May 16, 2007

Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina sophomore first baseman Justin Smoak is one of the first 11 players to be named to the 2007 USA Baseball National Team as announced on Wednesday afternoon by USA Baseball. The announcement of the final nine players and two alternates will be made in June. Smoak and Team USA will play in the Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and the World Port Tournament in the Netherlands as well as several series across the U.S. throughout the summer.

In his second season at Carolina, Smoak has been among the SEC and nation’s leaders in home runs (17) and RBI (60). Smoak has started all 53 games and is batting .324 (68-for-210) and owns a .439 on-base percentage to go along with a .624 slugging percentage.

2007 NATIONAL TEAM MEMBERSPedro Alvarez   INF So. VanderbiltBrett Hunter    RHP So. PepperdineLance Lynn  RHP So. Ole MissBrian Matusz    LHP So. San DiegoJosh Romanski   OF/LHP  So. San DiegoTyson Ross  RHP So. CaliforniaCody Satterwhite    RHP So. Ole MissJustin Smoak    INF So. South CarolinaJacob Thompson  RHP So. VirginiaBrett Wallace   INF So. Arizona StateJemile Weeks    INF So. Miami (Fla.)

USA Baseball is the National Governing Body of amateur baseball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The organization selects and trains the USA Baseball National Team, the USA Baseball Junior National Team (18-under), the USA Baseball Youth National Team (16-under), the USA Baseball 14U National Team (14-under), and the USA Baseball Women’s National Team which participate in various international competitions each year. For more information on USA Baseball please log onto www.usabaseball.com.