Cary, N.C. - The national team experience is a memory and opportunity no USA Baseball alum forgets. It is one of a kind and only the ‘best of the best’ earn the right to represent their country. The process to further develop as a player and work towards a gold medal is special.

Ashton Larson is an individual who has not taken his time with USA Baseball for granted. Larson was a member of the 2017 12U National Team that won a gold medal in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-12 Baseball World Cup in Taiwan.

Larson made a great impression as a two-way player on the USA Baseball Task Force at the 2017 12U National Open, earning a roster spot at the 2017 12U National Team Trials. The process taught him what is truly valuable – practicing your craft.

“The competition and the development you get when you’re around those coaches and the guys, it really helps open your eyes to what you need to do to get better and better,” said Larson. “Having those practices and the training sessions are just as valuable as the international competition games because you really get to see this next step, the next level of defense, next level of approach and mindset.”

You would think progressing at the plate to hit bombs or growing on the mound to dice hitters would be the big takeaways for Larson from tryouts, but it was defensively in the field. He recalled honing his craft as an outfielder began with the 12U coaching staff and helped improve his game.

“When I was 12 going through the final stages of the tryouts, we worked a lot on defense in the outfield. I didn’t really have a ton of experience with the finer points of defense. Getting to work with the coaches there really helped me learn how to field a ground ball and how to throw to a base. The mechanics and understanding how that works was helpful.”

Larson is back at the National Team Championships North Carolina this week, prepared to earn an invite to the 2022 16U/17U National Team Development Program and impress the USA Baseball Task Force once again. Playing for USA Prime National, the team is 2-0-1 and played a great game in its 5-4 win over Top Tier Roos American on Tuesday where he went 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored.

Yet, he does not feel pressured and knows exactly he needs to do on the field - be himself.

“You just try to go out and do what you normally do. Go out and play hard. Play with confidence, play free. That’s your best chance to make it. If you go out and you play tight and you’re nervous, it’s not going to go well. You just have to play loose and be yourself.”

For the athletes hoping to join Larson in special company and wear the red, white, and blue, he has the perfect advice.

“Play hard. They aren’t looking for who is the flashiest player. They aren’t looking for who is going to go up and homer every time. They’re looking for someone that plays for their team, that does all the little things right and wants their team to win. When you go out into international competition it’s not about winning an individual MVP, it’s about winning a gold medal. They’re looking for guys who are team players and do all the little things right.”

Expect Larson to do everything he can this week to help USA Prime National take home the gold here at Champs NC.