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

All three goalkeepers from last camp return to this camp. Dale and Nemo are pretty clearly the A-team guys for this group and Arias must have impressed in the last camp to get a call back.

I don’t see any major omissions, but I would have liked to see at least one new player get their first look. With Dale and Nemo already well understood, it seems like a missed opportunity not to use this low-stakes camp to broaden their view of the player pool.4o

RB, Finn McCraney (Chicago Fire), LB, Seyi Fakiyesi (Atlanta United), LB, Justus Jones (FC Dallas)

McCraney and Jones return from the last camp, while Fakiyesi joins for his second camp of the cycle—his first since the initial team camp last fall. Bringing Fakiyesi back is a great decision; in my view, he has the highest upside of any left-back in this age group. McCraney also stands out as the clear RB1.4o

RB, Dominik Lester (FC Cincinnati), RB Fred Bond (Atlanta United), RB, Jayden Gandu (Columbus Crew)
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I understand why Brady continues to call up McCraney—he’s a very good player—but I also believe Lester and Bond are USYNT-caliber talents, yet neither has received an invite in four camps. That’s a decision I struggle to understand. Gandu is an interesting case as well. Columbus Crew isn’t doing him any favors by primarily playing him at right center-back when, to me, he’s clearly a right-back or right wing-back. I believe he has USYNT-level talent in that role.4o

Owen Jorgensen (St. Louis City), Jeremiah Munoz-Alexander (Charlotte FC), Chris Guillen-Lopez (FC Dallas), Jackson Bowman (Houston Dynamo), Orion Joliff (San Jose Earthquakes)

The only change from the February roster is Joliff replacing Antongirolami. All of these players have previous camp experience, meaning no new center-backs get a look this time.4o

Landon Mulvenna (Philadelphia Union), Mikel Akinmboni (DC United), Zion Salmon (Inter Miami), Rocky Rommell II (San Jose Earthquakes), Luca Antongirolami (Sporting KC), Joshua Brown (Atlanta United)

Mulvenna and Antongirolami have both been in camps, but Mulvenna has not been called up under the new coach, which is telling. I believe he deserves to be back in the group. Of the other four players who weren’t invited to this camp, Akinmboni stands out as the biggest miss.

He’s likely the most dynamic on the ball, and I’ve noticed improvements in his mobility and defensive stability since the start of the year. He seems to be becoming more comfortable in his body.

Brown is another player worth mentioning—he’s progressing well at Atlanta and has an intriguing upside, with a strong ability to defend in space and a solid passing range.

CM/AM, Vicente Garcia (LA Galaxy), CM, Christopher Morales (Chicago Fire), CM, Niccolo Vafiades (NYCFC), CM, Dylan Reyes (Houston Dynamo)
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Three of the five players return from previous camps. Garcia is the standout of this group and one of the top players in this class—his presence on any camp roster is always a welcome sight. Reyes is the only player making his first appearance in a team camp, though he has been with Mexico a few times. Morales and Vafiades have been in recent camps, but I believe some turnover in this group would be appropriate.4o mini

DM, Nathan Tchoumba (Colorado Rapids), DM, David Ilevbare (Atlanta United), DM, Adriel Duarte (LAFC), DM, Evan Coffing (Atlanta United), CM, Lisandro Torres (LAFC), CM, Matthew Arana (Houston Dynamo), CM, Ezra Mahtame (San Jose Earthquakes), CM, Roman Avakian Gomez (Mainz), CM, Abdoulaye Diop (Philadelphia Union), CM, Samuel Gallego (Philadelphia Union)
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I have a lot of questions about the player selection for this group. Tchoumba is likely not here because he’s been in every camp, the staff knows he’s a top player, and they wanted to give him a break—I understand that if that’s the reasoning.

However, the current roster lacks a natural #6, yet there are several players who could have been given a look, such as Ilevbare, Duarte, and Coffing.

It seems like we’re either losing the battle or not interested in competing with Mexico for Torres and Arana, both of whom are very good players.

Mahtame and Diop are two of the most puzzling non-invites for me. Both have immense potential, consistently play up an age group, and yet neither has received an invite. To me, this reflects poor talent identification. These are the types of players who will eventually get called up, make a strong impact, and we’ll wonder why it took U.S. Soccer so long to notice.

