Summer Spotlight: Beau Knows

Two days prior to the kickoff of the 2025 MLS season, Beaux Leroux's name was not on the San Jose Earthquakes' roster. Just over 24 hours before the season opener against Real Salt Lake, he was signed to the first team. The next day, he started in the midfield and recorded an assist in a 4-0 thrashing of Real Salt Lake.

The San Jose, Calif. native hasn't had to stray far from home. He played college soccer at San Jose State before being drafted No. 42 overall by the Earthquakes in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft. His impressive season with The Town FC—the MLS NEXT Pro affiliate of the club—and his preseason performances earned him not just a look with the first team, but an immediate starting role in the center of San Jose's midfield. The coaching staff made it clear he would be starting that first game and had a real chance to be a regular starter for his hometown team.

"I thought a lot of people [last year] didn't really want to play for the badge," Leroux said. "And so, it was a big goal of mine that if I made the first team that I wanted to give it all for San Jose. It's the place that raised me, so I have so much love for San Jose."

Former MLS SuperDraft picks making their first appearance in the fashion of a start in the opening match of a season is almost unheard of. In fact, there's been tons of talk throughout MLS circles about scrapping the draft altogether, in favor of adopting a more European style of academy systems. Despite this discourse, the draft has produced some huge names over the years, and Leroux is a prime example.

"I think it gives so many college players hope, I think it's a huge pathway," Leroux said of the SuperDraft. "College is a bit different, sometimes [the school] doesn't fit your style of play, but if you can break through and make it I think that's huge, and it means a lot for the school that you get drafted from."

Leroux's point about the impact the draft has on the people that aided the development of a drafted player cannot be understated. He became the first player to be drafted out of SJSU in 21 years, the next most recent being Frank Sanfilippo in 2003. Additionally, he became the first player from Breakers FC to be drafted, Leroux's MLS NEXT academy. The 21-year-old now serves as a permanent mark on the resumes of these programs, as if to say to the next generation of players, 'This could be you.'

When it comes to comfort, Leroux just has it. He carries himself like a seasoned veteran, and he plays like it too. He has appeared in every single match since his signing, for a total of 1,168 MLS minutes and 14 starts. He brings a sense of calmness in the San Jose midfield on a team that enacts a controlled chaos playstyle.

"Being from San Jose helps a lot, but I think my relationship with all the guys on the team and the coaching staff," Leroux said of his relaxed demeanor out of the gates. "They trust me a lot and I feel like I have a great relationship with everyone, so settling in is not too big of a problem for me."

The highlight of the season for the rising star undoubetdly came in the wild 3-3 draw against Inter Miami on May 14. Since the arrival of the former FC Barcelona stars in Miami, all sorts of young players have had dream-come-true moments of playing against some of their childhood soccer idols. Few had success in the manner that Leroux did, though.

In the 37th minute, Ian Harkes was tackled by Sergio Busquets near the top of the D, where Leroux was patiently lurking. The ball deflected off of Busquets, who is generally considered one of the best midfielders of this generation, straight into the path of Leroux. He stepped right up and laced a right-footed volley into the bottom right corner to snatch the lead. PayPal Park was absolutely bumping, at a level that has really not been seen previously.

"It was an unreal moment, an unreal night," Leroux said. "It was great to feel the energy. I knew right when I hit it that I put enough pace and power on it to go in, but right when I saw it go in I was just filled with joy. It was unreal."

Leroux ranks the goal No. 1 in his professional career, and doing so on the same field as the greatest player to ever play the sport in Lionel Messi certainly isn't a bad time for it. He also assisted a goal minutes later in a match that ultimately ended 3-3. That goal was scored by Ian Harkes, a player that has been a mentor for Leroux and is constantly teaching him and having his back, along with a fellow New England Revolution acquistion in Mark-Anthony Kaye. Harkes and Kaye are two of the seven former Revs on the Earthquakes' squad.

Another huge inspiration for Leroux has been Cristian Espinoza, the captain and star of the show in San Jose's attack. The 30-year-old Argentine winger has quietly been one of the most consistent players in the league across the last three years—he has amassed four goals and eight assists so far this season and a total of 21 goals and 22 assists since 2023.

"Cristian Espinoza is always a great mentor," Leroux said. "Being the captain and being such a consistent player and a great player, you always look up to him and are inspired by him and how he carries himself."

San Jose did not bring in just any new coaching staff ahead of 2025. Bruce Arena, who is arguably the best coach in the history of American soccer, is quite the first manager to play under in an MLS career. He brought with him Shalrie Joseph and Steve Ralston, two of the best players to ever play at Arena's previous club.

"[Arena] brings a sense of calmness in the locker room," Leroux said. "He doesn't mention too much and he wants you to figure it out, he wants you to play freely most of the time. I think that's a huge thing for the players."

For the Earthquakes, it's been a resurgent year thus far, exactly halfway through the MLS regular season. The club won two MLS Cups in the early 2000's during the Landon Donovan days. Since then, it hasn't been all that pretty.

San Jose has advanced in the playoffs just once since winning the title in 2003. That was a 2010 two-legged Eastern Conference semifinal tie against the New York Red Bulls. Yes, you read that right. In a quick MLS history lesson, only the top two teams in each conference were guaranteed a playoff spot up until 2011, so teams could switch conferences in the playoffs thanks to an imbalance of clubs from the two conferences.

Now, the Earthquakes are in a position to make the playoffs for the first time in five years, based on the results of the first 17 games. They currently sit eighth in the Western Conference with a 6-7-4 record and the third-most goals for league-wide with 34. They are also among the final eight teams remaining in the US Open Cup. But, there's still plenty of work to be done to maintain the promising start.

"Just keep working hard, take it one game at a time and try and get three points as best as possible," Leroux said of the team's mentality heading into the second half of the season. "The Open Cup will come and the playoff run will come also."

Leroux has scored two goals and assisted four in the first half of his first MLS season. He completes 1.39 successful dribbles, recovers over seven balls, intercepts 1.7 passes and wins possession in the final third 0.92 times per 90, all numbers in the upper echelon of percentile at his position.

His other goal was his first MLS goal, which came via another strike from the top of the box. A deflection saw the ball loop into the top right corner in a 1-1 draw with the Seattle Sounders. He backed up his love for San Jose with a kiss of the badge.

In terms of soccer idols, Antoine Griezmann is Leroux's pick. The now 34-year-old Frenchman has scored 204 club goals and netted another 44 for his country. Griezmann has spoken openly about his wish to finish his career in MLS, and LAFC has been after him for some time, but he's set to stay at Atletico Madrid for the time being.

"I liked [Griezmann's] story of how he was short and he would try out at a lot of clubs and he didn't make it, and that's kind of similar to me," Leroux said. "And, he is very calm on the ball and a creative player, so I try and play like him."

Leroux's rapid rise from the college ranks to MLS NEXT Pro to then becoming an immediate starter in MLS has truly been unprecedented. His innate sense of tranquility made the ascent much simpler, and if someone as experienced as Arena is making the decision, it's clearly a deserved one. He has quickly developed into a fan favorite playing not only for his club, but his community as well.

With the second half of the season looming, the Earthquakes are hoping to put themselves back on the right side of history, which has been a long time coming based on those aforementioned statistics. Leroux is no longer just a last-minute fill-in to the squad, but rather a cornerstone of a revitalized San Jose team. As he continues his growth in experience, so too does the belief that the Earthquakes have found an important piece for the present and future. Leroux revealed his dream headline for his rookie season in MLS and with the flying start to his career, it only feels right to make it a reality: Beau Knows.