The first squad picked by new U.S. men's national team manager Gregg Berhalter features a 27-man roster comprised entirely of Major League Soccer players. Among those set to attend the annual January training camp are Michael Bradley, the most-capped player in the squad with 142 international appearances, and U.S. Soccer Male Athlete of the Year Zack Steffen.
Also included are MLS Defender of the Year Aaron Long, Rookie of the Year Corey Baird and Comeback Player of the Year Gyasi Zardes. One notable omission from the initial list is Toronto FC forward Jozy Altidore, who underwent ankle surgery in October.
The team will meet in Chula Vista, California, starting Jan. 6, and the camp will conclude with friendlies against Panama in Glendale, Arizona, on Jan. 27 (8 p.m. ET, ESPN2) and against Costa Rica in San Jose, California, six days later. A 28th player is expected to be added some time prior to the start of camp.
"In putting together this domestic-based roster, we started with a number of players who we think can be a core part of the group moving forward," Berhalter said. "We then looked at players that excelled this year in Major League Soccer, and finally chose players that can play a specific role in our game model.
"We are very excited to start to implement our ideas about the style of play and the culture we want to develop in the national team."
The average age of the team is 24 years, 230 days, with the average number of U.S. appearances standing at 10.
The roster also includes 12 uncapped players, seven of whom -- Baird, Russell Canouse, Jeremy Ebobisse, Daniel Lovitz, Mark McKenzie, Djordje Mihailovic, Tyler Miller and Auston Trusty -- have been invited to a U.S. camp for the first time at senior level.
The camp has usually been held at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., but Berhalter opted to hold the gathering at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center, formerly the Olympic Training Center.
"Being in Chula Vista will help us create a team environment as we start to establish our culture and really be able to work on the details of our style of play," he said. "The facilities are outstanding and provide everything we need to accomplish our goals both on and off the field. They are accustomed to hosting elite athletes, so we believe this will be a great place for this group to get started."
U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION (Club; Caps/Goals):
GOALKEEPERS (4): Alex Bono (Toronto FC/CAN; 1/0), Sean Johnson (New York City FC; 5/0), Tyler Miller (LAFC; 0/0), Zack Steffen (Columbus Crew SC; 6/0)
DEFENDERS (10): Reggie Cannon (FC Dallas; 2/0), Greg Garza (FC Cincinnati; 10/0), Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake; 0/0), Nick Lima (San Jose Earthquakes; 0/0), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls; 2/0), Daniel Lovitz (Montreal Impact/CAN; 0/0), Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia Union; 0/0), Keegan Rosenberry (Colorado Rapids; 0/0), Auston Trusty (Philadelphia Union; 0/0), Walker Zimmerman (LAFC; 4/1)
MIDFIELDERS (10): Kellyn Acosta (Colorado Rapids; 23/2), Paul Arriola (D.C. United; 17/2), Corey Baird (Real Salt Lake; 0/0), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC/CAN; 142/17), Russell Canouse (D.C. United; 0/0), Marky Delgado (Toronto FC/CAN; 6/0), Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy; 5/1), Djordje Mihailovic (Chicago Fire; 0/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders FC; 5/0), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC; 11/0)
FORWARDS (3): Jeremy Ebobisse (Portland Timbers; 0/0), Christian Ramirez (LAFC; 0/0), Gyasi Zardes (Columbus Crew SC; 40/6)