U-17 USMNT kicks off 2022 with 26-player training camp at IMG Academy

CHICAGO – The U.S. Under-17 Men’s Youth National Team will launch its 2022 programming with a 26-player training camp at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Head coach Gonzalo Segares will lead his second camp with the U-17 MYNT from Jan. 18-25.

Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2006 are age-eligible for the 2022-23 U-17 MYNT cycle, which culminates with the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Peru. Segares has called in 24 players born in 2006 and two born in 2007- forwards Ruben Ramos Jr. (LA Galaxy) and Ezekiel Soto (Houston Dynamo FC). Many of the players selected participated in BioSteel YNT Regional Identification Centers during the past year — one-day training sessions that bring together top prospects in their home regions.

U-17 MYNT ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB; HOMETOWN) – JANUARY TRAINING CAMP

GOALKEEPERS (3): Fernando Delgado (Real Salt Lake; Glendale, Ariz.), Nicholas Holliday (North Carolina FC; Chapel Hill, N.C.), Diego Kochen (FC Barcelona/ESP; Miramar, Fla.)

DEFENDERS (8): Brian Alanis (Houston Dynamo FC; Houston, Texas), Jayson Castillo (Seattle Sounders FC; Prescott, Wash.), Riley Dalgado (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.), Christian Diaz (LAFC; San Bernardino, Calif.), Tyler Hall (Inter Miami CF; Miramar, Fla.), Stuart Hawkins (Seattle Sounders FC; Fox Island, Wash.), Gershon Henry (Real Salt Lake; Portage, Mich.), Oscar Verhoeven (San Jose Earthquakes; Pleasant Hill, Calif.)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Edgar Bazan (Sporting Kansas City; Overland Park, Kan.), Brian Carmona Romero (Charlotte FC; Concord, N.C.), Cruz Medina (San Jose Earthquakes; San Francisco, Calif.), Edwyn Mendoza (San Jose Earthquakes; San Jose, Calif.), Luis Moreno (Houston Dynamo FC; Houston, Texas), Pedro Soma (UE Cornella/ESP; Coconut Creek, Fla.), Jude Wellings (Real Salt Lake; Birmingham, Mich.)

FORWARDS (8): Fidel Barajas (San Jose Earthquakes; Sacramento, Calif.), Micah Burton (Austin FC; Mounds View, Minn.), Bajung Darboe (Philadelphia Union; Sun Prairie, Wisc.), Andre Gitau (Houston Dynamo FC; Richmond, Texas), Christopher Olyney Jr. (Philadelphia Union; Hillsborough, N.J.), Ruben Ramos Jr. (LA Galaxy; La Puente, Calif.), Ezekiel Soto (Houston Dynamo FC; Menifee, Calif.), Luke Zielinski (Philadelphia Union; Weston, Conn.)

The training camp will be held in accordance with U.S. Soccer’s comprehensive Return to Play protocols. U.S. Soccer requires all staff and players be fully vaccinated in order to attend USYNT training camps. As a leader in the sport, the health and safety of all participants is the top priority for the Federation.

After Segares was named U-17 MYNT head coach in October, the team gathered for its first training camp of the 2022-23 cycle in November at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. The team is preparing for its return to international competition after the 2021 Concacaf U-17 Championship and 2021 FIFA U-17 World Cup were canceled due to the global pandemic.

Six players will take part in their first U-17 training camp of the cycle- goalkeeper Diego Kochen, defenders Jayson Castillo and Stuart Hawkins, midfielders Brian Carmona Romero and Pedro Soma as well as Ramos Jr. and Soto. Kochen and Soma are both based abroad in Spain at FC Barcelona and UE Cornella, respectively.

Fourteen clubs are represented on the roster, including 11 in Major League Soccer, with the most players coming from Houston Dynamo FC and the San Jose Earthquakes (four each). While the players range from 14 to 16 years old, two already have professional experience in the United Soccer League – goalkeeper Fernando Delgado became the youngest goalkeeper to appear in a professional match this summer for the Real Monarchs while fellow ‘keeper Nicholas Holliday made five appearances for North Carolina FC in USL League One last season.