American golf’s stars of tomorrow highlight USGA’s first-ever U.S. National Junior Team
Meet the future stars of American golf.
On Tuesday the United States Golf Association announced the inaugural U.S. National Junior Team, comprised of 10 girls and eight boys. The USGA plans to grow the National Junior Team to 30 boys and 30 girls over the next three years and will announce two additional teams as part of the U.S. National Development Program, which was launched last year. The Amateur Team will be announced in 2025 with the Young Professional Team to follow in 2026.
The goal of the U.S. National Development Program is to “ensure that American golf is the global leader in the game by focusing on six key pillars: talent identification, access to competition, national teams, athlete resources, player development and relations and athlete financial support.”
“We are thrilled to introduce the first U.S. National Junior Team, a group of 18 exceptionally talented young athletes who represent the bright future of American golf,” said Chris Zambri, head coach of the U.S. National Development Program. “Nearly every other golf country in the world has long enjoyed the benefits of a developmental program and national teams, and the announcement of this team is a major milestone in the USGA’s commitment to the growth of our American athletes and ensuring we remain the global leader in the junior, amateur and professional game.”
U.S. National Junior Team Roster
Boys
Blades Brown, 16, Nashville, Tennessee
Phillip Dunham, 16, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Henry Guan, 15, Irving, Texas
Will Hartman, 17, Marvin, North Carolina
Tyler Mawhinney, 16, Fleming Island, Florida
Michael Riebe, 17, Encinitas, California
Miles Russell, 15, Jacksonville Beach, Florida
Tyler Watts, 16, Huntsville, Alabama
Girls
Shyla Brown, 15, McKinney, Texas
Gianna Clemente, 16, Estero, Florida
Mia Hammond, 16, New Albany, Ohio
Ryleigh Knaub, 17, DeBary, Florida
Chloe Kovelesky, 17, Boca Raton, Florida
Nikki Oh, 16, Torrance, California
Emerie Schartz, 16, Wichita, Kansas
Scarlett Schremmer, 17, Birmingham, Alabama
Asterisk Talley, 15, Chowchilla, California
Angela Zhang, 14, Bellevue, Washington
The team is reevaluated annually by a selection committee of U.S. National Development Program staff members, and selections are made in accordance with eligibility criteria and based on a variety of competitive factors including scoring, results, statistics, rankings, sportsmanship and scouting.
All 18 players will participate at bi-annual camps and compete internationally under the U.S. flag throughout the 2024 season. The team’s first training camp will be held May 8-11 at Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Georgia, and the first international friendly match will take place this summer against Australia.
Back in January, the USGA announced the creation of a state team pilot program to expand the pipeline for elite junior golfers into the U.S. National Development Program. Seven states are currently active, and the USGA has a goal to have all 50 states participate by 2033.
