Peyton Miller turned three just one week before Diego Fagúndez signed his first professional contract. Fagúndez, 15 years and 274 days old, became the youngest signing in New England Revolution history.
Nearly 13 years later, in June of 2023, Miller, at 15 years and 216 days old, replaced him.
Miller outpacing Fagúndez to a first-team contract is, in some small part, thanks to the now-LA Galaxy man. Miller and his family regularly made the trip from Unionville, Connecticut to Gillette Stadium and watched players like Fagúndez, Lee Nguyen and Jermaine Jones lead the way for the Revs. Miller loved the game, loved the team, and grew into a standout young player. When he turned 13, he joined the Revolution Academy. That’s a dream come true for a player who grew up watching the Revs.
Just one problem, though. Unionville, Connecticut isn’t anywhere near Foxborough, Massachusetts. Miller’s parents took on the unenviable task of making the two-hour drive to the Revolution Training Center behind Gillette Stadium multiple times a week.
Fortunately for Miller, his folks and the Revs, the club had a built-in, gas-saving solution. Without it, Fagúndez’s record might still be intact.
Taking the leap
In 2019, the Revolution began their academy residency program as part of a concentrated effort to vitalize New England’s pro pathway. Players like Miller could now live nearly year-round with a host family (and several teammates). The program began with one house full of academy players and expanded to three houses shortly after. When Miller turned 14, he left Unionville for a host house.
“Oh, man, it was a big decision,” Miller said. “Well, it wasn't really a big decision for me, because it's what I wanted to do. But, like, it was big for my parents, because obviously I was leaving them at a young age.
“I didn't think much of it, really. I was grateful for the opportunity, and I was able to do what I love every day. And I was able to access the facility at a young age, and be able to, like, get more work and train twice a day, go to the gym and stuff like that.”
Miller, along with other rising academy players like PSV’s Esmir Bajraktarević, began living with academy administrator BJ Noble and his wife, Shannon. Each year, the Nobles essentially become guardians for four or five aspiring Revs players, all while balancing their own family and work lives.
"The days are kind of Groundhog, where it's the same thing all the time, right?" Shannon Noble said. “It's like sleep, school, soccer, repeat. But the schedules are so different, and they vary at any time. So it's a very busy, robust life. You know, as a caregiver host, I'm balancing the priority of the academy schedule, making sure the players are up and I'm taking them to school and that they are back, and they're eating well nourished meals, and they're doing the things that they need to do to get proper sustenance and sleeping, and they're staying safe and healthy in order to train and and to succeed in school.
"And then I'm also balancing my personal and professional life. So it's my son and making sure that he's doing all the things that he needs to do right. And then we have the soccer season. We have the games, we have the academy games, we have the second team games, the first team games. So it’s a very, very busy, fun life."
Willing to work
That busy lifestyle is worth it to help players like Miller along their path. Although it’s worth noting the homegrown defender seemed to know exactly where his path would take him as soon as he arrived. He didn’t flinch at the opportunity to join the residency program, and he immediately committed himself to professionalizing his game at a rapid pace.
"When he arrived at the residency, you could tell that he was a super special kid," Noble said. “Like he just really walks the walk of like ‘I'm here for a reason. I'm staying in this lane. I am driven. And I know what my goal is. And I know that I need to do what I need to do to get there.’
"He knew the reason why he was in the residency. He knew the opportunity that had been given to him."
Home away from home
Over multiple seasons in the residency program, Miller and his host family grew close. He’s out of the house now, but he still comes back to his second family for a home-cooked meal and to hang out with his de facto sibling.
“I'm very close with their son, Brayden,” Miller said. “I hang out with him quite a bit and do stuff like fishing, play soccer with him. I'm very close to them. Brayden is like a little brother to me.”
These days, Brayden and the Nobles see Miller at home for dinner and on the field for the Revs. A little over a year after signing his first-team contract, Miller debuted for his childhood club on July 17, 2024.
Since then, he’s become a locked-in starter at just 17 years old.
History maker
Miller, just the second player in Revolution history to sign a deal before they turned 16, has made 19 starts and 20 appearances this season. He’s a rising star for the Revs and in the league as a whole, and it’s fair to wonder how long he’ll be able to go over to the Noble’s for dinner.
There’s a chance the attack-minded left back follows Bajraktarević, his friend and former housemate, to Europe in the future. He has been progressing at breakneck speed and isn’t showing signs of slowing. This fall, the rising USYNT prospect is expected to feature at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile and transfer interest will likely follow (he's already been reportedly linked to Tottenham Hotspur).
“He's one of these kids that's super special,” sporting director Curt Onalfo said. “And, every time, he just sped up his timeline from the moment he showed up. He just got better. He got better exponentially. Our plan was to do everything probably a year later, but he just sped everything up.
“As soon as we put him into the second team environment, he showed that he should be starting. In fact, we had a Brazilian left back from Flamengo who was really talented, that we ended up sending back so that Peyton could take all those minutes because he showed immediately that he should be playing. He's a rare breed, and he's really special.”
Miller’s accelerated timeline may not have happened without his parents’ support and sacrifice, along with his residency parents’ help and guidance. To be fair, a player as laser-focused on success as Miller may have found a way to the top anyway. But there’s no denying the residency program gave him a chance to grow that he wouldn’t have had otherwise.
In short: If you’re looking for the Revs’ next star, start by checking the Noble’s house. Another Peyton Miller might be there.
