Where does Patrick Schulte fit in the picture for Team USA's squad

Patrick Schulte, at just 23 years old, has already started to put both MLS and international play on notice.

Throughout the last two seasons for the Columbus Crew, he has been the bonified starting goalkeeper for the team after having dominated in between the goalposts. Due to his impressive play at the club level, he was given the call-up to the U-23 Team USA squad, making an impact in Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Yet again, he was called up to the big stages again, but this time for the September international team call-ups. Unlike his previous call-up, this time it's to the senior camp with Team USA fully embracing his recent breakout.

Before being called up, Schulte spoke on his time in Paris with the team as a massive learning experience.

"There were a lot of learning moments there," Schulte said. "It was my first ever international tournament at any level. ... Hopefully, I'll get to take what I've learned there and apply it in the future."

His ability to be self-aware at this point in his career, and be open to continuing to grow has only helped to increase his ceiling. Fortunately for Schulte, it has been seen by the staff and players for the Crew as he's been nearly solidified as the everyday starting keeper alongside Nicholas Hagen.

However, the question is now becoming more and more apparent, where does Schulte rank on the national team?

The current roster has four active goalkeepers listed. Those between the pipes consist of Ethan Horvath, Diego Kochen, Schulte and starting keeper Matt Turner. While Turner has been the lead horse for quite some time now, Schulte made his name known in Paris as a man to potentially get some starts with the senior team.

A big knock to Turner recently has been how unused he has been at the club level. He has bounced around in the Premier League with Arsenal, Nottingham Forest and now most recently, Crystal Palace on loan. Through each of his stops, he has been given very few starts and even most recently lost the starting job in Nottingham before having to be moved to Crystal Palace. There, he will now compete with current keeper Dean Henderson for the starting job in hopes to continue elevating his game to compete for Team USA on the international stages.

For Schulte though, continuing to get reps while Turner does not will only grow his effectiveness on the pitch and ability to succeed. Schulte should be the second string behind Turner as of now, but if he continues to impress with the Crew, there is a very good chance he could start to overtake Turner in due time.

As the team looks to qualify for the World Cup and get extra work in through international friendlies, there is almost no doubt the Black & Gold faithful can expect to see Schulte getting starts in the net.

Other members of the Crew who have been called up recently are forward Cucho Hernandez to Colombia, midfielder Mo Farsi to Algeria, defender Steven Moreira to Cape Verde and goalkeeperNicholas Hagen to Guatemala. These five will all attempt to lead their respective nations throughout the upcoming World Cup qualifiers and other international responsibilities.