Sounders FC Academy product Jordan Morris has been selected as one of 23 players for the first training camp of the new year for the U.S. national team, beginning Friday in Carson, Calif.
Morris, the 21-year old college standout who earlier this week officially confirmed he will turn pro after leading Stanford to the NCAA title last year, has earned seven caps with the USMNT since head coach Jurgen Klinsmann first brought him into camp in 2014.
Morris made his first World Cup qualifying appearance in November as a substitute in the USMNT's 6-1 win over St. Vincent & the Grenadines. He’s also expected to be one of the main points of focus for the U.S. Under-23’s, who face a two-leg series against Colombia in March with a berth in the Olympics on the line.
The January camp, which runs from Jan. 11 - Feb. 6 and contains senior team regulars like Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones and Jozy Altidore as well as a host of players age-eligible for the U-23 MNT, will culminate with friendlies against Iceland on Jan. 31 and Canada on Feb. 5. Both matches will be played at StubHub Center in Carson.
Sounders forward Clint Dempsey and midfielder/defender Brad Evans were both left off the January camp roster after figuring prominently for the team in 2015. Former Sounders defender DeAndre Yedlin was also left off the camp roster while in the middle of his season with English Premier League side Sunderland.
The average age of the January camp roster is roughly 24 years old.
"This camp will be a little bit different because we're going to mix it almost half-and-half with senior players that are already national team players or some that are older and maybe get the chance to play their first cap, and a lot of the Under-23 players that hopefully qualify us for Rio de Janeiro,” Klinsmann said. “This will be more of an identification camp and a development camp. We want to give those players a head start into their very busy year 2016, but we also want to make it clear to them that it's a huge opportunity that you have to understand what it takes to step it up and to become an international-level player."
SI.com reported on Tuesday that Morris will head to Germany this weekend and train with Bundesliga side Werder Bremen for a few days before joining the USMNT camp in progress. Morris will find out Friday is he’s been named the Hermann Trophy Award winner, honoring the top player in college soccer.
U.S. Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Luis Robles (New York Red Bulls)
DEFENDERS (5): Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Matt Miazga (New York Red Bulls), Eric Miller (Montreal Impact), Tim Parker (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)
MIDFIELDERS (11):Fatai Alashe (San Jose Earthquakes), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Mix Diskerud (New York City FC), Ethan Finlay (Columbus Crew SC), Jermaine Jones (Unattached), Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers), Lee Nguyen (New England Revolution), Marc Pelosi (San Jose Earthquakes), Matt Polster (Chicago Fire), Tony Tchani (Columbus Crew SC), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC)
FORWARDS (5): Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Jerome Kiesewetter (VfB Stuttgart), Jordan Morris (Unattached), Khiry Shelton (New York City FC), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy)
