USA U-23 roster named for training camp, friendly

Update: Alonso Hernandez has been added to the roster.

The United States U-23 national team is set to gather for just the second time in their history. The team, established earlier this year as a chance to provide extra international experience for some of the country's younger professionals and help prepare for the Olympics, will have a five-day camp in the Bahamas, then play the Bahamas senior team in a friendly.

Of the 18 players called into camp, all but two are professionals. The two non-pros are Zack Steffen and Jordan Morris, but Steffen is considered by many to be the top young goalkeeper in the country and can sign a homegrown contract with the Philadelphia Union, while Morris is a late bloomer at Stanford who could be signed as a homegrown player by the Seattle Sounders before long.

The big names on the roster are Luis Gil, Benji Joya, Omar Salgado and Daniel Cuevas, all of whome play in MLS and were U-20 or U-17 stars. Cody Cropper, who has trained with the senior team before, is also on the team, as is Will Packwood, who has been a regular for Birmingham City.

The U-23 team is currently being coached by Tab Ramos and Andi Herzog, both senior team assistant coaches.  Senior team goalkeeper coach Chris Woods is also involved, as well as U-18 coach Javier Perez.

When the team met for their first training camp, it was all U-21 players, because the current U-21's are the players who will be eligible for the Olympics in two years.

Roster

Goalkeepers: Cody Cropper (Southampton; Maple Grove, Minn.), Zack Steffen (Maryland; Downington, Pa.)

Defenders: AJ Cochran (Houston Dynamo; St. Louis, Mo.), Christian Dean (Vancouver Whitecaps FC; East Palo Alto, Calif.), Ramon Martin del Campo (San Jose Earthquakes; Chula Vista, Calif.), Bryan Gallego (Arizona United; Kinnelon, N.J.), Juan Pablo Ocegueda (Alebrijes de Oaxaca; Riverside, Calif.), William Packwood (Birmingham City; Concord, Mass.), Oscar Sorto (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.)

Midfielders: Dennis Flores (León; Pasadena, Calif.), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake; Garden Grove, Calif.), Marlon Hairston (Colorado Rapids; Jackson, Miss.), Benji Joya (Chicago Fire; San Jose, Calif.)

Forwards: Daniel Cuevas (CF Lobos BUAP; Sacramento, Calif.), Alfred Koroma Shams (Internacional; Southlake, Texas), Alonso Hernandez (Monterey CF; El Paso, TX), Jordan Morris (Stanford; Mercer Island, Wash.), Victor Pineda (Indy Eleven; Bolingbrook, Ill.), Omar Salgado (Vancouver Whitecaps FC; El Paso, Texas)