DURHAM, N.C. - USA Baseball announced the 54-man 2019 15U National Team Trials roster on Wednesday, following the conclusion of the 15U National Team Championships in Arizona and Florida. Phase I of the 15U National Team Trials will be held at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina, from July 26-28.
Eighteen additional athletes will receive invitations to join Phase 1 of 15U Trials following the 2019 USA Baseball 14U National Team Development Program (NTDP), finalizing a 72-man trials roster. Phase II of 15U Trials will begin on July 29 and will include 34 athletes competing for a spot on the final 20-man national team roster.
The 2019 15U National Team will train in Houston, Texas, from September 6-10 before competing in the 2019 COPABE U-15 Pan-American Championships from September 13-22 in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico.
"Our staff is thrilled with the talent level and character of the 54 players that will attend the first round of trials," said Ashley Bratcher, Senior Director of Baseball Operations at USA Baseball. "These players have been identified based upon hours and hours of extensive research by our coaching staff and task force. We are confident that each of these players can represent the United States at the highest level on the field and off."
The roster is made up of 54 athletes who were identified and selected based on their participation and performance at USA Baseball sanctioned events, including the National Team Championships and the National Team Identification Series (NTIS), among others.
In total, 10 athletes have previously played on a USA Baseball national team, while 17 members of the 2018 14U NTDP are on the roster. Karson Bowen (Anaheim, Calif.) and Joseph Brown (Petaluma, Calif.) were members of the 2018 15U National Team that won the program's first-ever World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-15 Baseball World Cup gold medal and will look to make the national team roster for the second straight year. Additionally, the roster boasts 10 members of the 12U National Team that won a silver medal at the COPABE Pan Am "A" Championships in Puebla, Mexico in 2016.
In total, the 54 athletes invited to 15U Trials span 17 different states and 36 of them are new to USA Baseball national team programming in 2019, including 12 athletes that represented their respective region at the 2018 NTIS Champions Cup in Cary, North Carolina. Seventeen invitees were selected from the 2019 National Team Championships in Florida, while 18 were chosen after their performance at the 2019 National Team Championships in Arizona.
The 15U National Team will be led by Troy Cameron-who will serve as the manager in 2019-pitching coach Rob Shabansky and assistant coaches Manny Crespo and Jared Halpert.
For more information on the 15U National Team and the selection process, please visit USABaseball.com or follow along on Twitter, at @USABaseball15U.
2019 15U National Team Trials Roster
Name; Position; Hometown; Travel Program
Mason Balsis; C/OF; Bristow, Va.; 2018 NTIS (Capital)
^Brandon Barriera; LHP; Coconut Creek, Fla.; 2018 14U NTDP
Freddy Beruvides Jr.; LHP; Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.; 3D Gold
^Karson Bowen; C/RHP; Anaheim Hills, Calif.; 2018 14U NTDP
Caleb Brandon; OF; Long Beach, Calif.; Long Beach Bears
^Joseph Brown; UT; Petaluma, Calif.; NorCal Baseball 2022 Blue
Tyrus Carmichael-Williams; IF/OF; Oxford, Miss.; 2018 NTIS (Southeast)
Jameson Caro; OF; Hialeah, Fla.; Elev8 Select
Maxwell Clark; LHP/OF; Franklin, Ind.; 2018 NTIS (Great Lakes)
^Cutter Coffey; IF/RHP; Bakersfield, Calif.; NorCal Baseball 2022 Blue
Kyle Connelly; RHP/OF; Oakley, Calif.; Team Oppotaco
Tyson De Wall; RHP/OF; Folsom, Calif.; 2018 NTIS (NorCal)
^Demitri Diamant; IF/RHP; Las Vegas, Nev.; 2018 NTIS (Southwest)
^Evan Dobias; RHP; Sunrise, Fla.; 3D Gold
Cooper Dossett; RHP/OF; Springdale, Ark.; Pacific Baseball Academy
^Duke Ekstrom; RHP; San Diego, Calif.; San Diego Show
Bryson Eldridge; RHP; Vienna, Va.; Team Elite
Walter Ford; RHP/IF; Pace, Fla.
Oscar Hernandez; IF; Kissimmee, Fla.; 3D Gold
^Termarr Johnson; IF; Atlanta, Ga.; 2018 NTIS (Southeast)
Michael Joyce; C; Mechanicsville, Va.; Richmond Braves 15U National
Stone Lawless; C/IF; Cross Roads, Ala.
^Dylan Lina; IF/RHP; Carson, Calif.; 2018 14U NTDP
David Lozano; IF; Sylmar, Calif.; Pacific Baseball Academy
Bryan Martinez; OF; Menifee, Calif.; San Diego Show
Luis Martinez; IF; San Jose, Calif.; Trosky-Kali Baseball 15U
Ethan McElvain; LHP; Thompson's Station, Tenn.; Team Freedom
^Steven Milam; IF/RHP; Las Cruces, N.M.; 2018 NTIS (Southwest)
^Aidan Miller; OF; Trinity, Fla.; Kangaroo Court American Roos
Nazier Mule; RHP; Patterson, N.J.; Gamblers Elite 15U
Brady Neal; C; Tallahassee, Fla.; 5 Star National 14U
^Mason Neville; OF; Las Vegas, Nev.; 3D Gold
Corey Nunez; IF; Torrance, Calif.; Total Baseball SoCal Easton
Julian Orozco; RHP/IF Long Beach, Calif.; Bombers Baseball Club of Southern California
^Christopher Paciolla; IF/OF; Temecula, Calif.; West Coast Blackdogs
Jaxon Pastore; RHP/OF; Highland Beach, Calif.; Elev8 Select
Wilder Puertas; IF; Pembroke Pines, Calif.; Elev8 Select
Brady Reynolds; OF; Bakersfield, Calif.; Tri County Baseball Club
Ethan Robinson; RHP; Antioch, Tenn.; 5 Star National 14U
^Louis Rodriguez; RHP; Long Beach, Calif.; 2018 NTIS (SoCal)
Austen Roellig; IF; Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.; CBA Wave
^Mickey Romero; IF; Menifee, Calif.; 2018 14U NTDP
Damian Ruiz; OF; Livingston, Texas
^Logan Saloman; RHP/IF; Chandler, Ariz.; 2018 NTIS (Southwest)
Nolan Schubart; IF; Durand, Mich.; Team Elite
^Christopher Scinta; LHP/IF; Tamarac, Fla.; 2018 NTIS (North Florida)
Brody Sexton; C/OF; Chandler, Ariz.; Arizona National Baseball Academy
Trenton Shaw; LHP/OF; Desoto, Texas; Dallas Tigers 2022 Polk
Carson Turnquist; RHP/OF; Paso Robles, Calif.; Trosky-Kali Baseball 15U
Dean West; OF; Woodland Hills, Calif.; Pacific Baseball Academy
Jaxon Willits; IF/RHP; Fort Cobb, Okla.; 2018 NTIS (Midwest)
Colton Wombles; C/OF; Salem, Ala.; 2018 NTIS (North Florida)
Hiro Wyatt; RHP; Westport, Conn.; Team Elite
Diego Zuniga; C/IF; McAllen, Texas; South Texas Sliders Koehl
*Denotes National Team alum
^Denotes National Team Development Program Participant