USA Baseball invites the local and national media to the 2019 USA Baseball 18U National Team Trials and Training.
2019 18U National Team Trials brings in the top high school players in the country to compete for a chance to play for Team USA. The 48 athletes selected to the 18U Trials roster were chosen through multiple selection vehicles, including the inaugural Prospect Development Pipeline (PDP) League, which serves as the primary identification event for the 18U National Team, as well as the 2018 National Team Identification Series (NTIS) and the 2019 17U National Team Development Program (NTDP), among others.
The final 20-man 18U National Team roster will be named on August 17, followed immediately by National Team Training. The U.S. will compete in two domestic training games in the greater Los Angeles area and three international friendlies against Chinese Taipei in Taiwan before traveling to South Korea for the 2019 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup. Team USA is the four-time defending champions of the event and will look to earn its fifth consecutive World Champions title, as well as the 18U National Team program's eighth straight gold medal in international competition in 2019.

The 18U National Team program started in 1987 as the USA Baseball Junior National Team competing in the World Youth Baseball Championships. Since then the 18U National Team has been a perennial power on the international baseball scene. The team competes in two major events in bi-yearly cycles - the COPABE U-18 Pan-American Championships and the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup. In 2017, Team USA went undefeated to claim its fourth WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup title in a row and give the program its seventh consecutive gold medal in international competition. The program followed that performance with another undefeated year in 2019, claiming its fifth straight COPABE U-18 Pan-American Championships title without dropping a game. Its most recent gold medal marked the program's seventh straight international tournament title.
Credential Application
Members of the media can apply for a credential by visiting the USA Baseball Media Services page on the official website: http://www.usabaseball.com/about/media-services
Interview Requests
All interview requests should be made through mediarelations@usabaseball.com or through on-site Press Officer Emily Fedewa. Phone and satellite interviews can be accommodated upon request.
Trials and Training Locations
The 2019 18U National Team Trials will feature five games at two different locations. The locations for each game are as follows:
• August 13-15: Orange County Great Park
• August 16-17: Dodger Stadium
The final 18U National Team will then play its first two games of training in California against the Brewers SoCal Scout Team. The locations for those games are as follows:
• August 20: JSerra Catholic High School
• August 21: Orange County Great Park
All 18U National Team Trials and Training workouts except the one on August 20 will be held at Fullerton Junior College in Fullerton, Calif. The morning workout on August 20 will be at JSerra Catholic High School prior to Team USA's first training game at the same location.
Started at the PDP League
Starting in 2019, the PDP League serves as the primary identification event for the 18U National Team. The invitation-only event, which was held in Bradenton, Florida, is a premier development and showcase experience for high school baseball prospects based in the United States. The four-week 2019 PDP League included competitive game play, practice and training sessions, off-field educational seminars and evaluations using modern technologies tailoring individualized curriculums for each player.
Thirty-eight of the athletes attending 18U Trials were selected from the 2019 PDP League and also participated in the first-ever High School All-Star Game at Progressive Field on July 6, as part of 2019 MLB All-Star Week in Cleveland. The remaining ten invitees were selected from the 2018 NTIS and the 2019 17U NTDP.
An Undefeated Streak
The 18U National Team program has won 19 consecutive games in international competition dating back to a loss to Mexico on October 7, 2016, in the COPABE "AAA" Pan American Championships. Despite the defeat, Team USA went on to finish that tournament with a 7-1 record and a gold medal.
World Cup Record Within Reach
With the 2017 18U National Team's gold medal in the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup, the U.S. joined Cuba as the only two countries to claim four consecutive world championship titles at the junior level. Now, Team USA has the chance to make history with a record-fifth gold medal in a row at the 2019 tournament.
18U National Team Alums in the Draft
Following two seasons in which the 18U National Team earned its fourth consecutive WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup title and its fifth straight COPABE U-18 Pan-American Championships gold medal, 16 members of the 2017 and 2018 18U National Teams were selected in the first round of the 2018 and 2019 MLB Drafts, respectively.
In the 2018 MLB Draft, Jarred Kelenic (No. 6, New York Mets) was the first 2017 18U National Team member selected, followed by Ryan Weathers (No. 7, St. Louis Cardinals), Matt Liberatore (No. 16, Tampa Bay Rays), Brice Turang (No. 21, Milwaukee Brewers), Anthony Seigler (No. 23, New York Yankees), Triston Casas (No. 26, Boston Red Sox), Mason Denaburg (No. 27, Washington Nationals), JT Ginn (No. 30, Los Angeles Dodgers) and Ethan Hankins (No. 35, Cleveland Indians).
One year later, Bobby Witt Jr. (No. 2, Kansas City Royals) was the first member of the 2018 team chosen in the 2019 MLB Draft. Riley Greene (No. 5, Detroit Tigers), CJ Abrams (No. 6, San Diego Padres), Corbin Carroll (No. 16, Arizona Diamondbacks), Anthony Volpe (No. 30, New York Yankees) and Brennan Malone (No. 33, Arizona Diamondbacks) followed.
From Team USA to the Major Leagues
There are currently 43 players in the Major Leagues that have suited up for the red, white and blue as members of the 18U National Team. Current Major Leaguers Albert Almora, Alex Bregman, Bryce Harper, Eric Hosmer, Clayton Kershaw, Francisco Lindor, Manny Machado, Andrew McCutchen and Buster Posey have played for the 18U National Team.
USA Baseball Coverage
• Live Stats: Statcrew/Sidearm Sports
• Social Media:@USABaseball18U (Twitter) and @USABaseball (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter)
Participating Players and Schedule
In total, 48 players representing 22 states are participating in trials. Following the conclusion of trials, 20 players will be named to the final 18U National Team roster and will participate in training and the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup.
Sixteen USA Baseball alumni are competing for the chance to represent Team USA once again at the 18U National Team Trials, including six members of the 2018 18U National Team that won gold at the COPABE U-18 Pan-American Championships. Additionally, the 18U Trials roster features nine athletes from the 2017 15U National Team that was named co-champions of the COPABE "AA" Pan-American Championships.
For the full schedule, click here.