Xavier University Athletics
Natalie Bain Among 24 Players Selected to U.S. National Team Development Camp
01.15.26 | Women's Soccer
Camp runs concurrently with the USWNT January training camp at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif.
ATLANTA – Natalie Bain was one of 24 players selected by the U.S. Women's Youth National Team staff to take part in a U.S. National Team Development Camp, with the first part of camp running concurrently with the USWNT January training camp at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif.
The players named to the camp, which will run from Jan. 17-25, are primarily collegiate players (21) along with current USL Super League leading scorer Ashlyn Puerta, who has 11 goals for Sporting JAX, Dallas Trinity midfielder Lexi Missimo, and defender Zoe Matthews, who plays for Dux Logroño in Spain on loan from the Houston Dash.
Bain is a defender from Alexandria, Ky., who started in 21 matches for the Musketeers in 2025, playing over 1,600 minutes to help the Musketeers defense to 12 shutout victories in matches in which she played. Offensively, she had a career-high 10 points on three goals and four assists in 2025.
Following the season, Bain became the first Musketeer to earn USC All-American honors three times in her career, earning Fourth Team honors for 2025 as well as earning a spot on the Second Team in both 2023 and 2024. Bain earned BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year for a second-straight season and All-BIG EAST First Team honors, marking the fourth time in her career she earned All-BIG EAST honors following the season.
She was also the only collegiate player selected to attend the Provisional U-23 US Women's National Team Roster for the Domestic Training Camp that ran in late October.
U.S. Under-23 Women's National Team head coach Heather Dyche will run the camp with all the other women's and girls' YNT head coaches serving as assistants.
The roster features players from six different birth years – 2003 through 2008 – with 11 of the players age-eligible for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. Six of the players have represented the USA in the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup while goalkeeper Caroline Birkel was on the USA's bronze medal-winning 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Team.
Striker Wrianna Hudson, who stands 6-foot-2, along with midfielder Nyanya Touray, who is the youngest player in camp, helped lead Florida State to the 2025 NCAA Championship. Hudson scored the game-winning goals in the semifinal and the title game.
U.S. Roster by Position – 2026 U.S. National Team Development Camp
Goalkeepers (3): Valentina Amaral (Wake Forest; Oviedo, Fla.), Caroline Birkel (Stanford; St. Louis, Mo.), Sonoma Kasica (Notre Dame; St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Defenders (8): Natalie Bain (Xavier; Alexandria, Ky.), Ally Brown (Tennessee; College Grove, Tenn.), Macy Blackburn (Texas Tech; Fort Worth, Texas), Bella Devey (UNC; Draper, Utah), Gracie Falla (South Carolina; Hattiesburg, Miss.), Daya King (Duke; Moreno Valley, Calif.), Zoe Matthews (Dux Logroño, ESP; Southlake, Texas), Sierra Sythe (Wake Forest; Long Beach, Calif.)
Midfielders (7): Pearl Cecil (Virginia; Encinitas, Calif.), Sam Courtwright (Duke; Dallas, Texas), Charlotte Kohler (Stanford; Woodside, Calif.), Lexi Missimo (Dallas Trinity FC; Southlake, Texas), Y-Lan Nguyen (Stanford; Fairfax, Va.), Ashlyn Puerta (Sporting JAX; Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.), Nyanya Touray (Florida State; Silver Spring, Md.)
Forwards (6): Lilliah Blum (Utah; Verona, Wis.), Alex Buck (Washington; Medina, Wash.), Seven Castain (TCU; Draper, Utah), Wrianna Hudson (Florida State; Rochester, N.Y.), Hope Leyba (Colorado; Phoenix, Ariz.), Ava McDonald (Texas; Allen, Texas)
"We are excited about hosting this Development Camp concurrently with our Women's National Team in Los Angeles as the camp will provide a valuable platform for players to showcase their abilities in front of the WNT and Youth WNT coaches," said Tracey Kevins, U.S. Soccer's Head of Development for the Women's Youth National Teams. "With a strong and expanding talent pool, this initiative allows us to offer players a meaningful development opportunity, earned by their outstanding performances throughout their college and USL seasons."
