“From WNT down to YNT, there’s a very, very clear pathway for our players,” earlier remarked Emma Hayes, highlighting how much she values the USWNT‘s next-generation talent pool. It also suggests that the door is open for young players to gradually climb the USWNT ladder and eventually break into the senior squad. And what better way to emphasize that than by announcing a special camp dedicated to discovering future stars?

And by special, we mean “first-of-its-kind” Women’s College Talent ID Camp, where over 42 players will be taking part to showcase their talents and catch the eye of the US Soccer. The program is set to run from June 18–22 in McCurry Park, Atlanta. It is also the place where the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center is being built for an estimated inauguration in the spring of 2026.

As US Soccer believes, the camp will play a crucial role in growing the scouting efforts of the U.S. Youth National Teams. The main aim is to create more opportunities for potential college players, while also expanding the player pools for the U.S. U-18, U-19, and U-20 Women’s National Teams.

Nicole Lukic, U.S. Soccer’s Director of Talent ID for women and girls, revealed that the project stems from the WNT Way meetings that were held back in January. During the meeting, interactive workshops and brainstorming sessions across all departments were conducted, especially by looking through a female-specific lens.

Lukic revealed that it was exactly when his team was able to find the requirement of expanding player pools, especially the older age groups. In fact, now couldn’t have been a better time to introduce this program, courtesy of the continuous efforts of scaling the Talent ID department. “Even though an increasing number of players are going professional at younger ages, the college landscape is still an integral piece of the female-specific pathway in the United States,” remarked Nicole.

Notably, 28 colleges are represented in the player pool, with 11 schools contributing multiple athletes. Impressively, BYU and Michigan State lead the way, each with three players selected. That explains why a majority of the outfield players invited to this camp have almost no prior involvement with the USYNT. This would make it a collaborative effort of the Talent ID department, YNT head coaches, as well as the members of the USWNT staff.

“Our scouting team has been following an expanded pool of players in the college landscape and have identified numerous talented players who we are excited to introduce to our pathway,” continued Lukic. “I know all the National Team coaches and scouts are looking forward to working alongside each other throughout the camp to create a supportive and challenging environment with this pool of players.”

Additionally, US Soccer shared that the camp will also include a dedicated segment for goalkeepers. This way, not only the USWNT would be able to expand its goalie pool but also offer a high exposure to the budding ones. Rest assured, all of the individual development will be spearheaded by USWNT goalkeeper coach Stuart Searle and other YNT goalkeeper coaches. Is there anything else to know?

Expect new faces in the USWNT very soon!

Speaking more about this five-day camp, out of the 42 players, 41 are from 2005, 2006, or 2007, with goalkeeper Evan O’Steen being the only 2008 born. While the majority of the names are new faces, others are more experienced YNT participants, like O’Steen. She is the only non-collegiate player who started for the U.S. at the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup and even trained with USL Super League side Dallas Trinity.

Another name that falls in that bracket is Caroline Birkel, who recently represented the U.S. at the 2025 Concacaf U-20 Women’s Championship. As for how things will work, basically, three training sessions and two intrasquad games will take place, with the entire group to be split into teams of two.

Here is the full list for reference as per their college and hometown:

Goalkeepers (10): Ariel Bernard (Western Illinois; Queen Creek, Ariz.), Caroline Birkel (Stanford; St. Louis, Mo.), Mateya Dessieux (Texas; Knoxville, Tenn.), Emily Edwards (Purdue; Holly Springs, N.C.), Sydney Fuller (Texas A&M; Keller, Texas), Olivia Geller (TCU; Southlake, Texas), Sarah Martin (Minnesota; Champlin, Minn.), Evan O’Steen (Solar SC; Grapevine, Texas), Keegan Smith (Arkansas; Bath, N.Y.), Adelyn Todd (Florida State; Denver, Colo.)

Defenders (12): Julia Belli (Michigan State; Dublin, Ohio), Maddie Costello (Clemson; Stony Brook, N.Y.), Zoe Cuneio (Purdue; Wildwood, Mo.), Amalia Dray (Boston College; Elmhurst, Ill.), Ellory Fife (Michigan; Ann Arbor, Mich.), Presley Freeman (BYU; Atlanta, Ga.), Raleigh Greason (Texas Tech; Arvada, Colo.), Millie Greer (Iowa; Scottsdale, Ariz.), Hannah Jordan (Penn State; Southlake, Texas), Faith Leyba (Colorado; Phoenix, Ariz.), Maleeya Martin (Michigan State; Leesburg, Va.), Abbi Sine (BYU; Coppell, Texas)

Midfielders (10): Shaela Bradley (UNC; La Center, Wash.), Morgan Brown (TCU; Wylie, Texas), Trinity Buchanan (Texas A&M; Henderson, Nev.), Anna Castenfelt (Clemson; Beaufort, S.C.), Lucy Kesler (BYU; Highland, Utah), Kiley Kukan (Alabama; Old Monroe, Mo.), Ava Priest (Colorado; Bowling Green, Ky.), Grace Shank (UCLA; McLean, Va.), Adia Symmonds (Mississippi State; Tampa, Fla.), Ava Verplancke (Baylor; Irvine, Calif.)

Forwards (10): Abby Ballek (Wisconsin; Timnath, Colo.), Jadin Bonham (Ohio State; Avon, Ohio), Jordan Geis (UCLA; San Jose, Calif.), Emily Graham (Michigan State; Fort Wayne, Ind.), Kunie Hirai (Utah State; Boise, Idaho), Wrianna Hudson (Florida State; Richardson, N.Y.), Zoe Main (Mississippi State; Missouri City, Texas), Austin Miller (Utah State; Logan, Utah), Kennedy Roesch (Northwestern; San Diego, Calif.), Anna Weir (Virginia Tech University; Acworth, Ga.)

Overall, it seems to be quite an exciting venture not just for these potential budding players, but also for the sake of the future of US Soccer and USWNT. Who knows, after this, we may see some new names being announced by Emma Hayes in the future national camps. For now, it remains to be seen what unfolds with this program!