May 27, 2008

SAN DIEGO - USA Baseball announced Tuesday that San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg has accepted an invitation for the 2008 National Team Trials to be held June 11-23 throughout the northeast and southeast United States. The sophomore right-hander is one of 26 players to be invited, a list that includes 17 sophomores and 9 freshmen athletes. In all, 32 players will be invited to the National Team Trials with 22 of those players being selected for the National Team roster which will be announced on June 24.

Strasburg recently concluded the 2008 season with a record of 8-3 and a 1.57 earned run average. He finished among the national leaders with 133 strikeouts in 97.1 innings while issuing just 17 walks. Opponents batted .181 against him in his 13 starts. He set new SDSU and Mountain West Conference records with 23 strikeouts vs. Utah on April 11.

Strasburg is currently among the semifinalists for four national awards as well including the Golden Spikes Award, Roger Clemens Award, the Dick Howser Trophy and the Brooks Wallace Award.

While the latter three awards will be determined by media and coaches votes, fan voting is a part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2008. Starting on May 20, college baseball fans from across the country will be able to vote for their favorite player to win the Golden Spikes Award. To vote, click here to go the USA Baseball's page for the award, then click on Meet The Semifinalists to cast your vote.

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. Walton is joined on the 2008 staff by pitching coach Jerry Meyers (head coach, Old Dominion University), assistant coach Nino Giarratano (head coach, University of San Francisco), and assistant coach Ritch Price (head coach, University of Kansas).

Fans can follow the progress of the National Team this summer at usabaseball.com.