COMMERCE CITY, Colo. - Rapids Academy players Alex Hernandez, Nolan Nguyen and Nathan Tchoumba have been called into the U.S. U-15 Youth National Team for a domestic training camp in October, U.S. Soccer announced. The players will join the national team from October 13-19 in West Palm Beach, Florida, under Head Coach Tom Heinemann.
“We are very excited for Alex, Nathan and Nolan to take the next steps in their journey with the national team. Our players have earned this opportunity after proving themselves at the U.S. Soccer Boys U-14 National ID Camp back in March. As a club, we are proud to have three of our players represented in the new cycle of young talent representing our country,” said Chris Cartlidge, Colorado Rapids Technical Director.
Hernandez joined the club in 2022 from local youth side CASA. During the 2023-24 MLS NEXT season, the midfielder helped his U-15 side to a first place finish in the Frontier Division with a 9-3-5 record, marking the first time that a Rapids Academy U-15 team has finished first in its division in club history. Hernandez added six goals and five assists in 37 matches last season. During the current 2024-25 season, Hernandez has logged four goals and one assist with the U-16 team in just eight games.
As a part of the club’s U-14 team, Nguyen and Tchoumba were key influences in the team’s success during the 2023-24 MLS NEXT season. Defensive midfielder Nguyen added four goals and two assists while attacking midfielder Tchoumba contributed one goal and three assists. Tchoumba also earned the opportunity to play with the U-15 side during the 2023-24 Generation adidas Cup, MLS NEXT Flex and MLS NEXT Cup.
Both players are currently a part of the club’s U-15 team and have each contributed to a strong start to the season. Nguyen has logged two assists in 12 matches for the U-15s while Tchoumba has contributed one goal in 11 matches. Tchoumba has also earned the opportunity to play one match with the U-16s so far this season.
All 24 players called to Florida were a part of national identification camps in March and May as part of the U-14 Talent ID program. Those camps featured 80 players, 20 from each of U.S. Soccer’s four scouting regions- East, Central, South and West. For this first U-15 camp, 11 players come from the Central region, five from the West, four from the South and three from the East.
