Baseball is back, and so are USA Baseball alumni! Team USA is doing it all in 2026: diving catches, no-hitters, and walk-off base knocks are all happening at the hands of our alumni. Players who have previously donned the stars and stripes are making impacts at every level, from high school to the pros. Follow along as USA Baseball’s alumni report tracks top performances on the diamond and highlight-worthy weekends from coast to coast.

WEEK OF FEBRUARY 23

College/Prep (February 23 - March 1)

Big weekends with the bat:

• Henry Allen (2021 15U) kept a hot bat during Georgia’s four-game sweep of Oakland. The sophomore batted .467 and launched his fourth homer of the season en route to extending his hit streak to 10 games.
• Roch Cholowsky (2025 CNT) extended his hit streak to 11 over the weekend at the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series, helping UCLA collect wins over three top 25 SEC opponents.
• Freshman Travis Friend (2018 12U) broke out in a big way for Loyola Marymount in their two-game series with Davidson. Friend swatted a homer in both victories, recording five RBIs and scoring four runs for the Lions.
• Jayden Hylton (2021 18U) kicked off Stetson’s series against Fordham with a bang, posting an eight RBI, 4-for-5 day at the plate including two home runs and a double.
• Nebraska native Camden Kozeal (2022 18U) was consistent all weekend for Arkansas, with the junior infielder picking up a pair of hits in each of the team’s three games against UT Arlington and driving in six runs for the Razorbacks.
• Alabama’s Justin Lebron (2024 & 2025 CNT) batted .462 at the Frisco College Baseball Classic with two doubles and two homers, including a grand slam, to help his squad go 2-1 on the weekend.
• Houston right-hander Chris Scinta (2016 12U) went toe-to-toe with #19 Oregon State’s Dax Whitney on Friday afternoon, allowing zero earned runs to the Beavers in his five inning start. Scinta collected a season-high five strikeouts.
• TCU’s Nolan Traeger (2021 15U, 2023 18U) touted monstrous back-to-back games, first in a midweek contest against Loyola Marymount then in the series opener versus New Haven. Over two games, Traeger went 6-for-7 and tallied 10 RBIs to help the Horned Frogs get back in the win column.

Dominant arms and top performances from hurlers:

• Talin Gardini (2018 12U) delivered a dominant start for Saint Mary’s, pitching six innings of one-run ball in the Gaels’ win against San Jose State on Thursday. Gardini notched six strikeouts and lowered his season ERA to 0.90.
• Blake Morningstar (2025 CNT) pitched seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts in Wake Forest’s series-opening win over Loyola Marymount on February 27.
• Ryan McPherson (2021 15U, 2025 CNT) maintained his status as ace this past weekend, tossing seven innings of four-hit ball while giving up only one run as Mississippi State downed Arizona State 8-4.
• Portland’s Trey Newmann (2024 CNT) collected two saves in the Pilots’ series win over Niagara, pitching one inning apiece in all three games and racking up five strikeouts.
• Right-hander Cade Townsend (2022 18U) kept a clean sheet for Ole Miss in its non-conference game against Ohio State on February 28. The sophomore punched out nine batters in five innings of work, allowing three hits and walking just one en route to picking up an 8-0 win.
• Oregon State’s Dax Whitney (2025 CNT) fanned 11 batters in a dominant six-inning performance on February 27 against Houston, bringing his strikeout total to 34 through the first three weeks of the season.

WEEK OF FEBRUARY 16

College/Prep (February 16-23)

2022 18U National Team alum RJ Hamilton was in the middle of all the offense for Duke on Saturday, helping carry the team to a 10-8 win over Milwaukee. After a sac bunt in the first inning contributed to a two-run first, Hamilton hit a two-run double in the second to put Duke within two runs. In the third inning with the game knotted at six, Hamilton drove in another two runs to put Duke in front, singling to left field to make it a 8-6 lead before scoring on a single to extend his side’s advantage. Hamilton singled and stole a base later in the game, finishing the contest with three hits, four RBIs, and a pair of swiped bags.

After going 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles, two RBI, and three runs scored in a midweek match against USC Upstate, Henry Allen (2021 15U) moved up in the stacked Georgia lineup – a move that would pay off – prior to the Bulldogs’ three-game set against Samford. The sophomore would proceed to rattle off back-to-back games with home runs and drive in three runs apiece in all three contests. Georgia’s left fielder is riding a five-game hit streak heading into the team’s standalone game vs. Troy on Wednesday.

