Everyone's favorite catcher, Josh Phegley has earned a tryout with 2008 USA National Team. This is a great honor for Phegley, but shouldn't really come as a surprise after the amazing season he had.
From what I understand by looking at the USA Baseball Web site, the team the Terre Haute, Ind. native has earned a tryout for is not the Olympic team. USA Baseball has two teams. One is the National team, which is for collegiate players.
The other is the Professional team, which is the Olympic team. Players must be under contract with the MLBPA, or under an international baseball contract. This could be a minor or major leaguer.
May 28, 2008
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Sophomore catcher Josh Phegley has been invited to the 2008 National Team Trials, USA Baseball announced today. Phegley is one of 26 college underclassmen that have earned invites to the Trials, which will take place from June 11-23 throughout the eastern part of the United States. Of the 32 who will eventually be invited to the Trials, 22 will be selected for the National Team, which will be selected on June 24.
"What a wonderful experience to be able to represent not only Indiana University but also his country," Indiana head coach Tracy Smith said. "I know Josh is excited about the chance. We've known for a while that he's one of the best players in the nation, and now he has a chance to prove it."
USA Baseball's 2008 National Team schedule includes a six-game friendship series against Chinese Taipei and a month-long trip to Europe where the team will compete in the Haarlem Baseball Week in the Netherlands and the IV FISU World Collegiate Baseball Championship in the Czech Republic. The 2008 USA Baseball National Team will be led by Oral Roberts University head coach Rob Walton, who served as an assistant coach for the 2005 National Team.
Phegley finished off one of the best offensive seasons in IU history with a .438 average, 15 home runs, 80 RBI and 20 doubles. He was the only Big Ten player with an average over .400 and also was the only one with an on-base percentage over .500 (.507). He led the conference in average, hits, total bases, sacrifice flies, OBP and RBI on the year, and finished second in runs (69), slugging percentage (.746). Phegley is currently second in the nation in average and fifth in RBI.
Phegley's season placed him in the top-10 in school history in a number of categories. His season is among the Hoosiers' all-time leaders in average (3rd), RBI (4th), runs (8th), hits (t-2nd), doubles (t-5th), home runs (t-7th), extra-base hits (t-7th) and slugging (10th). He also set a school and conference record for RBI in Big Ten games by driving in 45 in 36 contests.
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