CARY, N.C. – USA Baseball today named the roster for the 2024 18U National Team following the conclusion of the 18U National Team Training Camp in Cary, North Carolina. The 20-player roster is set to compete in the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier in Panama City, Panama, from August 2-11.
“After a tremendously competitive Training Camp, we are excited to name our final twenty-player roster,” said 18U National Team Manager Rick Eckstein. “We believe that we have put together a roster that is built to win and represent the United States well in international competition. We will spend the next week and a half preparing to the best of our abilities to win a gold medal in Panama.”
The 2024 roster features four Team USA alumni. Grady Emerson will play for a national team for the third consecutive year after appearing on the 15U National Teams in each of the last two seasons. Emerson will be joined by a pair of teammates from the 2022 WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup title team, as Ethan Holliday and Brady Murrietta were named to this year’s 18U roster. Additionally, 2019 12U alum Gavin Fien earned a spot on the 20-player team.
Including Emerson, Holliday, and Murrietta, eight total players on the roster have previously participated in a USA Baseball development program. Two-time USA Baseball National Team Development Program participant Kayson Cunningham is one of six players to have competed at last summer’s National Team Development Program (NTDP), joining Holliday, Jordan Martin, Murrietta, Cooper Rummel, and Quentin Young. Cunningham, Emerson, Fien, Murrietta, and Young also all have previous experience at USA Baseball’s 13U/14U Athlete Development Program (ADP).
The final 18U National Team roster was named following the conclusion of the 18U National Team Training Camp held from July 17-21 in Cary, North Carolina. This year’s camp featured five days of intrasquad games, on-field workouts, Prospect Development Pipeline (PDP) athletic assessments, and more. Eighty-four players competed at Training Camp and were coached by a star-studded coaching staff, including former big leaguers Rick Ankiel, Michael McKenry, Doug Mientkiewicz, Tim Raines Jr., Jeff Reboulet, Brian Schneider, and Stephen Strasburg.
2024 18U National Team Roster
(Name; Position; Hometown)
Ethin Bingaman; RHP; Redlands, Calif.
^Kayson Cunningham; INF; San Antonio, Texas
Slater de Brun; OF; Bend, Ore.
*^Grady Emerson; INF; Argyle, Texas
*^Gavin Fien; INF; Temecula, Calif.
Trent Grindlinger; C; Huntington Beach, Calif.
Josh Hammond; RHP; High Point, N.C.
*^Ethan Holliday; INF; Stillwater, Okla.
Brayden Jaksa; INF/OF; Fremont, Calif.
^Jordan Martin; RHP; Jefferson City, Mo.
Xavier Mitchell; LHP; Garland, Texas
*^Brady Murrietta; C; Yorba Linda, Calif.
Josh Owens; INF/RHP; Jonesborough, Tenn.
Nico Partida; INF/RHP; Manvel, Texas
^Cooper Rummel; RHP; Austin, Texas
Aiden Stillman; LHP; Winter Park, Fla.
Austin Weiss; LHP; Rockville, Md.
Eli Willits; INF; Fort Cobb, Okla.
Dylan Wood; RHP; Elk Grove, Calif.
^Quentin Young; INF; Camarillo, Calif.
* denotes USA Baseball alumni
^ denotes USA Baseball development program participant
