Sanders Named to USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team
Will Sanders is one of 48 players named to the CNT, with games starting on July 2.
CARY, N.C. – Sophomore-to-be righthanded pitcher Will Sanders of the University of South Carolina baseball team has been named to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, the organization announced this morning (Friday, June 18).
Sanders becomes the first member of the CNT from South Carolina since head coach Mark Kingston was an assistant coach on the 2019 squad. He is the first South Carolina player on the CNT since Tyler Johnson was on the team in 2016.
Sanders, who was named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball and was selected to the Freshman All-SEC team, was 6-3 with a 3.54 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 53.1 innings pitched compared to just 11 walks. Sanders pitched eight innings, striking out four in a win over Georgia on April 4 and did not allow a run in six innings of work in a win at LSU on April 17. Sanders had a career high 10 strikeouts in five innings in a win over The Citadel on March 23. He was named the SEC Freshman of the Week on March 1 after back-to-back wins over Clemson (Feb. 27 and 28) and the Co-Freshman of the Week on April 5.
The USA Baseball Collegiate National Team will feature 48 players in 2021. The Collegiate team will be split into two teams, the Stars and Stripes, and will go head-to-head in 11 games beginning on July 2. Ten of the team’s 11 games will be played in the cities of the Appalachian League, which is in its first season as a summer collegiate league as part of MLB and USA Baseball’s Prospect Development Pipeline.
The Collegiate National Team will also play a game at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina, on July 4, at 1:30 p.m. EDT. The game will be streamed on USABaseball.com and on USA Baseball’s Facebook and YouTube channels. For a complete schedule, visit USABaseball.com. Fans are encouraged to follow @USABaseball on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, as well as @USABaseballCNT on Twitter for all the latest news and information on the Collegiate National Team this summer.
South Carolina Players Competing for the USA Collegiate National Team
1986 – David Hollins
1989 – Brian Williams
1991 – Jared Baker
1993 – Jason Haynie
1994 – Jason Haynie
1997 – Adam Everett
2002 – Landon Powell
2003 – Matt Campbell
2007 – Justin Smoak
2010 – Jackie Bradley Jr.
2013 – Grayson Greiner
2016 – Tyler Johnson
2021 – Will Sanders
Complete 2021 USA Collegiate National Team Schedule
(All Matchups are Stars vs. Stripes)
July 2 – Danville, Va., 7 p.m.
July 3 – Burlington, N.C., TBD
July 4 – Cary, N.C., 1:30 p.m.
July 6 – Greeneville, Tenn., 7 p.m.
July 7 – Johnson City, Tenn., 7 p.m.
July 8 – Bristol, Tenn., 7 p.m.
July 9 – Elizabethton, Tenn., 7 p.m.
July 10 – Kingsport, Tenn., TBD
July 13 – Pulaski, Va., 7 p.m.
July 14 – Princeton, W. Va., 7 p.m.
July 15 – Bluefield, W. Va, 6:30 p.m.
