NEWS

 

DURHAM — Davidson catcher Michael Carico has been selected to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp, which begins later this month.

Carico is one of 50 non-draft eligible college players who will play in a five-game Stars vs. Stripes series from June 30 to July 4 as USA Baseball sets its 26-man Collegiate National Team roster for summer competition.

The Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year, Carico is the first Wildcat player chosen for the trials.

“I’m excited for it,” said Carico. “It’s going to be a lot of fun, and it’s going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Carico just wrapped up a record-setting sophomore season in a Wildcat uniform, having helped Davidson to a program-best 43-13 record and the Wildcats’ first outright regular-season conference title.

Among many statistical achievements, he led the nation with a .559 on-base percentage, hit .406, slugged .843 and set the Davidson single-season mark with an A-10 best 21 home runs. He was selected to Collegiate Baseball’s All-American Second Team and is a finalist for the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher Award and the Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award. The season ended weeks ago, but the honors have poured in. 

“I just try to tell myself not to worry about outside noise and focus on what I’m doing,” he said. “It’s what has gotten me where I am and what is going to get me where I’m going. But also, I’m really going to enjoy the opportunity.”

“Mike has received a lot of recognition for his play this season, but the invite to the Team USA trials might be the biggest honor to date,” said Davidson coach Rucker Taylor. “USA Baseball does everything first-class and the right way. Michael will fit in perfectly in that organization.” 

The Stars vs. Stripes series will begin at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, with a 7 p.m. game on June 30. Games two, three and four will be held at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, and the series finale is set for July 4 at 6:05 p.m. at Truist Field, home of the Charlotte Knights. All five games will be available to watch on USABaseball.com.

After the trials, the selected Collegiate National Team will travel to the Netherlands to compete in Honkbalweek Haarlem July 9-15, beginning with an opening game against Japan. Other opponents in group stage play include Italy, Cuba, Netherlands and Curacao.

Carico’s involvement is the first for a Wildcat player, but Taylor and former coach Dick Cooke have ties to USA Baseball. Taylor was a coach on the inaugural 13U Athlete Development Program in 2019 and will coach in another capacity this summer. Cooke, who led Davidson from 1991 to 2018, coached on seven USA staffs, including on Olympic teams in 2000 and 2008 and as pitching coach on the 2003 Collegiate National Team.