June 22, 2003
Tucson, Ariz. – The 2003 USA Baseball National Team Trials opened up on Saturday evening with two members of the South Carolina program in the mix. Carolina head coach Ray Tanner and LHP Matt Campbell have donned the red, white & blue as the U.S. National Team prepares for the 2003 Pan American Games in Tucson, Arizona.
With his seventh season completed at Carolina, head coach Ray Tanner is beginning his fifth stint with USA Baseball and his first as head coach. Tanner has led the Carolina baseball program to two consecutive appearances at the College World Series and four SEC Eastern Division championships over the last five years. Tanner owns a 319-135 record in seven years at South Carolina. Tanner was an assistant coach under head coach Tommy Lasorda with the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team that won the gold medal in Sydney, Australia. Tanner also served as an assistant on the 1993, 1995 and 1996 U.S. squads.
Fresh off a win at the College World Series vs. LSU, left-handed pitcher Matt Campbell is one of 34 collegiate players invited trying to secure a spot on the 20-man roster for the 2003 USA National Team. Campbell finished his sophomore year with a 6-4 record with 82 strikeouts and a 3.48 ERA in 82 2/3 innings pitched. Campbell became only the second pitcher in SEC history to earn SEC Pitcher of the Week honors three times in one year. In addition to his conference accolades, the southpaw from Simpsonville, S.C. also twice earned National Player of the Week honors from Collegiate Baseball. Entering the 2003 season, Campbell was rated the No. 47 best sophomore college prospect in the nation by Baseball America. Campbell’s invitation marks the second consecutive year a Gamecock player has earned an invite to the U.S. National Team Trials. Catcher Landon Powell earned a spot on the 2002 U.S. National Team.
Following selection of the 20-man roster, the U.S. National Team will open competition on July 2, 2003 in Durham, N.C. in the first of a five-game series vs. Japan. USA Baseball will play eight games this season in Durham, N.C. and two in Myrtle Beach, S.C. USA will face Japan in the third and fourth games of the series at Coastal Federal Field on July 4 at 5:05 p.m. and July 5 at 12:30 p.m. The U.S. National Team begins a six-game tour on July 9 with the squad traveling across the Northeast U.S. with games in Danbury, Conn., Torrington, Conn., North Adams, Mass., Keene, N.H., Sanford, Maine and Newport, R.I. The Pan American Games begin on August 1, 2003 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
