Over the past year, Seattle Sounders FC Academy has developed numerous prospects for both club and country. In fact, the Rave Green earned so many call ups, at virtually every position on the field, that one could make a tantalizing starting XI out of U.S. Youth National Team products coming up the Sounders pipeline.
GOALKEEPER
Trey Muse (U-18), a talented shot stopper, received his first two call ups to the U.S. U-18 National Team after signing with Sounders.
After a string of commanding displays for the Rave Green Academy, as well as brief appearance in the first team’s preseason, starting goalkeeper Sam Fowler (U-16) secured an invitation to train with the U.S. U-17 YNT in Bradenton, Fla.
DEFENDERS
Summer signing Jake Morris (U-18) received call-ups to three separate youth national teams in 2016. Despite being just 18, the buccaneering fullback has joined the U.S. U-18s, U-19s and U-20s in the past year, earning significant minutes on all three squads.
Sam Rogers (U-18) was called into the U.S. U-18 camp after impressing with the Sounders U-16s at lastyear’s edition of the Generation adidas Cup. Also a more than capable holding midfielder, Rogers has converted to center back for the Rave Green U-18s and captains the squad.
Right back Ben Huynh (U-16) returned to the Sounders this season after spending the spring semester with the U.S. U-17 residency program in Bradenton, Fla. Huynh turned plenty of heads with his refined technical skills and ability to read the game.
MIDFIELD
A pair of Sounders Discovery Program products, holding midfielder Sota Kitahara (U-14) and attacking midfielder Danny Robles (U-16), earned call-ups last year. With the new program entering its second full year, Kitahara and Robles’ rise to prominence is indicative of the accelerated development that SDP can offer.
Alongside Robles, midfielder Josh Atencio (U-14) received an invite to U.S. U-15 BNT camp in November. The box-to-box dynamo impressed the U.S. staff enough to earn a earned him a regular starting berth with the Sounders U-16s this past season.
Two central midfielders from the U-18s were involved in the U.S. setup in 2016. Kei Tomozawa (U-18), a mobile technician recruited from HG territory, Hawaii, was called into U.S. U-18 camp with teammate Rogers after pulling the strings for the U-16s at GA Cup.
FORWARD
Striker Alfonso Ocampo Chavez (U-14) broke onto the scene with a series of match-winning displays, while playing up two age groups for the U-16s at GA Cup. Since then, he’s been called into several U.S. U-15 camps alongside Robles and Atencio.
Winger Stirling Russell (U-18) was called into the U.S. U-16s last January with teammates Rogers and Tomozawa, and returned to the program with the U.S. U-18s after converting to right back this season.
Forward Azriel Gonzalez (U-16) has become a mainstay for the U.S. U-16 National Team. The dynamic attacking prospect has been rewarded for impressive performances with the Academy with four U.S. call ups since 2016.
After originally committing to play at UCSB, the speedy striker Milo Barton (U-18) opted to join the Sounders in an effort to further develop his game, and his performances inRave Green warranted a call-up for Friedel’s U-19s.
