Over 120 of the nation's top baseball players are scheduled to compete in the 2010 USA Baseball Tournament of Stars, presented by Major League Baseball, in Cary, N.C., beginning June 22.
The annual event features eight teams with players selected by eight youth baseball groups: AABC, American Legion, Babe Ruth, Dixie, PONY, NABF, RBI and USA Baseball. The players competing in the tournament will be among those chosen to participate on the 18U National Team and play in international competition this summer. Selections for the 18U National Team will be announced following the team trials on June 29.
Here's a look at some of the top players from each of the eight rosters:
Babe Ruth roster
Sean Coyle of Germantown Academy (Fort Washington, Pa.), the Gatorade Player of the Year in Pennsylvania, heads the Babe Ruth team. He's joined by the Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.) trio of shortstop Christian Lopes, pitcher Henry Owens and outfielder Eric Snyder, all juniors. Lopes is considered one of the top shortstop prospects in the country while Owens is one of the top pitchers in the junior class. Also on the team is San Ramon Valley (Danville, Calif.) catcher/infielder Brett Geren, son of Oakland A's manager Bob Geren.
Dixie roster
Four players from the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 No. 1 ranked Sumrall (Sumrall, Miss.) Bobcats highlight the Dixie roster. Senior Jackson Posey, the player of the year by the Hattiesburg American, along with juniors Luke Lowery, Connor Barron and Austin Knight will make an impact. Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.) infielder Nicky Delmonico, an All-American candidate from the Tennessee state champions, is also on the roster.
John Simms, College Park, Texas
Photo by Jamie Harms
NABF roster
Dante Bichette Jr., son of former Major League Baseball all-star Dante Bichette, of Orangewood Christian (Maitland, Fla.) headlines the NABF roster. He was recently named the Central Florida Player of the Year by the Orlando Sentinel. He's joined by sophomore pitcher Courtney Hawkins, who recently led Carroll (Corpus Christi, Texas) to a Texas 5A state championship.
USA Stars roster
Adam Duke of Spanish Fork (Spanish Fork, Utah), an all-state player from Utah, heads the USA Stars roster. He's joined by Cole Gleason of Red Mountain (Mesa, Ariz.), one of the top home run hitters in the nation.
AABC roster
Standout sophomore Joey Gallo of Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) is among the players on the AABC roster, which is filled with players mostly from California and Texas. Tony Wolters of Rancho Buena Vista (Vista, Calif.), a high draft choice in this year's Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, is also on the roster along with Fullerton (Fullerton, Calif.) outfielder Michael Lorenzen.
American Legion
The American Legion roster sports one of the top junior pitchers in the country in Farragut's Phillip Pfeifer, who was 16-0 this year to set a Tennessee state record. He's joined by Pine View (St. George, Utah) infielder Marcus Littlewood, the state MVP in Utah, Bishop Verot (Fort Myers, Fla.)'s Dan Vogelbach, the Fort Myers area MVP, and Cleveland (Rio Rancho, N.M.)'s Blake Swihart, one of the top players in New Mexico.
PONY roster
The PONY team has some outstanding pitchers, including Texas 5A all-state pitcher John Simms of College Park (The Woodlands, Texas), A.j. Vanegas of Redwood Christian (San Lorenzo, Calif.), and Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.) sophomore Lance McCullers. Alex Balog of Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), listed as an infielder but is also one of the top hurlers in California, is also on the roster.
RBI roster
The RBI team has a number of juniors from California, however the top player might be a sophomore from Florida, catcher Taylor Gushue of Calvary Christian.
See the USA Baseball site for complete rosters.
