CASTAIC, Calif. - USA Baseball announced the 2018 12U National Team Trials roster following the completion of the 2018 12U National Open on Wednesday. Thirty-six (36) athletes will compete for a spot on the final 18-man roster that will compete at the COPABE Pan Am "A" Championships in Aguascalientes, Mexico.
The 12U trials begins Thursday, July 26, at VTV Baseball in Castaic, California, and the final roster will be announced Saturday, July 28. All 36 athletes are competing for the chance to make their international debut for Team USA.
"This was one of the most competitive selection processes," said Will Schworer, Director of the 12U National Team Program at USA Baseball. "The skill level and competition of our pool of athletes placed our coaching staff with several hard choices to make. Our coaching staff is excited to begin the team trials."
Fifteen (15) athletes earned a spot on the 12U National Team Trials roster based on their performance at the 2018 USA Baseball 12U National Open in Castaic, California, from July 23-25. The 12U National Open is a three-day identification event comprised of 111 athletes selected from 12U Open Development Camps held across the entire country.
Twenty-one (21) additional athletes previously earned invitations to join the 12U trials from the 2017 11U National Team Identification Series (NTIS) and the 2018 USA Baseball Futures Invitational.
Following the final roster announcement on July 28, the 2018 12U National Team will participate in training from August 19-22 in Houston, Texas, before traveling to Aguascalientes, Mexico, for the COPABE Pan Am "A" Championships, which gets underway August 25.
Manager Todd Fine, a four-time national team assistant coach, is leading the U.S. in 2018, as they seek their first-ever gold medal at the COPABE Pan Am "A" Championships. Pitching coach Jason Sekany and assistant coaches RJ Farrell and Marc Wiese complete the coaching staff for the stars and stripes.
For more information on the 12U National Team and the selection process, please visit USABaseball.com or follow along on Twitter, at @USABaseball12U.
2018 USA Baseball 12U National Team Trials Roster:
(Name; Position; Hometown)
Luis Ayden Almeyda; IF/OF; Hawthorne, N.J.
Cole Bernstein; IF/RHP; Santa Monica, Calif.
Tristan Bristow; RHP/IF; San Antonio, Texas
Brayden Charness; LHP/IF; Calabasas, Calif.
Masato Chilcutt; IF/C; San Antonio, Texas
J.D. Crisp; OF/LHP; Cypress, Calif.
Kayson Cunningham; IF; San Antonio, Texas
Kameron Davis; SS/OF; Albany, Ga.
Paul Dominguez; IF/OF; Anaheim, Calif.
Ernie Echevarria; C/IF; Miami, Fla.
Ross Felder; SS/RHP; Springdale, Ark.
Gavin Fien; MIF/RHP; Temecula, Wash.
Travis   Friend; OF/MIF; Whittier, Calif.
Linkin   Garcia; IF/RHP; Fullerton, Calif.
Talin Gardini; LHP/1B; San Diego, Calif.
Gavin Gargiulo; RHP/1B; Coral Springs, Fla.
Dylan Green; IF/RHP; Roseville, Calif.
Adam Haight; IF/RHP; Snohomish, Wash.
Kailand Halstead; C/RHP; Aberdeen, Wash.
Christian Hamilton; OF/RHP; Lauderhill, Fla.
Seth Hernandez; IF/RHP; Ontario, Calif.
Noah Libed; 1B/LHP; Chula Vista, Calif.
Dean Moss; RHP/IF; Hillsborough, Calif.
Josiah Palomino; C/OF; Riverside, Calif.
Kibru Pam; OF/RHP; Pasadena, Calif.
Jacob Parker; OF/IF; Purvis, Miss.
Julius Pfau; IF/OF; Tampa, Fla.
Ethan Porter; RHP/1B; Costa Mesa, Calif.
Ethan Puig; IF/RHP; Miami, Fla.
Cade Segura; IF/LHP; Pleasanton, Texas
Elijah Selga; C/IF; Chulsa Vista, Calif.
Brady Strohm; 3B/RHP; Winchester, Calif.
Brock Thompson; MIF/RHP; Bakersfield, Calif.
Ford Thompson; OF/LHP; Snellville, Ga.
Michael Torres; OH/LHP; Miami, Fla.
Braeden Weckman; OF/RHP; Winter Springs, Fla.
About USA Baseball
USA Baseball is the national governing body for the sport of baseball in the United States and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The organization selects and trains the World Baseball Classic, Premier12 and Pan Am teams (and all other USA Baseball Professional Teams); the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team; the USA Baseball 18U, 15U and 12U National Teams; and the USA Baseball Women's National Team, all of which participate in various international competitions each year. The organization is responsible for the continued proliferation and health of the sport, and leads a number of amateur initiatives including PLAYBALL and Pitch Smart. USA Baseball also presents the Golden Spikes Award annually to the top amateur baseball player in the country. For more information, please visit the organization's official websites: USABaseball.com, PLAYBALL.org, PitchSmart.org, GoldenSpikesAward.com and USABaseballShop.com.