By USA Baseball
DURHAM, N.C. — USA Baseball unveiled the full 2015 USA Baseball 12U National Team selection process , highlighted by the expansion of the 12U Open Development Program and the inaugural 11U/12U Futures Invitational, which is set to debut June 25 to 28, 2015, at the USA Baseball National Training Complex and adjoining Thomas Brooks Park in Cary, N.C. The events will serve as the primary selection vehicles for the 12U National Team that will compete in the WBSC U12 Baseball World Cup, July 24 to August 2, 2015, in Tainan, Taiwan.
“As we prepare to defend our World Cup gold medal from 2013, our coaching staff will benefit from our new multi-event selection process,” said 12U National Team director, Cody Kauffman. “The Open Development Program, which we debuted with much success in 2014, and the Futures Invitational, will give our coaches and talent evaluators opportunities to see more kids than ever before, while also introducing these young athletes to Team USA instruction.”
Tanner Vesely, a veteran of four national team coaching staffs, will serve as the manager of the 2015 12U National Team, and will be joined in the dugout by pitching coach, Jason Sekany, and assistant coaches Todd Fine and David Sharp. The quartet of coaches will lead the 18-man roster at the World Cup in Tainan, Taiwan, to conclude the season.
“We hope that both the selected players, and those that aren’t ultimately chosen, will leave these USA Baseball experiences with an understanding of how to continuously work to improve their game and become a better person both on the baseball field and off it,” Kauffman said.
The USA Baseball 11U/12U Futures Invitational is an elite youth championship event, exclusively reserved for top 11U and 12U teams and athletes. The four-day, championship tournament will be split into two age divisions and hosted at the USA Baseball National Training Complex and adjoining Thomas Brooks Park in Cary, N.C. In addition to featuring some of the top youth talent in the country, the event will be a part of the official selection process for the 2015 12U National Team.
The 12U Open Development Program is a two-tiered identification process culminating in the selection of players to participate in the 12U National Team Trials. Athletes will first partake in the 12U Open Development Camps at various locations across the country. The Open Development Camps were established to provide athletes across the country with the opportunity to become involved with Team USA in a setting that provides instruction, evaluation and fun. Players from the development camps will be recommended to USA Baseball officials. From those recommendations, USA Baseball will invite 100 players to participate in the 12U National Open, July 13 to 15, at the MLB Urban Youth Academy in Compton, Calif. The National Open will be a three-day event concluding with the selection of a total of 12 12U National Team Trials participants.
Players selected from the 12U National Open will join identified players from the 11U/12U Futures Invitational and the 2014 11U National Team Identification Series to make up a roster of roughly 36 athletes that will train and compete at the USA Baseball 12U National Team Trials, July 16 to 19, at the Urban Youth Academy.
The final 2015 USA Baseball 12U National Team roster will be named on July 19, and the final 18-man roster will train in Compton, Calif., from July 20 to 21, before heading to Tainan, Taiwan, to defend the program’s World cup title from 2013.
For more information on the 12U National Team, please visit USABaseball.com or follow @USABaseball12U on Twitter.
USA Baseball debuts multi-event 12U National Team selection process for 2015 http://t.co/uNdJmn8prC #mrbb
USA Baseball debuts multi-event 12U National Team selection process for 2015 #Baseball #mister-baseball http://t.co/gbIYBT7Suy