Sporting Kansas City Academy defender Cameron Duke has joined the United States U-16 Boys National Team for a 10-day international training camp in Buenos Aires, Argentina that begins today and runs through Feb. 12.
Led by head coach Shaun Tsakiris, Duke and the U-16 BNT will play three friendlies during the camp against clubs from different neighborhoods across Buenos Aires: A.A. Argentino Juniors (La Paternal), San Lorenzo de Almagro (Boedo) and Racing Club de Avellaneda (Avellaneda).
The United States’ 21-man roster consists of players born on or after Jan. 1, 2001, with 17 players currently registered with a Development Academy club.
Duke, the younger brother of Swope Park Rangers captain Christian Duke, has participated in two previous camps with the U.S. U-16s. He first joined the side last September in Davis, California before featuring at the 2016 Val-de-Marne Tournament in France last October, playing two matches and guiding the U-16s to a third-place finish.
A native of Olathe, Kansas, Duke has been selected for nine U.S. BNT training camps at the U-14, U-15 and U-16s levels. He entered the Sporting KC Academy in 2012 and helped the Sporting KC U-16s reach the 2015-16 USSDA playoffs last season. He has made five additional appearances this campaign, with Sporting KC now in second place in the Frontier Division.
Sporting Kansas City, the Swope Park Rangers and the Sporting KC Academy currently have six players representing the United States at the following youth national team levels:
- U-20s: Erik Palmer Brown (training camp in Orlando, Florida, Feb. 1-10)
- U-19s: Felipe Hernandez and Will Little (training camp in Sunrise, Florida, Feb. 3-10)
- U-17s: Grayson Barber and Jaylin Lindsey (Residency roster for spring semester)
- U-16s: Cameron Duke (training camp in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Feb. 3-12)
U.S. U-16 Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Nicolas Defreitas-Hansen (Weston FC; Southwest Ranches, Fla.), David Ochoa (Real Salt Lake AZ; Casa Grande, Ariz.)
DEFENDERS (5): Julian Araujo (Santa Barbara SC; Lompoc, Calif.), George Bello (Atlanta United FC; Douglasville, Ga.), John Hilton (LA Galaxy; Long Beach, Calif.), Leonardo Sepulveda (LA Galaxy; Corona, Calif.), Nathan Toledo (FC Dallas; McKinney, Texas)
MIDFIELDERS (9): Everson Amaya Mejia (D.C. United; Alexandria, Va.), Mario Anaya (San Jose Earthquakes; Livermore, Calif.), Jordan Bender (Orlando City SC; Lake Mary, Fla.), Taylor Booth (Real Salt Lake AZ; Eden, Utah), Cameron Duke (Sporting KC; Olathe, Kan.), Nelson Martinez Rivera (DC United; Woodbridge, Va.), Matko Miljevic (A.A. Argentinos Juniors; Buenos Aires, Argentina), Marcelo Palomino (Houston Dynamo; Houston, Texas), Indiana Vassilev (IMG Academy, Savannah Ga.)
FORWARDS (5): Nicholas Mendonca (Clube de Regatas do Flamengo; Coconut Creek, Fla.), Benjamin Ortiz (La Roca FC; Orem, Utah), Bryan Reynolds (FC Dallas, Little Elm, Texas), Gabriel Segal (Bethesda-Olney; Bethesda, Md.), Jose Rivas (Weston FC; Weston, Fla.)
