The Portland Timbers U-23s have made their first player announcements of the year, bringing in five new players, one of whom is a former Portland Timbers Academy player.

An El Salvador youth international, Romilio "Romy" Hernandez is a defensive midfielder out of the University of St. Louis where he has been a regular starter for his first two seasons with the squad. The 2014 season saw Hernandez start 18 of the Cardinals 22 matches, with the team going 9-7-3 while he was on the pitch. Hernandez has previous experience in the PDL, playing with the Orlando City U-23s during the 2014 season (highlights of one match can be found here).

James Moberg, former teammate of current Timbers first team players Taylor Peay and Andy Thoma at the University of Washington, also lines up in the middle of the pitch but tends to have a much more attacking bent to his play, having accumulated 21 assists and seven goals over the course of three seasons with the Huskies. Another player with PDL experience, Mobery has played against the U-23s before, spending the 2013 season with the Washington Crossfire. Moberg also spent a week with the U-23s themselves in 2014, taking part in the Homegrown Game before the 2014 All-Star Game at Providence Park (highlight of the Homegrown game, featuring Moberg wearing No. 10 for the U-23s, can be found here).

Even more familiar with the Timbers is Colin Partee, a graduate of the Timbers' academy and a goalkeeping revelation in the first-ever season of soccer at Utah Valley University. Averaging 4.4 saves per game with the Wolverines, Partee saved 84% of the shots he faced in 2014. A Timbers U-18s keeper through the 2013-14 season, Partee has trained with the Timbers U-23s and first team previously.

Sheldon Sullivan and Todd Wharton both come to the U-23s from 2014 NCAA National Champions, the University of Virginia. Respectively a left back and holding midfielder, Sullivan and Wharton both played significant parts in the Championship win. Sullivan, who was named to the 2014 NCAA College Cup All-Tournament team as a part of the defensive line the effectively shut down a high-flying UCLA squad in the NCAA final, has shown himself to be a steady defender despite only having completed this year as a red-shirt freshman. Wharton, a rising senior, was a consistent player in the center of the pitch for Virginia, making an appearance in all but once match that the Cavaliers have played since he joined the team.

The signings leave the U-23s with a solid foundation to build on, but with the PDL season starting next Thursday, May 14th, there will still need to be a number of other players brought in.

The Timbers' press release: