(Phoenix, AZ) Sun Devil Baseball sophomore southpaw Ben Jacobs has been selected to participate in the 2024 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp in Cary, N.C. this summer, one of 16 Sun Devils slated to hit the road to compete in various summer leagues across the nation – including five scheduled to participate in the historic Cape Cod League.
Jacobs is looking to earn ASU’s 43rd spot in program history on the Collegiate National Team, a list that features the likes of Spencer Torkelson, Trevor Williams, Deven Marrero, Mike Leake, Brett Wallace, Dustin Pedroia, Oddibe McDowell, Kevin Romine, Bob Horner, Floyd Bannister and current head coach Willie Bloomquist.
The USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp will feature 56 of the premier non-draft-eligible college players for a two-game Stars vs. Stripes intrasquad series in North Carolina on June 26 and 27. USA Baseball will name the final Collegiate National Team–inclusive of an International Friendship Series roster and a Summer League Tour roster following Training Camp on June 29.
Both Training Camp games will be played at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina, on June 26 and 27. First pitch of both games will be at 6:35 p.m. ET. The International Friendship Series roster will then take on Chinese Taipei in a five-game series, while the Summer League Tour roster will take on select teams from the Appalachian League and the Coastal Plain League in a four-game slate. The schedule will culminate with a Fourth of July matchup between the two U.S. Collegiate National Team rosters on July 4 in Fayetteville, N.C.
Jacobs is also slated to participate in the 2024 Cape Cod season as part of the Cotuit Kettleers, alongside teammates Kien Vu (OF) and Brandon Compton (OF) – a pair that were named an All-American and Freshman All-American, respectively, yesterday.
Joining them in the prestigious Cape Code League will be sophomores Isaiah Jackson (OF) with the Bourne Braves and left-handed pitcher Sean Fitzpatrick with the Hyannis Hawks.
Three Sun Devils will depart for the opposite side of the country from those teammates to take part in the Alaska Baseball League – all competing for the Anchorage Bucs – in catcher Brody Briggs, right-handed pitcher Wyatt Halvorson and left-handed pitcher and utility player Cole Carlon.
Three more Sun Devils will compete for the Culpepper Cavaliers in the Valley Baseball League in Virginia in infielder Ryan Kroepel, right-handed pitcher Brok Eddy and lefty utility player Bennett Fryman.
Right-handed pitcher Josh Butler will play for the Duluth Huskies in Minnesota in the Northwoods League.
The remaining batch of four will all head to the California League with LHP Bradyn Barnes and RHP Rohan Lettowplaying for the Walnut Creek Crawdads and right-handed pitchers Alec Belardes and Jaden Alba for the Healdsburg Packers.
Several of those players have already gotten underway in their respective leagues with a brief rundown of their early campaigns available below.
Sun Devil Baseball 2024 Summer Ball Locations
CAPE COD LEAGUE
Ben Jacobs – Cotuit / Team USA Collegiate National Team Training Camp
Isaiah Jackson – Bourne
Kien Vu – Cotuit
Brandon Compton – Cotuit
Sean Fitzpatrick – Hyannis
ALASKA LEAGUE
Brody Briggs – Anchorage Bucs
.250 (4-for-12), 4 RBI, 1 K, 2 BB, 1 2B, .400 OBP, .333 slugging, 1 SB, 2 runners caught stealing, 3 defensive assists
Wyatt Halvorson – Anchorage Bucs
1 app, 5.0 IP, 1-0, 3.60 ERA, 2 ER, 7 K
Cole Carlon – Alaska Bucs
Pitching – 1 app., 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 6 K
Hitting – .385 (5-for-13), 3 RBI, 1 HR, .616 slugging, .429 OBP, 2 SB
NORTHWOODS LEAGUE
Josh Butler – Duluth Huskies
2 games, 1-0, 4.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 3 K, 1 BB
VALLEY LEAGUE
Ryan Kroepel – Culpeper Cavaliers
8 games, .148 (4-of-27), 6 RBI, 1 HR, 3 BB
Brok Eddy – Culpeper Cavaliers
3 games, 2 starts, 9.2 IP, 5.40 ERA, 14 K, 4 BB, .184 BAA
Bennett Fryman – Culpeper Cavaliers
Hitting – .227 (5-of-22), 2 RBI, 2 2B, 3 K, 5 games
Pitching – 2 appearances, 3.0 IP
CALIFORNIA LEAGUE
Bradyn Barnes – California – Walnut Creek Crawdads
3 games, 4.26 ERA, 6.1 UP, 4 K
Rohan Lettow – California – Walnut Creek Crawdads
Has not played
Alec Belardes – California – Healdsburg Packers
3 games, 1-0, 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H 2 K, .105 BAA
Jaden Alba – California – Healdsburg Packers
2 games, 0-0, 5.0 IP, 1.80 ERA, 1 ER, 7 K, 2 H, .118 BAA
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Jeremy Hawkes