Marcelo Avalos (Philadelphia Union), James Donaldson (Atlanta United), Keller Abbott (Columbus Crew)

The best news here is that Marcel “Chelo” Avalos is back with the team after curiously being left out for the last several camps. He had been with Mexico consistently after being left off of the United States rosters. James Donaldson has been a consistent call-up and Keller Abbott has received a few opportunities recently. I have no major concerns with this list of players.

Tobias Szewcyk (New York Red Bulls)
Szewcyk is the second best keeper prospect in this class by my estimation and he is not in this camp because he is recovering from an ankle injury. 

Leonard Prescott (Bayern Munich)
I have only seen a little bit of Prescott, but I have heard he is a top prospect. Similar to Tyler Meiser and Alexander Staff, he seems to prefer Germany right now, but it shouldn’t stop U.S. Soccer from continuing to reach out and offer opportunities to check out our setup. 

LB, Prince Forfor (Columbus Crew), LB, Gabriel Florentino (Inter Miami), RB, Nash Dearmin (Inter Miami), RB, Tanner Miller (Orlando City)

Forfor is the top player from this group and is considered an A team candidate. There are a few key players missing, so this becomes an opportunity for some depth to prove themselves. Florentino has been left off of this team for a while now and gets an opportunity to get back in the mix. Dearmin was in the last domestic camp and earned another look. This is Miller’s first camp and he gets a chance to impress the staff. Miller didn’t catch my attention in a big way last year, but I am excited to take another look and see if I missed something. 

LB, Manu Romero (Real Madrid)
Romero plays in Spain and typically only joins this group when they are playing Internationally, so it’s not a surprise that he isn’t here. It gives the staff a chance to look at other options. 

RB, Alexito Gomez (New York Red Bulls)
Gomez is RB1 for this group, but is coming back from an injury and was not fully fit for this camp. 

RB/LB, Linkon Ream (Real Salt Lake)
Ream continues to be one of the biggest snubs from this age group and I have not been able to identify why he continues to be left out. It is either really poor scouting or there is something else going on. There is no way he isn’t one of the top four full-backs in this age group. 

RB, Edward Chadwick (LA Galaxy)
Chadwick has been a consistent call-up for this team. He either isn’t fit or was left at home to give others a look. I am not opposed to others getting a look at this position, though if it were me I would want to bring Linkon Ream in.

Tyson Espy (LAFC), Astin Mbaye (RBNY), Hugo Berg (Chicago Fire), Gianmarco Di Noto (Columbus Crew)

Espy, Mbaye and Berg return from the last camp while  Di Noto also returns for his second team camp. Espy is my top rated center-back from this group and while I have no major issue with the rest of the players, I would have liked to see one new player integrated and given an opportunity.

Ethan Degny (Atlanta United)
Degny is the player that I believe is most deserving of an opportunity. He is moving through the Atlanta pathway quickly and is probably the best defensive center-back in this class.

Mateo McClean (LA Galaxy)
McClean was in the last camp and seems to have not been selected in this camp. Di Noto gets the look instead. 

Liam Devan (Nashville)
Devan has been a versatile player for this age group, playing as both a left-back and left, center-back, but he was not brought into this camp.

Josh Munson (New York Red Bulls)
Munson is another left-footed center-back with a very intriguing profile. He is very tall, probably around 6-5 or 6-6 and shows flashes of ability on the ball. His inconsistency is probably what is keeping him from getting a chance, but I think his time will come. 
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Daniel Barrett (Houston)
Barrett is the only 2009 center-back that has broken through to MLS Next Pro, but he has not yet been given an opportunity with the USYNT. 

DM, Lukas Bruegmann (Houston), DM, Peter Molinari (NYCFC), CM, KK Spivey (San Jose Earthquakes), CM Roko Pehar (Chicago Fire)

Bruegman and Spivey return from the last camp. Spivey is the top prospect from this group and one of the top 2009s overall. He is one of the players that is trying to make a case to be promoted to the U17s. Molinari is a NYCFC homegrown who has been in a couple camps and Pehar has been in and out of the group as well. 

DM, Adri Mehmeti (New York Red Bulls)
Mehmeti is another top 2009 and he was not released by RBNY because they would like him to focus on MLS Next Pro instead. 
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DM, Caleb Simmons (New York Red Bulls)
Simmons is another talented RBNY defensive-mid that can also play as a center-back. I think he is the second best 6 in this class and he is still awaiting his first look with USYNT. I had heard he was going to be invited last spring, but an injury forced him to miss the camp. 

