Union’s Jack McGlynn and Nathan Harriel named to USMNT’s January camp roster

With the Olympics on the horizon later this year, the U.S. men’s soccer team’s annual January training camp is going heavy on prospects for the under-23 squad that will go to France this summer.

The Union’s Jack McGlynn and Nathan Harriel are on the 25-player roster that was announced Friday, a sign they remain in contention to make the Olympic team. That’s no surprise in McGlynn’s case, but it’s notable with Harriel. His rise up the depth chart has come later than that of other prospects, and his ability to play left and right back may help his case.

Both players have played for multiple U.S. youth teams, but neither has yet played for the senior squad.

All 25 players called up come from MLS teams. Other notable names include centerback Miles Robinson, who just joined FC Cincinnati as a free agent instead of going to Europe; Columbus Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte; and some interesting forward prospects in Dallas’ Bernard Kamungo, Real Salt Lake’s Diego Luna, and Orlando’s Duncan McGuire.

» READ MORE: Get to know Korbin Albert, the U.S. women’s soccer team’s newest rising star

Not all the players are under age 23, such as Robinson and Vancouver Whitecaps forward Brian White — who played for Union youth teams way back in 2012. So it’s worth noting two domestic-based names who weren’t called up: goalkeeper Zack Steffen, who just moved back to MLS to join the Colorado Rapids, and striker Brandon Vazquez, who’s reportedly soon to move from FC Cincinnati to Mexico’s Monterrey.

In Steffen’s case, U.S. manager Berhalter said he felt that it was important for the Downingtown native to spend the full preseason with his new club.

“We know he’s going to play a big role with Colorado,” Berhalter said. “I’ve talked to him about his potential role with us. He’s very much in the pool of players, and we expect him to challenge for a position with the goalkeepers.”

Vazquez was in the early plans for this squad, but Berhalter decided he wanted to look at new prospects instead of a player he knows.

“For us to get a look at Brian White and Duncan McGuire was the priority in this camp,” he said, “We’ve been playing mostly with one striker, and just to think about loading up that position in this camp didn’t make much sense. So because of that, he wasn’t selected — but we are pretty confident we’re going to be seeing a lot of him.”

» READ MORE: Downingtown’s Zack Steffen returns to MLS, joining the Colorado Rapids

The U.S. team will have training camp from Jan. 8-16 in Orlando, then go to San Antonio to play Slovenia on Jan. 20 (3 p.m., TNT, Telemundo 62, Max, Peacock). The game will be played at Toyota Field, the home of San Antonio FC of the second-tier USL Championship. It seats just 8,000 fans, but a game full of prospects is a good time to take the U.S. team to a place it doesn’t normally go.

It will be just the second time in the modern era that the U.S. men have played at a lower-league team’s stadium. The last occasion was in 2017, in the Jürgen Klinsmann era, when the team wrapped up a winter camp in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Goalkeepers (3): Drake Callender (Inter Miami), Roman Celentano (FC Cincinnati), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew)

Defenders (10): Nathan Harriel (Union), DeJuan Jones (New England Revolution), Shaq Moore (Nashville SC), Ian Murphy (FC Cincinnati), Jackson Ragen (Seattle Sounders), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), James Sands (New York City FC), Nkosi Tafari (FC Dallas), John Tolkin (New York Red Bulls), Caleb Wiley (Atlanta United)

Midfielders (6): Joshua Atencio (Seattle Sounders), Aziel Jackson (St. Louis City SC), Jack McGlynn (Union), Aidan Morris (Columbus Crew), Timothy Tillman (Los Angeles FC), Sean Zawadzki (Columbus Crew)

Forwards (6): Esmir Bajraktarevic (New England Revolution), Cade Cowell (San Jose Earthquakes), Bernard Kamungo (FC Dallas), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake), Duncan McGuire (Orlando City), Brian White (Vancouver Whitecaps)

» READ MORE: The Union set their preseason schedule, with scrimmages vs. four MLS teams