DURHAM, N.C. - The staff for the inaugural 2018 16U National Team Development Program (NTDP) was revealed by USA Baseball on Wednesday. Three-time USA Baseball national team coach and seven-time NTDP field coordinator, Eric Kibler, has been selected to serve as the 16U event's first-ever field coordinator.
University of Dayton Head Coach Jayson King will join Kibler on staff as the manager of the Stripes team, while Bill Mosiello, who is currently the associate head coach at Texas Christian University, will manage the Stars team.
Coaches and evaluators will assess 36 athletes during the NTDP week and are made up of former professional players, respected collegiate and high school coaches and professional scouts.
Kibler, who recently finished his 36th season as the head coach at Horizon High School (Scottsdale, Ariz.), served as the field coordinator for the inaugural 14U and 17U NTDPs in 2012. He then reprised that role for the 14U NTDP in 2013 and 2014, and for the 17U NTDP in 2013, 2016 and 2017. Kibler led Horizon High School to six state titles, 17 regionals and three runner-up finishes in the state tournament since he started in 1981. On March 6, 2018, he earned his 800th win, making him the winningest coach in Arizona high school baseball history. In April, he was named a USA Baseball Sport Development contributor for 2018.
In addition, he helped to guide the 2009 and 2010 16U National Teams to first-place finishes at the International Baseball Federation World Youth Championships and the COPABE Pan American "AA" Youth Championships, respectively. He was also a member of the staff that led the 18U National Team to the 2015 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup gold medal.
Gregg Ritchie, who has also been named to the 2018 18U National Team and 17U NTDP staffs, will join Kibler on staff as the lead hitting instructor during the event. Ritchie also previously served as a member of the 2017 18U National Team staff that led the stars and stripes to its fourth consecutive World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup gold medal.
Two-time USA Baseball alumnus and current Georgia Tech assistant coach, Eric Patterson, and Greg Brown, who is currently the head coach at Nova Southeastern University, will assist King as the position coaches for the Stripes. Hutchinson Community College Head Coach, Ryan Schmidt, will serve as the team's pitching coach.
Mosiello will be assisted on the Stars staff by Mayville State University Head Coach, Scott Berry, and Grambling State University Head Coach, James Cooper, who will serve as position coaches. In addition, Santa Clara University Head Coach, Rusty Filter, will lead the team's pitching staff.
USA Baseball will utilize a rolling invitation process for the 16U NTDP participants in 2018. The players will be selected from the 2017 USA Baseball National Team Identification Series (NTIS), the 2018 16U National Team Championships in Arizona and Florida, and through recommendations from scouts, coaches and the amateur baseball community.
The USA Baseball National Team Development Program offers athletes an opportunity to connect with USA Baseball staff to better prepare for future national team experience. The program includes skill development sessions, off-field education seminars, intrasquad Stars vs. Stripes games and exposure to professional scouts, college recruiters and the 18U National Team staff and task force.
The 2018 16U NTDP will take place August 4-7 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina.
The coaching staff and their bios are as follows:
Name, NTDP Position
Scott Berry, Stars Position Coach
Greg Brown, Stripes Position Coach
James Cooper, Stars Position Coach
Rusty Filter, Stars Pitching Coach
Eric Kibler, Field Coordinator
Jayson King, Stripes Manager
Bill Mosiello, Stars Manager
Eric Patterson, Stripes Position Coach
Gregg Ritchie, Hitting Rover
Ryan Schmidt, Stripes Pitching Coach
Scott Berry has been at the helm of the Mayville State University baseball program for 36 years. In that time, Berry's teams have won 23 regular season conference championships (including 17 in a row from 1986-2002), 22 conference tournament championships, and have made 28 appearances in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) playoffs. He earned his 1,000th career win on April 18, 2016, and he holds a career record of 1,058-585-1 as a head coach. In 2002, Berry was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame for Baseball. 2018 will mark his first USA Baseball coaching experience.
Greg Brown is currently serving as the head coach at Nova Southeastern University. In 2016, he was named the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Division II National Coach of the Year after leading his team to the program's first-ever NCAA Division II National Championship. Before his time with the Sharks, Brown worked as an assistant coach at Broward Community College and was an area scout for the Houston Astros. He also played minor league baseball for three years in the Miami Marlins organization. This is Brown's third coaching stint with USA Baseball. He previously served as a coach at the 2013 and 2014 Tournament of Stars.
Currently in his seventh season as the head coach at Grambling State University, James Cooper will make his USA Baseball coaching debut at the 16U National Team Development Program (NTDP). He started his career at GSU as a player before becoming an assistant coach and then taking over at the helm. As a head coach, he led the Tigers to a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) championship in his first year. As a player, he was second team all-conference twice and received first-team All-SWAC honors after his senior campaign. He was selected in 33rd round of the 2004 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Houston Astros.
