ATLANTA – Penn State women’s soccer alumna and United States U17 Women’s Youth National Team head coach Katie Schoepfer selected incoming freshman Nittany Lion defender Marlee Raymond to participate in the organization’s upcoming June camp and pair of friendly matches against Japan, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced.
Raymond joins the Blue & White as a reclassified member of the 2026 signing class and hails from Cumming, Georgia, with the rookie slated to enter her first collegiate season with PSU this fall. Raymond has been a decorated member of the USYNT player pool over the past few years, adding additional acclaim at the ECNL and high school levels. She has been a part of the U.S. Youth National Team as the U15, U16, U17 and U20 levels in varying capacities, including appearances at a UEFA Tournament in addition to a gold-medal performance with the U16 team in a tournament hosted by Turkey in May of 2024. At the club level, she has earned ECNL All-Conference accolades in addition to a pair of appearances in the ECNL National Selection Game and a pair of ECNL Conference Cups. Among the high school ranks, Raymond has been named an All-Region and All-State selection in Georgia, a two-time Defender of the Year and a Freshman Athlete of the Year over the course of her high school playing career. Raymond was one of five top 100 players that signed to the PSU roster in 2025, landing the No. 75 individual player ranking within her class according to TopDrawerSoccer.
Raymond is the latest member of the 2025 Nittany Lion roster to garner a USYNT call-up, joining a group of eight athletes to secure Collegiate Talent ID, U17, U18, U19 or U20 selections since March of this year. The outstanding rookie prospect joins fellow incoming freshman teammates Kennedy Ring, Riley Cross and Hannah Jordan, rising sophomores Bella Ayscue, Kieryn Jeter and Kealey Titmuss, as well as rising junior Kaelyn Wolfe on the talented list of Penn Staters joining the USYNT ranks this season. Penn State’s history of placement with the United States Soccer Federation continues at every level of the sport, with Raymond’s appointment to the U17 squad coming less than 24 hours after the organization announced that PSU alumnae Kerry Abello and Sam Coffey would return to the senior USWNT for camp activities this summer.
With Schoepfer at the helm and Raymond on the squad, the U17 WYNT will begin their June training camp in the coming week in preparation for a nationally broadcast friendly match against Japan from CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, home to the National Women’s Soccer League’s Kansas City Current in addition to being the only purpose-built women’s professional soccer venue in the world. CPKC Stadium is additionally slated to host the 2025 NCAA Women’s College Cup, the proverbial “Final Four” of women’s collegiate soccer. The USYNT’s friendly match is slated for a 7:30 p.m. (ET) start on June 28, with streaming available to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via Max and Telemundo Deportes.
The U17 WYNT will play a second match against Japan in a closed-door friendly on July 1 at the University of Kansas Health System Training Center in Riverside, Missouri, the training facility for the Kansas City Current. The two-match series will serve as preparation for the upcoming 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in November, which will be staged annually starting this year.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Visit GoPSUSports.com for more information on Penn State women’s soccer. Fans can keep up to date with the Nittany Lion women’s soccer team on Instagram and X @PennStateWSOC, in addition to the team’s Facebook page at /PSUWomensSoccer.