Information from the Arizona media relations department contributed to this report:
Arizona Baseball breakout freshmen Daniel Susac and Jacob Berry have both accepted invites from USA Baseball to play with the 2021 Collegiate National Team this summer making them the 20th and 21st Wildcats to participate in the Collegiate National Team’s circuit.
This is the seventh time that multiple Wildcats have played for the Collegiate National Team in the same year. They are the first Arizona players represented on the prestigious roster since Bobby Dalbec in 2015. Dalbec is now on the big-league roster of the Boston Red Sox.
Susac, the Wildcats’ everyday catcher in 2021, finished the season hitting .335 with 48 runs scored, 24 doubles, 12 home runs, and 65 RBIs. His 24 doubles led the team, shattered the program’s previous freshman record, tied for first in the Pac-12, and ranked tied for fifth nationally. Defensively, Susac posted a .996 fielding percentage and threw out nine of 30 attempted base stealers from behind the dish. He has been named an All-American by every major national outlet and was selected as the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year by the league’s coaches.
Berry, one of the most prolific designated hitters in the country this season, ranked second on the Wildcats with a .352 batting average and supplemented it with 54 runs, 19 doubles, five triples, 17 home runs, and 70 RBIs. His team- and Pac-12-leading 70 RBIs are the most ever logged by an Arizona freshman and currently rank third in the nation. Berry tied for the team lead in 2021 with 28 multi-hit games and paced the program with 21 multi-RBI performances. Much like his Arizona and Collegiate National Team contemporary, he has been tabbed as an All-American by every major national publication.
Collectively, the Wildcats “Baby Bombers” produced 29 home runs and 135 RBIs; they are the first duo of Arizona freshmen in program history to both swat double-digit home runs and the only pair of true freshmen in America to accomplish the feat this season.
The USA Baseball Collegiate National Team will feature 48 players in 2021. The Collegiate team will be split into two teams, the Stars and Stripes, and will go head-to-head in 11 games beginning on July 2. Ten of the team’s 11 games will be played in the cities of the Appalachian League, which is in its first season as a summer collegiate league as part of MLB and USA Baseball’s Prospect Development Pipeline.
Former Arizona infielder Clark Crist, part of the 1980 College World Series championship team, manages in the Appalachian League with the Pulaski (Va.) River Turtles.
The Collegiate National Team will also play a game at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C., on July 4, at 10:30 a.m. The game will be streamed on USABaseball.com and on USA Baseball’s Facebook and YouTube channels.
For a complete schedule, visit USABaseball.com.
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