CARY, N.C. – USA Baseball today announced the coaching staff for the 2022 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier, highlighted by the return of 13-year MLB veteran Denny Hocking as manager. Hocking, who guided the U.S. to its ninth world championship at the XXX WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup in September, is joined on staff by former Team USA manager Eric Borba, New York Yankees minor-league coach James Cooper, and two-time MLB All-Star Brad Penny.
Borba and Cooper will serve as assistants, while Penny assumes the role of pitching coach for the second year in a row. The WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier will be held in La Paz, Mexico, from November 4-13, and the top four teams will advance to next year’s XXXI WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup in Taiwan.
“After just leading our program to a world championship on our home soil, we are very excited to welcome Denny Hocking back to Team USA for the U-18 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier,” said 18U National Team General Manager Ashley Bratcher. “Denny will be surrounded by a terrific staff, as all three of our assistant coaches – Eric Borba, James Cooper, and Brad Penny – offer tremendous experience across all levels of baseball. We are confident that this group will guide our team to not only a spot in next year’s World Cup, but another gold medal on the international stage.”
Denny Hocking, who led the 18U National Team to a gold medal in his national team managerial debut at the World Cup in September, returns for his second stint as skipper. Team USA posted an 8-1 record under Hocking’s guidance en route to its ninth world championship a month ago, recording a tournament-high 68 runs while batting .274 as a team. The 13-year big leaguer owns plenty of experience across each level of baseball as an analyst, coach, manager, and player.
Hocking was a 52nd round draft pick in the 1989 MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins, where he spent 11 of his 13 professional seasons. He made his big-league debut in 1993 and played in 84 games over his first four seasons with the Twins before getting his first extended playing time in 1997, appearing in 115 games and batting .257. Hocking was a staple with the Twins for the following six seasons, recording his best showing in 2000 when he batted .298 with four home runs and a career-high 47 RBIs. He then spent time with the Colorado Rockies before playing his final professional season with the Kansas City Royals in 2005. Throughout his career, Hocking served as a utility player, playing every position besides catcher and pitcher.
Following his playing career, Hocking spent time as an analyst and reporter for MLB.com and Fox Sports Radio before turning his attention to coaching. He began his career as the hitting coach for the Single-A Frederick Keys in 2010 before joining the Double-A Bowie Baysox in 2012. Hocking made his professional managerial debut in 2014, leading the Los Angeles Angels' then-Class-A Advanced affiliate Inland Empire 66ers to the second round of the California League playoffs. He has also been a minor league infield coordinator and had three more stints as a minor league manager over the course of his career, most recently with the Single-A Modesto Nuts.
Hocking, who currently serves as an analyst for the Los Angeles Angels on Bally Sports West, became involved with USA Baseball when he served a manager at the 2021 Prospect Development Pipeline (PDP) League before holding the same role at the 2021 18U National Team Trials.
Former Team USA manager Eric Borba joins the staff as an assistant coach, bringing with him multiple years of experience on the international stage. Borba, who is currently the head coach at Orange Lutheran High School (Orange, Calif.), has held two stints with Team USA in international competition. After making his debut as an assistant coach with the 12U National Team at the 2014 COPABE Pan American “A” Championships, Borba served as manager for the program at the same tournament in 2016. As skipper, Borba guided the United States to a 9-2 overall record as the team captured a silver medal and secured a spot in the following year’s WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup. He has since remained involved with USA Baseball in multiple capacities, most recently serving as pitching coach at the 2022 13U/14U Athlete Development Program (ADP).
On the high school stage, Borba has led Orange Lutheran to a 293-111-1 record and five Trinity League championships since taking over in 2009. Additionally, Borba’s team won an unprecedented three consecutive USA Baseball National High School Invitational titles from 2017-2019, becoming the first program in the event’s history to accomplish the feat.
New York Yankees outfield and baserunning coach James Cooper will make his national team coaching debut as an assistant coach in 2022. Cooper has held numerous roles within USA Baseball programming in recent years, serving as an assistant coach at the 2021 Prospect Development Pipeline (PDP) League and 2021 15U National Team Trials. Additionally, he was a coach at the 2016 16U National Team Development Program (NTDP) and has served on the USA Baseball Task Force on numerous occasions, including at both the 2019 and 2021 National Team Identification Series (NTIS) Champions Cups.
Before taking on his current role with the Yankees – where he works primarily with the minor league system – Cooper spent 12 seasons as the head coach at Grambling State and was a two-time Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Baseball Coach of the Year. The Grambling State alum led the Tigers to a SWAC championship in 2010, his first season in charge of the program. Cooper had seven players selected in the MLB Draft under his guidance, along with several free-agent signings and multiple players who have gone on to have careers in Major League Baseball. Cooper played for four seasons at Grambling State and was a three-time all-conference recipient, earning second team honors twice and first team honors his final season. He was drafted in the 33rd round of the 2004 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros and spent two years in Houston's organization before playing a season with the Sussex Skyhawks of the CanAm League and then beginning his coaching career.
Team USA alum and two-time MLB All-Star Brad Penny returns to the coaching staff as pitching coach after serving in the same role in 2021. Penny, who made his national team coaching debut last summer, oversaw a pitching staff that posted a 1.53 ERA and struck out 89 batters in 59 innings en route to a 5-1-1 record against Canada in a friendship series. The 14-year MLB veteran most recently coached at 2022 18U National Team Training Camp in August, and previously held roles as a coach at the PDP League in both 2021 and 2022 as well as the inaugural MLB Draft Combine in 2021. Penny donned the stars and stripes as a player when he suited up for the organization’s first Professional National Team in 1999. The squad earned a silver medal at the 1999 Pan American Games, qualifying Team USA for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games where the U.S. won gold with a 4-0 defeat of Cuba.
The right-hander was selected in the fifth round of the 1996 MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks to begin a 14-year MLB playing career that included two All-Star selections and a World Series championship. Penny finished his career with 121 wins, 1,273 strikeouts, and a 4.29 ERA in 1,925 innings pitched in the big leagues. After making his major league debut with the Florida Marlins in 2000, he helped lead the team to the organization’s second World Series championship in 2003 with a 4.13 ERA in 32 starts during the season. Penny also made two starts in the Fall Classic against the New York Yankees, earning a 2-0 record while striking out seven batters in 12.1 innings of work. Following his first All-Star Game appearance in 2006, Penny returned to the Midsummer Classic in 2007 amidst a career-best year, where he collected a 3.03 ERA, 135 punchouts, and an MLB-best .800 (16-4) win percentage to finish third in National League Cy Young Award voting. He finished his playing career with stints playing for the Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, and the Detroit Tigers before returning to the Marlins in 2014 for his final season.
The U.S. has won each of the last five U-18 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifiers it has competed in, earning gold in 2009, 2011, 2014, 2016, and 2018 while compiling a 41-1 overall record. The program most recently captured gold in the event with a perfect 9-0 record in 2018, outscoring its opponents 131-27.
The 18U National Team will be in Phoenix, Arizona, for Training Camp from October 28-November 1 before traveling to La Paz, Mexico for the U-18 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier. The full 18U National Team schedule will be announced at a later date.
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