U.S. Soccer has named Jacob Molinaro, a goalkeeper for Sporting Kansas City II, to the roster for the upcoming U-19 Men’s National Team Domestic Identity Training Camp. The camp will take place from September 1 to 8 at McCurry Park in Fayetteville, Georgia, and is part of an effort to provide more opportunities for young players as they progress toward the senior national team.
The training camp will be led by Shaun Tsakiris and includes 24 players born after January 1, 2007. Of these, twenty-two represent 14 different Major League Soccer clubs. The LA Galaxy has four players selected, while Atlanta United, Inter Miami, New York City FC, Orlando City and Philadelphia Union each have two representatives. Austin FC, Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew, Minnesota United, Nashville SC, Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders and Sporting Kansas City each have one player on the roster. Two additional players are with German Bundesliga clubs Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig.
“Molinaro, an 18-year-old native of Atlanta, Georgia, grew up in the Kansas City suburb of Leawood, Kansas, and joined the Sporting KC Academy in 2019. He has represented the club at the U-13 through U-19 levels in addition to making 20 MLS NEXT Pro appearances for Sporting KC II across the 2024 and 2025 seasons.”
“A 6-foot-3 goalkeeper with great athleticism, Molinaro was an integral part of the U-17 side that reached the 2023 MLS NEXT Playoffs before joining the Sporting KC first team for preseason training in 2024. Last year also saw Molinaro break into the MLS NEXT Pro ranks as he earned his SKC II debut on May 5 against North Texas SC and collected his first win the following month versus MNUFC2. This season, he has made 10 starts, earning two wins and three draws while keeping one clean sheet. This is Molinaro’s first national team call-up.”
Molinaro will remain available for selection with Sporting Kansas City II ahead of their match against Colorado Rapids 2 on August 31 at Children’s Mercy Victory Field.
According to U.S. Soccer’s description of its development strategy: “The U.S. Way is a shared philosophy, strategy and a practical toolkit to enable excellence at every level of the game and for us to win. The U.S. Way is intended to work in partnership between the club and National Team environment to cultivate the next generation of talent with three areas of focus: World Class Development Pathways and Environments… Shared and Scaled Infrastructure…and Professional Development for the Entire Ecosystem…” More information can be found at https://www.ussoccer.com/ourvision/us-way.
