Gushue Named to Team USA Premier12 Roster
Thursday, October 10, 2019 | Baseball
DURHAM, N.C. – Former Gators catcher Taylor Gushue, who had an outstanding season with the AAA Fresno Grizzlies, was named to the USA Baseball Premier12™ roster on Thursday.
The 28-man roster will compete in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12™, which is the first opportunity for Team USA to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. The roster is made up of 15 pitchers and 13 position players currently not on an MLB 40-man roster.
Gushue, in his sixth season as a professional, played in 74 games for the Grizzlies this summer with a career-best .312 batting average, 11 home runs and 39 RBI. At Florida, he started 161 games and batted .271 with 16 home runs and 103 RBI in three seasons (2012-14).
Gushue has a chance to become the third former Gators player to play in the Olympics. Brad Wilkerson was a part of the 2000 gold-medal winning squad in Sydney while Matt LaPorta helped Team USA win a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The U.S. will begin the WBSC Premier12™ in Guadalajara, Mexico, from November 2-4 as a member of Group A with the Dominican Republic, Mexico and the Netherlands. The top two nations from Group A will advance to the Super Round in Tokyo from November 11-16. The top finisher from both the Americas territory and Asia/Oceania territory (excluding Japan) will join host-country Japan and WBSC Baseball Europe/Africa Olympic Qualifier champion Israel in the six-team Olympic tournament. The final two Olympic berths will be decided in March 2020.
Four-time World Series Champion Joe Girardi was named the manager of the Premier12™ roster in August and is joined by a coaching staff laden with international experience. Bench Coach Scott Brosius, Bullpen Coach Roly de Armas, Hitting Coach Phil Plantier, Pitching Coach Bryan Price, Third Base Coach Willie Randolph and First Base Coach Ernie Young collectively have 21 years of playing and coaching experience with Team USA, winning seven gold medals.
The team will train in Surprise, Arizona, from October 21-28 at the Kansas City Royals Spring Training facility before traveling to Mexico for the opening round of the Premier12™.
For more information on USA Baseball and the WBSC Premier12™, follow @USABaseball on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The full roster, including coaching and administration staffs, can be found here.
USA Baseball Premier12™ Roster (Name; Position; Hometown; 2019 Organization)
Jo Adell; OF; Louisville, Ky.; Los Angeles AngelsClayton Andrews; LHP; Petaluma, Calif.; Milwaukee Brewers
Alec Bohm; INF; Omaha, Neb.; Philadelphia Phillies
C.J. Chatham; INF; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Boston Red Sox
Jake Cronenworth; INF; St. Clair, Mich.; Tampa Bay Rays
*^Bobby Dalbec; INF; Seattle, Wash.; Boston Red Sox
Brandon Dickson; RHP; Montgomery, Ala.; Orix Buffaloes
Parker Dunshee; RHP; Zionsville, Ind.; Oakland Athletics
Xavier Edwards; INF; Mineola, N.Y.; San Diego Padres
J.P Feyereisen; RHP; River Falls, Wis.; Milwaukee Brewers
Brian Flynn; LHP; Tulsa, Okla.; Kansas City Royals
Taylor Gushue; C; Boca Raton, Fla.; Washington Nationals
*Tanner Houck; RHP; Collinsville, Ill.; Boston Red Sox
Spencer Howard; RHP; San Luis Obispo, Calif.; Philadelphia Phillies
*Tyler Johnson; RHP; Midlothian, Va.; Chicago White Sox
*Erik Kratz; C; Telford, Pa.; New York Yankees
Wyatt Mills; RHP; Spokane, Wash.; Seattle Mariners
Mark Payton; OF; Orland Park, Ill.; Oakland Athletics
*Brooks Pounders; RHP; Riverside, Calif.; New York Mets
Clayton Richard; LHP; Lafayette, Ind.; Toronto Blue Jays
Brent Rooker; OF; Germantown, Tenn.; Minnesota Twins
Connor Seabold; RHP; Laguna Hills, Calif.; Philadelphia Phillies
Noah Song; RHP; Pomona, Calif.; Boston Red Sox
Caleb Thielbar; LHP; Northfield, Minn.; Atlanta Braves
Daniel Tillo; LHP; Sioux City, Iowa; Kansas City Royals
Daulton Varsho; C/OF; Chili, Wisc.; Arizona Diamondbacks
*^Andrew Vaughn; IF; Santa Rosa, Calif.; Chicago White Sox
Drew Waters; OF; Woodstock, Ga.; Atlanta Braves
*Denotes National Team alumnus
^Denotes National Team Development Program participant
