CARY, N.C. – USA Baseball announced today its 2020 15U National Team Trials roster selections. The list features 60 athletes chosen from a USA Baseball identification event, including the 2019 13U Athlete Development Program, 13U and 14U National Team Identification Series Champions Cups, and 14U National Team Development Program, as well as the 2020 15U National Team Championships North Carolina.
The announcement comes after the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) rescheduled the 2020 WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup, originally scheduled to take place in November in Tijuana, Mexico, to March 2021 because of COVID-19. However, after careful consideration and deliberation, USA Baseball has declined its invitation to compete in the rescheduled event due to the ongoing pandemic and its commitment to the long-term health and safety of its athletes and staff. Consequently, USA Baseball will not name a final 15U National Team in 2020.
“It is a pleasure to recognize this group of tremendously gifted young athletes after earning a spot on the 15U National Team Trials roster,” said USA Baseball Senior Director of Baseball Operations Ashley Bratcher. “Although we will not ultimately name a final national team roster this year to compete in next year’s World Cup, it does not detract from the achievements of these athletes who excelled during one of our national team identification events.
“These sixty kids have separated themselves as the best fifteen-and-under baseball players in the United States and we look forward to watching how they continue to progress on and off the field as we evaluate them for future USA Baseball national team programs.”
The Trials roster features 17 national team alumni, eight participants of the inaugural 13U Athlete Development Program and 18 members of the 14U NTDP. Three-time national team alumnus Kai Caranto (Castaic, Calif.) headlines the roster and is joined by fellow 2019 15U National Team members Spencer Butt (Davie, Fla.), Brandon Olivera (Hialeah, Fla.) and Ben Reiland (Villa Park, Calif.). All three athletes won a gold medal last year at the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, defeating Panama 3-1 in the final.
Additionally, 17 players on the roster have won a gold medal with the 12U National Team, including 10 members of the 2017 World Champion 12U squad that won the U.S. its third consecutive U-12 Baseball World Cup title in Taiwan: Daniel Arambula (Yucaipa, Calif.), Butt, Caranto, Owen Egan (Yucaipa, Calif.), Colt Emerson (Cambridge, Ohio), Gavin Grahovac (Orange, Calif.), Olivera, Bryce Rainer (Simi Valley, Calif.), Reiland and Raffaele Valazquez (Long Beach, Calif.).
In total, the 60 athletes span 21 different states and 35 of them are new to USA Baseball national team programming. Twenty-four athletes earned a spot on the 15U National Team Trials roster after representing their respective region at the 2019 NTIS Champions Cup, four invitees were selected from both the 2019 Athlete Development Program and 14U NTDP, while 23 were chosen after their performance at the inaugural National Team Championships in North Carolina.
Jared Halpert (Harvard-Westlake School; Chatsworth, Calif.) was named the 15U National Team manager for 2020 with Steve Butler (Eagan High School; Eagan, Minn.), Adam Moseley (Hoover High School; Hoover, Ala.) and Jeff Sherman (Marcus High School; Flower Mound, Texas) joining him on the staff as assistant coaches. Team USA is the current defending world champions after winning the nation’s first-ever U-15 Baseball World Cup title in 2018.
For more information on the 15U National Team and the selection process, please visit USABaseball.com or follow along on Twitter, at @USABaseball15U.
