Connor Dale (Inter Miami), Jason Nemo (Chicago Fire), Emmanuel Arias (Nashville)

Dale and Nemo are both high-quality goalkeeper prospects and, in my view, the clear top two choices in this class. Arias earns his first-team camp, and I appreciate that they expanded the goalkeeper pool to give him a look.

There may be experimentation at goalkeeper in the future, but when facing Mexico twice, you bring your best—and Dale and Nemo are the best.

RB, Finn McCraney (Chicago Fire), RB/LB, Brenden Leon (Portland Timbers), LB, Justus Jones (FC Dallas)

McCraney is the obvious standout on this list. Leon and Jones are attending their second camp. Outside of McCraney, I can't say that I am totally aligned with these selections.

RB, Dominik Lester (FC Cincinnati), RB Fred Bond (Atlanta United), LB, Seyi Fakiyesi (Atlanta United)
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Lester, Bond, and Fakiyesi are puzzling omissions when compared to those selected. All three play up an age group and have profiles that project to the professional level—something that can’t be said for the majority of the full-backs chosen.

Owen Jorgensen (St. Louis City), Jeremiah Munoz (Charlotte FC), Chris Guillen-Lopez (FC Dallas), Jackson Bowman (Houston Dynamo), Luca Antongirolami (Sporting KC)

Jorgensen and Munoz are locks in my view. Antongirolami has been involved in every camp, though I don’t necessarily agree that he should be irreplaceable at this point. Guillen-Lopez and Bowman are both receiving their first call-ups. I see experimentation as a positive, but I believe there are other players who might make more sense.

Landon Mulvenna (Philadelphia Union), Mikel Akinmboni (DC United), Avery Rosado (New York Red Bulls), Zion Salmon (Inter Miami), Rocky Rommell II (San Jose Earthquakes), Orion Joliff (San Jose Earthquakes)

Mulvenna should be a locked-in core player for this age group, and I can’t quite understand why he isn’t here. I’ve confirmed that his absence isn’t due to fitness or club release. He is undoubtedly one of the best defenders in this class and can play five different positions.

Akinmboni is long overdue for a look. He is one of the best ball-playing center-backs and has excellent size. It seems U.S. Soccer is overlooking the younger Akinmboni, just as they did with his older brother, Makai.

In my opinion, Rosado, Salmon, and Rommell II are also deserving of an opportunity. 

DM, Nathan Tchoumba (Colorado Rapids), CM/DM/AM, Vicente Garcia (LA Galaxy), CM, Samuel Gallego (Philadelphia Union), CM, Christopher Morales (Chicago Fire), CM, Niccolo Vafiades (NYCFC)
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Tochoumba and Garcia are two players from this class who should be selected every time this group gathers, as they are both among the top five in the class.

Gallego and Morales return after missing the last couple of camps, while Vafiades appears to be gaining traction within the team.

DM, Adriel Duarte (San Diego Surf), DM, Evan Coffing (Atlanta United), CM, Lisandro Torres (LAFC), CM, Matthew Arana (Houston Dynamo), CM/WING/CF, Da’vian Kimbrough (Sacramento Republic), CM, Ezra Mahtame (San Jose Earthquakes), CM, Roman Avakian Gomez (Mainz), CM, Joshua Kwon (Atlanta United), CM, Abdoulaye Diop (Philadelphia Union)
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Torres and Arana are representing Mexico in these friendlies. Torres has been involved with both the United States and Mexico, while Arana has only played for Mexico. Kimbrough also seems to be leaning toward Mexico at the moment and is playing up with their U16 team.

Both Torres and Arana are strong players who, in my opinion, would make the U.S. A-team. Duarte and Coffing are both intriguing defensive midfielders whom I’d like to see get an opportunity at some point.

