After the New York Red Bulls defied all odds by making it to Major League Soccer’s (MLS) championship game, MLS Cup, many are questioning what’s next for some of the team’s stars. And with New Jersey gearing up to host the World Cup final in 2026, some are wondering if stars and stripes are in defender John Tolkin’s future.
The 22-year-old from Chatham, who has played for the Red Bulls since 2021, has been going up against the toughest competition in the country since he was a teenager growing up in Morris County. This past summer, he was a starter on the squad that represented the United States in the Paris Olympics, prompting hometown watch parties, celebrations, and a large banner in his honor hanging from Chatham’s Borough Hall.
“[The hometown support] pushes you through the hard moments,” Tolkin says. “In games, when you’re exhausted and you don’t think you can really do much more, I kind of lean back on those sorts of thoughts to get to the finish line.”
Hometown support “pushes you through the hard moments,” Tolkin says. Photo: Courtesy of New York Red Bulls
Tolkin, nicknamed “JMi” since childhood because his middle name is Michael, is among a small number of elite players from New Jersey who have earned call-ups to the U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT). Goalkeeper Matt Turner from Park Ridge and midfielder Brenden Aaronson from Medford—who both play in Europe—have earned recurring spots on the national-team roster and are expected to play for the U.S. in the World Cup.
Tolkin, meanwhile, is an up-and-coming player who has demonstrated a lot of promise in his young career. “Hopefully I’ll be playing there,” he says of the World Cup final. The roster won’t be announced until shortly before the World Cup takes place in summer 2026, and with the recent appointment of internationally renowned Mauricio Pochettino as USMNT manager, the door is wide open for young stars to prove themselves.
Tolkin joined Red Bulls Academy, the team’s youth-training program, in 2015, spending his high school years training with the best prospects in the region instead of playing with his Chatham pals. Despite being separated by the sideline, Tolkin and his friends never broke their bond. “It was sad, but also fun to watch from afar,” says Tolkin. “And then obviously they showed all their support for me. The fact that it went both ways was really special.”
Photo: Courtesy of New York Red Bulls
After a stint with the development team Red Bulls II, Tolkin made his MLS debut in 2021. Since then, he’s been an important part of a team that just surprised fans nationwide by being crowned Eastern Conference Champions. Although the Red Bulls ultimately weren’t able to lift the trophy over the L.A. Galaxy, it was Tolkin’s perfectly placed assist off a free kick in the Eastern Conference Final which proved to be one of the defining moments of the Red Bulls’ playoff run.
In recent times, MLS has seen rapid growth as a competitive league through an increased focus on youth development and the signing of big-name players from around the world. As the pressure continues to mount, however, Tolkin has learned to take it in stride and focus on the task at hand.
“Once the whistle blows, I don’t really care who I’m playing against. I don’t care what the event is,” he says. “I just want to win.”
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