FAYETTEVILLE -- University of Arkansas freshmen Hagen Smith and Brady Tygart have been invited to the training camp for the USA Baseball Collegiate National team, which will get underway in Cary, N.C. this week.
The team will begin an intrasquad Stars vs. Stripes series from Thursday-July 4 in North Carolina, then a 26-man team will travel to present the USA at Honkbalweek Haarlem in the Netherlands from July 9-15.
The tryouts will consist of 48-50 of the top non-draft eligible college players in the nation.
Smith picked up a 3-2 win over eventual national champion Ole Miss last week in the national semifinals at the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., delivering the Rebels their only loss of the NCAA Tournament.
The Bullard, Texas, native had a 7-2 record, 4.66 ERA and 2 saves in 20 appearances, including 15 starts. He was selected to the SEC's All-Freshman team and was named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball newspaper and Perfect Game. The left-hander struck out 90 batters in 771/3 innings and held opponents to a .232 batting average.
Tygart emerged as the Razorbacks' closer fairly early in the season and finished with a 3.82 ERA and a a team-high eight saves. The right-hander from Hernando, Miss., had 51 strikeouts in 372/3 innings and got better as the season went on, posting a 1.91 ERA and 7 saves in conference competition while striking out 40 and holding opponents to a .160 batting average.
Ole Miss Coach Mike Bianco will serve as head coach of Team USA after previously working as the club's pitching coach.
The Razorbacks have had 22 players invited to compete for Team USA since 1979, including infielder Robert Moore and pitcher Jaxon Wiggins last summer.
The opening game of the Stars vs. Stripes series will be held at the USA Baseball national training complex in Cary at 6 p.m. Central on June 30. The remaining exhibitions will take place at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.