024 sectional title as he manned the center back position on defense to prevent the undefeated Eastbrook Panthers from scoring. He also netted a penalty kick to secure the win after the two overtime periods.

“I hate to see him leave because he’s a heck of a player,” said JCHS coach Rodney Reynolds during an interview for the team preview. “But also, it’s awesome to see a kid from Jay County get a chance and he succeeded and he’s doing what he needs to do. … He’s on to the next chapter and hope he succeeds. We’ll be cheering him on.”

Montes had some pre-season jitters due to the new environment and massive changes, but he is looking to take the new challenge head on with the goals of improving himself and learning where he is at compared to the new level of competition.

“I’m really nervous because it’s obviously my first year and I don’t have a lot of experience at this level,” Montes said. “But I’m ready to better myself. … I’m just glad I get to play soccer at the highest level in the United States and it’s going to be worth it for sure. And I just can’t wait to see where my future goes.”