2020 15U National Team Trials Roster
Name; Position; Hometown; Identification Event (Region/Team)
*Daniel Arambula; IF/RHP; Yucaipa, Calif.; 14U NTIS (Southwest)
Cade Arrambide; C/IF; Tomball, Texas; Champs NC (Team Elite)
Conner Barth; IF/C; Roseville, Calif.; 13U NTIS (Northwest)
*^Tristan Bristow; RHP/OF; Helotes, Texas; 13U NTIS (South)
*^Spencer Butt; IF/RHP; Davie, Fla.; 14U NTDP
*^Kai Caranto; IF/OF; Castaic, Calif.; 14U NTDP
Matthew Champion; IF/RHP; Fontana, Calif.; 14U NTIS (Southwest)
*^Masato Chilcutt; C/IF; San Antonio, Texas; 13U ADP
Bryce Clavon; IF; Hampton, Ga.; Champs NC (Carolina Elite National)
Cooper Cohn; C/IF; McHenry, Ill.; 14U NTIS (Midwest)
Samuel Cozart; RHP; High Point, N.C.; 13U NTIS (Southeast)
^Connor Crisp; RHP/OF; Locust Grove, Ga.; Champs NC (5 Star National Dobbs)
^Derek Curiel; OF; West Covina, Calif.; Champs NC (Empire Baseball)
Daniel Cuvet; IF; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Champs NC (Elite Squad)
Sebastian David; IF/RHP; Medina, Wash.; 14U NTIS (Northwest)
*^Owen Egan; OF/RHP; Yucaipa, Calif.; Champs NC (Elite Squad)
*^Colt Emerson; IF; Cambridge, Ohio; Champs NC (Team Elite)
Hayden Federico; IF/C; West Monroe, La.; 14U NTIS (South)
*^Ross Felder; RHP/IF; Springdale, Ark.; 13U ADP
Jack Frankel; RHP/IF; Plano, Texas; (USA Prime National 2022)
Theodore Gillen; IF/RHP; Austin, Texas; 14U NTIS (South)
*^Gavin Grahovac; C/IF; Orange, Calif.; Champs NC (Empire Baseball)
Konnor Griffin; OF/IF; Florence, Miss.; 13U NTIS (Southeast)
Aidan Hall; IF/RHP; Galt, Calif.; 13U NTIS (Northwest)
*^Kailand Halstead; C/IF; Cosmopolis, Wash.; 13U NTIS (Northwest)
^Ryder Helfrick; C/OF; Brentwood, Calif.; (Meta Prime 2023)
Caleb Hoover; RHP/C; Heath, Texas; Champs NC (Empire Baseball)
Kaohu Kawelu; IF; Hilo, Hawaii; 13U NTIS (Southwest)
Boston Kellner; RHP/OF; Colorado Springs, Colo.; 13U NTIS (Midwest)
^Trenton Lape; IF/RHP; Bossier City, La.; Champs NC (5 Star National Dobbs)
Brandon Luu; IF/LHP; Irvine, Calif.; 14U NTIS (Southwest)
Manuelle Marin; IF; Hialeah, Fla.; Champs NC (Elite Squad)
Ethan Martinez; IF/LHP; Fort Worth, Texas; 14U NTIS (South)
Maximo Martinez; IF/OF; Hawthorne, Calif.; 13U NTIS (Southwest)
Coleman Mayfield; LHP; Elk City, Okla.; Champs NC (Team Elite)
Frank Menendez; LHP/OF; Miami, Fla.; Champs NC (Elite Squad)
Evan Miranda; RHP/IF; Fontana, Calif.; Champs NC (Empire Baseball)
^Andre Modugno; IF/OF; Upper Saddle River, N.J.; 14U NTIS (Northeast)
Lucas Moore; OF; West Chester, Ohio; Champs NC (Tri State Arsenal)
*^Dean Moss; IF/OF; Atherton, Calif.; 13U NTIS (Northwest)
^Chris Newstrom; C/IF; Scottsdale, Ariz.; 14U NTIS (Southwest)
*^Brandon Olivera; RHP; Hialeah, Fla.; 14U NTDP
*^Josiah Palomino; C/UTL; Riverside, Calif.; 13U ADP
*^Bryce Rainer; IF/OF; Simi Valley, Calif.; Champs NC (Empire Baseball)
*^Benjamin Reiland; OF; Villa Park, Calif.; 14U NTDP
Brett Renfrow; OF/RHP; Manassas, Va.; 14U NTIS (Northeast)
^Luca Reyes; OF/IF; Teaneck, N.J.; Champs NC (Team Elite)
Christian Rodriguez; OF/RHP; Coral Springs, Fla.; 14U NTIS (Southeast)
Jackson Sanders; LHP/OF; Opelika, Ala.; Champs NC (Team Elite)
Campbell Smithwick; C/OF; Conway, S.C.; Champs NC (Canes Baseball National)
^Ty Southisene; IF; Henderson, Nev.; Champs NC (Empire Baseball)
^Nolan Stevens; LHP/OF; Elk Grove, Calif.; (NCTB Alpha Dogs)
*^Brady Strohm; IF/RHP; Winchester, Calif.; 13U NTIS (Southwest)
Landon Stump; RHP; Morgan Hill, Calif.; (Meta Prime 2023)
Drew Titsworth; RHP; Frankenmuth, Mich.; Champs NC (Team Elite)
Anthony Tralongo; IF; Wellington, Fla.; Champs NC (Team GA Baseball)
Jeremiah Vargas; OF/IF; San Diego, Calif.; 13U NTIS (Southwest)
*^Raffaele Velazquez; C/IF; Long Beach, Calif.; Champs NC (Empire Baseball)
Landon Victorian; RHP/OF; Lake Charles, La.; (Banditos Black)
^Braeden Weckman; OF/RHP; Winter Springs, Fla.; 13U ADP
*Denotes national team alum
^Denotes Athlete Development Program or National Team Development Program participant
