CRAA U19 Team Look to RAN Championship in August

06.29.2026College Men

USA U19s won in 2025. Will CRAA U19s pull off the win also?

Author: Alex Goff

Querétaro, Mexico will host the 2026 RAN U19s August 5-8 and the USA team in attendance, this year, will be a squad run by CRAA.

As announced back in April CRAA is supporting this team with a cadre of CRAA collegiate coaches running things—Zach Swithenbank (ARC) is overseeing with the help of Jody Hensley, Sean Duffy (Arizona) is the Head Coach, and Peter Malcolm (Ohio State) and Joe Rusert-Cuddy (Colorado State) also on the coaching staff.

This is important t point out, because this isn't, technically, a USA team. It is a CRAA team that is trying to bridge the gap between the USA U18 and USA U20 teams.

The squad, which will be announced soon, will feature 26 players of which 14 are in college and 12 have just graduated high school. What has rankled some is that all of the players are connected to CRAA teams. If you are a high school player going into college, to be chosen for this team you would need to be committed to a CRAA team, or, in the case of one player, if you opted for an overseas experience, that is good, too.

People connected with NCR might not be happy about that, but it is a CRAA-run team.

As for the team and the experience itself, GRR checked in with Duffy this week.

"We're filling a much-needed gap between the U18s and the U20s," said Duffy, who added that the USA National Team setup has shared elements of what they do and how they operate. "No, we're not a true National Team, but we are all playing from the same sheet of music. Players can come into this U19 team and know the play calls and the systems."

The team itself was put together via coach recommendations and scouting and film. Some players played their way onto the team at HS Nationals. Some were scouted by college coaches. Every player was born in either 2007 or 2008. Some of the 2008 players were recommended by USA U18 Head Coach Luke Lewis.

Crucially, all of the players who were considered for this team, including those who weren't picked, will have their information forwarded to the U20 program. The idea, said Duffy, is to make sure players don't slip through the screening simply because they didn't make one age-grade team.

The CRAA U19 team is probably still favored to win. Whether it's the USA U19s, or the USA South Panthers, the American team has won almost every time. However, Duffy warned that all of the teams are improving.

"I think all of the countries in the region are getting better," he said. "We know the US team won last year so we will have a target on our backs and teams will bring their best against us. But what we will need to do is focus on the process."

The participating teams for the 2026 RAN U19 Championships have not been confirmed. But of course Mexico will be there. This will be the final year for Querétaro's hosting agreement, so there's a chance we might see the USA host in the future.