THE LATEST U-23 ROSTER is out and, boy, it sure is underwhelming.

We’ve discussed this before: The age group hoping to represent the United States at the 2016 Olympic Games represents a strange anomaly in U.S Soccer—a dead zone of professional development featuring very few age-eligible players who are excelling on a club level. Very few.

If the outcome of the 2013 U-20 World Cup wasn’t enough to reveal this uncomfortable truth—an egregious pasting in the Group of Death—to have many of the same players stagnating (or falling off the map completely) some two years later makes the situation a problematic one for U.S. Soccer.

Looking to right the ship before Olympic qualifying begins in the fall, the U-23 age group will next head to France to compete in the prestigious Toulon Tournament beginning on Wednesday. Drawn into Group A, the Americans will have to navigate a difficult pool of opposition including host-nation France, the Netherlands, Qatar, and familiar CONCACAF foe Costa Rica.

Here is the full 19-man roster released by U.S Soccer.

GOALKEEPERS: Cody Cropper (Southampton; Maple Grove, Minn.), Charlie Horton (Cardiff City; Cleveland, Ohio), Tyler Miller (Zweibrücken; Woodbury, NJ)

DEFENDERS: Juan Pablo Ocegueda (Alebrijes de Oaxaca; Riverside, Calif.), Boyd Okwuonu (Real Salt Lake; Edmund, Okla.), Shane O'Neill (Colorado Rapids; Boulder, Colo.), William Packwood (Unattached; Concord, Mass.), Jalen Robinson (D.C. United; Catonsville, Md.), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids; Brighton, Colo.), Sam Strong (Santa Barbara; Santa Barbara, Calif.)

MIDFIELDERS: Fatai Alashe (San Jose Earthquakes; Northville, Mich.), Benji Joya (Santos Laguna; San Jose, Calif.), Daniel Metzger (New York Red Bulls II; Holmdel, NJ), Marc Pelosi (Liverpool; Sunnyvale, Calif.)

FORWARDS: Julian Green (Bayern Munich; Tampa, Fla.); Alonso Hernandez (CF Monterrey; El Paso, Tex.), Jerome Kiesewetter (Stuttgart; Berlin, Germany), Alfred Koroma Shams (Southlake Carol, Texas), Jordan Morris (Stanford; Mercer Island, Wash.)

Jumping out immediately are the names of essentially three "unattached" players in Shams, Packwood, and Joya, who, despite recently re-signing with Santos Laguna, has been out of contract for the better part of six months. Joining them are five players who have never played a professional minute and several who have not advanced beyond the reserve ranks of their respective clubs. Of the players named (one more will reportedly join the group) only Shane O’Neill, Dillon Serna, and Fatai Alashe are seeing regular first-team, first-division minutes. 

Speaking of which, there’s Julian Green. Hard to believe but this World Cup goalscorer has played exactly 90 competitive minutes in 2015.

That’s one match. In March. For the Hamburg reserves. In the German fourth division.

This was the gamble when Green came aboard. Wanting to secure his international services, U.S. Soccer put on a full-court press for the Bayern Munich teenager who had yet to really prove himself at the professional level aside from, you know, getting a professional contract with the best club team in the world. Now that’s he’s cast his lot with the Americans, there are still several questions left to answer about the player.

For starters: What is his place in the player pool and can Jurgen Klinsmann continue to justify senior team call-ups? Some time and, hopefully, success with the U-23s should help provide some clarity going forward. Getting on an actual soccer field is always a good first step.

As threadbare as this roster may look, it shouldn’t necessarily set off any alarm bells. Not exactly a first-choice roster from coach Andreas Herzog, the Americans will be missing John Brooks, DeAndre Yedlin, Luis Gil, Wil Trapp, and the injured Caleb Stanko—several of whom will be asked to play a huge role for the upcoming Olympic qualifying tournament.

On the other hand, I wouldn’t be too optimistic either.

The Americans will battle France in its opening match on Wednesday (1pm ET, BeIN Sports).

