Witt Jr., Abrams among top prospects on 18U roster

CARY, N.C. -- The primary objective of the Tournament of Stars is to help USA Baseball determine who should be on its 18 and under national team that will go to Panama this fall for the COPABE U-18 Pan-American Championship. A large step in that direction was taken on Saturday evening when the pool of 80-plus players competing in TOS was pared down to a 40-man trials roster.
:: 2018 USA Baseball Tournament of Stars ::
"We had a great week [at the Tournament of Stars]. Everybody that was here was here for a reason, everybody had skill sets that could help this team win," 18U National Team Director, Matt Blood, said. "But at the end of the day, we're only allowed a certain number of players and decisions had to be made. It was hard to make those decisions, but we took the guys we felt would give us the best chance for success in the future and we're excited about the guys that we have."
That group of 40, listed below, remains at the National Training Complex to take part in several more days of workouts and games, including a pair against the Collegiate National Team. All of the 18U Trials games will be streamed live on MLB.com and USABaseball.com. The schedule is as follows (all times ET):
Monday: 18U Trials Stars vs. Stripes, 5 p.m.
Tuesday: 18U Stars vs. CNT Stripes, 1 p.m.
Tuesday: 18U Stripes vs. CNT Stars, 4 p.m.
Wednesday: 18U Trials Stars vs. Stripes, 7:15 p.m.
Thursday: 18U Trials Stars vs. Stripes, 1 p.m.
The final team won't be named until the fall and will convene for a week of training in November before heading to Panama. Here's the 40-man trials roster:
Name, Pos., School, Hometown
CJ Abrams, IF, Blessed Trinity Catholic, Alpharetta, Ga.
Blake Adams, RHP, Springdale, Springdale, Ark.
Matthew Allan, RHP, Seminole, Sanford, Fla.
Mack Anglin, RHP, Highland-Sparta, Marengo, Ohio
Hunter Barco, LHP, The Bolles School, Jacksonville, Fla.
Tyler Callihan, IF, Providence, Neptune Beach, Fla.
Corbin Carroll, OF, Lakeside, Seattle, Wash.
Joseph Charles, RHP, The First Academy, Celebration, Fla.
Riley Cornelio, RHP, Pine Creek, Monument, Colo.
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Harvard-Westlake, Sherman Oaks, Calif.
Kale Davis, RHP, Westmoore, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Cade Doughty, IF/OF, Denham Springs, Denham Springs, La.
Sammy Faltine, RHP, William B Travis, Richmond, Tex.
Jonathan French, C, Parkview, Lilburn, Ga.
Riley Greene, OF, Hagerty, Oviedo, Fla.
Hylan Hall, RHP/OF, TNXL Academy, Ocoee, Fla.
Ryan Hawks, RHP, Warren East, Bowling Green, Ky.
Ethan Hearn, C, Mobile Christian, Mobile, Ala.
Austin Hendrick, OF, West Allegheny, Oakdale, Pa.
Gunnar Henderson, IF, John T. Morgan Academy, Selma, Ala.
Rece Hinds, 3B, Niceville Senior, Niceville, Fla.
Jared Jones, RHP/OF, La Mirada, Whittier, Calif.
Jared Kelley, RHP, Refugio, Refugio, Texas
Jack Leiter, RHP, Delbarton, Summit, NJ
Brennan Malone, RHP, Porter Ridge, Matthews, NC
Jacob Meador, RHP, Burleson Centennial, Burleson, Texas
Victor Mederos, RHP, Monsignor Pace, Miami, Fla.
Alex Milazzo, C, Zachary, Zachary, La.
Joe Naranjo, 1B, Ruben S. Ayala, Chino, Calif.
Liam Norris, LHP, Green Hope, Cary, NC
Nasim Nunez, IF, Collins Hill, Lawrenceville, Ga.
Kyren Paris, IF, Freedom, Oakley, Calif.
Max Rajcic, RHP/IF, Orange Lutheran, Fullerton, Calif.
Will Rigney, RHP, Midway, Waco, Tex.
Davis Rokose, LHP, Chattahoochee, Johns Creek, Ga.
Drew Romo, C, The Woodlands, The Woodlands, Texas
Avery Short, LHP, Southport, Indianapolis, Ind.
Logan Tanner, C/RHP, George County, Lucedale, Miss.
Matthew Thompson, RHP, Cypress Ranch, Cypress, Texas
Anthony Volpe, IF, Delbarton, Watchung, NJ
Kendall Williams, RHP, IMG Academy, Olive Branch, Miss.
Masyn Winn, RHP/IF, Kingwood, Kingwood, Tex.
Bobby Witt Jr., IF, Colleyville Heritage, Colleyville, Texas
Carter Young, IF, Selah, Selah, Wash.