DURHAM, N.C., USA — World No. 2 USA Baseball announced its professional U.S National Team roster for the inaugural 2015 WBSC Premier12™ global baseball championship that is uniting the Top 12 nations in the world in Japan and Taiwan from 8-21 November.
The U.S. will showcase players from the farm systems of Major League Baseball clubs, with the Philadelphia Phillies taking the honour of having the most players (5) selected from its franchise.
Among players to represent the U.S. in the new global competition are infielder Gavin Cecchini and outfielder Brett Phillips, both of whom are on MLB.com’s Top 100 prospects list.
USA Baseball also connected with South Korea’s top professional league, Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), with the selection of KT Wiz infielder Dan Black.
Tyler Pastornicky (Philadelphia Phillies), Casey Coleman (Kansas City Royals) and Jake Barrett (Arizona Diamondbacks) will be back defending the U.S. after having helped the nation earn the silver medal at the Toronto 2015 Pan-Am Games.
Willie Randolph, the former MLB All-Star second baseman and manager, will head the U.S. Premier12 team. Randolph previously served the U.S. as assistant coach in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.
USA will gather in Phoenix, Arizona from 28 October to 3 November for training and warm-up games against world No. 7 Canada, before both teams depart for Taiwan.
The U.S. will open against world No. 6 Dominican Republic at Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium on 10 November.
View the entire U.S. National Team Roster and Coaching Staff
