Seven of the most promising young players in MLS were called up by US Under-23 Olympic team head coach Andi Herzog as part of an 18-man roster which will gather for a March camp ahead of CONCACAF qualifying from Oct. 1-13 on US soil.
Established MLS starters like Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake) and Shane O'Neill (Colorado Rapids) are joined by Vancouver defender Christian Dean and LA Galaxy fullback Oscar Sorto. Rounding out the MLS group are two of the top four picks in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft -- New York City FC super sub Khiry Shelton and San Jose Earthquakes defensive midfielder Fatai Alashe.
The seven MLSers head for the city of Tuzla in Bosnia & Herzegovina for training on March 23-26. On March 27, the US U-23s will face their Bosnian counterparts in Tuzla before traveling for a match against Denmark on March 31.
Also in the 18-man group are LA Galaxy II midfielder Ariel Lassiter, son of MLS legend Roy Lassiter, former Chicago Fire midfielder Benji Joya.and Seattle Sounders academy product Jordan Morris.
Two automatic spots to the Rio 2016 Olympics will be up for grabs during CONCACAF qualifying in October, as well as a berth into a playoff against Colombia.
US UNDER-23 ROSTER
GOALKEEPERS (2): Charlie Horton (Cardiff City; Cleveland, Ohio), Tyler Miller (Zweibrücken; Woodbury, N.J.)
DEFENDERS (5): Christian Dean (Vancouver Whitecaps; East Palo Alto, Calif.), Juan Pablo Ocegueda (Alebrijes de Oaxaca; Riverside, Calif.), Shane O'Neill (Colorado Rapids; Boulder, Colo.), William Packwood (Birmingham City; Concord, Mass.), Oscar Sorto (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.)
MIDFIELDERS (5):Fatai Alashe (San Jose Earthquakes; Northville, Mich.), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake; Garden Grove, Calif.), Benji Joya (unattached; San Jose, Calif.), Ariel Lassiter (LA Galaxy II; Temecula, Calif.), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC; Gahanna, Ohio)
FORWARDS (6): Alonso Hernandez (Monterrey; El Paso, Texas), Jerome Kiesewetter (Stuttgart; Berlin, Germany), Alfred Koroma Shams (Austin Aztex), Jordan Morris (Stanford; Mercer Island, Wash.), Mario Rodriguez (Borussia Mönchengladbach; North Hollywood, Calif.), Khiry Shelton (New York City FC; Leander, Texas)
