On the eve of the 2018 PDL Season, Co-Director Chris Madden appeared on the TopDrawerSoccer Show to discuss the league’s Top Prospects list, upcoming U.S. Open Cup matches and more.

"Our USL Scouting Network will identify players and put them on our Top Prospects list," said Madden. "We put that information into a spreadsheet and depending on how many times they've been scouted, how highly they're rated, there's a weighted percentage that pushes guys up. We definitely rely on our scouts expertise and talent at identifying that last little bit of stuff that the numbers don't show. There's some good math and method to organizing that stuff."

The conversation continued into the upcoming U.S. Open Cup. Twenty PDL clubs will feature in the 2018 edition of the tournament, which opens on May 6 with the play-in round before the first round gets underway on May 9.

"This year we have 20 of our PDL teams taking part in the Open Cup," Madden said. "The magic of the Open Cup is that you can play against teams from other areas, and if you win you can go play those USL teams and MLS teams and create those long-lasting stories and memories that we're looking for. It's the underdog mentality that the American fan, regardless of whether they're a soccer fan, can get behind."

"Just like Reading [United AC] last year when they took on the Cosmos and put them away. That's something I get excited about and I'm looking forward to seeing all of our teams and how well they're going to do this year."

To hear more from Madden's interview with The TopDrawerSoccer Show, listen in to the embedded recording below.