UPDATES

• Another name missing from the U-23 roster is Borussia Monchengladbach forward Mario Rodriguez. One of the more successful members of this his class, Rodriguez scored his sixth goal of the season last week in a 4-0 win over KFC Uerdingen 05—besting his total from the previous season. The win also clinched a spot in the upcoming 3.Liga promotion playoffs, giving Rodriguez and other starters a rest against Schalke on Saturday (2-1 loss) in the Regionalliga season finale. Gladbach II begins its two-leg promotion series with Werden Bremen II on Wednesday.
  
  

• On the other side of the coin, Borussia Dortmund II ended a disappointing season last week by falling 3-2 to FC Dynamo Dresden, thereby guaranteeing relegation into the Regionalliga next season. This is a clear setback for Joe Gyau and Junior Flores, who had garnered some solid game experience playing with the reserves in the German 3.Liga this season. Along with the departure of Jurgen Klopp, it will be an uneasy few months in Dortmund. INQUEST!

Getting word @BVB prospect Junior Flores taking hard look at El Salvador future after being left off USA U20 World Cup squad

— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) May 21, 2015

• After missing out on the U-20 World Cup for the United States, Flores could reportedly test the international waters with El Salvador, which has pursued the teenager for its senior setup for the better part of two years. If he "defects," El Salvador could cap-tie Flores as soon as this summer’s Gold Cup. However, a question remains: Was excluding him really a “snub”?
  
  
• Positives? The Dortmund U17s, which play in the B-Junioren Bundesliga West, have won the division for the second consecutive year. U.S. under-17 hype train conductor, Christian Pulisic, finished the season with six goals in only 320 minutes of work (four appearances). The U-17s will finish its season next weekend.
  
  
• Speaking of relegation, Zweibrucken, playing the Regionalliga Sudwest, will be mercifully dropped to the German fifth division next season after losing its 17th consecutive match on Saturday, a 1-0 loss to FC Astoria Waldorf. U-23 goalkeeper call-up Tyler Miller got the start and played 90 minutes in the loss.
  
  
• German 3.Liga side SpVgg Unterhacing, which features former Freiburg prospect Eric Lickert, will also be relegated to the Regionalliga.
  
  
• After making his debut earlier in the month for Hannover U-19, Abuchi Obinwa made a late substitute appearance for the club in a 1-0 win over TSV Havelse to win the A-Junioren Bundesliga Pokal Cup.

'97 #usynt Abuchi Obinwa wins Pokal A-Junioren Bundesliga Nord/Nordost with Hannover 96 U19s. pic.twitter.com/kGMJnQ9uW7

— USAprospects (@USAprospects) May 15, 2015

• U-23 forward Jerome Keisewetter made his 33rd appearance for VfB Stuttgart II on Saturday, getting the start and playing 67 minutes in a 3-2 season-ending win over Energie Cottbus. Keisewetter has quietly had one of the more productive seasons for any foreign-based American youth player, finishing second on the club in appearances; sixth in minutes (2,155), third in goals (four); and first in assists with five.
  
  
• Andrija Novakovich finished out his season with Reading U-21 last weekend, getting the start and playing 90 minutes in a 1-0 loss to West Brom. Novakovich enjoyed a spectacular rise at the club this season, going from the U-18s to earning a first-team appearance in less than three months. Slated for a first-team position next season, Novakovich's output helped secure promotion into the U-21 Premier League Division 1 for the reserve Royals.
  
  
• Djair Parfitt-Williams also made a quick ascent for West Ham United this season, dominating for the U-18s (nine goals and six assists in 20 matches) before moving to the reserves, adding two goals and two assists in 14 appearances. Last week, Parfitt-Williams got the start, playing 90 minutes in a 1-0 win over U-21 champs Chelsea. The Bermuda-born forward sat out the team’s season finale against Leicester City last weekend.
  
  
• Before jetting off to France with the U-23s last week, Cody Cropper picked up his third consecutive start in a 4-0 loss to Manchester City.
  
  
• Flying way under the radar in England is U.S under-18 left back Antonee Robinson. Featuring mostly for the Everton U-18s this season, Antonee finished the year with the reserve squad, starting the final five matches of the season, including a 90-minute shift in 3-1 win over Tottenham to close out the season.
  
  
• Fellow U-18 Kyle Scott wrapped up his season with the U-21 Premier League champs on Tuesday, getting the start and playing 86 minutes in a 2-2 draw with Norwich city. Next season should be a big one for Scott and we will continue to monitor his precarious international situation.