The University of Mississippi Athletics
Pomeranz To Participate In USA Baseball National Team Trials
5/28/2008 | Baseball
In all, 32 players will be invited to the National Team Trials with 22 of those players being selected for the National Team roster which will be announced on June 24.
Pomeranz is the latest in a long line of Rebels invited to participate in USA Baseball over the past few seasons, joining Seth Smith, Stephen Head, Zack Cozart, Lance Lynn and Cody Satterwhite as players who have been invited to participate in the National Team trials.
The southpaw was named an All-SEC Freshman Team selection by the league’s coaches last week after posting a 4-3 record on the year. Among Pomeranz’s wins are a shutout of then No.6 Vanderbilt along with wins over LSU and then No. 10 South Carolina on the road. In those three consecutive starts, Pomeranz allowed only two runs in 21.0 innings of work.
Included in the list are 2007 National Team members Ryan Berry (RHP, Rice) and Tommy Medica (C/RF, Santa Clara). Berry has solidified Rice’s Friday-night starters spot this season with a 7-4 record and a 3.10 ERA. The first-team All-CUSA pick leads the conference in ERA and strikeouts (80). Medica posted a .342 batting average this season with six home runs, 44 RBI, 15 doubles and 29 walks against only 17 strikeouts in 55 games.
Other sophomores on the list are Dustin Ackley (LF/1B, North Carolina), Ryan Jackson (SS, Miami-FL), Ryan Ortiz (C/1B, Oregon State), Josh Phegley (C/1B, Indiana), Kyle Seager (IF, North Carolina), Stephen Strasburg (RHP, San Diego State), and Kendal Volz (RHP, Baylor).
The five freshmen invitees are Pomeranz, Derek Dietrich (SS/RHP, Georgia Tech), Brooks Raley (LHP/OF, Texas A&M), Kevin Rhoderick (RHP, Oregon State), and Chance Ruffin (RHP, Texas).
Ackley, Davis (first-wave invitee) and Strasburg are semifinalists for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the nation’s top amateur player, and Strasburg is among the 10 semifinalists for the 2008 Clemens Award, given to the nation’s top collegiate pitcher. Strasburg (4th) and Volz (19th) both rank among the national leaders in strikeouts per nine innings. Seager ranks fourth nationally with 26 doubles.
USA Baseball’s 2008 National Team schedule includes a six-game friendship series against Chinese Taipei and a month-long trip to Europe where the team will compete in the Haarlem Baseball Week in the Netherlands and the IV FISU World Collegiate Baseball Championship in the Czech Republic.
The 2008 USA Baseball National Team will be led by Oral Roberts University head coach Rob Walton, who served as an assistant coach for the 2005 National Team. Walton is joined on the 2008 staff by pitching coach Jerry Meyers (head coach, Old Dominion University), assistant coach Nino Giarratano (head coach, University of San Francisco), and assistant coach Ritch Price (head coach, University of Kansas).