Avakian Gomez is not a widely known player, but he recently moved to 1. FSV Mainz 05 from TSV Schott Mainz and has an intriguing profile. A left-footed player, he has primarily played as a winger but can also operate in midfield and at left-back. He is very talented and will likely be on U.S. Soccer’s radar soon.

Diop exemplifies the flaws in how U.S. Soccer evaluates and selects talent at the youth levels. Is he a finished product? No. But his ability on the ball at his size (already around 6'2" or 6'3") is remarkable. It doesn’t take an expert to see his potential in a few years once he fills out physically and sharpens his tactical awareness. This is exactly the kind of player U.S. Soccer should be identifying and integrating into its system for the future.

Mahtame is another example. A dynamic 8/10, Mahtame possesses incredible size (6'2"-6'3"), fluidity, soft feet, exceptional footwork, rhythm, ingenuity, and a refined passing touch. He has a natural ability to find space between the lines and a strong grasp of the third-man principle. He has a far superior ceiling than some others on this roster.

AM, Robert Turdean (Chicago Fire), AM, Noe Santillan (Atlanta United), AM, Alex Hernandez (Colorado Rapids), WING, Ikenne Chidebe (LA Galaxy), WING, Blake Wilson (St. Louis City), WING/LB, Camillo Guerrero (Orlando City)
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Turdean and Chidebe are two more players who should be considered locks. Santillan and Hernandez have been in other camps and profile more as attacking mids. Guerrero and Wilson are earning their first-team camp.

AM, Will Recupero (VfB Stuttgart), AM, Mono Martinez (LA Galaxy), WING, Josh Boney (Barca Residency), WING, Oscar Avilez (DC United), WING/CF, Eric Lodge (New York Red Bulls), WING, Theo Hallie II (FC Dallas), WING, Isaiah Yeboah (Strikers)
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Recupero has long been regarded as a top player in this class, but so far, no European-based 2010 players have been in a camp, as all the camps have been domestic. Recupero was invited to this camp, but was not released by Stuttgart.

Martinez is another player who will be participating with Mexico.

Boney, Lodge, Avilez, and Hallie II are more traditional wingers who would add one-on-one attacking value to this team, something it currently lacks. Yeboah is an emerging player who was recently added to LAFC’s protected list, indicating they are likely recruiting him to join their academy.

Kane Kraus (St. Louis City), Timoni Gbalajobi (Philadelphia Union)
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This is a strong striker class, and Kraus and Gbalajobi are two of the best. Both bring a lot of talent and danger to the attack.

Jamil Danjaji (Columbus Crew), Jayden Kouadio (Philadelphia Union)
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Danjaji is my top overall player in this class. I believe his absence is due to recently completing a tournament in Egypt with his club and likely wanting to give his body a break. Kouadio doesn’t seem to be rated as highly as his club teammate Gbalajobi by either Philadelphia or U.S. Soccer at the moment, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he ultimately proves to be the better player.

I continue to be puzzled by U.S. Soccer's focus on undersized, technical, low-end athletic players who typically don’t project to higher levels. I’d rather see U.S. Soccer prioritize players with profiles that translate better to the professional ranks. Time and time again, we see U.S. Soccer selecting these types of players at younger ages, and time and time again, they fade out around the U19 or U20 levels.

To me it shows a lack of critical thinking and reflection on the part of U.S. Soccer. All you have to do is look at the guys they selected from 2006 and 2007 at the early ages and then look at who faded vs. who emerged. The guys who faded are very similar to the profile they continue to prioritize for this 2010 class.

Five new players were brought into a camp for the first time, which is probably a bit lower than you'd like to see from camp to camp at this age group. Outside of a few players, the team lacks size and dynamism, and it also lacks wide players with one-on-one ability.

On a positive note, the goalkeeper and striker positions are both very strong. Additionally, there is a clear core of top players forming, including Dale, Nemo, McCraney, Jorgensen, Tchoumba, Garcia, Turdean, Chidebe, Kraus, Danjaji, and Gbalajobi.