April 25, 2002
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech pitcher Kyle Bakker, outfielder Matt Murton and second baseman Eric Patterson were among 19 collegiate players invited to participate in the 2002 USA Baseball National Team Trials to be held in Tucson, Ariz., June 18-23.
Bakker, a sophomore and the ace of Tech’s pitching staff, is 9-1 with a 2.90 ERA in 11 starts this season. Patterson, Tech’s freshman leadoff hitter, currently leads the team with a .394 batting average and 28 stolen bases. Murton, a sophomore who was voted the MVP of the Cape Cod League last summer, is hitting .313 with 33 RBI in 38 games.
The USA National Team will be selected from a pool of approximately 35-40 players, of which an additional 16-21 have yet to be determined.
Louisville’s Lelo Prado will serve as the head coach for Team USA. He will be assisted by Terry Alexander of Jacksonville, Sunny Golloway of Oral Roberts, and Terry Rupp of Maryland.
The official team roster will be determined and announced on June 24.
The list of the first 19 players invited to the 2002 USA Baseball National Team Trials is shown below:
Player Pos Yr School HometownAubrey, Michael IF So Tulane Shreveport, LABakker, Kyle LHP So Georgia Tech Omaha, NECordero, Chad RHP So CS Fullerton Chino, CAFuld, Sam OF So Stanford Durham, NHHill, Aaron IF So LSU Visalia, CAHumber, Philip RHP Fr Rice Carthage, TXJackson, Conor IF So California Woodland Hills, CAMaholm, Paul LHP So Miss. St. Holly Springs, MSMoss, Tim IF So Texas Lancaster, TXMurton, Matt OF So Georgia Tech McDonough, GAPatterson, Eric IF Fr Georgia Tech Kennesaw, GAPowell, Landon C So South Carolina Apex, NCQuentin, Carlos OF So Stanford Chula Vista, CAQuintanilla, Omar IF So Texas El Paso, TXSleeth, Kyle RHP So Wake Forest Westminster, COStauffer, Tim RHP So Richmond Saratoga Springs, NYSullivan, Brad RHP So Houston Nederland, TXWeeks, Rickie OF So Southern Alte Monte Springs, FLZimmermann, Bob RHP So SW Missouri St. Creve Coeur, MO
Team USA will play a total 30 games this summer, including 17 on the domestic side of their Red, White and Blue Summer Tour.
Team USA will open play against the Santa Barbara Foresters of the California Coastal Collegiate League at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson on June 24. The 31st annual USA vs Japan Collegiate All-Star Series will be played from June 28 – July 4 in five different cities along the eastern seaboard, and will be followed by five games against teams from the New England Collegiate League.
After four games at the Northern Ohio Baseball facility – including one against the Great Lakes League All-Stars – the USA National Team will travel to Haarlem, The Netherlands to participate in the Haarlem Baseball Week, July 19-28. Team USA’s summer schedule concludes at the first ever FISU World Collegiate Championships in Messina, Italy, August 3-11.
