USA Men’s Team Announced for Pan Am’s in Hermosillo Mexico

OKLAHOMA CITY — Seventeen athletes have been named to the 2011 USA Softball Men’s Fast Pitch National Team, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America announced today. The athletes, selected for the team by the Men’s Fast Pitch National Team Selection Committee based on previous ASA and USA Softball play, represent 12 states and the Six Nation Indian Reservation.

The men will represent the United States at the VIII Pan American Men’s Softball Championship in Hermosillo, Mexico, Nov. 18-26. The tournament serves as the regional qualifier for the International Softball Federation (ISF) XII Men’s World Championship March 1-10, 2013, in Auckland, New Zealand. The USA Softball Men’s Fast Pitch National team has claimed five Gold Medals (1966, 1968, 1976, 1980 and 1988), one Silver Medal (1972) and three Bronze Medals (1984, 1992 and 2000) in World Championship play.

2011 USA Softball Men’s Fast Pitch National Team Roster

Kevin Castillo (Sapulpa, Okla.)
Tommy Crouch (DeKalb, Ill.)
Roman Foore (Rosemont, Minn.)
Jaime Garcia, Jr. (Kansas City, Kan.)
Josh Johnson (Bay Minette, Ala.)
Mike Joseph (Six Nation Indian Reservation, Ontario, Canada)
Sean Kelly (Marshall, Mich.)
Trevor Kelly (Marshall, Mich.)
*Adam LaLonde (Ashland, Ky.)
*Tyron McKinney (Louisville, Ky.)
*Blake Miller (Eugene, Ore.)
*Matt Palazzo (Pleasant Hill, Iowa)
*Travis Price (Corona, Calif.)
Robert Rosthenhausler (Tucson, Ariz.)
*Marcus Tan (Union City, Calif.)
*Chase Turner (San Jose, Calif.)
Zach Warne (Sioux Falls, S.D.)

Seven members (*) have previous USA Softball Men’s Fast Pitch National Team experience. McKinney was also a member of the 1997 Junior Men’s Fast Pitch National Team while Castillo and Warne were on the 2005 Junior Men’s roster.

“Although we have selected a young team to represent us at the qualifier, we as a committee believe it was a necessity to grow our program and our overall depth,” said Head Coach Peter Turner (Stockton, Calif./Head Coach San Jose State University). “I believe we have the talent to compete at the highest level and my staff and I look forward to guiding this team to the top of the podium.”

Turner has been leading the program since 2002, when Team USA Won the gold medal at the Pan American Men’s Softball Championship in Guatemala. Joining Turner on the coaching staff are assistant coaches Thad Brown (Modesto, Calif./Volunteer Assistant Coach San Jose State University) and Avon Meacham (Upper Marlboro, Md.). The three coaches also comprised the staff for the 2009 Men’s World Championship, where Team USA finished in fourth place, missing the medal stand by one game.

Editor’s note: Here is the list of players selected, with their 2011 team affiliations:

Kevin Castillo (Sapulpa, Okla.) – California A’s (ISC), CA
*Blake Miller (Eugene, Ore.) California A’s (ISC), CA
*Travis Price (Corona, Calif.) California A’s (ISC), CA
Robert Rosthenhausler (Tucson, Ariz.) California A’s (ISC), CA
*Marcus Tan (Union City, Calif.) California A’s (ISC), CA
*Chase Turner (San Jose, Calif.) California A’s (ISC), CA

Sean Kelly (Marshall, Mich.) – Ashland Stockpack (ISC), OH
Trevor Kelly (Marshall, Mich.) – Ashland Stockpack (ISC) OH
*Tyron McKinney (Louisville, Ky.) – Ashland Stockpack (ISC) OH

Tommy Crouch (DeKalb, Ill.) – Bar of Appleteon (ISC) WI
Josh Johnson (Bay Minette, Ala.) – Bar of Appleton (ISC) WI

Roman Foore (Rosemont, Minn.) – Albaugh Inc. (ISC) IA
*Matt Palazzo (Pleasant Hill, Iowa) – Albaugh Inc. (ISC) IA

Jaime Garcia, Jr. (Kansas City, Kan.) – Topeka Toros (ISC) KS

Mike Joseph (Six Nation Indian Reservation, Ontario, Canada) – Midland Explorers (ISC) MI

*Adam LaLonde (Ashland, Ky.) – Chicago/NY (ISC) NY

Zach Warne (Sioux Falls, S.D.) – Kegel Black Knights (ISC) ND