Today, USA Football released it’s roster of forty-four (44) U.S. high school-aged football players that have been selected to play on the 2016 U.S. Under-19 National Team. The team will compete in the 2016 International Federation of American Football(IFAF) Under-19 World Championship, a seven-nation tournament held June 30-July 11 in Harbin, China.
USA Football, a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee, manages U.S. national teams for international competitions. Approximately 70 countries across five continental federations possess a national federation dedicated to the sport.
The U.S. Under-19 National Team includes athletes representing 20 states and will compete in a field against national teams from Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Japan and Mexico. The U.S. team took home the gold medal in the 2014 IFAF Under-19 World Championship in Kuwait City, Kuwait, defeating Team Canada 40-17 in the championship’s final game. The United States has won two of the three IFAF Under-19 World Championships to date, losing the Gold Medal Game to Canada in 2012.
The U.S. team is led by Dennis Thomas of Millville (N.J) High School. Thomas led his Millville Thunderbolts to a 6-4 record in his first season at the school last year. He arrived at Millville following a successful tenure at Salem (N.J.) High School where he directed the Rams to the state playoffs twice, including a state championship game berth.
U.S. players and coaches will take part in a training camp from June 18-24 at Kean University in Union, N.J. The team departs for Harbin, China, for its first of four IFAF Under-19 World Championship games on June 30 against Austria. The Americans’ following three games will be played on July 3, July 7 and either July 10 or 11 with opponents and kickoff times determined by game results of the championship’s double-elimination play.
The world championship, held every two years, will culminate in a gold medal game on July 11.
An exemption granted by the NCAA allows high school seniors to play for the U.S. National Team and not have their participation count as one of two permitted all-star game appearances.
2016 U.S. Under-19 National Team roster:
| Name | Pos | Ht | Wt | School (State) | Hometown |
| Will Bates | OL | 6-0 | 280 | Locust Grove H.S. | Locust Grove, Okla. |
| Dallas Blaylock Jr. | DB | 5-9 | 155 | Sharpstown H.S. | Houston, Texas |
| Jameer Bryson | WR | 6-2 | 200 | West Catholic H.S. | Philadelphia, Pa. |
| Tre Bugg | DB | 5-11 | 175 | Gilbert H.S. | Gilbert, Ariz. |
| Kyree Calli | WR | 6-3 | 190 | Lackawanna College | Scranton, Pa. |
| Ty Clary | OL | 6-4 | 270 | Fayetteville H.S. | Fayetteville, Ark. |
| Ryan Coleman | DL | 6-2 | 235 | Fairfield H.S. | Wortham, Texas |
| DeJuan Cooper | LB | 6-2 | 190 | Northwest H.S. | Germantown, Md. |
| Austen Cummings | OL | 6-5 | 265 | Greenwood H.S. | Indianapolis, Ind. |
| Ja’Saan Cunningham | WR | 6-0 | 165 | Glasgow H.S. | Newark, Del. |
| Daniel DePrato | WR | 6-4 | 220 | Cypress Woods H.S. | Cypress, Texas |
| Zack Douglas | LB | 5-11 | 216 | Millville H.S. | Millville, N.J. |
| Yondel Dudley | DL | 6-3 | 268 | Wissahickton H.S. | Ambler, Pa. |
| Ezekiel Ennis | DB | 5-8 | 162 | St. Augustine Prep | Richland, N.J. |
| Jon Fagg | K/P | 5-11 | 160 | Fayetteville H.S. | Fayetteville, Ark. |
| Frankie Feaster | DL | 6-2 | 230 | Bergen Catholic H.S. | Oradell, N.J. |
| Forrest Gardner | OL | 6-0 | 265 | Point Pleasant Beach H.S. | Point Pleasant Beach, N.J. |
| Daniel Gibson | DL | 6-3 | 270 | Bethany College (W.Va.) | Pittsburgh, Pa. |
| Kendrick Green | OL | 6-3 | 270 | Peoria H.S. | Peoria, Ill. |
| Alphaeus Hanson | RB | 5-7 | 185 | Delaware Military Acad. | Newark, Del. |
| Tristan Hawn | OL | 6-4 | 260 | Augusta Christian H.S. | Martinez, Ga. |
| Ralph Haynes | RB | 5-11 | 240 | St. Thomas Aquinas H.S. | Hammond, La. |
| Steven Haynes | DL | 6-1 | 280 | Millville H.S. | Millville, N.J. |
| Shimon Hoffman | LB | 5-11 | 220 | Spanish River H.S. | Boca Raton, Fla. |
| Jon Jacobs | OL | 6-4 | 300 | The Taft School (Conn.) H.S. | Gainesville, Va. |
| Nicholas John | LB | 5-11 | 210 | Columbus H.S. | Miami, Fla. |
| Jermarius Jordan | DB | 5-10 | 188 | Bessemer City H.S. | Bessemer City, Ala. |
| Sage Lee | DB | 5-10 | 170 | Venice H.S. | Venice, Fla. |
| Eddie Lewis | WR | 6-2 | 170 | Mater Dei (N.J.) H.S. | New York, N.Y. |
| Rashon Lusane | DB | 6-0 | 195 | Malvern Prep H.S. | Norristown, Pa. |
| Fabien Maragh | DL | 6-3 | 315 | Metuchen H.S. | Metuchen, N.J. |
| Michael (Mac) McCaskill | LB | 6-1 | 230 | Cedar Park H.S. | Cedar Park, Texas |
| Dylan McDonald | LB | 6-0 | 210 | Parsippany Hills, N.J. | Parsippany, N.J. |
| Ian Murray | TE | 6-6 | 205 | Malvern Prep H.S. | Malvern, Pa. |
| Adam Mydland | DL | 6-3 | 248 | College of the Siskiyous (Calif.) | Bellingham, Wash. |
| Ikechukwu Ogwuegbu | RB | 5-9 | 195 | Northwestern (Md.) H.S. | Hyattsville, Md. |
| Ndem Okoro | WR | 6-2 | 175 | Livermore Valley Charter Prep | Livermore, Calif. |
| Wayne Overman | QB | 6-0 | 215 | St. Martin H.S. | Biloxi, Miss. |
| Jimmy Pallotto | OL | 6-1 | 265 | Cherry Creek H.S. | Englewood, Colo. |
| Matthew Steele | OL | 6-5 | 275 | Doherty H.S. | Colorado Springs, Colo. |
| Jamal Stewart | LB | 6-1 | 230 | Central Gwinnett (Ga.) H.S. | Auburn, Ga. |
| Lindell Stone | QB | 6-2 | 200 | Woodberry Forest (Va.) H.S. | Dallas, Texas |
| Cameron Vail | DB | 6-0 | 175 | Bryant (Ark.) H.S. | Benton, Ariz. |
| Paul Watson | QB | 6-2 | 181 | Langham Creek H.S. |