The players named to the camp, which will run from Jan. 17-25, are primarily collegiate players (21) along with current USL Super League leading scorer Ashlyn Puerta, who has 11 goals for Sporting JAX, Dallas Trinity midfielder Lexi Missimo, and defender Zoe Matthews, who plays for Dux Logroño in Spain on loan from the Houston Dash.
Bain is a defender from Alexandria, Ky., who started in 21 matches for the Musketeers in 2025, playing over 1,600 minutes to help the Musketeers defense to 12 shutout victories in matches in which she played. Offensively, she had a career-high 10 points on three goals and four assists in 2025.
Following the season, Bain became the first Musketeer to earn USC All-American honors three times in her career, earning Fourth Team honors for 2025 as well as earning a spot on the Second Team in both 2023 and 2024. Bain earned BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year for a second-straight season and All-BIG EAST First Team honors, marking the fourth time in her career she earned All-BIG EAST honors following the season.
She was also the only collegiate player selected to attend the Provisional U-23 US Women's National Team Roster for the Domestic Training Camp that ran in late October.
U.S. Under-23 Women's National Team head coach Heather Dyche will run the camp with all the other women's and girls' YNT head coaches serving as assistants.
The roster features players from six different birth years – 2003 through 2008 – with 11 of the players age-eligible for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. Six of the players have represented the USA in the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup while goalkeeper Caroline Birkel was on the USA's bronze medal-winning 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Team.
Striker Wrianna Hudson, who stands 6-foot-2, along with midfielder Nyanya Touray, who is the youngest player in camp, helped lead Florida State to the 2025 NCAA Championship. Hudson scored the game-winning goals in the semifinal and the title game.
U.S. Roster by Position – 2026 U.S. National Team Development Camp
Goalkeepers (3): Valentina Amaral (Wake Forest; Oviedo, Fla.), Caroline Birkel (Stanford; St. Louis, Mo.), Sonoma Kasica (Notre Dame; St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Defenders (8): Natalie Bain (Xavier; Alexandria, Ky.), Ally Brown (Tennessee; College Grove, Tenn.), Macy Blackburn (Texas Tech; Fort Worth, Texas), Bella Devey (UNC; Draper, Utah), Gracie Falla (South Carolina; Hattiesburg, Miss.), Daya King (Duke; Moreno Valley, Calif.), Zoe Matthews (Dux Logroño, ESP; Southlake, Texas), Sierra Sythe (Wake Forest; Long Beach, Calif.)
Midfielders (7): Pearl Cecil (Virginia; Encinitas, Calif.), Sam Courtwright (Duke; Dallas, Texas), Charlotte Kohler (Stanford; Woodside, Calif.), Lexi Missimo (Dallas Trinity FC; Southlake, Texas), Y-Lan Nguyen (Stanford; Fairfax, Va.), Ashlyn Puerta (Sporting JAX; Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.), Nyanya Touray (Florida State; Silver Spring, Md.)
Forwards (6): Lilliah Blum (Utah; Verona, Wis.), Alex Buck (Washington; Medina, Wash.), Seven Castain (TCU; Draper, Utah), Wrianna Hudson (Florida State; Rochester, N.Y.), Hope Leyba (Colorado; Phoenix, Ariz.), Ava McDonald (Texas; Allen, Texas)
"We are excited about hosting this Development Camp concurrently with our Women's National Team in Los Angeles as the camp will provide a valuable platform for players to showcase their abilities in front of the WNT and Youth WNT coaches," said Tracey Kevins, U.S. Soccer's Head of Development for the Women's Youth National Teams. "With a strong and expanding talent pool, this initiative allows us to offer players a meaningful development opportunity, earned by their outstanding performances throughout their college and USL seasons."
Players Mentioned
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