USA under-20 men's head coach JD Stephenson has named his squad to play Canada's U20s in the World Rugby U20 Trophy qualifier series.

The USA and Canada will face off in two games at Ellerslie Rugby Park in Edmonton, Alberta, on June 13 and June 17.

The USA defeated Canada in a one-off game to qualify for the U20 Trophy last year and went 2-2 in the tournament. This year, it will be possibly a tougher job. The players will assemble in Edmonton on June 6 and train for a week for the two games. The team Stephenson has put together is full of former high school All-Americans and players who have excelled at the prep level before they entered college.

Deion Mikesell is a fully capped Eagle and will be on the squad, as will Lorenzo Thomas. The team includes Jack Iscaro, who was a high school All-American while at Washington, D.C.'s Gonzaga College High School and is now at Cal, and Aaron Matthews, who was a teammate of Iscaro's on the high school AA squad while at Back Bay and is now starring for Saint Mary's. Christian Dyer was a rival of Iscaro's, playing for Jesuit, and is now a teammate at Cal. Malon Al-Jiboori, from Union (OK) High School, is now a fully capped USA sevens player.



Four of the players -- Ruben De Haas, John Schnell, Sam Walsh, and Bailey Wilson -- have been playing this spring season in high school.

"The coaching staff is very excited to work with the players that have been selected for the squad," Stephenson told USARugby.org. "There is a good mix of players from various backgrounds that we feel can be competitive and, more importantly, proudly represent the All-American crest and USA Rugby."

This year marks a slight change in how things are done in the qualifier, with the games outside the college and high school season. As a result, some top college teams that might have balked at player availability because of school and playoffs are now see their players on the squad.

"We have been fortunate to integrate with our men's national team in terms of structure, terminology, and process, which will look to allow for continuity for those players who are fortunate enough to progress into the Eagles," Stephenson said. "However, within this framework, we hope to have a distinct style of play that allows for our players to have a different and unique experience with the honor of representing their country."

Here is the USA's 28-man squad:

Malon Al-Jiboori - Men's Eagles Sevens
Tommy Clark - American International College
Jordan Crofts - Pennsylvania State University
Ruben De Haas - Little Rock Rugby Club
Christian Dyer - University of California, Berkeley
Peter Howard - Naas RFC (IRL)
Jack Iscaro - University of California, Berkeley
Justin Johnson - Life University
Jacob Jorstad - San Diego State University
Martin Keuchkerian - Mystic River Rugby Club
Nafitalai Maafu - Tempe Old Devils
Deven Marshall - Central Washington University
Aaron Matthews - Saint Mary's College
Deion Mikesell - Lindenwood University
Jack Miller - University of Colorado
Brian Nault - Central Washington University
Noah Niumataiwalu - Saint Joseph's University
Quinn Perry - Santa Monica Dolphins
Cristian Rodriguez - Lindenwood University
John Schnell - Katy Barbarians
Payton Telea - Saint Mary's College
Lorenzo Thomas - Lindenwood University
Daemon Torres - Life University
Samuel Walsh - Scots College (NZL)
Chance Wenglewski - Lindenwood University
Harley Wheeler - Life University
Jaret Williamson - St. Bonaventure University
Bailey Wilson - United Varsity Rugby

USA U20 Coaching Staff

JD Stephenson - Head Coach
Rob Randell - Assistant Coach
Colton Cariaga - Assistant Coach
Chris Oosthuizen - Assistant Coach
Justin Goonan - Strength and Conditioning Coach
Jimmy Harrison - Analyst
Alan Wallace - Physiotherapist Mike Elam - Manager