Rendon earns spot on United States National Team

FROM RICE ATHLETICS

Rice’s Anthony Rendon, the 2010 Howser Trophy winner as the national collegiate Player of the Year, is one of 22 members named to this year’s United States National Team for its upcoming international summer tour, USA Baseball announced July 11.

	ANTHONY RENDON

Rendon is one of five infielders on the 2010 United States National Team. The squad also consists of four outfielders, two catchers, nine pitchers and a pair of two-way players. Team USA was selected from a pool of 36 non-draft-eligible college players after seven days at a national tryout camp. The trials included six intra-squad games and practices held at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C.

“This is a dream come true,” Rendon said from the national training facility. “It was cool being in (the tryout) camp and playing every day with the very best players in the country, but now it’s a chance to represent your country. That’s special. We got our jerseys that say ‘U.S.A.’ on the front and that was awesome. I am really looking forward to this experience, traveling around the world playing baseball for Team USA.”

The national team’s summer slate of games begins right away. The squad plays two exhibition games against teams from the Coastal Plain Collegiate Summer League July 12-13. Team USA then plays a five-game series against the national team of South Korea before hosting a one-game, international friendship competition against Japan in Omaha, Neb, July 21.

From there, Team USA will travel to Taiwan for a four-game series against Chinese Taipei beginning July 25. Team USA will close its 2010 summer season at the International University Sports Federation (FISU) World University Championships in Tokyo, Japan, from July 30 to Aug. 7. The U.S. has won the last three FISU Worlds (2004, ’06, ’08), while host nation Japan will be looking for its first title.

“This was a great week of baseball,” said Team USA manager Bill Kinneberg of the University of Utah. “It was a tough decision to get the team down to 22 players, but I feel that we selected a special group of guys that will give us the best chance to win the World University Baseball Championships.”