Top Stories

Ramos names 24 players to USA U-20s April camp

Luis Gil RSL 1 (Getty Images)

U.S. Under-20 men's national team head coach Tab Ramos has called up a 24-man roster for an upcoming camp in Portland, Ore., U.S. Soccer announced on Monday.

The roster is headlined by Real Salt Lake midfielder Luis Gil and North Carolina players Boyd Okwuonu, Jordan McCrary and Mikey Lopez. It also includes Santos Laguna duo Daniel Cuevas and Benji Joya.

The camp will run from April 9-16 and will include two matches. The first game pits the U.S. team versus the University of Portland on April 2 at Merlo Field followed by a match on April 15 versus an opponent yet to be determined.

Here's the roster:

Goalkeepers (2): Tomas Gomez (Georgetown), Jake McGuire (Chivas USA Academy) 

Defenders (9): Christian Dean (California), Bryan Gallego (Akron), Jordan McCrary (North Carolina), Eric Miller (Creighton), Juan Pablo Ocegueda (UANL Tigres), Boyd Okwuonu (North Carolina), William Packwood (Birmingham City), Jeffrey Payeras (LA Galaxy Academy), Derek Vogel (Pateadores) 

Midfielders (7): Seth Casiple (California), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake), Benji Joya (Santos Laguna), Mikey Lopez (North Carolina), Collin Martin (D.C. United Academy), Victor Pineda (Chicago Fire), Wil Trapp (Akron) 

Forwards (6): Daniel Cuevas (Santos Laguna), Ethan Decker (New York Red Bulls Academy), Daniel Garcia (FC Dallas Academy), Jack McBean (LA Galaxy), James Rogers (New Mexico), Jonathan Top (FC Dallas)

What do you think of the roster?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. All due respect but even Benny and Gooch and others had a college cup of coffee. I think the era of 4 years is generally done, and over time we will move to a more professionalized development approach, but the notion that college dooms players is counter-factual. Go down the USMNT roster and see who all was in school at least one higher education year.

    Among other things, as with hoops and baseball players, a year or two of college is a way of establishing talent bona fides.

    Reply
  2. Exactly. 10 of the 24 are college players now and some of the club and academy players will go that route also. Until the academy teams extend down to U-10, dominate recruitment and competition, and funnel straight into the pro squads, it’s going to be a split-affair, some kids coming through clubs and colleges (or even academies then colleges, homegrowns verging on exceptions in number), and a minimum of kids with US U-17-type pedigrees moving straight on to MLS rosters.

    I don’t think my local Dynamo academy teams are even as good as my youth club and they aren’t even the best team in town in the developmental leagues. The basic problem is they are parasitic of the existing club system and have no meaningful record of producing well paid first team players. The homegrowns we sign generally rot. Until the academy is its own mini Ajax, scouting, developing, and implementing players into the first team, it’s just a nice MLS brand on your CV.

    Reply
  3. Andrew Oliver was one of the top striker options for our U17’s last cycle. His absence from the U17 qualifiers was certainly apparent. He’s off to play with IU next season. He tried his hand in Europe with some training stints, couldnt land a contract.

    Sometimes college is the only route for players and just because some players have signed professional contracts at younger ages doesnt mean they are better players.

    Bernardo was signed with Napoli… where is he now?? NASL?

    Reply
  4. Why isn’t Bryan Gallego listed as being New York Red Bulls Academy? He was there for years before Akron and still trains with them when he’s back in NJ

    Reply
  5. Eric Miller, who played with four current MLS players last year at Creighton (Duran, Findlay, Jordan, and Polak), at times was the best player on the pitch. He’ll be an All-American and could make noise in the US player pool

    Reply
  6. College soccer is fine for people aspire to play college soccer… It’s just not an effective path to professional development anymore. Those guys you mentioned could arguably have turned pro a couple years earlier, and made millions more had they been in academies instead of club/HS/college route

    Reply
  7. Yeah. Sucks we disn’t have Ponce. Have not seen him play before, but I am very impressed with what I saw of him…especially tonight. He is fast. His passing is fantastic. It seems he is also a good finisher. He would have made a huge difference for USA

    Reply
  8. So unlike most Claudio coached teams. Oh wait, just remembered, he’s never actually coached a team! Not even at the recreation level.

    Reply
  9. Ramos take note. Compatriot Reyna claimed the three games in 5 days done the U23s in. Well he should have paid more attention, especially to Mexico, who played all-out attacking soccer for 90 minutes every game for 5 games. And Gringo Miguel Ponce who may have played more minutes than anyone in the tournament, scored the winning goal in minute 120. You can lose but don’t be out fit, Tab.

