NIIGATA, Japan – The 45th USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Championship Series continues on July 12 at Hard Off Eco Stadium in Niigata, Japan. First pitch for game three is set for 12:00 p.m. local/11:00 p.m. EST (July 11).

LAST TIME OUT

The U.S was shut out, 2-0, in game three of the 45th USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Championship Series on July 11 at Hard Off Eco Stadium in Niigata.

Despite solid pitching from Dax Whitney (Oregon State), Jason DeCaro (North Carolina), and Ricky Ojeda (UC Irvine), along with the U.S. offense putting runners in scoring position on five different occasions, the stars and stripes came up empty and dropped the 2025 series to Japan.

Whitney (4), DeCaro (2), and Ojeda (2) combined for eight strikeouts in the contest, while Drew Burress (Georgia Tech, 2-for-4), AJ Gracia (Virginia, 1-for-4), Mulivai Levu (UCLA, 1-for-4), Lucas Moore (Louisville, 1-for-4), and Chris Rembert (Auburn, 2-for-5) combined for the team’s seven hits in the game.

Japan improves to 3-0 and the U.S. moves to 0-3 in the series.

TEAM LEADERS

• Gracia currently leads the team offensively in batting average (.273), on-base percentage (.333), and hits (3). Six other players have two hits each.
• Burress and Gracia lead the team in doubles with two apiece.
• Burress owns a team-high .571 slugging percentage and .857 OPS.
• Whitney has pitched a team-high 4.1 innings.
• Cole Gibler (Arkansas), Ojeda, and Whitney lead the team in strikeouts with four.
• Ojeda is the only pitcher who has made multiple appearances, and he owns a 0.00 ERA in the series.
• Six other pitchers on the staff have compiled 0.00 ERAs in their respective outings.

SERIES HISTORY

The 2025 series marks the 45th edition of the two nations meeting each other in the USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Series. The first time the teams met was in 1972, and the U.S. leads the series with an all-time record of 24-21 (135-113-2 game record through three games of series).

The teams last met in 2023 when they played a five-game series from July 7-12 in Cary, North Carolina, and Charleston, South Carolina. Japan took three of the five games to clinch the series. The last time the teams met in Japan was on July 16-21, 2019, and once again Japan won the series 3-2.

INSIDE THE ROSTER

The 2025 Collegiate National Team roster features 10 USA Baseball alumni in Eric Becker (Virginia; 2024 CNT), Drew Burress (Georgia Tech; 2019 15U and 2024 CNT), Jason DeCaro (North Carolina; 2024 CNT), Jacob Dudan (NC State; 2024 CNT), Gabe Gaeckle (Arkansas; 2024 CNT), AJ Gracia (Virginia; 2024 CNT), Ryan McPherson (Mississippi State; 2021 15U), Liam Peterson (Florida; 2024 CNT), Brett Renfrow (Virginia Tech; 2024 CNT), and Zion Rose (Louisville; 2024 CNT).

Arkansas boasts three players on the roster, the most of any school, while Georgia Tech, Louisville, Mississippi State, NC State, Oregon State, UCLA, North Carolina, and Virginia all have two players on the roster. Overall, 16 different schools are represented on the roster, and seven other schools have one player on the team.

TRAINING CAMP RECAP

USA Baseball held its annual Collegiate National Team Stars vs. Stripes series from June 29-July 3, which featured 56 of the top non-draft eligible players across college baseball. The teams played six games to determine the 26-man roster that would represent the U.S. in the series.

COACHING STAFF

The 2025 Collegiate National Team is led by manager Andy Stankiewicz, and he will be joined by Rusty Filter (pitching coach), Omar Johnson (first base coach), Bill Mosiello (third base coach), Carlos Muñoz (bullpen coach), and Don Wakamatsu (bench/hitting coach).

Filter, Johnson, Mosiello, Stankiewicz, and Wakamatsu bring a combined 138 years of coaching experience across all levels of the game to this year’s staff. This year marks Stankiewicz’s fifth time on a USA Baseball national team coaching staff, while Mosiello returns to a staff for the first time since 2017 after being with the 18U National Team. This is Filter, Johnson, and Wakamatsu’s first time being on staff with a national team, and this is Muñoz’s fourth time serving as a bullpen coach for Team USA.

FOLLOW ALONG/SCHEDULE

The schedule for the 45th USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Championship Series is as follows:

• July 8 - Es Con Field - Hokkaido, Japan – 5 a.m. ET/6 p.m. local
• July 9 - Es Con Field - Hokkaido, Japan - 5 a.m. ET/6 p.m. local
• July 11 - Hard Off Eco Stadium - Niigata, Japan - 4 a.m. ET/5:00 p.m. local and
• July 12 - Hard Off Eco Stadium - Niigata, Japan - 11 p.m. ET (July 11)/12 p.m. local
• July 13 - Jingu Stadium – Tokyo, Japan - 4 a.m. ET/5:00 p.m.

Live stats and streaming for each game can be found on GameChanger.

For the most up-to-date information on the Collegiate National Team, visit USABaseball.com and follow @USABaseballCNT and @USABaseball on Twitter/X, and @USABaseball on Instagram.