GK, Luan Silva, Orlando City
GK, Alex Bayraktarov, Chicago Fire
LB, Santiago Alvarez, Houston Dynamo
RB, Aidan Carlos, LAFC
RB, Mason Moskau, Atlanta United
CB, Keyvan Figueroa, Burnley
CB, Julian Lake, AS Monaco
CB, Matthew Leone, LA Galaxy
CB, Ethan O'Neil, Barca Residency → San Diego FC
CB, Mason Washington, LAFC
DM/CM, Diego Ros, Barca Residency → …
CM, Bradley Castro, New York Red Bulls
CM, Christopher Gonzalez, Houston Dynamo
CM, Cosimo Tristani, NYCFC
CM, Levi Welch, LAFC
CM/AM, Zamir Loyo Reynaga, Sporting Kansas City
W/CF, Christopher Fitanidis, Cedar Stars Bergen
W, Benjamin Flowers, FC Dallas
W, Miroslav Levkovsky, St. Louis City
W, Kenzynton Pierre, Houston Dynamo
W, Ryan Schlotterbeck, FC Cincinnati
CF, Nosa Osagie, Minnesota United

I am going to attempt to not make any assumptions with this roster given the proximity to MLS Next Playoffs. It may be possible to decipher which clubs did not grant release, but I don't have all of the information.

There are five players getting their first call-ups, which is a healthy amount given this is an international tournament. European-based friendlies give U.S. Soccer the opportunity to get a look at European-based players and they have done that with center-backs Julian Lake and Keyvan Figueroa. This is a great sign that U.S. Soccer continues to closely monitor and prioritize players based in Europe.

The goalkeeping group has been pretty consistent throughout this first year for this age group. Bayraktarov and Silva are both on the smaller side for what you'd ideally like in top keeper prospects, but both are very refined. Bayraktarov is an excellent shot stopper and Silva is a magician with his feet. My top-rated keeper, Zack Lapierre, is not here. I would have a hard time believing that is a soccer decision — it is more likely that he was not released or is dealing with an injury.

There are quite a few center-backs on the roster. From what I have seen from newcomer Julian Lake, he appears to be primarily a center-back who can also play both full-back positions, making him a Swiss Army knife across the backline, which highly useful for tournaments like this. Lake plays for Monaco's academy. This is a unique case where I don't think anyone outside of U.S. Soccer was on him, so well done on their side to identify him. He looks like an intriguing prospect and hopefully these matches will be televised so we can get a good look at him.

The other newcomer center-back is Keyvan Figueroa, brother of Keyrol Figueroa, long-time USYNT player who recently switched his allegiances to Honduras. Both boys are the sons of Honduran legend Maynor Figueroa. The timing of this selection is quite interesting, as are Keyvan's long-term intentions. From the clips I have seen, Keyvan looks like a very compelling prospect.

Mason Washington is the third center-back newcomer. He has been a player that is deserving of a call-up for some time. He was called into Mexico's camp to face the United States last month. It is fair to assume he performed well and opened U.S. Soccer's eyes to him, though from what we've seen of him, it's hard not to wonder why this is his first call. Nonetheless, he is a top center-back in this class and it is good to see him here.

The other two center-backs have been consistently called into the last few camps — Matthew Leone and Ethan O'Neil, who will be joining San Diego FC's academy for their newly formed 2011/2012 team next season.

Some of the center-backs not here who are at this level include Reggie Bailey from San Jose, Malachi Joseph from New York Red Bulls and Caleb Chabala from Philadelphia Union.

The full-back group looks a little shaky to me. This could be a position of weakness, but let's see how they do. Santiago Alvarez is the only true left-back in camp. The top option to date for Brady has been Easton Odom from Barca Residency, another player headed to San Diego FC next year. It's possible this was a soccer decision given that his teammate Ethan O'Neil is here, but Barca's U-15 team is in the playoffs, so it may not be soccer-related either.

Alvarez is not a player that has grabbed my attention when scouting Dynamo's 2011 team, so I will have to take a deeper dive. This is his first USYNT camp. There are some other left-backs in this class that I like, including Andre Campbell from Inter Miami, Matthew Brusco from Cedar Stars — who can also play on the wing — and Isaiah Fabunmi from D.C. United, though no D.C. United players are here, which could be a clue that they were not released.

At right-back, Aidan Carlos continues to get selections and the new name is Mason Moskau from Atlanta United. Moskau intrigues me — he has unique size for a right-back and some good tools to work with.