DM, Jack Francka (Sporting KC)
Francka is another talented 6 that I believe deserves a look at some point.
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DM, Landry Walker (San Antonio FC)
Walker was in the last camp, but it looks like the staff would like to get another look at Molinari instead.
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CM, Gustavo Perelli Borges (Achilles)
Borges is one of the most skilled players in this class, but U.S. Soccer has only brought him into regional camps to date. Part of it might be because they have not seen him play a lot of games. He doesn’t play for Achilles all that often and I think a move abroad is impending. 

AM, Will Ostrander (San Jose Earthquakes), AM, Ignacio Suarez (Atlanta United), WING, Omar Hassan (Seattle Sounders), WING, Darris Hyte (Chicago Fire), WING, Immanuel Ewing (Columbus Crew), WING Jakob Garcia (Orlando City), WING, Jordyn Eason (FC Dallas)
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Ostrander and Suarez are the two attacking-mids. Ostrander has been in all but one camp with this group. Suarez is a brand new face. I have not seen enough to warrant this selection and there are some other attacking-mid types that I would have preferred, but hopefully Suarez can prove me wrong. 

There are a lot of wingers in this camp and that is a nice change from what we usually see in USYNT camps. Wing is one of the strongest positions in this group and there are more players that have not been in camp that deserve a look. 

Hassan is the top guy in this group and has been in every camp to date. Dyte and Ewing have been in the last couple and seem to have made a good impression on the staff. Garcia and Eason are the two new names. I am particularly excited about Jakob Garcia. He is a super talented player that had a brilliant second half of the season last year. When he is locked in, he is very dangerous. Eason is a crafty and skilled winger as well. The good news is that there are even more wingers that deserve a look at some point. 

AM, Cavan Sullivan (Philadelphia Union)
Has never been considered with this group, currently plays for the U17s.
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AM, Paul Sokoloff (New York Red Bulls)
Sokoloff is a surprise non-selection after being pretty effective for the team in their last tournament.
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AM, Ademar Chavez (LAFC)
Chavez is a player that I believe deserves a look but has not been called into any meaningful team camps. He continues to be brought in by Mexico. Either he isn’t rated by the U.S. staff or he only wants Mexico. 
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AM, Steel Cook (Dallas)
This is the first camp that Cook hasn’t been with this group.
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WING, Mathis Albert (Borussia Dortmund)
He was promoted to the U17s earlier this year.

WING, Mattheo Dimareli (Houston Dynamo)
Dimareli has been a consistent call up for this team and my assumption is that he is not here because he is getting a lot of time with Houston’s second team in MLS Next Pro. 

WING, Makai Wells (Barca Residency)
Wells is a talented winger that can also play as a center-forward. I hope he gets a chance at some point. He has the talent to stick with this group. 

WING, Kashan Hines (Sporting KC)
Hines, like Wells, has the talent to contribute to this group, but has not yet been given an opportunity. He has a Jamaican passport, so it’s possible Jamaica calls him into the upcoming U17 World Cup qualifiers. It will be interesting to see if he takes that or if he holds out for the United States.

WING, Kairo Smith-Phillips (Crystal Palace)
Smith-Phillips is a talented tri-national (United States, England, Jamaica) that has yet to be called into a United States camp. U.S. Soccer usually waits to bring guys from Europe in until they have a tournament in Europe, so hopefully we see that with Smith-Phillips at some point over the next year. 

Zidane Cadet (Inter Miami), Malik Jakupovic (Philadelphia Union)

No player improved their stock more in the last camp than Zidane Cadet. He looked like a very well rounded striker prospect and earned this call back. Jakupovic may have more talent than any striker in this age group. He is tall, fast, left-footed and he moves very well off of the ball. He doesn’t always bring his A game, but when he does, he is tough to stop. If he brings the right mentality to this camp he will likely earn a spot with the A team. 

Maximus Steelman (LA Galaxy)
Steelman has been in several camps, but Cadet outshined him in the last tournament and Jakupovic has been knocking on the door. Steelman will likely have to really impress for LA Galaxy to get back in the mix. 

This is a very strong pool, so it will be very difficult for the selection staff to select a poor roster. There are a lot of obvious selections that pick themselves and a few new names that I am excited to see get an opportunity, such as: Malik Jakupovic, Jakob Garcia and Jordyn Eason. It’s also good to see some of the players back with the group, like: Marcelo Avalos and Roko Pehar. 

It is not an A because I would have liked to see a little more experimentation with the center-back, midfield and winger group. I am also puzzled as to why players like Linkon Ream, Ethan Degny, Caleb Simmons, Jack Francka, Makai Wells and Kashan Hines have yet to get an opportunity.