LOS ANGELES - UCLA sophomore outfielder Garrett Mitchell has been invited to play with the United States Collegiate National Team this summer, it was announced on Wednesday by USA Baseball.
Mitchell, who was in the midst of a breakout sophomore season, joins a rich history of Bruins to have suited up for the Collegiate National Team. He is set to become the 18th UCLA player to don the red, white, and blue, following in the footsteps of established MLB stars such as Gerrit Cole, Trevor Bauer, Brandon Crawford, and Troy Glaus.
The Orange, Calif. native is poised to be UCLA's first position player on the Collegiate National Team since Steve Rodriguez in 2010. Current Bruin second baseman Chase Strumpf was selected to the team in the summer of 2018, but did not participate due to injury.
The USA Baseball Collegiate National Team will participate in series of four intrasquad exhibition games and a game against the Coastal Plain League Select before announcing a 26-man roster prior to the 8th USA vs. Cuba International Friendship Series that will take place July 2-6 in Cary, Charlotte, Durham and Hickory, North Carolina.
Team USA's 26-man roster will then travel to Taiwan for the 19th USA vs. Chinese Taipei International Friendship Series after which USA Baseball will announce a final 24-man roster to compete in the 43rd USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Series from July 16-21 in Japan.
As of May 15, Mitchell is slashing .353/.425/.544 for the Bruins with 24 extra-base hits and 29 RBIs. UCLA's leadoff hitter, he's stolen a team-high 15 bases in 19 tries. He ranks in the top-10 in the Pac-12 in a bevy of statistics, including batting average (eighth), runs (46, 10th), hits (72, fourth), doubles (14, seventh), triples (five, second), stolen bases (fourth), and total bases (111, ninth). Mitchell has also been a lock-down defender in right field - his primary position - and center field, earning a national ABCA Gold Glove nomination.
Keep up-to-date on all things UCLA Baseball by following the team Twitter account at @UCLABaseball. Fans can follow the Collegiate National Team on Twitter at @USCBaseballCNT.
