CARY, N.C. – USA Baseball today announced the coaching staff for the 15U National Team. Jared Halpert will take the reins as manager in 2021 with Steve Butler, Rob Shabansky, and Jeff Sherman joining him on staff.
Halpert will serve as a national team manager for the first time in 2021 after making his national team coaching debut as an assistant coach with the 2019 15U National Team that won gold at the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier. Formerly a coach at the 2018 15U National Team Trials and 14U National Team Development Program (NTDP), he also served on the USA Baseball task force at the National Team Championships and the National Team Identification Series (NTIS).
“We are ecstatic to have Jared Halpert leading our 15U National Team this summer,” said Charles Lane, USA Baseball Director of Baseball Operations. “Jared and this entire coaching staff have brought an exceptional level of baseball knowledge and a passion for developing young athletes both on and off the field to USA Baseball programming for years, and we are confident that they will be eager and able to put together a strong 15U National Team in 2021. We look forward to working with them to reach that goal this year.”
Halpert is currently in his sixth season at the helm of the Harvard-Westlake School (Studio City, Calif.) baseball program, where, in 2019, he led the Wolverines to the finals of both the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Championship and the USA Baseball National High School Invitational. Prior to his time as the head coach at Harvard-Westlake, he served four years as an assistant coach for the Wolverines after working as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Fresno State.
Butler, who is currently the head coach at Eagan High School (Eagan, Minnesota), will join Halpert’s staff as an assistant coach this summer. 2021 marks Butler’s first national team assignment, but he is a veteran of USA Baseball events having coached at the 14U NTDP and 15U Trials in 2015 in addition to multiple other events over the years, including the National Team Championships and the NTIS. Prior to coaching at Eagan, Butler was an assistant coach at his alma mater, Concordia University, St. Paul, from 2009-2017, where he worked with hitters and defense. During his collegiate career, he was a team captain who started in 101 games for the Golden Bears, hitting .313 and helping lead the team to the school’s first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championship in 2003. Butler started his professional career in 2005, playing with the St. Paul Saints from 2005-2006 and the South Georgia Peanuts in 2007, where he helped lead the team to a league championship. He then joined the Fort Worth Cats in 2008 and finished his playing career in 2010 with a return to the St. Paul Saints. In 347 professional games, Butler played every position besides pitcher and catcher while recording 244 hits and 86 RBIs.
Shabansky is a four-time USA Baseball national team coaching alum, having most recently served as the pitching coach for the 2019 15U National Team, where he helped guide the squad to a 8-1 overall record and a WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier gold medal. He was also an assistant coach on the 2011 16U National Team staff and the pitching coach for the 2015 and 2016 15U National Teams before being named manager of the 2017 15U National Team and leading the U.S. to a 7-1 overall record and a COPABE Pan Am "AA" Championships gold medal that summer. He has won gold medals with four of the five national teams he has worked with and, under his direction, the 2015 and 2016 15U pitching staffs recorded collective ERAs of 3.36 and 2.57, respectively. Additionally, he also served as a pitching coach for the 2016 14U NTDP and the pitching coordinator at the 2019 14U NTDP. A graduate of the University of Arizona, Shabansky was a standout pitcher for the Wildcats baseball program. As a sophomore, he led the Wildcats in wins (8) and ERA (3.86). He was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 1998 MLB First-Year Player Draft and played four seasons of professional baseball. Shabansky just wrapped up his 14th season as the Head Coach at GateWay Community College (Phoenix, Ariz.), where he recently led the Geckos to the NJCAA Division II Baseball World Series Championship Game in 2016.
Sherman also earns his first national team coaching assignment in 2021 as an assistant coach under Halpert. Sherman is currently in his ninth year as the head coach at Marcus High School (Flower Mound, Texas) and holds an overall record of 228-68 in that time. In his first season at the helm, the program was ranked third in Texas and as high as 24th nationally as Sherman led the Marauders to a 32-8 record and a 2013 Regional Semifinals appearance. He also beat the program record for most wins in a single season (32) in 2013 and guided his team to the Regional Finals in 2014. Following the 2014 run, Sherman was named the District 6-6A Coach of the Year for the first time before earning the honor again in 2019 and, most recently, in 2021. Additionally, six of his former players have gone on to be selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Prior to his time at Marcus High School, he served as an assistant coach at Centennial High School (Frisco, Texas) from 2007-2012. Sherman has also coached at multiple USA Baseball events in his career, including the National Team Championships and NTIS. In his playing days, Sherman was a two-time NAIA All-American at Missouri Baptist University in 2002 and 2003.
The selection process for the 15U National Team will begin at the 2021 National Team Championships in Arizona and North Carolina and the 2021 13U/14U Athlete Development Program (ADP). Forty-four athletes will be identified from the events to compete in the 2021 15U National Team Trials for a spot on the final 20-man 15U National Team roster. More information about the 2021 15U National Team Trials and Training schedule will be announced at a later date.
The 15U National Team schedule is not yet finalized for 2021. Events and dates will be announced at a later time.
For the most up-to-date information on the 15U National Team, visit USABaseball.com and follow @USABaseball and @USABaseball15U on Twitter.
