From the NCAA’s Akron Zips to one of the strongest amateur sides in the United States, Flint City; from Major League Soccer draftee to MLS starter; Jason Shokalook is entering his prime and discusses the path he took to get here with Zach Lowy of Between the Lines for an exclusive interview with Protagonist Soccer.

Born on September 30, 2002 in Erie, PA, Shokalook balanced his soccer and hockey ambitions for two years – every Monday and Wednesday, his mother would pick him up from school and drive 2.5 hours south to Pittsburgh so that he could play hockey, and another 2.5 hours back, and every Tuesday and Thursday, they’d drive 2 hours west to Cleveland, where he played soccer – before deciding to prioritize soccer. This eventually materialized in a scholarship offer from the University of Akron, where he majored in business. Similarly to others like Alen Skribek, Shokalook was forced to patiently bide his time before eventually enjoying an impressive junior season with 9 goals in 18 appearances and team-highs in points (24), shots (38) and shots on goal (22). He took things up a notch in 2023 with a league-high 14 goals and 5 assists in 17 appearances, winning the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year award, in addition to also impressing for USL Next Pro Sides SC United FC and Flint City.

After impressing in the adidas MLS College Showcase in Phoenix, Chicago Fire selected Shokalook with the 35th pick of the 2024 MLS SuperDraft. He was sent to the reserves, where he scored 3 goals and 3 assists in 27 appearances across the 2024 season. He looked set to replace MLS Next Pro Golden Ball and Golden Boot winner David Poreba following his ascension to the first team, only to miss the season opener and come off the bench in the next three. He decided to speak to new coach Mike Matkovich, who told him that he’d be given an opportunity, but the onus would be on him to take advantage. After blanking in a start at Huntsville City, he dropped to the bench vs. Toronto, only to return to the fold vs. Orlando and register a goal contribution in five matches in a row.

All Photos Borrowed From Jason’s Social Media

This led to his MLS debut, with Shokalook coming on for the final quarter-hour in the nation’s capital and assisting Brian Gutiérrez’s last-second goal in a 7-1 victory against D.C. United. Shokalook then returned to the reserves, where he scored 8 goals in the final 4 regular season matches of the campaign and earned praise from the likes of Vítor Severino en route to a Golden Boot-winning season. Whilst he was unable to lead them past the New York Red Bulls’ reserves and into the MLS Next Pro Playoffs semifinals, he did enough to be named a finalist for the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro MVP Finalist and earn an MLS contract offer from Chicago Fire, who tied him down through the 2026 season with club options for 2027 and 2028.

I'd imagine your parents were always telling you that you’ve got to focus not just on soccer, but on school. What was it like having to juggle academics and soccer in Akron? And overall, do you feel like that business degree is going to serve you well once you're done with your soccer career?
I think that the key word that you said was balance. I definitely wanted to go to the University of Akron to play soccer, but also the school part of it is also there. That’s a big challenge for all collegiate players entering their freshman year, finding that balance of being able to go and train in the morning, and then being tired, and then you have class, and you have homework, and all of these things. I think that the massive thing was getting into routines, and being consistent in those routines of going and training and putting all of your focus into training, and then once training was over, being able to go and focus on your school and get the best education that you can. I think that it's all just a balance, and once you figure out that balance, if you can stay consistent with it, then that's kind of where the success comes.

Talk to me a little bit about your time at Flint City. What did you make of your time in Michigan, and overall, how important do you think that was in terms of shaping your journey?
The funny part about it is that my Akron coaches highly recommended me to go to Flint City Bucks for the summer before my last year in college. I didn't really want to go, but when I ended up going, I had the best experience in Flint. I was around a lot of guys who are now pros, and they're at the highest level in America. Everyone was there to go and be a professional, and when you put all of those guys in the same building, living together, on the same field, training together, on the same golf course, in the same gym…every single person goes and pushes themselves to the max. Everyone's competitive and wants to win, and when you're surrounded in an environment like that for a summer, you learn a lot about others, you learn a lot about yourself. It was an amazing experience, because these guys that I met were just fantastic guys, top players in college, and overall, the way that Flint City Bucks is run, you're treated like a professional, so that kind of got me ready for the professional level.

I think the best part about it was when Akron was in the MAC my junior year, before I went to Flint City Bucks, we played against Western Michigan two or three times that year, and guys like Jalen Shannon and Jonathan Robinson were there, and they were very competitive on the field. There was a lot of talking and all of these things, so we had a built-up kind of rivalry, and when I came there, they were there also, and we found that extremely funny, because we connected as friends off the field. They were amazing guys, and you just realized that everyone that you're playing against, you're there to compete, but also, everyone’s just a human, and they're all cool dudes, you know? Overall, Flint was an amazing experience, and I'm so incredibly grateful for that time there. I think that it helped me get ready for my 14-goal senior season at Akron, and I would go back there a million times over if I could.

Lastly, is there any particular area of your game that you feel like you really want to improve on, whether that's tackling, aerial ability or first touch?
I think overall, as a player, my main focus is to keep developing into the best player I can, so that comes with a lot of hard conversations with myself, watching myself on film, and training, and games, and all of these things. I think that with the next challenges that come in my career, players are only going to get better and become more physical, so to answer your question, in all areas, I just want to keep on improving. I don't really pick out a specific area, but I want to become a better finisher, I want to win more aerial duels, I want my hold-up play to become better, and I want to hold myself to a high standard. I want to continue to work on every aspect of my game, and just become the best player that I can.

- by Zach Lowy