Rusty Filter is in his first year as the head coach at Santa Clara University after serving as an associate head coach at Stanford University for eight years. He previously coached at the 2015 and 2016 Tournament of Stars. Filter, a graduate of San Diego State University, spent a combined 21 years as a student-athlete and coach for the Aztecs. During his time at Stanford and San Diego State, he tutored notable MLB pitchers such as Stephen Strasburg, Addison Reed and Mark Appel.
Eric Kibler recently finished his 36th season as the head coach at Horizon High School in Scottsdale, Arizona. In that time, he led the program to six state titles. In addition, Kibler won 17 regionals and had three runner-up finishes in the state tournament since he started in 1981. On March 6, 2018, he earned his 800th win with Horizon High School, making him the winningest coach in Arizona high school baseball history. Kibler has tutored 28 players that were selected in the MLB Draft and has seen over 150 of his players go on to play college baseball. Recently named a Sport Development contributor for 2018 by USA Baseball, Kibler has a long history with the organization that includes winning three gold medals. He helped to guide the 2009 and 2010 16U National Teams to first-place finishes at the International Baseball Federation World Youth Championships and the COPABE Pan American "AA" Youth Championships, respectively. He was also a member of the staff that led the 18U National Team to the 2015 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup gold medal. In addition, he was also the field coordinator for the inaugural 14U and 17U National Team Development Programs (NTDP) in 2012. He then reprised that role for the 14U NTDP in 2013 and 2014, and for the 17U NTDP in 2013, 2016 and 2017.
Currently in his first year as the head coach at the University of Dayton, Jayson King returns to the National Team Development Program (NTDP) after first coaching at the 17U NTDP in 2013. He was also a member of the coaching staff for the 2014 18U National Team that won a gold medal in the 2014 COPABE Pan American "AAA" Championships. In addition, he coached at the 2014 Women's NTDP. Prior to his time at Dayton, he spent time coaching at Army and was the head coach at Franklin Pierce University for 18 years. In his time at Franklin Pierce, King led the Ravens to seven NCAA Regional appearances and seven trips to the NCAA Division II College World Series. Under the seven-time American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Northeast Region Coach of the Year's tutelage, 25 Ravens were drafted in the MLB First-Year Player Draft.
TCU's Bill Mosiello is back in the USA Baseball coaching ranks in 2018 after helping to lead the 2017 18U National Team to its fourth consecutive World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup gold medal. Currently in his fifth season as the associate head coach and hitting coach for the Horned Frogs, he holds over 20 years of collegiate coaching experience and seven years of experience as a manager in the Minors League. He helped lead TCU to four consecutive College World Series appearances from 2014-2017 and under his guidance has led the Big 12 Conference in batting average for two of the last three seasons. Mosiello was also a manager in the Los Angeles Angels minor league system from 2009-2011, where he coached Mike Trout for nearly two seasons. He also spent four years coaching in the New York Yankees organization. Mosiello also coached USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award winner Phil Nevins while serving as an assistant coach under legendary coach Augie Garrido at Cal State Fullerton.
An alumnus of the 2002 and 2003 Collegiate National Team's, Eric Patterson is making his USA Baseball coaching debut in 2018. Currently in his first year as an assistant coach at Georgia Tech, Patterson played for the Yellow Jackets from 2002-2004 before being drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the eighth round of the 2004 MLB First-Year Player Draft. He made his Major League debut August 6, 2007, for the Cubs and also played for the Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox and San Diego Padres until 2011.
Gregg Ritchie will join the 16U National Team Development Program (NTDP) following stints with the 2016, 2017 and 2018 17U NTDP coaching staffs. In addition, he served as an assistant coach for the 2017 18U National Team. In that role, he helped lead Team USA to an undefeated record and a fourth consecutive World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup title. Under his direction, the team hit .273 and had a .418 slugging percentage, with 16 doubles, five triples and six home runs over nine games. He also served as a coach at the 2016 18U Trials. Ritchie is in his sixth season at the helm for George Washington University, where he was named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year in 2013. That year, he led the Colonials to their first postseason berth since 2006 and then followed that with back-to-back postseason appearances in 2015 and 2016. He began his coaching career in the Chicago White Sox organization, where he worked at various levels for 10 years, before serving as the hitting coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2011 and 2012. Ritchie has also been named to the 2018 18U National Team staff.
Ryan Schmidt is the head coach at Hutchinson Community College. In 2017, Schmidt led his team to the highest national ranking in program history (No. 3). Prior to his time with the Blue Dragons, he was named Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Coach of the Year while at Pratt Community College in 2012. Schmidt, who pitched at Kansas University from 1999-2000, has also coached at Barton Community College. 2018 marks Schmidt's fourth year in a row working with USA Baseball after he previously served on the Tournament of Stars staff in 2015, 2016 and 2017.