June 23, 2012

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The LMU baseball team will be well-represented on the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team this summer, as Lion head coach Jason Gill will serve as an assistant coach under USA skipper, and head coach at Tennessee, Dave Serrano. In addition to Gill, who is the second LMU head coach to serve with Team USA, Colton Plaia will also wear the Team USA jersey this summer, earning a spot on the 22-man roster.

Gill was named to USA Baseball's 2012 Collegiate National Team coaching staff on February 21, joining Grand Canyon head coach Andy Stankiewicz and Oregon head coach, and Gill's mentor, George Horton as assistants. Although Gill previously served as an auxiliary coach during the 2000 collegiate trials process, he and Stankiewicz will be making their debut as official coaching staff members in 2012. Gill, along with Plaia, most recently guided LMU to a third-place finish in the West Coast Conference in 2012.

When asked about the opportunity to coach with Team USA, Gill replied, "I am thrilled to have been asked to be a part of Team USA Baseball by Dave Serrano and Eric Campbell. To wear the Red, White and Blue and compete against the world¹s best is a dream come true. Dave Serrano is not only a great coach, but a great competitor as well, and he has assembled an unbelievable group to work with. It is an honor and a privilege to be able represent the United States of America and work with our nation¹s best amateur baseball players."

Plaia, who was selected by the Baltimore Orioles with the 1,002nd pick in the 33rd round of the 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Draft, was a first team All-WCC selection after his junior year. The native of Mission Viejo, Calif. hit .326 with a team-best six homers and 38 RBI, including hitting .385 with 17 runs scored, four homers and 26 RBI in conference play. Plaia led the Lions in multi-RBI games, collecting 11 to accompany 15 multi-hit performances, while reaching safely in each of his final 22 games of play. Plaia is the first Lion to represent LMU as part of Team USA since Jeff Stevens served a pair of seasons with Team USA in 2007 and 2008.

"The chance to play for Team USA is an opportunity of a lifetime," Plaia said. "I've always wanted to represent my country, and now I have my first chance to do that this summer. The coaching staff with Team USA has a bunch of guys who know how to win, and coach Gill has been teaching that winning mentality to us here at LMU. Now I have a chance to work with some of the best players and coaches that our country has to offer in order to become an even better player in the years to come."

Practice for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team begins on June 24 at the National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. The squad will play 11 games throughout North Carolina from June 25-July 3 before embarking on a five-game trip to Cuba from July 5-9. The tour continues in The Netherlands from July 14-22, as Team USA will square-off against a handful of teams, including Japan and Puerto Rico, as part of Honkbal-Haarlem Baseball Week at Pim Mulier Stadium.