DURHAM, N.C. -- USA Baseball announced the 2018 12U National Team staff on Tuesday, highlighted by the naming of four-time national team assistant coach Todd Fine as the manager. Fine was the pitching coach for the 2015 and 2017 12U National Teams that won a gold medal at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-12 Baseball World Cup.
Coming off winning its third consecutive WBSC world championship, the 2018 12U team will head to Aguascalientes, Mexico, looking for its first-ever gold medal at the COPABE Pan Am "A" Championships.
"Todd has been a mainstay within our 12U National Team program staffs for years and we are honored to have him take the reins of the team in 2018," said Paul Seiler, Executive Director at USA Baseball. "He has a plethora of coaching experience within multiple USA Baseball national team programs and we are confident in his ability to lead our 12U National Team in a positive and influential way."
Joining Fine on the 2018 12U team staff is pitching coach Jason Sekany and assistant coaches RJ Farrell and Marc Wiese.
Fine's résumé is laden with USA Baseball experience, highlighted by four stints as the pitching coach for the 12U National Team from 2014-2017. He has also coached at the USA Baseball Tournament of Stars and the 18U National Team Trials. Fine is the founder and CEO of Top Tier Baseball based out of Chicago, Illinois, where under his guidance he has coached over 500 college baseball players, 63 Major League Baseball draft selections and eight MLB alums.
As the pitching coach for the 12U National Team from 2014-2017, the teams won two world championships and two silver medals. His pitching staffs have held a cumulative ERA of 3.21 and has an overall record of 30-5.
"I am extremely humbled and excited to be named manager of this team," said Fine. "Me and the rest of our staff are looking forward to putting together a team made up of athletes with both high level talent and character. Our sights are set on bringing home a Pan American Championships gold medal for the first time in 12U National Team history."
Sekany returns to the 12U National Team coaching staff in 2018 where he will serve as the team's pitching coach. He was an assistant coach for the inaugural 2013 and 2015 12U National Teams that won a gold medal at the IBAF U-12 Baseball World Cups and has served on the task force at the USA Baseball National Team Identification Series (NTIS) and Tournament of Stars. A second-round selection by the Boston Red Sox in the 1996 MLB Amateur Draft, Sekany is the founder and lead pitching instructor at The Pitching Center in Pleasanton, California, and a varsity coach at Granada High School (Livermore, Calif.). In addition to his responsibilities at The Pitching Center and Granada High School, he is also the 15U, 16U and 17U NTIS regional director for Northern California.
Serving as an assistant coach for the 12U National Team coaching staff for the second consecutive year is RJ Farrell. Farrell is in his fifth year as the head coach at Rancho Cucamonga High School (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) where five of his players have gone on to play collegiate baseball. Prior to coaching at Rancho Cucamonga High School, he was an associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Patten University (Oakland, Calif.) from 2006-2008. He has worked with USA Baseball at the 11U NTIS, 12U National Open and the USA Baseball Futures Invitational, and also served as a 12U National Team Trials coach in 2016.
Wiese is making his national team coaching debut in 2018 after serving on coaching staffs at the 2016 and 2017 12U National Team Trials, and the 2015 17U National Team Development Program. He is the current head coach at Puyallup High School (Puyallup, Wash.) and has led the Vikings to 11 straight South Puget Sound League titles and two state championships (2014, 2017). Wiese, who was drafted in the 1987 MLB First Year Player Draft by the New York Mets, also led Puyallup High School to the 2015 USA Baseball National High School Invitational, finishing with a 3-1 record and outscoring its opponents 20-6.
The coaching staff will be joined by Bill Krejci, who will travel as the 12U National Team's business manager. Krejci has been involved with USA Baseball for the last 23 years.
The 12U athlete identification process began with the 2017 11U NTIS and will continue with the 11U Futures Invitational at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina, from June 21 - June 24; followed by the 12U National Open in Castaic, California from July 23 - 25.
The 2018 USA Baseball 12U National Team will hold its Trials from July 26-28 at VTV Baseball Complex immediately following the 12U National Open. The team will reconvene for training from August 19-22 before traveling to Aguascalientes, Mexico, for the 2018 COPABE Pan Am "A" Championships from August 25-September 2.
For more information on the 12U National Team, follow along on Twitter @USABaseball and @USABaseball12U.