CARSON, Calif. – The driving distance between Cashman Field in downtown Las Vegas to Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angles covers 282 miles. It’s about a five-hour trip if you make good time on I-15 headed south.

For Orange County SC defender Kobi Henry, whose professional debut in the USL Championship at the age of 16 years, 3 months and 30 days came at Cashman Field against Las Vegas Lights FC on August 25, 2020, the journey from then to Saturday night – when he could have the chance to make his United States Men’s National Team debut in an international exhibition against Bosnia and Herzegovina – is one that could be only just beginning.

Whether he appears for Head Coach Gregg Berhalter’s side or not, the past two weeks of training alongside both experienced veterans and fellow newcomers not far from his current home venue of Championship Soccer Stadium is one he’s looked to make the most of.

“I'm really excited to go, prove myself and hopefully mark my spot at the men's team,” Henry told American Soccer Now’s Brian Sciaretta recently. “I was a bit surprised because how things went recently and just coming off winning the USL Championship – I've been having a lot of great news recently, so I'm really grateful for the opportunity.”

Henry’s selection alongside that of Louisville City FC’s Jonathan Gomez was a historic moment for the USL Championship, marking the first time any player currently on the books of a club in the league had achieved a senior USMNT call-up. For Gomez – who was voted the 2021 Championship Young Player of the Year at LouCity – the selection might not have come as a surprise. He had been previously on the national team radar, being included in the provisional roster for this past summer’s 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup, while also having had the opportunity to train with the Mexican Men’s National earlier in the year before the Concacaf Nations League Finals.

For Henry, though, the call-up was a sign of not only the potential he brings to the table at 17 years of age, but the opportunity he has carved out as part of Orange County SC’s set-up. After making the move west from Inter Miami CF’s academy system last year, he’s now made 22 regular season appearances and 19 starts for the 2021 USL Championship title winners, putting himself in a position to potentially emulate Gomez – who will officially be transferred to La Liga’s Real Sociedad in January – in making the move to Europe.

After the transfer of former Orange County goalkeeper Aaron Cervantes to Rangers FC last offseason, and interest in other top young talent such as Gomez’s fellow finalists for the Young Player of the Year award this year in San Antonio FC’s Jose Gallegos and El Paso Locomotive FC’s Diego Luna, the door is now opening wider as the spotlight on the Championship’s bright prospects shines brighter.

“USL as a league has a massive footprint and the amount of talent that will be available in those areas is huge,” USL Sporting Director Mark Cartwright told ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura. "It's about helping clubs unearth that talent and then nurture it domestically and internally.

“But if you think about the amount of talent that is out there – if it can be developed and coached and given the right pathway, then the league and the country has got the potential to be a huge player on the world market. That's for sure.”

That’s certainly the aim for Henry, who figures to play a major role in the next 12 months as the United States U-20 Men’s National Team attempts to qualify for both the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Indonesia, and the 2024 Men’s Olympic Soccer Tournament in Paris at next year’s Concacaf U-20 Championship. Turning 18 years old next April, the end goal of playing in one of the big five European leagues is what Henry is focused on and believes Orange County can help him reach.

“I was in Miami, and it was a great club,” Henry told Sciaretta. “I was treated very well, but I knew that I have a passion to go to Europe in the future. MLS is a really good league, but I've just grown up watching Premier League every weekend with my brother.

“Orange County has the pathway to Pro, where they could send the young players out on different trials and there is connection with Rangers. That was dream – as well as having the personnel on the team and veterans such as [former U.S. international] Michael Orozco and Rob Kiernan – just learning from those players. It just drew my attention and it certainly played out to have gone in my favor. I've learned a lot from those guys.”

Now 480 days removed from that debut for Orange County – and one USL Championship title-winning season under his belt – Henry’s star seems set to continue to rise.

“Being a champion so early in my career, it just gives me a real confidence boost and it allows me to have standards of where my mentality should be going forward,” Henry told Sciaretta. “That I should always hold myself to a higher standard because I've been with a team that has won a championship.”