SANTA CLARITA, Calif. - USA Baseball revealed the 36-man 2019 12U National Team Trials roster on Monday, following the conclusion of the 12U National Open in Santa Clarita, California.
The 2019 12U Trials will begin on Tuesday, July 16, at William S. Hart Pony Baseball and Softball Park in Santa Clarita, California, and the final national team roster will be announced on July 18. The 12U National Team will then travel to Tainan, Taiwan to compete in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-12 Baseball World Cup.
"Our staff is thrilled to welcome these thirty-six young athletes to compete for a chance to play for Team USA," said 12U National Team Program Director Will Schworer. "Our task force has done a tremendous job at evaluating and selecting young men from every corner of the United States that bring an incredible amount of talent and a high-level of character to the USA Baseball program."
Eleven players on the national team trials roster were selected from the 2018 National Team Identification Series (NTIS), while 10 were chosen from the 11U Futures Invitational. Additionally, 15 players were selected from the 12U National Open on Monday, finalizing the 2019 12U Trials roster.
The 12U National Team will be playing for a record fourth consecutive world championship after earning the IBAF "A" World Cup gold medal in 2013, followed by gold medals at the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup in 2015 and 2017.
Todd Fine will return as the manager of the 12U National Team for the second consecutive year and will be joined by Jason Sekany, RJ Farrell and Marc Wiese, who all return to the staff after helping Team USA to its first-ever gold medal at the COPABE U-12 Pan-American Championships in 2018. Sekany will lead the pitching staff, while Farrell and Wiese will serve as assistant coaches.
For more information on the 12U National Team and the selection process, please visit USABaseball.com or follow along on Twitter at @USABaseball12U.
2019 12U National Team Trials roster:
Name; Position; Hometown; Identification Event (Team)
Dillon Adkins; LHP/OF; Mechanicsville, Md.; 12U National Open (Free)
Jack Armijo; LHP/1B; San Lorenzo, Calif.; 12U National Open (Eagles)
Thomas Brown; C/UTIL; Livermore, Calif.; 12U National Open (Patriots)
Anthony Del Angel; OF/IF; Rio Ranchero, N.M.; 2018 11U NTIS (Southwest)
Jesse Del Toro; RHP; Modesto, Calif.; 12U National Open (Stars)
John Dolan; C/RHP; Camarillo, Calif.; 12U National Open (Free)
Gavin Fien; SS/RHP; Temecula, Calif.; 11U Futures Invitational (MVP Hustle)
Hamilton Friedberg; SS/RHP; Redondo Beach, Calif.; 11U Futures Invitational (MVP Hustle)
Brayden Gutierrez; C/RHP; Bakersfield, Calif.; 12U National Open (United)
Josiah Hartshorn; OF/LHP; Anaheim, Calif.; 11U Futures Invitational (Top Tier Americans)
Rashad Hayes; OF; Oakland, Calif.; 12U National Open (Eagles)
Gavin Hottle; IF/RHP; Irvine, Calif.; 2018 11U NTIS (Southwest)
Bryant James; IF/RHP; Herndon, Va.; 2018 11U NTIS (Capital)
Brenden Lewis; 2B/RHP; Santee, Calif.; 11U Futures Invitational (San Diego Show)
Jaiden Lo Re; C/UTIL; Phoenix, Ariz.; 12U National Open (United)
Jack McKernan; OF/LHP; Missouri City, Texas; 11U Futures Invitational (Twelve Baseball)
Elijah McNeal; IF; Dublin, Calif.; 2018 11U NTIS (Mountain West)
Luis Mejia; IF/OF; Phoenix, Ariz.; 2018 11U NTIS (Southwest)
Gustavo Melendez; SS/UTIL; Cayey, P.R.; 11U Futures Invitational (I AM Baseball)
Alexander Mercurius; RHP; Las Vegas, Nev.; 12U National Open (United)
Noah Meza; OF; Chino Hills, Calif.; 12U National Open (Eagles)
Bryce Nixon; INF; Huffman, Texas; 12U National Open (Pride)
Henry Pancoast; UTIL/RHP; Hainesport, N.J.; 11U Futures Invitational (I AM Baseball)
Kalub Ramirez; UTIL/RHP; Hereford, Texas.; 11U Futures Invitational (Banditos Black)
Owen Robinson; LHP/IF; Greensboro, N.C.; 2018 11U NTIS (Capital)
Isaac Rojas; RHP/OF; Riverside, Calif.; 12U National Open (Eagles)
Jack Ruckert; OF/1B; Baton Rouge, La.; 12U National Open (Stripes)
C. J. Sampson; RHP/IF; Magnolia, Texas.; 2018 11U NTIS (South Texas)
Kruz Schoolcraft; IF/LHP; Aloha, Ore.; 2018 11U NTIS (Northwest)
Sebastian Segura; INF/UTIL; Spring, Texas; 12U National Open (Stars)
Logan Shields; RHP/1B; Manvel, Texas; 12U National Open (Stripes)
Jayden Stroman; IF/RHP; Medford, N.Y.; 2018 11U NTIS (North Atlantic)
Titan Targac; LHP/1B; Flatonia, Texas; 11U Futures Invitational (Banditos Black)
Lucas Tinajero; SS/RHP; Corpus Christi, Texas; 11U Futures Invitational (Banditos Black)
Eli Willits; IF/RHP; Fort Cobb, Okla.; 2018 11U NTIS (Midwest)
Miles Young; IF; Cypress, Texas; 2018 11U NTIS (North Texas)