Baylor soccer junior midfielder Julie James will compete with the U.S. Under-23 Women’s National Team in the Thorns Spring Invitational, which will see the USA taking on three NWSL teams between March 11-17 at Merlo Field on the campus of the University of Portland.
The Fairview, Texas, native is one of 23 collegiate student-athletes joining one NWSL player to compete in the tournament, which will pit the U-23 squad versus the Houston Dash, Chicago Red Stars, and Portland Thorns FC.
James is the only Big 12 player and the only native Texan represented on the 24-member roster.
James previously trained with the U-20 team in 2014 while still in high school and the U-23 squad in January, with the tournament action standing as her first competition with the national team.
A strong showing in 2017 secured the calls for James, with the junior earning United Soccer Coaches All-Region Second Team, All-Big 12 First Team, and Scholar All-America Second Team.
She served as one of the three captains for the 2017 squad, helping lead BU to a Big 12 tournament title and the program’s best-ever run in the NCAA postseason, advancing to the Elite 8 for the first time. In some of her best outings of the season, James was named to the Big 12 Soccer Championship All-Tournament team after shutting down three of the conference’s top offenses.
