Fresno native Max Arfsten makes 2026 U.S. World Cup roster

Fresno has another player on soccer’s biggest stage. Max Arfsten, a San Joaquin Memorial alum who grew up playing in Fresno, was named to the United States Men’s National Team’s 26-player 2026 World Cup roster, a milestone that puts a Central Valley path into the spotlight just as the tournament approaches.

U.S. Soccer announced the roster Tuesday in New York City, and the selection gave Arfsten his first World Cup berth. The Columbus Crew midfielder and defender has already built a substantial international resume: one senior debut, 18 appearances for the national team, five assists and one goal. He made that debut Jan. 18, 2025, against Venezuela in Fort Lauderdale, then scored his first international goal in a 2-2 quarterfinal draw with Costa Rica at the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup in Minneapolis.

Arfsten’s rise has come through a route familiar to many Fresno-area families, only now it has reached the sport’s highest level. U.S. Soccer lists Fresno as his hometown and says he played youth soccer for California Odyssey before attending UC Davis as a walk-on. He earned a scholarship there, made the Big West All-Freshman Team in 2019, and then was selected 14th overall in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft. He made his MLS debut and scored his first league goal on March 25, 2023, won MLS Cup with Columbus that same year and later made the 2025 MLS All-Star Team.

The local resonance runs beyond one player. Fresno already had another World Cup point of pride in Bullard alum Lynn Williams, who played for the U.S. women’s team at the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Arfsten’s selection suggests the region’s soccer pipeline is producing talent capable of breaking through from school fields and club teams to the biggest international stage. For San Joaquin Memorial, California Odyssey and the next generation of players in Fresno, Clovis and the rest of the county, that matters.

Arfsten said making the roster was his “ultimate dream come true” and thanked his parents, Fresno mentors, UC Davis supporters and the Crew. Columbus said he has 87 regular-season appearances, 14 goals and 22 assists since signing in February 2023, and that he scored the only goal in a May 20 U.S. Open Cup win over NYCFC that sent Columbus to the semifinal round for the first time in 16 years.

The World Cup runs June 11 through July 19 in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Before opening Group D against Paraguay on June 12 in Los Angeles, the U.S. will play Senegal on May 31 in Charlotte and Germany on June 6 in Chicago. Group D also includes Australia on June 19 in Seattle and Türkiye on June 25 in Los Angeles, with Fresno now watching one of its own walk into that bracket.