Rebel Duo Earns Spot on 26-Man Roster for Competition in the Netherlands
Fresh off of bringing a national championship back to Oxford, the work doesn’t stop for Hunter Elliott and Jacob Gonzalez, who were selected to the USA Baseball Collegiate National team roster for the summer.
A roster of 50 of college baseball’s most talented players was whittled down to just 26 by head coach Mike Bianco after five games of intrasquad competition. The final 26-man roster, including Elliott and Gonzalez, will travel to Haarlem, Netherlands, to compete in Honkbalweek Haarlem.
With the selection of Elliott, 14 Rebels have now earned spots on the Team USA roster. Gonzalez becomes the first Rebel student-athlete to earn multiple Collegiate National Team selections.
Gonzalez was one of the top bats for the Stars squad, appearing in four games and finishing fifth among all players with a .313 batting average, tying for the team lead with two doubles and tying for second with four RBI.
Elliott was equally impressive, drawing the start for the Stars in the final intrasquad game and turning in two scoreless frames with just one hit allowed and four strikeouts to earn the win.
Mason Nichols was also outstanding in his time on the mound for Team USA, appearing twice for the Stripes for a total of 3.0 scoreless innings with just one hit and one walk allowed and four strikeouts, though the Rebel freshman was not selected for the highly competitive 26-man roster.
Bianco, Gonzalez, and Elliott will travel to the Netherlands this week and begin play at Honkbalweek Haarlem against Japan at 7 am CT on July 9, 2022.
Team USA Rebels
Stephen Head – 2003
Seth Smith – 2003
Zack Cozart – 2006
Lance Lynn – 2007
Cody Satterwhite – 2007
Drew Pomeranz – 2009
Bobby Wahl – 2012
Mike Bianco (Coach) – 2013, 2022
Dallas Woolfolk – 2017
Parker Caracci – 2018
Doug Nikhazy – 2019
Hayden Dunhurst – 2021
Jacob Gonzalez – 2021, 2022
Hunter Elliott – 2022
