Twenty of the nation’s best amateur baseball players have earned a coveted spot on USA Baseball’s 18U National Team. While every player on the team has dreamt of the opportunity, some, like Kayson Cunningham and Quentin Young, have been preparing for it.

With eight athletes that have attended at least one of USA Baseball’s development programs over the course of their young careers, many on the 18U squad have already trained for a chance to compete on the international stage. Now, they have it.

Cunningham and Young are two of three of the players on this year’s 18U National Team that have completed both USA Baseball’s Athlete Development Program (ADP) and National Team Development Program (NTDP).

The ADP allows younger athletes to connect with USA Baseball coaches and train with a national team staff in order to one day prepare them for service on a national team. The NTDP accomplishes the same mission for older athletes — both offer skill development sessions, educational seminars, and opportunities for players to develop both on and off the field.

Ultimately, they prepare the country’s best baseball players for a chance to play on national teams and for overall growth in their game.

“I feel like they did help me a lot,” Young said. “It's just growing. That's all you do. You grow, you learn new things to try to put into your game, see what you do to make yourself better. So I feel like it has helped a lot.”

Both Young and Cunningham attended ADP, which services players at the 13U and 14U levels. This program is often the first real step into a player's experience with USA Baseball and to realizing their dream to play on a national team, compete at the collegiate level, and to make a major league roster.

“It was a great experience,” Cunningham said. “It was one of my first times being around all the best players in the country, at a young age, too. And I think it really prepared me for years to come.”

Those years at the ADP can truly be formative experiences for young athletes like Young and Cunningham. One of the biggest benefits from both programs is meeting the rest of the best players in your age group, players you’ll face or fight alongside throughout the rest of your career.

“I liked [the programs] a lot,” Young said. “It’s just meeting new players throughout the years, players that are going to be good. You'll see them when you're older. Playing against them and playing with them at that point, you kind of learn and grow with them. So it's a lot of fun being at those events.”

The NTDP services players at the 16U and 17U level. Here, players get to continue developing their skills and relationships with other athletes and coaches. They also get a chance to show what they can do in hopes of making a national team and preparing them for the rigorous selection process for that team.

“I went to the NTDP for two years, in 2023 and 2022 — just an awesome experience,” Cunningham said. “I think it honestly prepared me for what to expect when coming to the USA 18U training camp. And just by putting myself on that scene, I'm able to be evaluated from a young age — I think it's really important.”

USA Baseball’s development programs offer on-field training that often differs from what players normally practice at home throughout their middle and high school careers. Whether it's trying out a new position or drilling high-level skills you might not normally practice, athletes get the chance to develop themselves as well-rounded baseball players.

“It has prepared me a lot,” Young said. “I like learning new things, playing new positions, that's also a fun thing you don't get to do on your own because when you're at home, you try to practice one thing. But playing out here, you get to practice multiple things, so I think that's really cool.”

The events not only set players up for success on the field, but off it as well. While programs offer educational seminars such as money management, and discussions on what it takes to represent the stars and stripes overseas, sometimes it’s as simple as learning how to interact with your team in national team scenarios, such as living in a hotel or interacting with coaches.

“The skill development was obviously there,” Cunningham said. “But honestly, just having a roommate, being in, being in the hotel by myself, with the coaches — not with my parents — I think it was definitely something to get used to at first, but now I'm used to it.”

One of the biggest boons of the development programs is the uber-talented and experienced array of coaches that players have at their disposal. From pitching and hitting technique tune-ups to lessons on what it takes to win, coaches at the ADP and NTDP are often the difference makers for dozens of young athletes each and every summer.

“Off the field, it’s just having the meetings with all the coaches, having them talk about things that go on throughout the years and what you can learn from that,” Young said.
“Having us take notes about all the different things you might have to do in the future, I think that's the best part about it — learning new things from all the coaches.”

Current 18U National Team pitching coach Brad Penny is just one of the staffers that coach at USA Baseball’s development programs. As a former coach of many of the successful players that have passed through the programs, such as Golden Spikes Award Winner Dylan Crews, Penny testified to the talent and depth of both program’s coaches being used as resources for players.

“You got a lot of good coaches here that have coached for years, and a lot of good players that have played at the highest level that are now coaching,” Penny said. “So if you try to get as much information as you can, it'll help you.”

Ultimately, development programs like the ADP and NTDP offer a great way for athletes to develop their entire game and prepare themselves for making a national team. So after Cunningham and Young learned they made the 20-man cut, they were overjoyed in a moment of pure payoff.

“It's a lot of payoff,” Young said. “You practice for this your whole life, it's the one event that you want to do. There's more events in the future that you'll want to do but this is one if you want to go off to college or get drafted, this is the top event you want to do.”