Baseball Australia is proud to announce the 11 young men that will represent the MLB World Select Team at the upcoming Arizona Fall Classic in Phoenix, AZ.
James Boeree – NSW
Jackson Boyd –VIC
Dermot Fritsch – QLD
Josh Gessner – NSW
Duane Johannsen – QLD
Ky Hampton – SA
Curtis Mead – SA
Mitch Edwards – ACT
Jett Wright – WA
Jamie Young – VIC
Tyson Zamora – QLD
This is the second year that Australians have been selected to represent the MLB World Select Team; with 2016’s team featuring a number of young Australians who have since signed professional contracts/committed to playing college baseball.
Baseball Australia’s Head of High Performance Glenn Williams sees this representation in international MLB programs as vital moving forward.
“This is another excellent opportunity for a quality group of players from Australia,” Williams said.
“The support from MLB not only for the individuals, but assisting Baseball Australia in solidifying relationships with quality programs in the USA is of tremendous benefit. Many players from last year’s trip did an excellent job in representing Australian Baseball and have gone on to college or professional opportunities. I have no doubt that this group will represent the program extremely well and not only aim to secure opportunities for themselves but to open doors for other Australian players in the future.”
One of the main purposes of the MLB World Select Team is to showcase members of MLB’s international academies, with players from nine countries including Australia, Belgium and Brazil to be exposed to college/professional level baseball.
The MLB World Select Team is funded by MLB and aims to further progress the already strong relationships between Australian Baseball and the MLB.
Not only will 11 young Australians get an opportunity to play against top quality opposition, three Australian coaches are part of the coaching staff in the MLB World Select Team.
Baseball Australia’s Head of High Performance Glenn Williams, former MLB pitcher Micheal Nakamura and former Australian Junior Representative Tyrone Hambly will join the coaching staff for the tour.
The team will be playing multiple games in Millington, TN in the leadup to the Arizona Fall Classic, which begins on October 10.
Make sure you keep up with the progress of the Australians in the MLB World Select Team via the Baseball Australia Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.