Head coach Nick Myers has trimmed the training roster for the 2020 U.S. men’s U19 team to 26 players following this past weekend’s training camp at Ohio State.

The U.S. team played exhibition games against Culver Academy (Ind.) and The Hill Academy (Canada). Culver, the No. 1 ranked team in the final 2019 Nike/US Lacrosse national high school rankings, beat the U.S. team 9-7 on Saturday. On Sunday, the U.S. team bounced back to beat Hill 14-6.

“We accomplished a great deal last weekend, both on and off the field,” Myers said. “I was thrilled that we stayed healthy and got a great evaluation of our group. This team got better and developed a stronger appreciation for each other and the mission.”

Thirty-one players were in Ohio for the most recent training weekend and Myers and his staff selected 24 players from the weekend to move onto the next stage. Two additional players moving on in the process are high school seniors Jackson Bonitz and Logan Santos. Bonitz had a high school football commitment that prevented him from attending last weekend’s camp. Santos made it through the initial round of tryouts, but an injury prevented him from participating further.

A total of 104 players have participated in the tryout process, which began this past June. The final training weekend for the U.S. team before the players begin their college and high school spring lacrosse seasons will come in January. The roster will eventually be pared to 23, the maximum number allowed for international competition under World Lacrosse rules.

“Making roster decisions at this point is the hardest part of the process,” Myers said. “I speak for the staff when I say that we feel honored to have coached all of these guys. Getting to 23 becomes very challenging and really is more about the makeup of the team you want to build versus who is better. They are all so talented.”

The 26 players on the current training roster come from high schools in 11 different states and represent 14 different college programs (enrollment and commitments).

The 2020 World Lacrosse Men’s U19 World Championship will take place in Limerick, Ireland in July.

The United States is the only nation to have won the World Lacrosse Men’s U19 Championship, having rallied to beat Canada 13-12 in 2016 on Ryan Conrad’s game-winning goal with just eight seconds remaining. That was the eighth straight world championship for the U.S., which also won gold medals in 1988, 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2008 and 2012.

The U.S. men’s national team trains and plays using best-in-class products provided by Nike (apparel and footwear), Cascade (helmets), Warrior (equipment), SISU Guard (mouthguards), The Pearl by Guardian (balls) and DJO (sports braces).

In addition to these partners, Greenfields, Krossover, MedStar Sports Medicine and Sports Performance Tracking are officials sponsors of Team USA. Team training is also aided by products from Motive Pure, NormaTec Recovery and Athletic Republic.

2020 U.S. Men's U19 Training Team