CHICAGO – The New York Red Bulls’ Tyler Adams and former OKC Energy FC loanee Coy Craft, both selected to the 2016 USL 20 Under 20, led a group of eight current and former USL players selected to the U.S. U20 National Team squad named on Thursday to compete in the 2017 CONCACAF U20 Championship in Costa Rica.

“This process is always difficult,” said U.S. U20 National Team Head Coach Tab Ramos. “Inevitably you always end up leaving a couple guys out who deserve to be on the roster. When selecting a roster for a tournament like this, where you are trying to qualify to the World Cup, you are putting together a best 11 and then players who can play multiple positions. So that’s what we've done. We are happy with the team and we are looking forward to qualifying.”

Adams, who helped lead the New York Red Bulls II to victory the 2016 USL Cup Final, was named the No. 5 player in last year’s countdown of the top young players in the USL. The first signing in Red Bulls II history prior to the club’s inaugural season in 2015, Adams has made 29 regular-season appearances for the side in the past two years.

Craft, a loanee from Energy FC MLS partner FC Dallas who claimed the No. 11 position in the countdown, recorded three goals and one assists in his 11 appearances for Energy FC last season as the side reached the USL Cup Playoffs for a second consecutive season.

Also named in the squad are a trio of players who have competed previously for Real Monarchs SLC in defender Justen Glad and midfielders Sebastian Saucedo and Danilo Acosta on loan from Real Salt Lake. Glad is joined in the defensive corps by Orlando City SC defender Tommy Redding, who began his career with the Lions in the USL in 2014, and former Bethlehem Steel FC defender Auston Trusty, who made 19 appearances for the side and signed as a Homegrown Player with the Philadelphia Union midway through the 2016 season.

Also selected is Jeremy Ebobisse, who opened his professional career with the Charleston Battery on loan from Major League Soccer late last season. Ebobisse had a goal and assist in five appearances for the Battery, and last month was selected by the Portland Timbers in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft.

The United States opens the 2017 CONCACAF Championship, which also serves as qualifying for the 2017 FIFA World Cup in South Korea, on Saturday, February 18 against Panama. The side will then face Haiti (Feb. 21) and Saint Kitts and Nevis (Feb. 24) to conclude the group stage, with the top two teams set to advance to the final stage.

The six teams to advance will be placed into three-team groups, with the top two teams from those groups earning qualification to the World Cup in South Korea this May.