AM, Noe Santillan (Atlanta United), AM, Eddie Niles (St. Louis City), AM/WING, Alex Hernandez (Colorado Rapids), AM/WING, Ali Sakr (FC Cincinnati), WING, Blake Wilson (St. Louis City), WING, Liam Stribling (Nashville SC),
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Santillan, Hernandez and Wilson return from the last camp. Niles, Sakr and Stribling are all getting their first team camp.

I have not spent a bunch of time studying Niles and Sakr closely, but I know FCC are really excited about Sakr, who they signed recently. He is already training quite a bit with their second team. Stribling is an interesting selection. He is started to develop a little more physically and that has really helped him be a little more dynamic.

AM, Robert Turdean (Chicago Fire), AM, Will Recupero (VfB Stuttgart), AM, Juan Martinez (LA Galaxy), WING, Ikenne Chidebe (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), WING/LB, Camillo Guerrero (Orlando City)
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Turdean is arguably the top player in this class, and like Tchoumba, he’s likely sitting out this camp to give others a chance. Recupero recently joined a Germany camp after missing the last U.S. camp due to club release issues. With the team heading to Europe this summer, that will likely be when we see him rejoin the group.

Martinez is either fully committing to Mexico or isn’t rated as highly by the U.S. staff as some of the other players. Chidebe, a core A-team player, is sidelined with an injury he suffered in the last U-15 camp. Meanwhile, Boney, Avilez, Hallie II, and Yeboah are still awaiting their first opportunity.

Jamil Danjaji (Columbus Crew), Da'vian Kimbrough (Sacramento Republic), Apolo Marinch (Columbus Crew)
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Danjaji and Kimbrough are two of the top players in this class. Danjaji has participated in all but one camp, missing that due to club commitments, and this will be his first camp under the new coach. Kimbrough returns to the U.S. setup after spending time with Mexico’s U-16s, signaling a clear recruiting battle. Mexico has been playing him up an age group which may give them the upper hand. Both Danjaji and Kimbrough are versatile attackers who can play as center-forwards or on the wing.

Marinch, another first-time call-up, is a more technical striker who excels at dropping between the lines and linking play.

Kane Kraus (St. Louis City), Timoni Gbalajobi (Philadelphia Union), Jayden Kouadio (Philadelphia Union)
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Kraus and Gbalajobi have been in the last couple of camps. Center-forward is one of the most competitive positions in this age group. It would be interesting to see who gets selected in a camp where Danjaji, Kimbrough, Kraus and Gbalajobi are all available. Kouadio is another player that I would be interested to see at some point.

RB, Dominik Lester (FC Cincinnati), CB, Landon Mulvenna (Philadelphia Union), CB, Mikel Akinmboni (DC United), CM, Lisandro Torres (LAFC), CM, Matthew Arana (Houston Dynamo), CM, Ezra Mahtame (San Jose Earthquakes), CM, Abdoulaye Diop (Philadelphia Union), AM, Juan Martinez (LA Galaxy), WING, Josh Boney (Barca Residency), WING, Oscar Avilez (DC United) 

This is a fairly long list, and as far as I know, seven of these players have yet to receive a team camp invite. Torres, Arana, and Martinez are all regularly involved with Mexico. Among the remaining names, Akinmboni, Mahtame, Diop, Boney, and Avilez stand out as particularly puzzling omissions.

I did not include some of the top players who have typically been in camp because I am assuming they are just making way for some others to get opportunities.

CM, Dylan Reyes (Houston Dynamo), AM, Eddie Niles (St. Louis City), WING, Ali Sakr (FC Cincinnati), WING, Liam Stribling (Nashville SC), CF, Apolo Marinch (Columbus Crew)

While none of the first-time call-ups would have been at the top of my list, they’re all deserving of a look—just as many others are.

For a camp with little at stake and so many talented players still awaiting an invite, this doesn’t feel like enough exploration.

If this group were to play meaningful international friendlies, I’d have concerns about the roster construction. The center-backs lack size, making them vulnerable on set pieces and aerial balls into the box. The midfield could struggle against teams with pace and physicality, likely leading to a lack of control in second-phase play. The wide attackers lack dynamism and may have difficulty winning one-on-one battles.

Success would likely hinge on strong goalkeeping, attacking contributions from full-backs McCraney and Fakiyesi, playmaking from Vinny Garcia and the team's various No. 10 profiles, and vertical play through Danjaji and Kimbrough. But for a camp like this, does roster balance really matter? That’s up for debate.

There wasn’t enough pool exploration for a camp like this. The midfield and wing selections have significant omissions, and the continued disregard for player profiles that tend to succeed at higher levels keeps this roster from earning a high grade in my book.4o