DURHAM, N.C. - USA Baseball named Frank Jagoda the Director of the 18U National Team on Tuesday. In this role, Jagoda will oversee the day-to-day operations of the 18U National Team program, as well as the 16U and 17U National Team Development Programs, and will also work closely with the recently announced Prospect Development Pipeline League.
He returns to USA Baseball after serving as an assistant coach for the 2017 15U National Team that won a gold medal at the COPABE Pan-Am "AA" Championships, and as a task force member for numerous national teams and national team identification events over the last five years.
"We are thrilled to welcome Frank Jagoda to the organization in a full-time capacity as the 18U National Team Director," USA Baseball's Executive Director/CEO, Paul Seiler, said. "Frank has been a part of the USA Baseball family as a coach and task force member since 2014 and we are confident his experience and coaching philosophies will translate perfectly to this role as we continue to build upon the incredible achievements of our national teams, national team development programs and our athletes."
Jagoda brings over ten years of collegiate and professional baseball coaching experience to his new role with the 18U National Team. He most recently served as the Pitching Coach for Rehabilitation for the Minnesota Twins, where he oversaw all of the on-field rehabilitation for the club and served as the pitching coach for the Gulf Coast League Twins in Fort Meyers, Florida.
Prior to his tenure with the Twins, he was the head coach at Patrick Henry Community College (Martinsville, Va.) from 2016-2017, where he led the Patriots to a 79-38 overall record, guided the program to its first-ever regular season Region X championship and was named the 2016 Region X Coach of the Year. Jagoda was also a graduate assistant and assistant coach at Canisius College from 2012-2014 and helped lead the Golden Griffins to its first-ever NCAA Regional berth in 2013, before leading Wingate University to a spot in the NCAA Division II Southeast Region Championship as its pitching coach and recruiting coordinator in 2015.
Jagoda is immediately tasked with leading Team USA at the 2019 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup in South Korea. The U.S. is looking to win an unprecedented fifth consecutive world title after taking home gold in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2017. The 18U National Team program has won eight consecutive gold medals on the international stage dating back to 2011.
For more information on the 18U National Team, please visit USABaseball.com or follow along on Twitter at @USABaseball18U.