CARY, N.C. – USA Baseball today named the roster for the 18U National Team Training Camp, which will be held from August 21-25 at JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, California. The announcement comes following the 2023 Prospect Development Pipeline (PDP) League, which concluded on July 3.

The final 20-man 18U National Team roster will be named on August 25 and will then compete in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup on September 1-10 in Taichung and Taipei, Taiwan. Team USA is the defending world champion at the U-18 level after winning the title last year in Florida.

In addition to the 40 athletes selected from the PDP League, a select number of athletes from the upcoming USA Baseball 16U/17U National Team Development Program (NTDP) will be chosen to compete for a spot on Team USA, finalizing the 2023 18U National Team Training Camp roster. The 16U/17U NTDP is set to take place from July 26-29 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina.

“We are very excited to announce our roster for this year’s Training Camp,” said Brett Curll, USA Baseball’s 18U National Team Director. “As always, the PDP League was extremely competitive and gave our coaching staff plenty to consider in the deciding this roster. We look forward to continuing our process at Training Camp as we aim to defend our world title in September.”

All 40 players on the Training Camp roster participated in the 2023 PDP League, which was held at the National Training Complex from June 26-July 3. The event is an invitation-based development and assessment opportunity for high school players eligible for the following year’s MLB Draft. Since its inception in 2019, it provides athletes with an extraordinary amateur experience, including competitive gameplay, player development sessions, educational seminars, and other programming to prepare players for a professional baseball career.

The Training Camp roster features 11 USA Baseball alumni, including six players who were named to the 15U National Team squad in 2021: Slade Caldwell, Konnor Griffin, Carson Messina, Mason Russell, Ethan Schiefelbein, and Nolan Traeger. In addition, Matthew Champion, Derek Curiel, Noah Franco, Messina, and PJ Morlando will reunite after winning gold at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier in Mexico last fall. 12U National Team alums Bryce Rainer (2017) and Brock Thompson (2018) also return for another chance to represent Team USA.

Eighteen players on the 40-man squad have previously participated in a USA Baseball NTDP. Seventeen athletes competed at last summer’s 16U/17U NTDP, while a trio of players were members of the 2021 16U/17U NTDP roster. Two players—Curiel and Rainer—participated in the 14U NTDP in 2019, while Thompson played at the 2019 13U Athlete Development Program (ADP). Additionally, 11 players have participated in past diversity-focused development programs led by MLB and USA Baseball.

In total, nineteen different states are represented on the 2023 Training Camp roster, with California leading the way with nine representatives. Florida has five players on the roster, while Georgia follows closely with four. Twenty-one players selected to the roster are committed to play collegiately in the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

The 2023 18U National Team will be managed by two-time MLB All-Star and 18U National team alum Michael Cuddyer. He is joined on staff by pitching coach LaTroy Hawkins along with assistants Butch Chaffin and Jason Maxwell.

The 2023 18U National Team Training Camp roster is as follows:

2023 18U National Team Training Camp Roster
(Name; Position; Hometown; School)

• *^Slade Caldwell; OF; Jonesboro, Ark.; Valley View
• Conrad Cason; RHP/INF; Lilburn, Ga.; Greater Atlanta Christian
• !*^Matthew Champion; RHP; Laguna Niguel, Calif.; Jserra
• Levi Clark; C; Marietta, Ga.; Walton
• !^Bryce Clavon; INF/OF; Kennesaw, Ga.; Kell
• Lazaro Collera; RHP; Miami, Fla.; Florida Christian
• *^Derek Curiel; OF; West Covina, Calif.; Orange Lutheran
• !Tague Davis; INF/LHP; Chadds Ford, Pa.; Malvern Preparatory
• ^Hayden Federico; INF/OF; West Monroe, La.; West Monroe
• *^Noah Franco; OF/LHP; Downey, Calif.; IMG Academy
• !Trey Gregory-Alford; RHP; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Coronado
• *^Konnor Griffin; OF; Florence, Miss.; Jackson Preparatory
• Owen Hall; RHP; Edmond, Okla.; Edmond North
• ^Aidan Hayse; RHP; Morris, Ill.; Joliet Catholic
• Carter Johnson; INF; Oxford, Ala.; Oxford
• !Sir Jamison Jones; C; Chicago, Ill.; St. Rita of Cascia
• Dylan Jordan; RHP; Springfield, Va.; Viera
• Johnny King; LHP/INF; Naples, Fla.; Naples
• ^Tegan Kuhns; RHP; Hagerstown, Md.; Gettysburg
• !Kaiden Lopez; RHP/OF; Lake Nona, Fla.; Oviedo
• Burke-Lee Mabeus; C; Henderson, Nev.; Bishop Gorman
• Manny Marin; INF; Miami, Fla.; Westminster
• Maximo Martinez; INF/RHP; Hawthorne, Calif.; Mira Costa
• Bryce Meccage; RHP; Pennington, N.J.; The Pennington School
• *Carson Messina; RHP; Summerville, S.C.; Summerville
• !Nicholas Montgomery; INF/C; Cypress, Calif.; Cypress
• !*^PJ Morlando; OF/INF; Summerville, S.C.; Summerville
• ^Michael Mullinax; OF; Canton, Ga.; North Cobb Christian
• !Kolt Myers; INF/RHP; St. Augustine, Fla.; St. John's Country Day
• !^Owen Paino; INF/OF; Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; Roy C. Ketcham
• *^Bryce Rainer; INF/RHP; Simi Valley, Calif.; Harvard-Westlake
• *^Mason Russell; LHP; Queen Creek, Ariz.; Casteel
• *^Ethan Schiefelbein; LHP; Corona, Calif.; Corona
• William Schmidt; RHP; Baton Rouge, La.; Catholic
• David Shields; LHP/OF; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Mt. Lebanon
• ^Levi Sterling; RHP/INF; Los Angeles, Calif.; Notre Dame
• *^Brock Thompson; INF; Bakersfield, Calif.; Liberty
• !*^Nolan Traeger; C/OF; Spring, Texas; Concordia Lutheran
• Carson Wiggins; RHP; Roland, Okla.; Roland
• ^Cooper Williams; LHP; Alvin, Texas; Alvin

*Denotes USA Baseball National Team alum
^Denotes past NTDP participant
!Denotes past MLB diversity-focused programming