Red Bulls midfielder Tyler Adams (right) defends against Earthquakes’ Shaun Francis last year. (Photo by Kelley L. Cox/USA Today)
Red Bulls midfielder Tyler Adams and New York City FC midfielder and draft choice Jonathan Lewis were named to the 20-player roster by U.S. Under-20 head coach Tab Ramos for the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship Thursday.

The competition, which doubles as the team’s 2017 World Cup qualifying tournament, runs from Feb. 17-March 5 in Costa Rica.

Adams, a rising player in the Red Bulls system, hails from Wappingers Falls, N.Y. Lewis was chosen third overall in the recent Major League Soccer SuperDraft.

The USA has been drawn into Group B along with Panama, Haiti and Saint Kitts and Nevis. The U.S. opens against Panama at 4 p.m. ET on Feb. 18, followed by Haiti at 5:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 21 and Saint Kitts and Nevis at 5:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 24.

“This process is always difficult,” Ramos said. “Inevitably you always end up leaving a couple guys out who deserve to be on the roster. When selecting a roster for a tournament like this, where you are trying to qualify to the world cup, you are putting together a best 11 and then players who can play multiple positions. So that’s what we’ve done. We are happy with the team and we are looking forward to qualifying.”

The U.S. roster includes one member of the USA’s 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup team in defender Erik Palmer-Brown who Ramos named team captain for the qualifying tournament.

Eleven players on the USA roster represent clubs in Major League Soccer: defenders Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake), Erik Palmer-Brown (Sporting Kansas City), Tommy Redding (Orlando City SC) and Auston Trusty (Philadelphia Union), midfielders Danny Acosta (Real Salt Lake), Adams (Red Bulls), Craft Coy (FC Dallas), Lewis (NYC FC) and Sebastian Saucedo (Real Salt Lake), and forwards Jeremy Ebobisse (Portland Timbers) and Brooks Lennon (Real Salt Lake).

Two U-20 MNT players are teammates on Premier League 2 (U-23) side Fulham F.C.: midfielder Luca de la Torre and defender Marlon Fossey.

The U.S. roster:

GOALKEEPERS (2): Jonathan Klinsmann (University of California; Newport Beach, Calif.), JT Marcinkowski (Georgetown; Alamo, Calif.)

DEFENDERS (6): Marlon Fossey (Fulham F.C.; Surbiton, England), Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake; Tucson, Ariz.), Aaron Herrera (New Mexico; Casa Grande, Ariz.), Erik Palmer-Brown (Sporting Kansas City; Lee’s Summit, Mo.), Tommy Redding (Orlando City SC; Oviedo, Fla.), Auston Trusty (Philadelphia Union; Media, Pa.)

MIDFIELDERS (9): Danny Acosta (Real Salt Lake; Salt Lake City, Utah), Tyler Adams (New York Red Bulls; Wappingers Falls, N.Y), Coy Craft (FC Dallas; Frisco, Texas), Luca De la Torre (Fulham F.C.; San Diego, Calif.), Jonathan Gonzalez (CF Monterrey; Santa Rosa, Calif.), Jeremiah Gutjahr (Indiana University; Bloomington, Ind.), Jonathan Lewis (New York City FC; Plantation, Fla.), Sebastian Saucedo (Real Salt Lake; Park City, Utah), Eryk Williamson (University of Maryland; Alexandria, Va.)

FORWARDS (3): Jeremy Ebobisse (Portland Timbers; Bethesda, Md.), Brooks Lennon (Real Salt Lake; Paradise Valley, Ariz.), Emmanuel Sabbi (UD Las Palmas; Libertyville, Ill.)

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.