ATLANTA, Georgia (February 23, 2026) – Locomotive Youth Soccer announced today that Academy product Michael Perez participated in the U.S. U-16 Boys’ National Team Futures program training camp at McCurry Park in Fayetteville, Ga.
Developed through The U.S. Way strategy, the Boys’ National Team Futures initiative will provide additional programming throughout the year for players from ages 14 to 16 years old, with the goal of identifying, supporting and developing high-potential players who physically mature later than their peers. The initiative is additive to the already-existing Men’s Youth National Team structure, which operates seven teams between the U-15 and U-23 age groups, with the U-15 and U-16 BNT Futures each set to gather for camps three times throughout the calendar year.
“This is a phenomenal opportunity for one of our players to be selected into the final roster within the Youth National Team Pathway,” U-20 USL Academy Assistant Coach Sean Taylor said. “Michael has been a rising talent over the last two seasons while wearing the Locomotive badge. He has nothing but support from the club, his teammates, the coaches and the rest of the Locomotive staff. It is well deserved and something the city of El Paso can be proud of.”
U-16 BOYS’ NATIONAL TEAM – FUTURES (2010) – ROSTER BY POSITION (Club; Hometown)
Goalkeepers (3): Olumuyiwa Ajayi (New York City FC; New York, N.Y.), Abram Judy (Philadelphia Union; Wilmington, Del.), Brady Krysiewicz (Sporting Kansas City; Madison Heights, Va.)
Defenders (8): Josh Brown (Atlanta United; Snellville, Ga.), Oliver Endo (Seattle Sounders; Seattle, Wash.), Aiden Gayle (Philadelphia Union; Vorhees, N.J.), Liam Alexander Henry (New York City FC; Melville, N.Y.), Orion Jolliff (San Jose Earthquakes; Ceres, Calif.), Justus Jones (FC Dallas; Prosper, Texas), Dylan Lawlor (New York City FC; Southport, Conn.), Luca Stephan (Nashville SC; Nashville, Tenn.)
Midfielders (7): Xavi Cervantes (Chicago Fire; Cicero, Ill.), James Haynes (Charlotte FC; Atlanta, Ga.), Angel Mora (Seattle Sounders; Bellevue, Wash.), Matthew Shannon (Houston Dynamo; Kingwood, Texas), Gabriel Troya (Charlotte FC; Cornelius, N.C.), Ezra VanCleave (Barca Residency Academy; Pleasanton, Calif.), Kenneth Wilcox (LA Galaxy; Huntington Beach, Calif.)
Forwards (6): Daniel Ewers (Orlando City; Seffner, Fla.), Felix Gomez (LAFC; Moreno Valley, Calif.), Nolan Nguyen (Colorado Rapids; Denver, Colo.), Lucas Pereira (New England Revolution; Nashua, N.H.), Michael Perez (El Paso Locomotive FC; El Paso, Texas), Xavier Rodriguez (San Jose Earthquakes; Ceres, Calif. )
About the U.S. Way
The U.S. Way is a shared philosophy, strategy and a practical toolkit to enable excellence at every level of the game and for us to win. The U.S. Way is intended to work in partnership between the club and National Team environment to cultivate the next generation of talent with three areas of focus: World Class Development Pathways and Environments, including scaled Talent Identification, expanded Youth National Team programming and accelerated development and foundation building across the Extended National Teams; Shared and Scaled Infrastructure, highlighted by the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center, U.S. Way digital platform and unified youth calendar; and Professional Development for the Entire Ecosystem, featuring formal courses, technical and administrative staff community building, leadership development, and best practice resource sharing. For more information, visit ussoccer.com/ourvision/us-way.