Houston County alumni and Georgia natives make Team USA

CARY, N.C. — Houston County alumnus Drew Burress, who was named National Freshman of the Year, Freshman Hitter of the Year, Freshman All-American and won two First-team All-America selections, earned another honor this offseason.

Burress, along with several other Georgia natives and UGA players, were named to Team USA’s 2024 Collegiate National Team. Overall, of the 57 players selected, six different players are from or play college baseball in the state of Georgia.

UGA is tied for the second most players represented. They have three total, behind Vanderbilt.

The total 57 players were split into two teams, something the U.S. team did not do last year.

Burress will play for the International Series team along with UGA players Kolten Smith and Alton Davis II, who recently transferred from Alabama. The three will be joined by Vanderbilt utility player and Atlanta native RJ Austin Jr.

Bulldog Tre Phelps is joined by Southern University and A&M College infielder and Ellenwood native KJ White on the Summer League Tour roster.

This is the first time Phelps, Smith, Austin and White have played with Team USA. Burress played with them while he was at Houston County and Davis participated in the national team’s college training camp last summer.

The International Series team will play China Taipei in the 21st annual USA vs. Chinese Taipei International Friendship Series. The first game took place Saturday at Segra Stadium in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Burress helped the team at the plate and in the field. Batting fourth, he had a .333 batting average and drew two walks. However, his throw from center field to catcher Brooks Bryan kept China from scoring another run and helped Team USA win 5-4.

Games two and three will be played at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina, on Sunday, June 30 and Monday, July 1. Game four will be played at Atrium Health Ballpark in Kannapolis, North Carolina, on Tuesday, July 3.

Charlie Condon, who played for Team USA last season, had a terrific performance against Chinese Taipei last year.

In 2023, he led the team with nine RBIs, tied for the most home runs with two, tied for second in hits with eight and finished third in runs batted in with six. He went 8-for-21 at the plate and finished with the fourth-best overall slugging percentage and second-best among every player who started all five games.

He also hit a home run to give Team USA a victory on July 4. Time will tell if Burress or Austin can match Condon’s performance later in the series.

Meanwhile, the Summer League Tour began on the same day, as the team played in the first match on Saturday, June 29. They faced the Coastal Plain League select team, made up of the league’s best, including two Macon Bacon players – catcher David. Stokely and pitcher Brady Pendley.

Phelps had the team’s best hitting performance in Game 1. The Kennesaw native led off the game with two hits and launched a 397-foot home run to left field to help secure a Game 1 victory for Team USA.

The two teams played again Sunday before traveling to face the Appalachian League East select team on July 1-2.

After each team’s respective series, they will face off on July 4 at Segra Stadium in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Full rosters for both U.S. teams are listed below.

• Ben Abeldt; left-handed pitcher; TCU
• Jamie Arnold; LHP; Florida State
• RJ Austin Jr.; University of Texas; Vanderbilt
• Max Belyeu; OF; Texas
• Tucker Biven; RHP; Louisville
• Caden Bodine; VS ; Coastal Carolina
• Tyler Bremner; right-handed pitcher; University of California Santa Barbara
• Brooks Bryan; C; Troy
• Drew Burress; outfielder; Georgia Tech
• Dean Curley; INF; Tennessee
• Gabe Davis; right-handed pitcher; Oklahoma State
• Alton Davis II; LHP; Georgia
• Danny Dickinson; INF; Utah Valley
• Anthony Eyanson; RHP; University of California San Diego
• Patrick Forbes; OF/RHP; Louisville
• Gabriel Gaeckle; RHP; Arkansas
• Marek Houston; INF; Wake Forest
• Ben Jacobs; left-handed pitcher; Arizona State
• Nelson Keljo; left-handed pitcher; Oregon State
• Anthony Martinez; INF; University of California, Irvine
• Nolan Schubart; OF/INF; Oklahoma State
• Matt Scott; RHP; Stanford
• Kolten Smith; right-handed pitcher; Georgia
• Derrick Smith; RHP; North Carolina State
• Nate Snead; right-handed pitcher; Tennessee
• Devin Taylor; outfielder; Indiana
• Kyle Walker; INF; Grumpy State
• Kyson Witherspoon; right-handed pitcher; Oklahoma
• Malachi Witherspoon; RHP; Oklahoma

• Eric Becker; INF; Virginia
• Cooper Consiglio; LHP; North Carolina State
• Daniel Cuvet; INF; Miami
• Jason DeCaro; RHP; UNC
• Jacob Dudan; right-handed pitcher; State of North Carolina
• Henry Ford; INF/DE; Virginia
• Jamal George; C/INF; State of Alabama
• AJ Gracia; OF/LHP; Duke
• Gavin Grahovac; INF; Texas A&M
• Miller Green; LHP; Vanderbilt
• Kyle Johnson; outfielder/lefty; Duke
• Justin LeBron; INF; Alabama
• Dylan Loy; left-handed pitcher; Tennessee
• Matthew Matthijs; RHP; A C
• Ethan McElvain; LHP; Vanderbilt
• Trey Newmann; right-handed pitcher; TCU
• Liam Peterson; RHP; Florida
• Tre Phelps; INF; Georgia
• Brett Renfrow; RHP; Virginia Tech
• Luis Rodriguez; right-handed pitcher; State of Alabama
• Rose of Sion; C; Louisville
• Eric Segura; right-handed pitcher; Oregon State
• Brennan Seiber; RHP; Vanderbilt
• Luc Stevenson; C; UNC
• Pablo Torres; RHP; Béthune-Cookman
• Dominic Voegele; right-handed pitcher; Kansas
• Joey Volchko; RHP; Stanford
• KJ White; INF; From the South

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