The midfield lacks defensive-minded options. A few of the top guys are not here, including Nick Harris from St. Louis City and Manny Adewunmi from Columbus Crew. The defensive-midfield responsibilities will fall on highly rated Diego Ros, also from Barca Residency, though there is some news coming on his club going forward — stay tuned for that. Ros will be supported by a solid group of box-to-box midfielders in Levi Welch, Chris Gonzalez and Cosimo Tristani, all of whom have a shout to be a top-20 prospect in this class. It is a solid group. The group is rounded out by another top prospect in this class, Zamir Loyo Reynaga, who is more of an attacking midfielder.

Some of the worthy names that are not here include the aforementioned Harris and Adewunmi, as well as Dino Shang from San Jose Earthquakes, Ian Miller from Portland Timbers, Maxwell Camara from D.C. United and Jaethan Irwin from Phoenix Rising. Irwin in particular remains a head-scratcher — he's already integrated with the Phoenix Rising first team in USL and brings an elite midfield profile. From what we can see, it's hard not to view this as a miss, though there may be factors at play that we're simply not aware of.

In the attack, it's a wing-heavy group without a true number nine. The CF role has been dominated by Santiago Suarez from Atlanta United, but he has an undisclosed injury that has cut his season short. I am not aware of the severity of the injury.

Every player in this group can play on the wing, but I think the striker responsibilities will fall to Nosa Osagie and Chris Fitanidis. Both bring elite pace and power to the position, so look for this group to play in transition and get these guys running behind backlines. They both should be very difficult for opponents to handle.

The wingers will be my top-rated player in this class, Benjamin Flowers, along with Miroslav Levkovsky, Kenzynton Pierre and Ryan Schlotterbeck. I am a Schlotterbeck fan, though I am not 100% convinced he is a winger long term. The big name that is not here is Daniel Brown from Charlotte FC. He missed the last camp with a knock, and it's possible something similar is at play here. Gabriel Vazquez Carmichael and Williver Blessed Chea, two wingers from the last camp, are absent this time around. Leo Woehl is a player that continues to be overlooked for some reason. One other name that I would have liked to see on this roster is Neville Knowles from Villarreal's academy. This would have been a great opportunity to bring him in given this is a European-based camp.

Some of the more traditional strikers worth considering here would have been Romualdo Aguirre from CF Monterrey, a player that the United States are in a battle for against Mexico, and Carson Starrett, who recently moved from Inter Miami to Orlando City.

AM, Jackson "Papo" Gordon, Valencia CF
‍Gordon is in contact with U.S. Soccer but unfortunately out for the season with injury.

CM, Jaethan Irwin, Phoenix Rising
Irwin has a truly elite profile in midfield and is playing at a higher level of competition than any player in this class.

W/LB, Matthew Brusco, Cedar Stars Bergen
I continue to be a big fan of Brusco and while his running mate Fitanidis is here, Brusco continues to wait for his opportunity.

W, Leo Woehl, Columbus Crew
Woehl's absences continue to surprise me.

AM/W, Maxwell Camara, D.C. United
Camara is a player that is rising in this class for me. He has always had high-level technical ability and good game understanding, but he is now starting to grow into his body and looks much more athletic than he did a year ago. He is looking like a top player in this class and one that is more than deserving of a USYNT opportunity.
‍
LB, Andre Campbell, Inter Miami
‍Campbell is a player I continue to rate in this class. He is a two-way left-back that does a lot of things well. Hopefully he gets his chance soon.

CF, Carson Starrett, Orlando City
‍‍Starrett has completed his move to Orlando City and it will be interesting to see if his scoring production improves on a better team. He scored a brace in his first game for Orlando City against none other than Inter Miami.

CB, Malachi Joseph, New York Red Bulls‍
‍Joseph has a great combination of size, strength and ability on the ball, though he can struggle defending in space at times. There are enough intriguing tools for him to warrant a look.

DM, Hudson Cicala, FC Cincinnati
‍Cicala has a super polished game as a six and does a ton of things at an above-average level. He deserves a look in the near future.

GK, Roark Daughtridge, D.C. United
Daughtridge is not one of the more talked-about keepers in this class, but he has the look of a professional keeper with elite size (6-3 or 6-4) and good movement in the box.

CM, Kayden Drolette, San Jose Earthquakes
Drolette really impressed me at GA Cup. He has true box-to-box ability and kind of does everything well as a midfielder. He can cover space, he can progress the ball and he provides some value in the final third. Watch this space.

I am pretty content with this roster, though I do not have all of the information on why some of the more obvious selections are not here. There are some gaps in the roster construction, specifically at left-back, defensive midfield and the lack of a true number nine. I love the additions of Washington, Figueroa, Lake and Fitanidis, but there are names in this class I'd still like to see get a look — though there may be factors at play that we simply don't have visibility into. This will be a great opportunity for these boys and I'm excited to see who rises to the occasion.