Davis makes USA National Team
Published 8:19 am Wednesday, August 22, 2012
After many months of traveling back-and-forth and trying out for the 18U USA Baseball National Team, T.R. Miller’s Kevin Davis found out late Monday night and early Tuesday morning that he made the team and will play in the world championships in South Korea.
“Made Team USA! Flying out tomorrow night for Taiwan then on to Seoul, South Korea for the World Championship. Gotta win the gold!” was the status on Davis’ Facebook profile among many congratulations and good luck wishes.
The national team will leave Wednesday night to fly overseas, with a three-game series in Taiwan scheduled to begin Saturday.
Davis, a senior at T.R. Miller, recently committed to play baseball at Auburn. As a result of making the national team, Davis— who is T.R. Miller’s starting quarterback— will miss the preseason football game for the Tigers and the first two games of the regular season.
Davis and the National Team will play from Aug. 30-Sept. 8. The USA is scheduled to play Australia, Netherlands, Korea, Colombia and Venezuela in World Championship pool play.
Here is the complete schedule:
• Aug. 30-Sept. 8, IBAF Junior AAA/18U World Championships, TBD, Seoul, South Korea
• Aug. 30, vs. Australia, IBAF Junior AAA/18U World Championships, Jamsil Stadium, Seoul, South Korea, 5 a.m.
• Aug. 31, vs. Netherlands, IBAF Junior AAA/18U World Championships, Jamsil Stadium, Seoul, South Korea, 5 a.m.
• Sept. 1, vs. Korea, IBAF Junior AAA/18U World Championships, Jamsil Stadium, Seoul, South Korea, 1 a.m.
• Sept. 1, vs. Colombia, IBAF Junior AAA/18U World Championships, Mokdong Stadium, Seoul, South Korea, 9 p.m.
• Sept. 3, vs. Venezuela, IBAF Junior AAA/18U World Championships, Jamsil Stadium, Seoul, South Korea, 5 a.m.
• Sept. 5, Crossover game, IBAF Junior AAA/18U World Championships, TBD, Seoul, South Korea, TBD
• Sept. 6, Crossover game, IBAF Junior AAA/18U World Championships, TBD, Seoul, South Korea, TBD
• Sept. 7, Crossover game, IBAF Junior AAA/18U World Championships, TBD, Seoul, South Korea, TBD
• Sept. 8, Medal games, IBAF Junior AAA/18U World Championships, TBD, Seoul, South Korea, TBD
UPDATED: Here is the press release from USA baseball about the National Team:
FULLERTON, Calif. – On Tuesday night, USA Baseball announced its final roster for the 2012 IBAF 18U/AAA World Championships in Seoul, South Korea. The final roster includes 20 players from eight different states.
The roster was selected following the second phase of national team trials in Fullerton, Calif., but, the process started weeks ago in Cary, N.C. with the 2012 Tournament of Stars presented by Major League Baseball. There 144 athletes competed over five days at the USA Baseball National Training Complex. From that pool, 40 players were selected to compete in phase one of the national team trials, also held in Cary.
Those 40 players participated in Red vs. Blue intrasquad scrimmages and the first two games of the Prospect Classic at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, N.C. During the Prospect Classic, the 18U trials players were intermixed on rosters with members of the 2012 Collegiate National Team, giving fans and scouts an opportunity to see the best players for the 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on one field.
Following game two of the Prospect Classic, the roster was trimmed to 28. Those 28 athletes competed in the final two games of the Prospect Classic, pitting the 18U National Trials Team against the Collegiate National Team. Those players were also invited to the second phase of trials in California, Aug. 17-22.
For various reasons, only, 27 individuals competed in the second phase of trials, which consisted of games at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles and Goodwin Field in Fullerton, along with practices at Dodger Stadium, Angel Stadium in Anaheim and Goodwin Field.
Over four days of exhibition play against some of the top players in California, the trials team went 3-1, outscoring its opponents by a combined score of 37-16.
Following Tuesday night’s game against the Southern California 17U National Team Identification Series (NTIS) Team, USA Baseball had to announce the final 20-man roster that will travel to international competition.
The team plays its first exhibition game at 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. local) at Goodwin Field on the campus of California State University, Fullerton. From there, the team departs to Taichung, Taiwan for a three game exhibition series with Chinese Taiper, Aug. 25-27.
The IBAF Junior AAA/18U World Championships will be held Aug. 30-Sept. 8 in Seoul, South Korea. Team USA opens pool play with games against Australia, Netherlands, Korea, Colombia and Venezuela.
The 20-man USA Baseball 18U National Team roster is as follows:
Name, Position, Hometown
William Abreu, OF, Hialeah, Fla.
Christian Arroyo, IF, Brooksville, Fla.
Cavan Biggio, IF/OF, Houston, Texas
Ryan Boldt, OF, Red Wing, Minn.
Bryson Brigman, IF/OF, San Jose, Calif.
Ian Clarkin, LHP, San Diego, Calif.
Kevin Davis, RHP, Brewton, Ala.
Stephen Gonsalves, LHP, San Marcos, Calif.
Connor Heady, IF/RHP, Goshen, Ky.
John Kilichowski, LHP, Tampa, Fla.
Jeremy Martinez, C, Santa Ana, Calif.
Andy McGuire, IF, Vienna, Va.
Reese McGuire, C, Covington, Wash.
Dom Nunez, IF, Elk Grove, Calif.
Chris Okey, C, Mt. Dora, Fla.
Ryan Olson, RHP, Upland, Calif.
Carson Sands, LHP, Tallahassee, Fla.
Dominic Taccolini, RHP, Sugarland, Texas
Keegan Thompson, RHP, Cullman, Ala.
Garrett Williams, LHP, Shreveport, La.
About USA Baseball
USA Baseball is the national governing body for the sport of baseball in the United States and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the International Baseball Federation (IBAF). The organization selects and trains the World Baseball Classic, World Cup and Pan American teams (and all other USA Baseball professional teams); and the Collegiate, 18U, 15U, and Women’s National Teams, all of which participate in various domestic and international competitions each year. USA Baseball also presents the Golden Spikes Award annually to the top amateur baseball player in the country. For more information, please visitUSABaseball.com and GoldenSpikesAward.com.
About Adam Robinson
My name is Adam Robinson and I have been the Sports Editor of the Brewton Standard since September 2007. I cover all the local sports in the Brewton area. I am a 2007 graduate of Troy University with a degree in Print Journalism with a contract in Sports Information. I married Shari Lynn in June of 2007 and we welcomed our first child, Hatlee, in April of 2010.
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