Fontana & Johnson Named To 2010 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team
Monday, July 12, 2010 | Baseball
University of Florida shortstop Nolan Fontana (Winter Garden, Fla.) and left-hander/designated hitter Brian Johnson (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) were chosen to the 22-man roster for the 2010 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team announced on Monday morning.
In helping the Gators (47-17) to their first Southeastern Conference crown since 2005 and first appearance at the NCAA College World Series in five years, Fontana earned Freshman All-America recognition from Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and Yahoo! Sports, collected second-team All-SEC honors and was named to both the league's Defensive Team and All-Freshman squad. He later became the first player in school history to be named to the Rawlings NCAA Division I Gold Glove Team. Fontana was the lone freshman selected to the nine-player positional squad after committing just four errors in 279 chances for a .986 fielding percentage. He started 63 games at shortstop and was fourth on the club with a .287 average with 56 runs, a team-high 53 walks, 23 RBI, 15 doubles and 11 stolen bases. In addition, Fontana was tabbed as the SEC Freshman of the Week twice, March 8 and May 17.
Named as a Freshman All-American by Baseball America, Louisville Slugger, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and Yahoo! Sports, Johnson earned spots on the SEC's All-Freshman Team as a starting pitcher and designated hitter. In 16 appearances on the mound, with 14 starts, the southpaw was 6-4 with a 4.03 earned run average and recorded 51 strikeouts in 73.2 innings. Johnson served as the Gators' DH in 27 games and batted .405 (34-for-84) with 21 RBI, 13 runs, nine walks, five doubles, four homers and two grand slams. He was tabbed as the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Gainesville Regional after going 5-for-8 (.625) at the plate and twirling seven shutout innings in the championship game. Johnson batted .500 (14-for-28) in eight postseason games and was 9-for-19 (.474) during the NCAA Tourney.
This year's squad consists of five infielders, four outfielders, two catchers, nine pitchers and a pair of two-way players. The Collegiate National Team was selected after seven days of trials that included six intra-squad games and practices as the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. Team USA is comprised of the top non-draft-eligible college players in the United States.
The U.S. will play a five-game series against Korea before squaring off against a Japanese Collegiate All-Star Team in a one-game, international friendship competition in Omaha's Rosenblatt Stadium on July 21. From there, the team will travel to Taipei, Taiwan, for a four-game series against Chinese Taipei at Tien-Mu Stadium beginning July 25.
Team USA will close its summer season at the FISU World University Championships in Tokyo, Japan, from July 30-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.
“We just wrapped up one of the best weeks of baseball in Cary, N.C.,” said Eric Campbell, General Manager of USA Baseball National Teams. “The players made it tough on the selection committee with their great effort over the last seven days. The selection committee assembled an impressive 22-man roster that will represent baseball and this country proudly.”
A trio of returnees (Gerrit Cole, UCLA; Sonny Gray, Vanderbilt and Brad Miller, Clemson) helped the 2009 Collegiate Team to a 19-5 overall record and the 2009 Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline World Baseball Challenge crown in Prince George, British Columbia (Canada). Cole and Gray combined to post a 7-1 record on the mound with 73 strikeouts, while Miller started 15 of 23 games, collecting 14 hits, scoring 13 runs and driving in eight.
Joining Cole and Gray on 11-member pitching staff are Tyler Anderson (Oregon), Matt Barnes (Connecticut), Johnson, Scott McGough (Oregon), Brett Mooneyham (Stanford), Noe Ramirez (Cal State Fullerton), Kyle Winkler (TCU).
Alongside Miller in the infield are Fontana, Drew Maggie (Arizona State), Ryan Wright (Louisville) and 2010 Baseball America Player of the Year and Dick Howser Trophy Winner Anthony Rendon (Rice). The outfield consists of 2010 College World Series Most Outstanding Player Jackie Bradley, Jr. (South Carolina), Alex Dickerson (Indiana), Mikie Mahtook (LSU) and George Springer (Connecticut). Peter O'Brien (Bethune-Cookman) and Steve Rodriguez (UCLA) will catch Team USA's pitchers in 2010. Rounding out the roster are two-way players Sean Gilmartin (Florida State) and Nick Ramirez (Cal State Fullerton).
“This was a great week of baseball,” said Manager Bill Kinneberg (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 FISU World University Baseball Championships.”
Joining Kinneberg are pitching coach Dave Serrano (Cal State Fullerton), and assistant coaches Ed Blankmeyer (St. John's) and Nino Giarratano (San Francisco).
The Collegiate National Team begins its summer season Monday evening when they travel to Gastonia, N.C., to face the Gastonia Grizzlies of the Coastal Plain League. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Sims Legion Park.
The Collegiate National Team roster is as follows (name, class, position[s], school):
2010 Collegiate National Team Roster
Tyler Anderson, So., LHP, Oregon
Matt Barnes, So., RHP, Connecticut
Jackie Bradley, Jr., So., OF, South Carolina
Gerrit Cole, So., RHP, UCLA
Alex Dickerson, So., OF, Indiana
Nolan Fontana, Fr., IF, FLORIDA
Sean Gilmartin, So., LHP/OF, Florida State
Sonny Gray, So., RHP, Vanderbilt
Brian Johnson, Fr., LHP, FLORIDA
Andrew Maggi, So., OF/IF, Arizona State
Mikie Mahtook, So., OF, Louisiana State
Scott McGough, So., RHP, Oregon
Brad Miller, So., IF, Clemson
Brett Mooneyham, So., LHP, Stanford
Peter O'Brien, So., C, Bethune-Cookman
Nick Ramirez, So., IF/LHP, Cal State Fullerton
Noe Ramirez, So., RHP, Cal State Fullerton
Anthony Rendon, So., IF, Rice
Steve Rodriguez, So., C, UCLA
George Springer, So., OF, Connecticut
Kyle Winkler, So., RHP, TCU
Ryan Wright, So., IF, Louisville
Coaching Staff
Bill Kinneberg, Manager, Utah
Dave Serrano, Pitching Coach, Cal State Fullerton
Ed Blankmeyer, Assistant Coach, St. John's
Nino Giarratano, Assistant Coach, San Francisco
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