Two-time Team USA alum Camden Kozeal had a great showing at the plate in Arkansas’ three-game sweep over Xavier, highlighted by his cycle on Saturday. After hitting a three-run homer in a 5-2 win on Friday, Kozeal began his cycle with a two-run blast in the first inning on Saturday. The infielder followed with a triple in the third before singling in the seventh, then wrapped up his cycle with a double in the ninth before scoring the winning run in a walk-off victory. He finished the weekend with two more hits on Sunday and currently owns a .385 average with four homers through the season’s first seven games.

Ryan McPherson (2021 15U, 2025 CNT) made his second appearance as Mississippi State’s Friday starter this season, getting the nod last weekend against Delaware. The two-time Team USA alum would also go on to earn his first win of the season thanks to a stellar showing in Starkville. Mississippi State’s right-hander punched out 11 batters in six complete, surrendering only one earned run on four hits en route to a 9-2 win over the Fightin’ Blue Hens.

After transferring from Wake Forest, Chris Katz (2015 12U) is off to a hot start for the Mercer Bears. Following a walk-off homer on opening day against Troy, Katz delivered once again in a home series against Columbia this past weekend, collecting eight hits in a three game sweep. His 4-for-5, 3 RBI performance on February 20 was his best showing, as he fell just a triple short of the cycle in the victory. Katz followed this up by reaching base five times in Saturday’s game, raking in two more RBIs and scoring two runs. He capped off the weekend by going 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, which made the difference in the Sunday game. Overall, Katz reached base 12 times in the series, racking up seven RBIs and 4 extra-base hits. The performance pushed his OPS to 1.445 for the season.

Oregon State’s Dax Whitney (2025 CNT) took the nation by storm with one of the most dominant pitching performances in Beaver history on February 20, racking up 17 strikeouts across seven scoreless innings. Whitney tied the program record for most strikeouts in a game with 17 in Oregon State’s 3-1 win over Baylor at the Round Rock Classic, marking just the third time a Beaver pitcher has accomplished the feat. Across the seven innings he scattered two hits and allowed one walk, and his outing was highlighted by retiring nine straight batters by strikeout beginning in the fourth inning.

• Ethin Bingaman (2024 18U) - Auburn: 2-for-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 3 R vs. Louisville on February 22
• Kai Caranto (2016 & 2017 12U, 2019 15U) - Cal Lutheran: .375 BA, 6 R, 3 RBI, 5 SB vs. Cal Tech
• Tegan Kuhns (2023 18U) - Tennessee: 5.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K vs. Kent State on February 20
• Sebastian Norman (2022 15U) - Oklahoma State: 7-for-16, 3 R, 3 RBI, HR, 2 SB vs. Grand Canyon
• Austin Nye (2021 15U, 2022 18U) - Vanderbilt: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 6 K, 0 BB, W vs. Marist on February 21
• Ethan Puig (2021 15U) - App State: 7-for-13, 6 R, 4 RBI, HR, 2 SB vs. N.C. A&T, Southern Illinois
• Cade Townsend (2022 18U) - Ole Miss: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 8 K vs. Missouri State on February 21
• Jacob Dudan (2024 & 2025 CNT) - NC State: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 11 K, 0 BB vs. Princeton on February 21
• Roch Cholowsky (2025 CNT) - UCLA: 7-for-16, 10 RBI, 5 HR, 8 R vs. TCU
• Jason DeCaro (2024 & 2025 CNT) - North Carolina: 8.0 IP (CG), 5 H, 0 R, 7 K, 1 BB vs. East Carolina on February 20
• A’Lana Martinez (2022-2024 WNT) - State College of Florida: 6-for-13, 4 RBI, 7 BB, 3 XBH vs. Santa Fe College/Florida Gateway College
• Steven Milam (2016 12U) - LSU: 3-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB at Indiana on February 20
• Greg Pierantoni (2017 12U) - Pomona Pitzer: 5-for-5, 6 RBI, 1 R at Chapman on February 21
• Ross Felder (2018 12U) - Missouri State: 5 IP, 0 ER, 7 K, 2 BB in two appearances at Oral Roberts (2/17) and at Ole Miss (2/21)

WEEK OF FEBRUARY 9

College/Prep (February 9-16)

Arkansas boasts five USA Baseball alums on its team, and all of them contributed to the Razorbacks picking up a pair of wins at Globe Life Field at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown (Feb. 13-15) and a win over Tarleton State the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series on February 16. Cole Gibler (2025 CNT) was credited with the win on Opening Day against Oklahoma State when he tossed 3.2 hitless innings in relief with six strikeouts, taking over for two-time alum Gabe Gaeckle (2024 & 2025 CNT), who surrendered just one earned run and struck out nine batters in 4.1 innings of work.

