This week marks the beginning of the 2026 edition of the World Cup

Each U.S. men’s player pathway to the national team is a varied one. In a vast country where soccer doesn’t carry the kind of cultural cache, the national team covers a wide range of background player pathways.

College soccer continues to pick up and identify talent that eventually makes it to the full national squad; Eight players on the 26-player roster spent at least one season on a Division I team.

Here’s part one of a rundown of each player’s development pathway to the 2026 USMNT World Cup squad. 

M Brenden Aaronson
Current Club: Leeds United
Youth National Team Experience: U15
Youth Club: Philadelphia Union

Aaronson, from South Jersey, came through the Union Academy, playing in the Development Academy. He committed to Indiana before eventually signin a Homegrown deal with the Union, kick-starting a career that has taken him to the English Premier League.

M Tyler Adams
Current Club: Leeds United (ENG)
Youth National Team Experience: U14, U15, U17 World Cup (2015), U18, U20 World Cup (2017)
Youth Club: New York Red Bulls/IMG Academy Residency

The midfielder was part of the residency program, in the class with Christian Pulisic. He embarked on a pro career with the Red Bulls before finding his way to AFC Bournemouth.

D Max Arfsten
Current Club: Columbus Crew
Youth National Team Experience: N/A
Youth Club: Cal Odyssey
College: UC Davis

Arfsten is a feather in the cap for MLS NEXT Pro, taking a wild route to his professional career. A high school standout, he played at UC Davis before signing with the San Jose Earthquakes NEXT Pro team ahead of the 2022 campaign. He was then drafted by the Columbus Crew, where he went on to develop into a national team player.

F Florian Balogun
Current Club: AS Monaco (FRA)
Youth National Team Experience: U18
Youth Club: Arsenal (ENG)

The striker was born in New York and grew up in London, developing in the Arsenal Academy. A longtime English youth international, he decided to play for the United States in May of 2023. 

M Sebastian Berhalter
Current Club: Vancouver Whitecaps
Youth National Team Experience: N/A
Youth Club: Columbus Crew
College: North Carolina

Son of former national team coach Gregg Berhalter, the midfielder took a roundabout pathway to the World Cup. Coming through the Columbus Crew Academy, he played one season at UNC, logging 699 minutes. From there, he signed a Homegrown contract with the Crew, spending time with Austin FC before his career took off in Canada.

GK Chris Brady
Current Club: Chicago Fire
Youth National Team Experience: U15, U20, U23
Youth Club: Chicago Fire

The longtime youth international went through the Fire Academy before signing as a Homegrown and emerging as the team’s starting goalkeeper. 

D Sergino Dest
Current Club: AC Milan (ITA)
Youth National Team Experience: U17 World Cup (2017), U20 World Cup (2019)
Youth Club: Ajax (NED)

Part of the overseas-developed contingent, Dest was a longtime U.S. youth international who played at the vaunted Ajax Academy.

D Alex Freeman
Current Club: Villarreal (ESP)
Youth National Team Experience: U17, U19, U23
Youth Club: Weston FC/Orlando City

A 21-year-old defender, Freeman started out at South Florida powerhouse Weston FC, before moving to the Orlando City Academy. He turned pro, finally cracking the MLS side after 70 appearances in MLS NEXT Pro. Earlier this year, he transferred abroad to Villarreal in Spain.

GK Matt Freese
Current Club: New York City SC
Youth National Team Experience: U23
Youth Club: Penn Fusion/Philadelphia Union
College: Harvard

Freese spent time at Penn Fusion in U.S. Youth Soccer before joining the Union Academy. After turning down an offer from Manchester United to play college soccer at Harvard, he left after two seasons to turn pro on a Homegrown contract with the Union (Freese graduated from the university in 2022). He finally broke out and earned a full-time role with NYCFC in 2024.

M Weston McKennie
Current Club: Juventus FC (ITA)
Youth National Team Experience: U14, U15, U17, U18, U19, U20
Youth Club: FC Dallas

At one point committed to the University of Virginia, McKennie made the move from FC Dallas to Schalke the year he turned 18. The USMNT veteran appeared in several YNT camps, though never competed in a youth World Cup.

D Mark McKenzie
Current Club: Toulouse FC (FRA)
Youth National Team Experience: U18, U20, U23
Youth Club: Delaware FC/Philadelphia Union
College: Wake Forest

The Union Academy graduate played with Delaware Rush (now Delaware FC in the ECNL Boys) before moving to the pro side. He played 685 minutes in the 2017 season for Wake before eventually signing with the Union. After a decent MLS career, he moved abroad to Genk in Belgium and has since transferred to Toulouse FC.

F Ricardo Pepi
Current Club: PSV Eindhoven (NED)
Youth National Team Experience: U17 World Cup (2019)
Youth Club: FC Dallas

A striker from El Paso, Pepi moved to North Texas to play for the FC Dallas Academy. After starting his career with the MLS side (and minutes in NEXT Pro), Pepi moved to FC Augsburg in Germany. While that didn’t work out, he’s since managed to carve out a role with PSV Eindhoven in Holland.