    Reply
  10. No, i’m glad to a player who was known for skill and flair, and who played for years for US soccer, get a chance. It’s certainly not guarantee, but i’d rather see a player like him working with our youth than another defensive mid

    Reply
  11. 2tone you keep your rational opinion to yourself, don’t rain on the parade for people to overreact to college kids being called in who very well could be pros when the U20s actually happen. How dare Tab take advantage of a million dollar college infrastructure.

    Reply
  12. Man I really wish that Dempsey, Gooch, Davies, and Edu guys didn’t have their growth stunted by that crazy NCAA..different strokes for different folks, we can name just as many failures who skipped college as successful ones who went to college for some time.

    Reply
  13. yeah youre right, Gill should have been called in over a RB and Holding midfielder. Gill’s direct comp. was Joe Cornoa and Mix, and though I would not argue who is better, him being left off is more justifiable.

    Reply
  14. Klinsmann wants players to stay with their age groups, it’s the same reason a guy like Luis Gil wasn’t on the Olympic qualifying roster, even though he’s clearly ahead of some of the others (guys like Sarkodie and Okugo who don’t get regular MLS minutes).

    Reply
  15. Well said. I knew Pelosi got injured, had no idea about Cropper. He certainly appears to be the #1 goalkeeper in this age group…

    Reply
  16. 2tone, you got it. Ee know we’ve made it as a soccer country filled with overreacting fans when names are announced for a “camp” of u-20 players.

    On a different note, i’m glad Tab’s leading this group.

    Reply
  17. Charles Renken doesn’t actually have knees and/or play soccer any more, does he? I should probably stop looking for him on these rosters. A shame, since like most people I was really rooting for that kid. Maybe they can give him some new knees and he’ll take over Timbers this year. I know — dreaming.

    Reply
  18. One of the reasons Colin Martin is going to Wake because Jay Vidovich is a better coach than any of the guys they have coaching in the MLS US Academy teams. Plus the kid is very, very bright, so why should he go play with DC United instead of getting an incredible education at great university? Wanna talk development? He played U16 last year in this great academy system we have and actually regressed as a player.

    Reply
  19. OMG people. Last time I checked this is a camp. Players that will be apart of this U-20 team for Qualifying that aren’t here for this camp because of variuos clubs saying no. Notice all of the German clubs didn’t allow their players to attend. Anthony Brooks, Bijev, Keisewetter, Tyrone McCargo, Matt Dunn and various other players. A couple injuries as well i.e. Cody Cropper_Ipswich Town(more than likely the starting GK for this U-20 team when back from injury)and Marc Pelosi-Liverpool. Boca Juniors didn’t allow Nick Gaitan to come either. People need to chill out. A lot of these guys are talented eventhough they are going to college. It’s called Ramos is evaluating all players in the pool. He has had different players in each of his various camps. Gotta love irrational fans.

    Reply
  20. We have flaws with the college system and the reserve league. However, in regards to Omar Salgado, he is alot better off in MLS than in college. Between reserve games, regular games and a ten month MLS season(between training, reg season and post season) he is getting much more playing time than he would in the college season.

    Reply
  21. Here we go again, a bunch of kids stunted by the NCAA, which will later translate into another disappointing Olympic effort and then later – another WC of getting out of the group stage at best. As long as our “talent” is going through the NCAA system, we are going to keep treading water at best. Solution? Make 2012 the LAST year we had a college draft! Let’s just kick this bad habit cold turkey.

    Reply
  22. Its not because the players are average its because MLS youth development is so poor. Collin Martin is on track to sign a HGP contract but instead he is graduating early to join Wake Forest because he, along with many other players, value first team minutes over a professional contract. People get mad at players for rotting on benches but its ok to do the same thing in MLS? Look at all of the Dallas homegrowns they havent done anything, look how far Omar Salgado has regressed Vancouver has killed him so far

    Reply
  23. Call me crazy but Junior Flores should be getting as much run with the older guys as possible. I’d have him on this roster just to see what he can do.

    Reply
  24. Don’t panic, you should panic because many of those “MLS Academy” players will wind up going the “NCAA Method”. Decker just verballed to UNC, Martin will go to college and so will at least 2 others. Get you head out of the sand and go watch an MLS academy training session or game. You might be shocked at how average a lot of them are

    Reply
  25. knowing nothing about any of these players..it is encouraging to see that 9 of 24 are already in MLS academies and another handful are in other professional team systems (Santos Laguna, UANL)
    It is going to become more and more the way players are developed rather than the NCAA method

    Reply

Leave a Comment