USA Baseball announced the coaching staff for the VII WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup, which is due to take place from 28 July to 6 August in Tainan, Taiwan. Troy Gerlach will manage the defending World Champions. His staff will include pitching coach Seth Kenny and assistant coaches Bryan Madsen and Erick Quesada.
Gerlach replaced David Sharp, who led the US during a successful qualifying event in May.
He will make his USA managerial debut after being part of the U-15 National Team staff in 2018 and the U-12 coaching staff in 2022. In both cases, the US earned the title of World Champion.
"Representing the United States in international competition is one of the great honours I have had in baseball," said Gerlach. "Along with the rest of the coaching staff, my top priority is coming back from Taiwan with a gold medal. I am ready to get to work and looking forward to beginning the process of building a team to defend our world title."
Gerlach has been the head coach at Chaparral High School (Scottsdale, Arizona) since 2019.
Kenny returns to his role as pitching coach, as he held on the 2022 U-12 World Champion staff. He is in his 13th year with top tier baseball, where he is the director of teams. He had a 20-year coaching career at the collegiate level.
Madsen will make his first appearance on a National Team coaching staff after years of involvment with USA Baseball development programmes. He is the head coach at St. Joseph’s High School (Santa Maria, California).
Quesada has been involved with USA Baseball for eight years and is making his coaching debut. He is the head coach at his alma mater, Mingus Union High School (Cottonwood, Arizona).
"We are very excited about the coaching staff we have assembled for the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup," said Cole Beeker, USA Baseball's U-12 National Team Director. "Troy Gerlach has tremendous experience on the international stage and is the perfect fit to lead our team as manager. Seth Kenny, Bryan Madsen, and Erick Quesada are all excellent coaches who have proven the ability to relate to the athletes that will make up our roster. This staff is locked in as we prepare to defend our title in Taiwan."
The USA selection camp is scheduled from 26 to 30 June at Thomas Brooks Park in Cary, North Carolina.
World No. 2 USA won the VI U-12 Baseball World Cup, defeating No. 6 Venezuela in the final. It was their fourth U-12 World Title.
