Gisele Thompson, Lexi Missimo and Kate Faasse headline Emma Hayes' 24-player roster for USWNT January Futures Camp

Hayes called in squad for U.S. women's national team Futures Camp, which will run alongside senior camp

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  USWNT coach Emma Hayes will hold a training camp with both the senior team and a youth-based squad, which features 14 professional players and 10 college players. In total, 17 members of the squad have youth national team experience at World Cups, with Georgia Bulldogs goalkeeper Jordan Brown the only player in the squad that doesn't have any youth national team experience.

  The squad, announced Wednesday, Angel City FC defender Gisele Thompson, sister of USWNT rising star Alyssa, as well as Texas star Lexi Missimo and 2024 MAC Hermann Trophy winner Kate Kasse from North Carolina, the 2024 NCAA champions. All players in the team are age-eligible for the U.S. U23 Women's National Team, with 17-year-old Ainsley McCammon the youngest player in the squad.

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  SQUAD IN FULL

  GOALKEEPERS: Jordan Brown (Georgia), Mia Justus (Utah Royals), Neeku Purcell (Brooklyn FC

  DEFENDERS: Jordyn Bugg (Seattle Reign FC), Heather Gilchrist (Florida State), Savy King (Bay FC), Emily Mason (Rutgers), Makenna Morris (Washington Spirit.), Lilly Reale (NJ/NY Gotham FC.), Gisele Thompson, (Angel City FC)

  MIDFIELDERS: Taylor Huff (Florida State), Claire Hutton (Kansas City Current), Riley Jackson (North Carolina Courage), Ainsley McCammon (Seattle Reign FC), Yuna McCormack (Florida State), Lexi Missimo (Texas)

  FORWARDS: Michelle Cooper (Kansas City Current), Maddie Dahlien (UNC), Jordynn Dudley (Florida State), Kate Faasse (UNC), Jameese Joseph (Chicago Stars), Avery Patterson (Houston Dash), Pietra Tordin (Princeton), Reilyn Turner (Portland Thorns FC)

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  WHAT HAYES SAID

  "This is an exciting group of young players who have shown their talents on various levels in the United States and there were certainly others deserving of a call-up to this camp," said Hayes. "To bring them all together to compete in our first Futures Camp is an exciting step for the evolution of the U.S. women’s national team program and a great opportunity for them to show they have the qualities to play for the senior team.

  "It’s a significant jump from college to the pro game and an even bigger jump to the elite international level, but we will be patient with all these players as we understand the process and want to help all of them reach their maximum potential."

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  After naming her NWSL-heavy senior squad for January camp on Tuesday, Hayes stressed the importance of developing a new generation of players, pointing to a statistic describing the lack of opportunities given to young players in the USWNT pool.

  "I learned something the other day, that in the U.S., that we would probably have the lowest number of under-23s playing senior football on a regular basis," Hayes said. "That does cause some concern for me, because ideally, we have all of those players playing on a regular basis."

  This Futures Camp is designed to begin solving that issue. This 24-player squad will run concurrently with senior camp, allowing Hayes to work to develop this group of young stars. During her time at Chelsea, Hayes had a reputation for working with younger players and, with three years between the USWNT and their next World Cup run, the coach believes it's imperative to start integrating and planning for a new generation as soon as possible.

  "I love developing," Hayes said. "I think when you consider how little programming some players have actually had, I almost feel like we've had a little bit of a lost generation that might not have had some of the exposures that, as I said, some of the top nations [have had]. So I'm desperate to look at ways to bridge that gap, because we can't whole-heartedly just rely on domestic play to do that."

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Both the USWNT senior team and this Futures Camp squad will train from Jan. 14-21 at Diginity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. The USWNT will be back in action on Feb. 20 for the SheBelieves Cup, facing Colombia, Australia and Japan over the course of six days for their first matches of 2025.