OTTAWA- Baseball Canada announced today 24 players that have been invited to the Junior National Team’s final selection camp that will take place at the University of Houston in Houston, Texas from August 27th-September 2nd.
At the conclusion of the selection camp, 20-players will be selected to represent Canada at the COPABE 18U Pan American Championship from September 5th-14th in Los Cabos/La Paz, Mexico. In Mexico, 13 competing nations will vie for four spots in the 2015 IBAF 18U World Cup slated for Koshien, Japan.
Players, coaches and staff will depart for Houston on August 26th before holding a pair of workouts on August 27th and 28th. Canada will play San Jacinto Junior College on August 29th Cougar Field on the campus of the University of Houston before opening a four-game exhibition series against the United States 18U National Team with games taking place at Cougar Field, the Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy in Houston and Minute Maid Park, the home of the Houston Astros.
“This camp will allow the coaching staff an opportunity to evaluate players before making final roster decisions,” said Junior National Team Head Coach, Greg Hamilton. “The Pan American Championship is the culmination of a year of hard work and preparation for our Junior National Team program. Our coaches and players are looking forward to this opportunity to represent Canada and intend on being a competitive club in Mexico.”
The Junior National Team selection camp roster features:
-Five players that were members of 2013 Junior National Team that finished 7th at the IBAF 18U World Cup in Taichung, Taiwan (Mitch Bigras, Gareth Morgan, Josh Naylor, Demi Orimoloye, JP Stevenson)... Morgan and Naylor are holdovers from the 2012 JNT that won silver at the IBAF 18U World Cup in Seoul, South Korea
-Six players chosen in June’s MLB First Year Player Draft (Robert Byckowski-Reds, Gareth Morgan-Mariners, Ben Onyshko-Brewers, Louis-Philippe Pelletier-Padres, Zach Pop-Blue Jays, Mitch Robinson-Marlins)
-Morgan signed with the Mariners in June and has since began his professional career in the Arizona Rookie League
-The coaching staff features Head Coach Greg Hamilton (Ottawa, ON) along with Pitching Coach Chris Reitsma (Calgary, AB) and Coaches Shawn Bowman (Port Moody, BC) and Mike Johnson (Sherwood Park, AB)
The Pan American Baseball Confederation (COPABE) has not yet released an official tournament schedule.
