The red, white and blue will have a little orange and black flair to it this summer.
Dax Whitney and Ethan Kleinschmit, two of the Oregon State baseball team’s most important players, have been selected to compete for Team USA at the Collegiate National Team Training Camp.
The camp, which opens Sunday and runs through July 3, will stretch five games and feature fifty-six of college baseball’s best non-draft eligible players, who will compete for a roster spot on Team USA.
After the five-game intra-squad series, selected players will play against the Appalachian League Select Team on July 4 and then depart for Japan, where Team USA will play in the 45th edition of the USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Championship Series.
That series will played from July 8-13 at multiple sites in Japan.
Whitney and Kleinschmit were selected to compete for Team USA after standout debut seasons in Corvallis, where they served as Saturday and Sunday starters, respectively, on an Oregon State team that reached the College World Series for the eighth time in school history.
Whitney went 6-3 with a 3.40 ERA and 1.28 WHIP over 16 starts, earning Freshman All-American honors after arriving in Corvallis as one of the most highly-touted prospects in the nation. The 6-foot-5 right-hander finished with 120 strikeouts and held opposing hitters to a .216 batting average in 76 2/3 innings, and he was at his best when it mattered most.
In his final five starts, which included three in the postseason, Whitney went 3-0, recording 48 strikeouts and allowing just four earned runs over 27 1/3 innings.
Kleinschmit didn’t finish as strong as his teammate, but the 6-3 left-hander was the Beavers’ most consistent starter as a sophomore last season. He went 8-5 with a 3.56 ERA and 1.09 WHIP, recording 113 strikeouts and limiting opponents to a .194 batting average over 91 innings.
The duo is expected to form the backbone of the Beavers’ pitching staff next season, which could be among the best in college baseball.
— Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | @freemanjoe.bsky.social