Several players from Seattle Sounders FC Academy have been invited to the next United States U-15 Boys national team training camp in November. The group received the call-up to represent their country for the first time after commanding performances at Generation Adidas Cup, the premier U-17 MLS Academy showcase event.
With four players called into the camp, the Sounders will have more representatives than any other academy side in the country.
Striker Alfonso Ocampo Chavez (U-14) turned plenty of heads at GA Cup with five goals and three assists from just three matches. Holding midfielder Josh Atencio (U-14) impressed with his ability to shield the back four, while Danny Robles (U-14) was the Youdan Trophy MVP . Finally, center back Elias Katsaros (U-14) may have been the best defender at the event despite facing forwards several years his senior.
Despite being the most represented club at the U-15 camp, the Academy staff is convinced that there are several more players at this level who are deserving of national team involvement in the near future. There are quite a few others in the pipeline that they are excited about as long-term prospects
The recent slate of call-ups continues a trend in 2016 of Sounders Academy players earning national team invitations at every age group. Sota Kitahara, a winger in the 2003 age group, recently received his first call-up to the U-14 Boys national team.
Striker Azriel Gonzalez (above) is currently in France with the U.S. U-16s for the Val-De-Marne Tournament in France. Additionally, right back Ben Huynh returned to the Sounders after spending the spring semester with the USYNT U-17 residency program in Bradenton, FL.
The trio of Kei Tomozawa, Stirling Russell and Sam Rogers were called into the U-18 national team camp back in January after impressing at last year’s edition of GA Cup. Meanwhile, left back Jake Morris (U-18) and central midfielder Habib Barry (U-18) impressed in a recent tournament for Brad Friedel’s U-19 National Team squad.
Starting goalkeeper Trey Muse recently received his first national team invitation to play with U-18s. His teammate and recent Sounders signee, Milo Barton, was called into the U-19s for his first international involvement as well. Homegrown striker Victor Mansaray has represented the United States at every level since the U-18s and registered an assist in a match for the U-20s against the Netherlands. University of Akron freshman defender Nick Hinds has also played for the U.S. U-20s.
Homegrown striker Jordan Morris represented the U.S. U-23s in the two-leg playoff versus Columbia back in March for Olympic qualifying. Both Morris and former Sounders defender DeAndre Yedlin have been capped by the full national team.
The recognition at the international level is indicative of the success of Sounders Academy’s scouting and youth programming. Several of the players were brought in at the age of 12 through the Sounders Discovery Program, while others were scouted from Homegrown Territories such as Hawaii (Tomozawa). Meanwhile, several of these national team players were brought in from local clubs such as PacNW.
The full list of various U.S. National Team call-ups for Sounders Academy products is provided below.
U-14 YNT
- Sota Kitahara
U-15 YNT
- Alfonso Ocampo Chavez
- Danny Robles
- Josh Atencio
- Elias Katsaros
U-16 YNT
- Azriel Gonzalez
U-17 YNT
- Ben Huynh
U-18 YNT
- Sam Rogers
- Kei Tomozawa
- Stirling Russell
- Trey Muse
- Jake Morris
U-19 MNT
- Habib Barry
- Jake Morris
- Milo Barton
U-20 MNT
- Victor Mansaray
- Nick Hinds
U-23 MNT
- Jordan Morris
USMNT
- Jordan Morris
- DeAndre Yedlin
