University of Louisville infielder Ryan Wright was named to the 2010 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team on Sunday night following the completion of the six-day team trials at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.
A native of Fort Wayne, Ind., Wright is one of five infielders named to the 22-player roster. Primarily a middle infielder for the Cardinals this season, he is one of the most versatile players in the nation with experience playing all four infield positions.
Wright is the second Louisville player in the last two years to make the USA Collegiate National Team as pitcher Tony Zych represented Team USA last summer, while Cardinals’ head coach Dan McDonnell also served as an assistant coach with the USA National Team last year. Overall, Wright was the fourth Louisville player in the last three years to earn an invitation to the USA National Team Trials and the fifth since 2002.
It will be a busy summer for Wright and the USA National Team, which will play games at the Gastonia Grizzlies (July 12) and the Fayetteville Swampdogs (July 13) of the Coastal Plain League before hosting a five-game series against Korea on July 14-18. Team USA will then square off against a Japanese Collegiate All-Star Team in a one-game, international friendship competition in Omaha's Rosenblatt Stadium on July 21. From there, the team will travel to Taipei, Taiwan for a four-game series against Chinese Taipei at Tien-Mu Stadium beginning July 25. They will conclude their summer at the FISU World University Baseball Championships in Tokyo, Japan, on July 30-Aug. 7.
Wright, a Baseball America Second Team All-American and a First Team All-BIG EAST selection as a sophomore in 2010, led the Cardinals with 80 RBI and ranked second on the team with a .366 average and 16 home runs. He was also 10-of-11 on stolen bases and committed just three errors as the Cardinals’ everyday second baseman. A Louisville Slugger and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Freshman All-American in 2009, Wright has hit .350 with 21 home runs, 146 RBI and 22 stolen bases during his first two seasons in Louisville.
The Louisville baseball team, which set a new school record for wins with a 50-14 record overall in 2010, closed the season by advancing to a fourth straight NCAA Regional and winning a second straight BIG EAST Conference regular season championship.
