Press Release USA Baseball
USA Baseball has announced its 2015 USA Baseball Premier12™ Team roster. The team will compete in the WBSC Premier12™ Tournament in Taipei, Taiwan (with semifinals and finals to be held in Tokyo, Japan), Nov. 9 to 21. The U.S. roster features 27 players not currently on Major League Baseball 40-man rosters.
The Philadelphia Phillies led all Major League clubs with five players from its farm system named to the team. The New York Mets had four players and the Kansas City Royals had three players named to the club. Two players each were named to the team from the Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and the Colorado Rockies. The remaining players each came from one of six other big league organizations, while Dan Black joins the team from the KT Wiz in the Korean Baseball Organization.
Among those named to the team include New York Mets infield prospect Gavin Cecchini, who is currently ranked No. 90 on MLB.com’s Top 100 prospects list and Milwaukee Brewers outfield prospect Brett Phillips, who is currently ranked No. 32 on MLB.com’s Top 100 prospects list, following a 16-hr effort this past season.
The 2015 Premier12™ team roster has a wealth of international experience with six players having previously worn the red, white and blue. Alumni include Zack Segovia (1999 16U, 2000-’01 18U, ’06 Olympic Qualifier), Tyler Pastornicky (2015 Pan Am), Casey Coleman (2015 Pan Am), Gavin Cecchini (2011 18U), Cody Satterwhite (2007 CNT) and Jake Barrett (2008 18U, ’15 Pan Am).
Willie Randolph will manage the team in Taiwan, and he will be joined on the coaching staff by pitching coach Rick Peterson, hitting coach Ernie Young, and assistant coaches Anthony Sanders, Roly De Armas and Ed Blankmeyer. Randolph begins his second stint with Team USA, previously as an assistant coach with the 2013 World Baseball Classic team.
Randolph, who brings over 20 years of Major League managerial and playing experience, has a veteran international staff with Young, Blankmeyer and De Armas, who have all previously coached with Team USA. Sanders and Young were also teammates on the United States’ gold medal winning team at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
The Premier12™ team will first gather in Phoenix, Ariz., where it will train from Oct. 28 to Nov. 3. The squad has scheduled three exhibition games from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3 against Canada, while in Phoenix. The U.S. will then depart for Taipei for the Premier12™ where it will look to win gold in the inaugural event. Pool play kicks off on Nov. 10, against the Dominican Republic at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium.
The 2015 USA Baseball Premier12™ Team will be the second professional team fielded by USA Baseball this year. In the most recent Pan American Games, the 2015 club earned the silver medal with a 5-3 record, falling to Canada in the gold-medal game.
The players named to the 2015 USA Baseball Premier12™ Team are as follows:
USA BASEBALL PREMIER12™ ROSTER
Jake Barrett, RHP, Upland, Calif., Arizona Diamondbacks
Dan Black, IF, Indianapolis, Ind., KT Wiz
Gavin Cecchini, IF, Lake Charles, La., New York Mets
John Church, RHP, Winter Haven, Fla., New York Mets
Casey Coleman, RHP, Fort Myers, Fla., Kansas City Royals
Joey Denato, LHP, San Diego, Calif., Philadelphia Phillies
Brett Eibner, OF, The Woodlands. Texas, Kansas City Royals
Dana Eveland, LHP, Olympia, Wash., Baltimore Orioles
Cody Forsythe, LHP, Paducah, Ky., Philadelphia Phillies
Jarrett Grube, RHP, Corunna, Ind., Cleveland Indians
Aaron Laffey, LHP, Cumberland, Md., Colorado Rockies
Kyle Martin, IF, Simpsonville, S.C., Philadelphia Phillies
Jacob May, OF, Liberty Township, Ohio, Chicago White Sox
Matt McBride, OF, Bethlehem, Pa., Colorado Rockies
Parker Morin, C, Richmond, Va., Kansas City Royals
Tyler Pastornicky, IF, Bradenton, Fla., Philadelphia Phillies
Brett Phillips, OF, Seminole, Fla., Milwaukee Brewers
Dan Rohlfing, C, St. Louis, Mo., New York Mets
Cody Satterwhite, RHP, Jackson, Miss., New York Mets
Joe Sclafani, UTL, Brooklyn, N.Y., Houston Astros
Zack Segovia, RHP, Dallas, Texas, San Diego Padres
Seth Simmons, RHP, Winston-Salem, N.C., Arizona Diamondbacks
Elliot Soto, UTL, Elgin, Ill., Miami Marlins
Zeke Spruill, RHP, Chesapeake, Va., Boston Red Sox
Anthony Vazquez, LHP, San Antonio, Texas, Philadelphia Phillies
JB Wendelken, RHP, Savannah, Ga., Chicago White Sox
Aaron Wilkerson, RHP, Fort Worth, Texas, Boston Red Sox
Coaching Staff
Willie Randolph, Manager, Franklin Lakes, N.J.
Rick Peterson, Pitching Coach, Belmar, N.J., Baltimore Orioles
Ernie Young, Hitting Coach, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Anthony Sanders, Assistant Coach, Tucson, Ariz., Colorado Rockies
Roly De Armas, Assistant Coach, Palm Harbor, Fla., Philadelphia Phillies
Ed Blankmeyer, Assistant Coach, Convent Station, N.J., St. John’s University
Administration
Joe Garagiola, Major League Baseball, Phoenix, Ariz.
Paul Seiler, CEO/Executive Director, Cary, N.C.
Eric Campbell, General Manager, National Teams, Raleigh, N.C.
John Fierro, Head Athletic Trainer, Gilbert, Ariz.
Jonathan Fierro, Assistant Athletic Trainer, Gilbert, Ariz., Chicago Cubs
Dr. Angelo Mattalino, Team Physician, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Danny Chait, Press Officer, Tarzana, Calif.