Additionally, Ethan McElvain (2019 15U, 2024 CNT) picked up the win against Tarleton State when he threw 2.2 shutout innings in relief, yielding just one hit while fanning five batters. Offensively, Camden Kozeal (2022 18U) homered twice to contribute to Arkansas’ wins over Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, while Ryder Helfrick (2025 CNT) tallied at least one hit in all three games of the Shriners Showdown. Helfrick had a sensational outing on Opening Day against Oklahoma State by going 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs and four runs scored, had a hit against TCU, then added two more to his weekend against Texas Tech.

NC State’s duo of Jacob Dudan (2024 & 2025 CNT) and Ryan Marohn (2025 CNT) delivered shutout performances at the Puerto Rico Classic en route to securing their first wins of the season. Marohn went 4.2 innings on Opening Day against Washington and racked up six strikeouts, while Dudan gave up two hits and did not allow a walk in five complete innings against Indiana State.

Despite a pair of losses during opening weekend at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown, Vanderbilt found a bright spot on Saturday in Austin Nye (2021 15U, 2022 18U). A pair of errors led to an unearned run and the only blemish on Nye’s day, as the sophomore proceeded to hurl three scoreless frames while allowing only two hits. The two-time Team USA alum turned in four quality innings, striking out six in the process as Vanderbilt defeated Texas Tech 13-3.

Jake Brown (2022 18U) started his junior season in a big way, batting .529 (9-for-17) with four home runs, 10 RBIs, and a 1.932 OPS through four games. Brown hit two doubles in the season opener on February 13 before picking up a hit and an RBI in game two on February 14. He finished the series sweep of Milwaukee with authority, homering twice in each of the next two games and driving in eight runs across the two contests. Brown scored at least one run in all four games, crossing home plate seven times in the series.

2022, 2023 and 2024 Women’s National Team alum A’Lana Martinez helped State College of Florida’s softball team win five of its six games last week and batted .739 (17-for-23). On February 10 she hit for the cycle against St. Petersburg College, and two days later followed up with a 5-for-5 outing against St. Pete that included two triples and a home run.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Eric Becker (2024 & 2025 CNT) - Virginia: .538 AVG/7 H/7 R/6 RBI/.625 OBP
• Bryce Clavon (2024 18U) - Clemson: 3-for-8, HR, 2 RBI
• Ricky Ojeda (2025 CNT) - UC Irvine: 6.0 IP/3 H/0 ER/8 K/0 BB
• Jason DeCaro (2024 & 2025 CNT) - North Carolina: 5.0 IP/2 H/0 ER/7 K/3 BB
• Brayden Jaksa (2024 18U) - Oregon: 5-for-9, HR, 2 RBI
• Cameron Johnson (2022 18U) - Oklahoma: 6IP/3 H/1 R (0 ER)/11 K vs. Texas Tech
• Dylan Lina (2019 15U) - Long Beach State: 2-for-4, 4 RBI, 2B vs. San Jose State on February 14
• Karson Bowen (2016 12U, 2018 & 2019 15U, 2021 18U) - Florida: 3-for-4, 2 RBI, R, 2 2B vs. UAB on February 14
• Chris Katz (2015 12U) - Mercer: 3-for-5, Walk-off HR, RBI, 2 R, 1 2B vs. Troy on February 13
• Chris Scinta (2016 12U) - Houston: 5.2 IP/2 H/0 ER/7 K/1 BB across two appearances against Wake Forest (February 13) and Washington (February 16)
• Collin Reuter (2015 12U) - Ole Miss: .571 AVG/4 H/3 RBI/1 SB/1.339 OPS vs. Nevada
• Macon Winslow (2022 18U) - North Carolina: Walk-off home run against Indiana on February 14