The little moments highlight how special Brooklyn Raines is as a player.

The central midfielder was the first acquisition of the Marko Mitrovic Era, coming from the Houston Dynamo in exchange for $1.6 million, with the possibility of the New England Revolution sending an additional $400,000.

Raines, who worked with Mitrovic at the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup, has been a staple for the Revs, contributing one goal and three assists in 24 appearances, all starts.

But these stats don't tell the full story of his contributions, as the 21-year-old has a knack for being in the right spot.

"He is obviously a very good player on the ball," Mitrovic said. "But I think that small decisions that Brooklyn makes on the field, if you just watch the game, sometimes you might not see [them]."

While Mitrovic hasn't spoken to the U.S. Men's National Team coaching staff, he believes the most recent window shows they value Raines, who started twice and came off the bench in the other two games.

He completed 92% of his passes, won 63% of his duels, and made four tackles in 172 minutes.

"If you see the good amount of minutes that Brooklyn got [with the national team], I think that [his qualities] were recognized," Mitrovic said. "That's something that is a really high strength of Brooklyn, to understand and have great communication, but it's more like understanding what's going on on the field and making the right decisions in relationship with his teammates.”

Raines is now back with the Revolution, who are second in the Eastern Conference with seven games to go.

While everyone is focused on making the most of the 2025 season, Raines, who has already drawn European interest and is eligible for the 2028 Summer Olympics, has a bright future ahead.

"We're one big family," Ethan Kohler said. "So when people from the club go to international break and do so well as [Raines and Peyton Miller] did, it's obviously super exciting for everyone. We're all super proud and happy for them. They absolutely deserve it.

"With the performances they've been putting in with us, I had no doubt that would translate over with the men's national team. It's great just having them back at training."