OSU's Barney Invited To Team USA Trials
DURHAM, N.C. - Oregon State shortstop Darwin Barney is among 20 players from across the country to earn an invitation to the 2006 USA Baseball National Team Trials. Barney’s invitation makes this the third straight year that an OSU player has been selected for the USA Baseball National Team Trials, as pitchers Jonah Nickerson and Kevin Gunderson were selected for Team USA last season and outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury was invited to the trials in 2004.
Barney (Beaverton, Ore./Southridge HS), a sophomore, is batting .332 with two triples, nine doubles, and 24 runs batted in; he is 11-for-13 on stolen bases this season and has ranked among the nation’s toughest players to strike out. Last season, he was named the Pacific-10 Conference Freshman of the Year for helping the Beavers to the Pac-10 championship and a berth in the College World Series.
The 2006 USA Baseball National Team Trials will be held June 22-July 1 in exhibition games played against teams in the New England Collegiate League. The USA Baseball National Team will be selected from a pool of 36 players, of which an additional 16 have yet to be determined. The official 22-man team roster will be announced on July 2.
"The National Team is defined by athlete performance in the college game," said USA Baseball General Manager of National Teams Eric Campbell. "This short list of invitees to the trials represents non-draft eligible players whose 2006 performance on the field has warranted an invite to the trials. We will continue to watch the rest of the season to find those remaining invitees that demand consideration."
USA Baseball will announce a second list of invitees to the trials in late May, and a final list of invitees in June.
The 2006 USA Baseball National Team will look to defend its FISU World University Baseball Championship this August in Havana, Cuba. Team USA will also participate in the 35th Annual USA vs. Japan Collegiate Championship Series here in the USA from July 25-29 and several Friendship Series at their home ballpark - Durham (N.C.) Bulls Athletic Park - this summer. USA Baseball will announce a full National Team game schedule at a later date.
The 20 players that have accepted invitations to the 2006 USA Baseball National Team Trials:
Player Pos Yr School Hometown
Alvarez, Pedro IF Fr Vanderbilt New York, NY
Arencibia, J.P. C So Tennessee Miami, FL
Arrieta, Jake RHP So Texas Christian Plano, TX
Augenstein, Bryan RHP So Florida Sebastien, FL
Barney, Darwin IF So Oregon State Beaverton, OR
Bianucci, Mike IF Fr Auburn Fairfax, VA
Borbon, Julio OF So Tennessee Santo Domingo, DR
Clark, Preston C Fr Texas Rockwall, TX
Cozart, Zack IF So Mississippi Collierville, TN
Doolittle, Sean OF/LHP So Virginia Tabernacle, NJ
Frazier, Todd IF So Rutgers Toms River, NJ
Krum, Austin OF So Dallas Baptist Highlands Ranch, CO
Morgan, Sean RHP So Tulane Sugar Land, TX
Pelzer, Wynn RHP So South Carolina Holly Hill, SC
Price, David LHP So Vanderbilt Mufreesboro, TN
Roemer, Wes RHP So Cal State-Fullerton Glendora, CA
Savery, Joe LHP/IF So Rice Bellaire, TX
Schmidt, Nick LHP So Arkansas High Ridge, MO
Sublett, Damon IF/RHP So Wichita State Wichita, KS
St. Clair, Cole LHP So Rice Santa Ana, CA
Vanderbilt’s Tim Corbin will serve as the Field Manager for Team USA. He will be assisted by Mark Machtolf of Gonzaga, Jim Schlossnagle of Texas Christian, and Tom Slater of Auburn. Andrew Norden of Duke will serve as the team athletic trainer and Thomas Samuel of Vanderbilt will serve as the team press officer.
