USA Baseball Tournament of Stars Begins Monday, June 18

USA Baseball invites the local and national media to the 2018 USA Baseball Tournament of Stars.
The USA Baseball Tournament of Stars (TOS) is the primary identification event for the 2018 USA Baseball 18U National Team that will compete in the COPABE "AAA" Pan American Championships from November 23-December 2 in Panama. The TOS is made up of 80 of the nation's best ballplayers that are international age-eligible for 18U National Team consideration (born in 2000 or later). Following the conclusion of the event on Saturday, June 23, the 40-man 18U National Team Trials roster will be announced.

WHAT: USA Baseball Tournament of Stars
WHEN: June 18 - 23, 2018
WHERE: USA Baseball National Training Complex 200 Brooks Park Lane Cary, N.C., 27519

The 18U National Team program started in 1987 as the USA Baseball Junior National Team competing in the World Youth Baseball Championships. Since then the 18U National Team has been a perennial power on the international baseball scene. The team competes in two major events in bi-yearly cycles - the COPABE "AAA" Pan American Championships and the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup. In 2017, Team USA went undefeated to claim its fourth WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup title in a row and give the program its seventh consecutive gold medal in international competition. The program has also won five straight COPABE "AAA" Pan American Championships titles and will look to add a sixth in 2018.

Credential Application

Members of the media can apply for a credential by visiting the USA Baseball Media Services page on the official website here.

TOS Participants in the Draft

Following a season in which the 18U National Team earned its fourth consecutive World Baseball Softball Confederation U-18 Baseball World Cup title, ten members of the 20-man roster were selected in the first round in 2018. All ten of those players participated in the 2017 Tournament of Stars.
Jarred Kelenic (No. 6, New York Mets) was the first selected, followed by Ryan Weathers (No. 7, St. Louis Cardinals), Matt Liberatore (No. 16, Tampa Bay Rays), Brice Turang (No. 21, Milwaukee Brewers), Anthony Seigler (No. 23, New York Yankees), Triston Casas (No. 26, Boston Red Sox), Mason Denaburg (No. 27, Washington Nationals), JT Ginn (No. 30, Los Angeles Dodgers) and Ethan Hankins (No. 35, Cleveland Indians).

From the Tournament of Stars to the Major Leagues

There are currently 33 players in the Major Leagues that have suited up for the red, white and blue as members of the 18U National Team, with the majority of those having participated in the Tournament of Stars en route to Team USA. Current Major Leaguers Joey Gallo, Bryce Harper, Francisco Lindor, Manny Machado and Blake Swihart all played in the Tournament of Stars before wearing the USA jersey as 18U players.

USA Baseball Coverage

Live stats: StatCrew/SideArm Sports
Social Media:@USABaseball18U (Twitter) and @USABaseball (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat)
Streaming/TV: The gold and bronze medal games on Saturday, June 23, will be broadcast live on USABaseball.com, MLB.com, and Facebook Live

Participating Players and Schedule

Eighty of the nation's best ballplayers that are international age-eligible for 18U National Team consideration (born in 2000 or later) are participating in the 2018 event.
For the full schedule, please visit the 18U National Team page on USABaseball.com.