The 2021 season ended abruptly for Arizona on Monday when it was eliminated from the College World Series, but the break will be short for two of the Wildcats’ biggest stars.
Freshmen Jacob Berry and Daniel Susac have accepted invitations to play for USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team this summer. They will be part of a 48-man roster that will be split into two teams, Stars and Stripes, which will play 11 instrasquad games this summer.
Berry, a third baseman/designated hitter, hit .352 with a team-high 17 home runs and 70 RBI in helping the UA reach the CWS for the second time in six years. Named a Freshman All-American, Berry set UA freshman records in hits RBI, hits (87), extra-base hits (41) and total bases (167).
Susac, a catcher who was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, hit .335 with 12 homers and 65 and set a UA freshman record with 24 doubles.
Berry and Susac are Arizona’s first Collegiate National Team participants since Bobby Dalbec in 2015.
The Collegiate National Team will play July 2-15, with 10 games played in cities that are part of the Appalachian League, which is in its first season as a collegiate summer league. The 11th game, set for July 4 at 10:30 a.m. PT, will be played at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. That game will be streamed online at USABaseball.com as well as on Facebook and YouTube.
Currently at the training complex is UA first baseman Branden Boissiere, who is participating in the MLB Draft Combine ahead of the 2021 MLB Draft set for July 11-13. Also in the combine is Las Vegas high school pitcher Christopher Cortez, a member of the Wildcats’ 2021 signing class.