Olympic silver medallist Anthony Gose to don USA uniform at Premier12 as USA Baseball announce 28-man roster

USA Baseball announced its roster for the WBSC Premier12 2024 presented by RAXUS. The 28-player U.S. roster comprises 15 pitchers and 13 position players, and features four USA Baseball alumni as well as four MLB Pipeline Top 100 prospects.

“We are confident that the roster we have assembled for the Premier12 tournament puts us in a great position to bring home a gold medal,” said USA General Manager Tony Reagins. “These twenty-eight players will represent the United States well, and we look forward to watching them compete for their country.”

“We are all very excited about the Premier12 tournament,” said Team USA Manager Mike Scioscia. “Our USA roster is a great blend of talented young players and a strong veteran presence. We are looking forward to getting on the field to compete against the best baseball countries in the world.”

Major League Baseball’s No. 75-ranked prospect, Termarr Johnson (Pittsburgh Pirates), highlights a group of four alumni returning to the stars and stripes. Johnson, a two-time alum, is joined by Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic silver medalist Anthony Gose -who made the All-Olympic Baseball Team with four scoreless appearances-, five-time alum Chris Okey, and former 16U National Team player Touki Toussaint.

Johnson is also one of four MLB Pipeline Top 100 prospects on the U.S. roster. Leading the quartet is Carson Williams (Tampa Bay Rays), who is the fourth-best prospect in baseball, as well as No. 22 overall prospect Matt Shaw (Chicago Cubs). Justin Crawford (No. 53, Philadelphia Phillies) and Johnson round out the Top 100 prospects on the roster.

In addition to the prospects on Team USA’s roster, the squad also includes nine players with major league playing experience, combining for 61 big-league seasons. Rich Hill leads the way with 20 MLB seasons under his belt, while Dan Altavilla, Dylan Covey (Philadelphia Phillies), Gose, Spencer Patton, and Toussaint bring at least five seasons of big-league time to the roster. Zac Grotz, Casey Lawrence (Seattle Mariners), and Okey have also had stints in the major leagues.

"The players’ pool is not infinite, even with USA Baseball. There are very strict guidelines we need to use, and I think the players’ pool was big enough for us to have what I think is a strong team, but the process is very slow moving," said Scioscia. "It’s a very meticulous process, to narrow it down, get the players who are available and players who want to play in November at the international level. Right now, we have what we thought we needed, like some depth to pitching."

2024 Premier12 Roster

PITCHERS: Eric Adler; Dan Altavilla; Sam Benschoter; Dylan Covey; Anthony Gose; Zac Grotz; Rich Hill; Casey Lawrence; Antonio Menendez; Zane Mills; Spencer Patton; Evan Sisk; Devin Sweet; Touki Toussaint; Austin Vernon

CATCHERS: Drake Baldwin; Willie MacIver; Chris Okey; 

INFIELDERS: Cam Devanney; Tim Elko; Termarr Johnson; Matt Shaw; Carson Williams.

OUTFIELDERS: Justin Crawford; Luke Ritter; Chandler Simpson; Colby Thomas; Ryan Ward.

USA will be led by 19-year MLB managing veteran and Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics Manager Scioscia in 2024. Scioscia is joined by an experienced staff, including Bench Coach Ron Roenicke, Pitching Coach Dave Wallace, and Hitting Coach Rick Eckstein. Dino Ebel (Third Base Coach), Jemile Weeks (First Base Coach), LaTroy Hawkins (Bullpen Coach), and Carlos Muñoz (Bullpen Catcher) complete the staff, which combines for 84 seasons of big-league coaching experience.

USA–one of six teams in Group A–will compete in the group stage from November 9-14 in Guadalajara and Tepic, Mexico. The top two nations from the six-team group will then advance to the Super Round in Tokyo, Japan, from November 21-24.

The 2024 Premier12 will feature the world’s 12 top-ranked teams in an international competition in Japan, Mexico, and Taiwan. After placing second in the first rendition of the competition in 2015 and fourth in the 2019 tournament, USA looks for its first gold medal in Premier12 history.