Seventeen players from Southern California, including five from Orange County, have been selected to participate in USA Baseball’s 16-and-under and 17-and-under national team development programs on July 26–29 in Cary, North Carolina.
Players from across the country, 72 in all, will take part in intrasquad games, skill-development sessions, and off-field educational seminars while connecting with USA Baseball coaches and staff to prepare for potential national-team opportunities.
Twenty players from California will participate, marking the most from any state. Texas is next with 17.
“Our task force has worked hard this summer to identify the best fits for this program, and we are extremely excited to work with these outstanding athletes,” USA Baseball Director of Player Development Jim Koerner said in making the announcement. “We look forward to continuing the development of these players as the program continues to serve as an important piece of the gold-medal process.”
Two Orange Lutheran High School players, catcher Brady Murrietta of Yorba Linda and pitcher Colt Peterson of Tustin, head the Orange County contingent. Murrietta, along with infielder Brady Ebel of Rancho Cucamonga, are among eight invitees who played on USA Baseball’s gold medal-winning 15-and-under squad in last summer’s World Baseball/Softball Confederation World Cup in Hermosillo, Mexico.
Infielders Jack Boucher of Mission Viejo High and Linkin Garcia of Huntington Beach High, as well as catcher Miguel Velazquez of Fullerton High, also represent Orange County.
Gavin Fien of Temecula, who was a member of USA Baseball’s 12-and-under national team in 2019, is among three other Southern California infielders chosen. Diego Velazquez of Reseda and Quentin Young of Camarillo are the others.
Vaughn Neckar of Murrieta, a gold medalist in last year’s under-18 World Cup Americas Qualifier, and Arcadia’s Zach Strickland, a member of the 15-and-under national team in 2021, are among eight other Southern California pitchers selected.
That group also includes Jaxon Baker of Murrieta, Tristan Dalzell of Long Beach, Brock Foulds of Rancho Cucamonga, and Chino’s Seth Hernandez. Two others, Billy Carlson of Corona and Lynwood’s Angel Cervantes, double as infielders.
The three other Californians who will be in Cary this week all hail from the San Francisco Bay Area—outfielder Dean Moss and catcher-outfielder Dillon Moss, both of Atherton, and catcher-infielder Thomas Brown of Livermore.
In addition to Mr. Koerner, the coaching staff includes former major-league pitcher Brad Penny, and three NCAA Division I head coaches—Dan Hartleb of Illinois, Grambling State’s Davin Pierre, and Georgetown’s Edwin Thompson.
