CARY, N.C. - USA Baseball named the 2019 15U National Team roster on Wednesday, following the completion of 15U National Team Trials held at the National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina. The 15U National Team will compete at the COPABE U-15 Pan-American Championships from September 13-22 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
For the third consecutive year, the 15U National Team Trials featured two phases and included 72 athletes. Phase I began on July 26 and featured six exhibition games before the roster was trimmed to 34 players for Phase II, which began on July 29.
"We feel really good about the twenty we selected," said 15U National Team Manager Troy Cameron. "Trying to figure out which guys fall into which spots on the roster was extremely difficult, but I expect this group of guys to represent our nation in the best way possible. I know they will be great teammates, work their tails off and they will not stop until we bring home a gold medal.
"We have a good mix of guys that have been there before. They have done it with other national teams and know what to expect. I also think we have a really good group that have not yet been a part of a national team, but will understand the value of what it means and I think they are going to represent us well."
Karson Bowen (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) and Joseph Brown (Petaluma, Calif.) will compete on the 15U team for the second consecutive year after helping the program to its first World Baseball Softball Confederation U-15 Baseball World Cup gold medal in 2018. They are two of 11 national team alumni to be selected to the roster, while nine athletes will make their national team debuts in 2019.
Spencer Butt (Davie, Fla.), Kai Caranto (Santa Clarita, Calif.), Brandon Olivera (Hialeah, Fla.) and Benjamin Reiland (Irvine, Calif.) were named to the 15U National Team roster after earning an invitation to the 15U Trials following their performance at the 2019 14U National Team Development Program (NTDP). This is the third consecutive year two or more members of the current year's 14U NTDP roster were selected to the 15U National Team. In total, 15 members of the 2019 roster have previously trained within the USA Baseball National Team Development Program.
Athletes selected for 15U National Team identification are chosen from the 15U National Team Championships in Arizona and Florida, the 2018 14U National Team Identification Series, the 14U NTDP and recommendations from professional scouts and college and high school coaches.
The 2019 15U National Team will travel to Houston, Texas, from September 6-10 for training before travelling to Playa del Carmen, Mexico, to compete in the COPABE U-15 Pan-American Championships. Team USA is the three-time defending champions in the event (2013, 2015 and 2017).
For the most up-to-date information on the 15U National Team, visit USABaseball.com or follow @USABaseball15U and @USABaseball on Twitter.
2019 USA Baseball 15U National Team Roster
Full Name, Position, Hometown
^Brandon Barriera; LHP; Coconut Creek, Fla.
^Karson Bowen; C/RHP; Anaheim Hills, Calif.
^Joseph Brown; IF/OF; Petaluma, Calif.
Drew Burress; OF/IF; Perry, Ga.
^Spencer Butt; IF/RHP; Davie, Fla.
^Kai Caranto; IF/RHP; Santa Clarita, Calif.
^Duke Ekstrom; RHP; San Diego, Calif.
^Termarr Johnson; IF; Atlanta, Ga.
^Dylan Lina; IF/RHP; Carson, Calif.
Matthew Matthijs; RHP/IF; Greenville, N.C.
Ethan McElvain; LHP; Thompson's Station, Tenn.
^Steven Milam; IF/RHP; Las Cruces, N.M.
^Aidan Miller; OF; Trinity, Fla.
^Brandon Olivera; RHP; Hialeah, Fla.
^Benjamin Reiland; OF; Irvine, Calif.
^Louis Rodriguez; RHP; Long Beach, Calif.
^Mikey Romero; IF; Menifee, Calif.
^Logan Saloman; RHP/IF; Chandler, Ariz.
Nolan Schubart; IF; Durand, Mich.
Colton Wombles; C/OF; Salem, Ala.
Denotes National Team alum
^Denotes National Team Development Program Participant