Courtesy of Jackson State Athletics
Jackson State University head baseball coach Omar Johnson has been selected to assist USA Baseball during the Collegiate National Team training camp for the international competition; representing one of two HBCU coaches on the staff.
The USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp will feature 56 of the premier non-draft eligible college players for a four-game Stars vs. Stripes intra-squad series in Cary, North Carolina from June 23—29. Johnson will coach the Stripes team and help USA Baseball in naming a final, 26-man Collegiate National Team roster that will represent the United States in the friendship series against Chinese Taipei and Japan later this summer.
This is the second straight year Johnson has coached with USA Baseball. Last August, he was a part of the new 13U / 14U Athlete Development Program.
Johnson just completed his 17th season as head coach of the Tigers, leading JSU to a winning season every year. He has led Jackson State to more than 530 wins, including seven division titles and two SWAC Championships.
Courtesy of Alabama State Athletics
CARY, N.C. | USA Baseball announced its coaching staff for the 2023 Collegiate National Team, highlighted by the addition of three Division I head coaches: Reggie Christiansen (Sacramento State), Andy Stankiewicz (USC), and José Vázquez (Alabama State). Additionally, East Carolina student manager Brady Austin and Stanford Pitching Coach Thomas Eager join the staff to help lead the U.S. in a pair of friendship series against Chinese Taipei and Japan this summer.
Eager joins the staff as pitching coach and Christiansen will be the team’s bench coach. Vázquez and Stankiewicz will be the first and third base coaches, respectively, and Austin will serve as bullpen coach. The group will serve under longtime Cal Poly Head Coach and 2023 Collegiate National Team Manager Larry Lee, who is making his Team USA managerial debut this summer. Lee previously held a stint as an assistant coach with the Collegiate National Team in 2017.
“We are looking forward to welcoming Brady, Reggie, Thomas, Andy, and José to our 2023 coaching staff,” said General Manager of Collegiate and Professional National Teams Eric Campbell. “This staff features some of the best and brightest college baseball coaches in the nation, and we are confident that they will guide our team to a great deal of success this summer. Led by Larry, our staff will offer unparalleled guidance to the top non-draft eligible players in the country.”
This summer will mark the Team USA coaching debuts for four of the five assistants on the staff. Stankiewicz is the only assistant with coaching experience with Team USA, as he has been the 18U National Team Manager on two separate occasions and served as an assistant for the Collegiate National Team in 2012.
Stankiewicz was named USA Baseball’s Rod Dedeaux Coach of the Year in 2014 after leading the 18U National Team to a gold medal at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U 18 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier. Austin has served on the Collegiate National Team Training Camp staff, while 2023 will be the first involvement with USA Baseball for Christiansen, Eager, and Vázquez.
Including Lee, the four head coaches on the 2023 coaching staff have amassed 1,677 wins at the Division I level, reaching nine NCAA Tournaments. The staff has combined to win seven regular-season conference championships and six conference tournament titles. In addition, they have combined for nine conference Coach of the Year awards.
The coaching staff will be responsible for guiding Team USA in five-game friendship series against Chinese Taipei and Japan this summer. After a four-game Stars vs. Stripes series at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina, the U.S. will announce its final 26-man roster before taking on Chinese Taipei in several different locations across North Carolina. The two sides will meet at the National Training Complex (Cary), Atrium Health Ballpark (Kannapolis), Durham Bulls Athletic Park (Durham), and Segra Stadium (Fayetteville). Team USA will then play a five-game set against Japan at the National Training Complex and Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park in Charleston, South Carolina.
Courtesy of Bethune Cookman Athletics
CARY, NC — Bethune-Cookman University head baseball coach Jonathan Hernandez has been selected to assist the Team USA Collegiate National Team for Training Camp this week in Cary, NC.
The Collegiate National Team Training Camp began on June 23, with the first game of the Stars vs. Stripes series scheduled for June 25 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, NC.
The USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp will feature 56 of the premier non-draft eligible college players for a four-game Stars vs. Stripes intra-squad series in Cary, North Carolina from June 23—29. Hernandez will coach the Stars team and will assist USA Baseball in naming a final, 26-man Collegiate National Team roster that will represent the United States in the friendship series against Chinese Taipei and Japan later this summer.
“Anytime that you are selected to represent USA it is an absolute honor and one that I do not take for granted,” Hernandez said. “This is such a great opportunity to be able to work with the nation’s premier non-draft eligible players, to work with a great knowledgeable staff, and to represent our university and the SWAC.”
Hernandez has previous experience with USA Baseball, serving as a Scouting Task Force Member evaluating talent for the 14U and 15U National Teams. Hernandez also served as the pitching coach for USA Baseball’s National Team Development Program (NTDP) in 2015. Most recently, Hernandez served as a member of the 2022 15U National Team Trials staff that was held in Tempe, AZ.