Three C-USA Baseball Players Named to Team USA Squad

Mark Jurich

Three Conference USA players have been selected to play for the United States National Team this summer, USA Baseball announced from its headquarters in Tucson, Arizona, on Monday. Louisville outfielder Mark Jurich, Tulane infielder/outfielder Michael Aubrey and Houston righthander Brad Sullivan will represent C-USA on the 22-player squad. The squad was selected from a pool of 35 players that competed for four days at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson.

Jurich became the first Louisville player since 1992 to earn All-American honors when he was named to the NCBWA All-America third team. The standout sophomore spent much of the 2002 campaign batting over .400 before finishing with a .365 average with 15 doubles, 16 home runs and 60 RBI. The 16 home runs were the most by a Cardinal player since 1995 as he helped U of L to its first-ever NCAA Regional appearance.

Aubrey followed up his National Freshman of the Year honors in 2001 with a very productive sophomore season in 2002. He tied for third on the team with a .316 batting average, clubbed 15 doubles, hit seven home runs and drove in 52. On the mound, Aubrey was 8-1 in 11 starts before a back injury suffered in late April took him out of the pitching rotation. He has played for Team USA each of the last two summers, helping the Junior National team to a silver medal at the IBA World Junior Championships in 2000.

Sullivan, a consensus first team All-American, was named Conference USA’s Pitcher of the Year this season after helping the Cougars to the league’s regular season championship and trip to the NCAA Super Regional. The Nederland, Texas, native has compiled a 13-1 record with a 1.82 ERA and set UH and Conference USA single-season records with 157 strikeouts in 128.2 innings of work. Sullivan came on even stronger down the stretch, allowing only one run in his last 36 2/3 innings and tossing shutouts in three of his last four starts.

Team USA will play a total of 30 games this summer, including 17 on the domestic side of their Red, White and Blue Summer Tour. For a full schedule of dates, times and locations, along with ticket information, log on to www.usabaseball.com.

This is the second straight season that Conference USA has had three players on the Team USA Roster. Last season, Aubrey, Tulane IF Anthony Giarratano and Houston catcher Chris Snyder represented C-USA on this all-star squad.


2002 TEAM USA ROSTER

Player Pos Ht Wt B/T Yr College Hometown
Cordero, Chad RHP 6-0 190 R/R So Cal State Fullerton Chino, Calif.
Humber, Philip RHP 6-4 210 R/R Fr Rice Carthage, Texas
Johnson, Grant RHP 6-6 220 R/R Fr Notre Dame Burr Ridge, Ill.
Littleton, Wes RHP 6-2 180 R/R So Cal State Fullerton Oceanside, Calif.
Sleeth, Kyle RHP 6-5 195 R/R So Wake Forest Westminster, Colo.
Street, Huston RHP 6-0 179 R/R Fr Texas Austin, Texas
Sullivan, Brad RHP 6-1 205 R/R So Houston Nederland, Texas
Zimmermann, Bob RHP 6-5 225 R/R So SW Missouri State Creve Coeur, MO
Alvarez, Abe LHP 6-2 180 L/L So Long Beach State Fontana, Calif.
Bakker, Kyle LHP 6-9 262 L/L So Georgia Tech Omaha, Neb.
Powell, Landon C 6-3 215 B/R So South Carolina Apex, NC
Sammons, Clint C 5-11 191 R/R Fr Georgia Stone Mountain, Ga.
Aubrey, Michael IF 6-0 195 L/L So Tulane Shreveport, La.
Hill, Aaron IF 5-11 196 R/R So LSU Visalia, Calif.
Jackson, Conor IF 6-3 205 R/R So California Woodland Hills, Calif.
Patterson, Eric IF 5-10 160 L/R Fr Georgia Tech Kennesaw, Ga.
Pedroia, Dustin IF 5-9 157 R/R Fr Arizona State Woodland, Calif.
Weeks, Rickie IF 5-11 195 R/R So Southern Alte Monte, Fla.
Costa, Shane OF 6-1 205 L/R So Cal State Fullerton Visalia, Calif.
Jurich, Mark OF 5-10 185 L/L So Louisville Louisville, Ky
Fuld, Sam OF 5-10 180 L/L So Stanford Durham, NH
Quentin, Carlos OF 6-2 215 R/R So Stanford Chula Vista, Calif.



Head Coach: Lelo Prado, Louisville
Assistant Coaches: Terry Alexander, Jacksonville
Sunny Galloway, Oral Roberts
Terry Rupp, Maryland