CARY, N.C. – USA Baseball today announced the coaching staff for the 2024 18U National Team Training Camp, which will take place from July 17-21 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina.
Overall, the 16-coach staff–led by 18U National Team Manager Rick Eckstein–features nine former big-league players, including MLB All-Stars David Eckstein, Brad Penny, and Stephen Strasburg. Five coaches with professional coaching experience will serve on the staff and five have also previously been on a national team coaching staff. Additionally, five of the coaches have been on USA Baseball national teams as players.
“We are thrilled with the staff that we have put together for this year’s 18U National Team Training Camp,” said 18U National Team Program Director Brett Curll. “From top to bottom, this staff offers unmatched experience in the baseball world. The athletes at Training Camp will benefit greatly from being around our coaching staff and we look forward to watching this group’s impact on our quest for a gold medal.”
The 18U National Team Training Camp will comprise 84 players and four teams in 2024. 18U National Team Manager Rick Eckstein, along with assistants David Eckstein, Brad Penny, and Steve Stone, will be joined by 12 additional Training Camp coaches. Each team will have a manager, pitching coach, and assistant coach.
A group of four former major leaguers will serve as the team managers at the 18U National Team Training Camp in 2024: Rick Ankiel, Mike McKenry, Doug Mientkiewicz, and Brian Schneider. The pitching coaches at this year’s Training Camp will be Kirk Champion, Scott Foxhall, Jason Sekany, and Stephen Strasburg, while Josh Ellison, Tim Raines Jr., Jeff Reboulet, and Sammy Serrano will serve as assistant coaches.
The 2024 18U National Team Training Camp begins on July 17 and runs through July 21 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina. Training Camp will feature on-field workouts, intrasquad games, and more before the final 18U National Team roster is announced on July 22. The 20-player roster will then compete at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier from August 2-11 in Panama City, Panama.
For more information on the 18U National Team, go to USABaseball.com or follow @USABaseball18U on Twitter/X.
The full coaching staff for the 2024 18U National Team Training Camp is as follows, with full biographies for each coach linked below.
2024 18U National Team Training Camp Coaching Staff
National Team Manager: Rick Eckstein
National Team Pitching Coach: Brad Penny
National Team Assistant Coach: David Eckstein
National Team Assistant Coach: Steve Stone
Managers:
Rick Ankiel
Doug Mientkiewicz
Mike McKenry
Brian Schneider
Pitching Coaches:
Kirk Champion
Scott Foxhall
Jason Sekany
Stephen Strasburg
Assistant Coaches:
