CARY, N.C. – USA Baseball today revealed the coaching staff for the 2023 15U National Team, highlighted by the naming of seven-time Team USA coach Rob Shabansky as manager. Shabansky, who previously served as manager of the 2017 15U National Team, will be joined by pitching coach Casey Scott and assistant coaches Derek Simmons and John Weber, each of whom is making their 15U National Team coaching debuts.
“We are excited to have Rob Shabansky leading this year’s 15U National Team,” said USA Baseball 15U National Team Director Ben Kelley. “His years of experience with USA Baseball in various coaching roles make him an exceptional choice for the job. We are confident that Rob, along with the rest of the coaching staff, will be great leaders for these young athletes as we aim to represent the U.S. well in international competition.”
“I am honored to have the opportunity to serve as manager for what I am certain will be a great group of young men,” Shabansky said. “I feel truly humbled to have the chance to represent the United States, and I am confident that our staff will assemble a team that is not only talented but has the utmost quality of character and will represent the stars and stripes in a positive manner.”
In his eighth appearance on a national team coaching staff, Rob Shabansky brings a wealth of international experience as manager of the 2023 15U National Team. Most recently, he served as the pitching coach for the 2022 15U National Team, helping guide the stars and stripes to a gold medal at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-15 Baseball World Cup. Eleven years prior to the gold-medal run, Shabansky made his national team coaching debut as an assistant coach with the 2011 16U National Team and then served as the pitching coach for the 2015 and 2016 15U National Teams. He was elevated to manager in 2017, when he led the U.S. to a 7-1 overall record and a COPABE Pan Am "AA" Championships gold medal. He has guided five national teams he has worked with to gold medals and, under his direction, the 2015 and 2016 15U pitching staffs recorded collective ERAs of 3.36 and 2.57, respectively. Shabanksy has also been a pitching coach for the 2016 14U National Team Development Program (NTDP) and a 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 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft and played four seasons of professional baseball. Shabansky just wrapped up his 11th season at the helm and 16th season overall at Gateway Community College, where he led the Geckos to the NJCAA Division II Baseball World Series Championship Game in 2016.
Casey Scott joins the 15U National Team coaching staff for the first time in 2023 as the pitching coach. While this will be his national team coaching debut, Scott has been involved with USA Baseball in several capacities. He has made three appearances on a development program coaching staff, first as a pitching coach at the 2019 14U NTDP. Scott was most recently a pitching coach at the 13U/14U Athlete Development Program (ADP) in 2021. Additionally, Scott has been part of the past three 15U National Team Training Camps, most recently as a manager in 2022. He just wrapped up his fourth season as the head coach of Bishop Verot Catholic High School (Fort Myers, Fla.), where he has guided his program to the USA Baseball National High School Invitational (NHSI) in each of the past two seasons. Prior to his time at Bishop Verot, Scott spent a season as an assistant coach for the State University of New York (SUNY) at Cortland and four seasons as the head coach at Ave Maria University in Florida. Scott also served as head coach of the Syracuse Jr. Chiefs of the New York Collegiate Baseball League and led the squad to a league title en route to being named the league’s Coach of the Year in 2012. He began his coaching career at SUNY Brockport in 2009 after pitching for two seasons for the Golden Eagles and posting a 9-0 record.
Indiana University Assistant Coach Derek Simmons will serve as an assistant coach for the 2023 15U National Team. Simmons brings with him extensive coaching experience both at the collegiate level and with National Team Development Programs, including his role as manager for Team Navy at the 2022 16U/17U NTDP. He has also been on staff for the 15U National Team Training Camp in 2018 and 2022, serving as a team manager last summer. Simmons just completed his fourth season on the coaching staff at Indiana University, where he became an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator after two years in the volunteer assistant role. The 13-year coaching veteran has been highly successful on the recruiting trail during his career, putting together two top-25 recruiting classes to go along with three other “top classes,” per Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. The Duluth, Georgia, native was also named to Baseball America’s “Coaches to Watch” list in 2018 and 2019.
Before arriving in Bloomington, Simmons spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Kent State University (2018-2019), where he helped land the second-highest-ranked recruiting class in program history during that time. Simmons also spent time as a member of the coaching staff at the University of Alabama (2016) and Kennesaw State University (2012-2015) after starting his coaching career with a two-year stint at Central Michigan University. Additionally, he was a coach at the USA Baseball Tournament of Stars in 2012 and 2013. Prior to beginning his coaching career, Simmons played for the University of Montevallo, helping lead the team to the 2006 Division II College World Series before transferring to Georgia State, where he was named team captain and twice earned first-team all-conference accolades.
John Weber joins the 15U National Team staff for the first time in 2023 as an assistant coach. Weber is no stranger to USA Baseball, having served as a pitching coach at the 13U/14U ADP in both 2021 and 2022. Additionally, Weber has been on the Task Forces for the 2014 and 2015 12U National Teams, as well as the 2015 18U National Team and the 2021 15U National Team. He was a part of the 15U National Team Training Camp staff in each of the past two summers, serving as a manager in 2022. Weber recently finished his 17th season as the head coach at Cypress High School (Cypress, Calif.), making him the longest-tenured head coach in school history. In his time at Cypress, Weber’s teams have won the 2019 CIF-SS Division I title, 2013 CIF-SS Division II Championship, and 13 league championships. In 2019, Weber was honored as the USA Today National High School Coach of the Year, the Max Preps National Coach of the Year, and the CIF-SS Division I Coach of the Year. He has also coached a handful of future professional players, including USA Baseball alum and current Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran. Prior to taking the job at Cypress, Weber held roles as an assistant coach at Los Alamitos High School (Los Alamitos, Calif.) and Santa Ana College. He also coached in the Alaskan Summer League.
The 2023 National Team Championships in Arizona and North Carolina will serve as the primary identification events for the 2023 15U National Team. Forty-four athletes will be identified from the events, and those players will then compete at the 2023 15U National Team Training Camp for a spot on the final 20-man 15U National Team roster.
The 15U National Team Training Camp will be held from August 1-5 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina. Training Camp will include on-field workouts, intrasquad scrimmages, Prospect Development Pipeline (PDP) performance assessments, and more. The final 2023 15U National Team schedule will be announced at a later date.
Since first taking the field in 2012, the 15U National Team has won six gold medals in international competition. Team USA most recently captured the world title at the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup in 2022, defeating Cuba in the championship game. Overall, the U.S. owns two world championships in addition to four gold medals at WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifiers.
For more information on the 15U National Team, visit USABaseball.com or follow @USABaseball15U on Twitter.
