Stanford standout Jordan Morris and Arsenal prodigy Gedion Zelalem were among the 20 players included by United States under-23 coach Andi Herzog in the squad that will try to qualify for the Olympics.
CONCACAF Olympic qualifying begins in October, when the U.S. will face Canada and Cuba in Kansas City, Kansas, and Panama in Commerce City, Colorado.
"For us it was important that we find the right balance between attacking players and defensive-minded players," Herzog said in a statement.
Morris, 20, has already made six appearances for the senior U.S. team. He was one of three players who made the team despite not being invited to training camp this month, along with Leeds goalkeeper Charlie Horton and San Jose Earthquakes forward Fatai Alashe.
Six players from the squad were a part of the Americans' under-20 World Cup team that reached the quarterfinals in New Zealand, including Zelalem and Tottenham's 17-year-old Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Herzog said there was some difficulty getting some clubs to release players since the qualifying does not fall on a FIFA date.
U.S. Soccer did not reveal which players were not released, but four of the players at training camp who did not make the final squad play their club football in Europe: MK Dons goalkeeper Cody Cropper (out six weeks with a knee injury), Apollon Limassol defender Shane O'Neill, Borussia Monchengladbach forward Mario Rodriguez, and Utrecht striker Rubio Rubin.
Herzog also left off Bayern Munich forward Julian Green, a member of last year's U.S. World Cup team.
"Because there are no FIFA dates for the first week of the tournament, there were challenges in getting players released," Herzog said. We had discussions with a lot of teams, and while some clubs didn't release their players overall we received a lot of support, especially from MLS."
Also not on the final squad after being named to training camp were midfielder Benji Joya of Mexico's Necaxa and defenders Boyd Okwuonu or Real Salt Lake and Oscar Sorto of the LA Galaxy.
"There was a lot of competition for spots," Herzog said. "Of course a few players will be disappointed that they didn't make the roster and I understand, but we can only have 20 players on the roster and only 17 field players, so they weren't easy decisions.
"Now we have to be focused on the games and we have to win."
Defender John Brooks and midfielder DeAndre Yedlin are also eligible for the Olympics, but they will be with the U.S. senior squad for the Oct. 10 CONCACAF Cup playoff against Mexico.
The U.S. failed to qualify for the Olympics in 2012 and were eliminated in the group stage in 2008.
The full squad:
Goalkeepers: Charlie Horton (Leeds United), Ethan Horvath (Molde), Zack Steffen (Freiburg)
Defenders: Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham Hotspur), Matt Miazga (New York Red Bulls), Eric Miller (Montreal Impact), Will Packwood (Unattached), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids)
Midfielders: Fatai Alashe (San Jose Earthquakes), Gboly Ariyibi (Chesterfield), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake), Emerson Hyndman (Fulham), Marc Pelosi (San Jose Earthquakes), Matt Polster (Chicago Fire), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC), Gedion Zelalem (Rangers)
Forwards: Alonso Hernandez (C.D. Juarez), Jerome Kiesewetter (Stuttgart), Jordan Morris (Stanford), Maki Tall (FC Sion)