16 More Players Accept Invitations To 2005 USA Baseball National Team Trials

Total of 39 players will compete for a Team USA roster spot at NC State's Doak Field in Raleigh, June 27-30.




June 17, 2005

Durham, NC - USA Baseball announced today the final list of an additional 16 collegiate players that have accepted invitations to participate in the 2005 USA Baseball National Team Trials - to be held June 27-30 at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC. The 2005 USA Baseball National Team will be selected from a pool of 39 players, with the official 20-man team roster announced on July 1.

10 of the 39 players invited to the trials are currently playing at the College World Series in Omaha, NE, as is 2005 USA Baseball National Team Head Coach Steve Smith, who led his Baylor Bears to the CWS for the first time since 1978. Another note: Pepperdine sophomore catcher Chad Tracy - the son of current Los Angeles Dodgers manager Jim Tracy - will be attending the trials. For a full roster of all 39 trials invitees, log on to http://www.usabaseball.com/sports/m-nat-basebl/mtt/usab-m-nat-basebl-mtt.html.

"This final list of athletes represents our view of the non-draft eligible players who's continued 2005 performance on the field has warranted the invitation," said USA Baseball General Manager of National Teams Eric Campbell. "They add to an already great group for which we have to select our National Team from."

In addition, the full 24-game USA Baseball National Team schedule has been posted on our website at http://www.usabaseball.com/sports/m-nat-basebl/sched/usab-m-nat-basebl-sched.html. All 24 Team USA games this summer will be available on Gametracker by College Sports Online - a feature that allows fans to access up-to-the-minute statistics and boxscores while games are in progress.

Team USA opens the summer on Saturday, July 2 at 7:00 pm vs the Torrington Twisters in Torrington, CT. Team USA will participate in the 34th Annual USA vs. Japan Collegiate Championship Series in Japan, July 8-12 and a Friendship Series vs. Taiwan in Chinese Taipei, July 15-19 prior to returning home to play six exhibition games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park this summer: July 22-24 vs. Italy & July 29-31 vs Nicaragua.





The 16 most recent players that have accepted invitations to the 2005 USA Baseball National Team Trials:

Player Pos Yr School Hometown
Brackman, Andrew RHP Fr NC State Cincinnati, OH
Cozart, Zack IF Fr Mississippi Collierville, TN
Curtis, Colin OF So Arizona State Issaquah, WA
Davis, Blake IF So CS Fullerton Fountain Valley, CA
Dorn, Johnny RHP Fr Nebraska Grand Island, NE
Gunderson, Kevin LHP So Oregon State Oregon City, OR
Harbin, Taylor IF Fr Clemson Travelers Rest, SC
Huff, David LHP So Cypress College Huntington Beach, CA
McCulloch, Kyle RHP So Texas Houston, TX
Mense, Hunter OF So Missouri Liberty, MO
Nickerson, Jonah RHP So Oregon State Oregon City, OR
Perez, Chris RHP So Miami-FL Holmes Beach, FL
Rodriguez, Josh IF/OF So Rice Houston, TX
Storey, Mickey RHP Fr Florida Atlantic Deerfield Beach, FL
Tracy, Chad C So Pepperdine Claremont, CA
VanAllen, Cory LHP So Baylor Sugar Land, TX

Smith will be assisted by John Cohen of Kentucky, Dave Van Horn of Arkansas, and Rob Walton of Oral Roberts. Andrew Norden of Duke will serve as the team athletic trainer and Larry Little of Baylor will serve as the team press officer.

Great accomplishment for him, is he the first FAU players to be invited to compete for a spot on team USA?

GhostOf, there is something wrong with the links above, could you maybe paste the articles seperately on this thread.

Found the answer to my own question:

Storey (Deerfield Beach, FL) is the third player to earn the opportunity to try out for the National Team. Billy Brown attended tryouts during his FAU career and former pitcher Danny Core played for the Junior National Team in 1999.