CARY, N.C. – USA Baseball today finalized the coaching staff for the 2026 Collegiate National Team Training Camp, which will comprise 14 coaches who will bring extensive experience from all levels of the game to Cary. The staff will be split into two teams – Stars and Stripes – for a slate of exhibition games and the program’s annual Stars vs. Stripes series, which will be held June 27 to July 4 at various locations across North Carolina and Virginia.
Following Training Camp, which features 56 of the premier non-draft-eligible collegiate players in the country, the Stars staff will lead Team USA at the inaugural World Collegiate Baseball Championship in Taichung City, Taiwan, from July 11-15.
“This is an incredible coaching staff that has been put together for this year’s Collegiate National Team Training Camp,” said Eric Campbell, USA Baseball’s General Manager of Collegiate and Professional National Teams. “These coaches have extensive knowledge across all levels of the game and will provide our players with an unparalleled experience this summer. We look forward a competitive Training Camp and seeing how this staff guides us over its duration as we prepare to compete in the inaugural World Collegiate Baseball Championship.”
Matt Hobbs (pitching coach), Jonathan Hernandez (assistant coach), Tracy Smith (assistant coach), Tom Walter (assistant coach), and Carlos Muñoz (bullpen coach), will join manager Dan Hartleb in coaching the Stars Team at the Collegiate National Team Training Camp and the squad that will compete in the World Collegiate Baseball Championship. Additionally, nine-time national team coach Rob Shabansky will serve as technical commissioner for Team USA at the event, assisting with the official baseball operations and rules.
Hernandez, Hobbs, Hartleb, Smith, and Walter will bring a combined 150 years of coaching experience across the high school and collegiate levels of the game to Cary and Taiwan. Herandez, who was recently named the Southwestern Athletic Conference Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season, just completed his eighth season at the helm of Bethune-Cookman, and Hobbs just wrapped up his eighth season as pitching coach for Arkansas. Hartleb, who has been the head coach at Illinois for 21 seasons, is the winningest head coach in program history, while Smith and Walter each own more than three decades of coaching experience. Smith is currently the head coach at Michigan while Walter has been at the helm of Wake Forest’s program since 2010.
The 2026 season will be Hobbs, Smith, and Walter’s first time coaching a USA Baseball national team, but have worked with national team programming in previous years. Hartleb, who was an assistant coach for the 2021 Collegiate National Team, was at last year’s Training Camp with Hernandez and together coached the Collegiate National Team Prospects. Additionally, Muñoz has been a bullpen coach for Team USA on four separate occasions and will bring a wealth of knowledge relative to international competition to the staff.
Rick Eckstein will manage the Stripes Team and will be joined by Brad Penny (pitching coach), Rick Ankiel (assistant coach), David Eckstein (assistant coach), Davin Pierre (assistant coach), and Joe McGowan (bullpen coach).
Ankiel, David and Rick Eckstein, and Penny all have experience at the major league level and with USA Baseball, most recently with its 18U National Team program. Ankiel, David Eckstein, and Penny all played 10-plus years in the big leagues, and Rick Eckstein has nearly two decades of coaching experience at the professional level and has coached with USA Baseball’s Professional National Team five times. David and Rick Eckstein and Penny were on the 18U National Team coaching staff in 2024 and 2025 and helped the program win gold medals at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier and the XXXII WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup, respectively, while Ankiel coached at Training Camp those two years and helped the staff make final roster decisions. Pierre recently wrapped up his fifth season as the head coach at Grambling State and has coached at the 16U/17U National Team Development Program in past years, and McGowan returns as the Stripes Team’s bullpen coach for the second consecutive summer.
Joining this year’s staff at Training Camp in an advisor role is former MLB manager and three-time Professional National Team manager Mike Scioscia. He will utilize his experience to provide guidance to the coaching staff on many different aspects of the program, including player development, program philosophy, and best practices and standards. Additionally, Scioscia will help to support the long-term growth of coaches and athletes within the organization.
For the most up-to-date information on the Collegiate National Team, including the full schedule and ticket information, visit USABaseball.com and follow @USABaseballCNT and @USABaseball on Twitter/X and Instagram.
The full coaching staff for the 2026 Collegiate National Team Training Camp is as follows, with full biographies for each coach linked below.
2026 Collegiate National Team Training Camp Staff:
- Dan Hartleb – Stars Manager
- Matt Hobbs – Stars Pitching Coach
- Jonathan Hernandez – Stars Assistant Coach
- Tracy Smith – Stars Assistant Coach
- Tom Walter – Stars Assistant Coach
- Carlos Muñoz – Stars Bullpen Coach
- Rick Eckstein – Stripes Manager
- Brad Penny – Stripes Pitching Coach
- Rick Ankiel – Stripes Assistant Coach
- David Eckstein – Stripes Assistant Coach
- Davin Pierre – Stripes Assistant Coach
- Joe McGowan – Stripes Bullpen Coach
- Mike Scioscia – Senior Advisor
- Rob Shabansky – Technical Commissioner
