College

Hancock, Wilcox earn USA Baseball team invitations

ATHENS-----University of Georgia pitchers Emerson Hancock and Cole Wilcox have been invited to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team (CNT) summer training camp.

Hancock, a 6-4, 215-pound right-hander from Cairo, Ga., is on the 24-man USA CNT roster. He was a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy. A First Team All-Southeastern Conference selection as a sophomore, he went 8-3 with a 1.99 ERA in 14 starts this past season. In 90.1 innings, Hancock registered 97 strikeouts and only 18 walks while holding the opposition to a .185 batting average. Hancock’s 1.99 ERA was the eighth best in school history and lowest by a Bulldog starter since 1977 (Chuck Fore, 1.67). In SEC action, Hancock went 4-2 with a 1.69 ERA in eight starts. Also, he was named a second team All-American by Collegiate Baseball.

Wilcox, a 6-5, 232-pound right-hander from Chickamauga, Ga., earned SEC All-Freshman honors after going 3-2 with a 4.07 ERA in 11 appearances including three starts. In 59.2 innings, he struck out 64 with 38 walks. In SEC play, Wilcox posted a 3-1 mark and a 2.57 ERA. As a freshman, Wilcox will be on the training camp roster with the aim of making the 26-man squad and ultimately the final 24-man team.

The 2019 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team will participate in series of four intrasquad exhibition games later this month and a contest against the Coastal Plain League Select squad before announcing a 26-man roster.

Then, the team will play Cuba in an International Friendship Series that will take place July 2-6 in Cary, Charlotte, Durham and Hickory, North Carolina. Team USA's 26-man roster will then travel to Taiwan for the 19th USA vs. Chinese Taipei International Friendship Series after which USA Baseball will announce a final 24-man roster to compete in the 43rd USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Series from July 16-21 in Japan.

The Bulldogs (46-17) earned a National No. 4 seed for the 2019 NCAA Championships and advanced to the NCAA Athens Regional Final. Hancock and Wilcox were part of a staff that set school records for most strikeouts (601) and lowest opponent’s batting average (.200) plus posted the second-best ERA in school history at 3.24 and the second fewest runs allowed (235). They are the first Bulldogs to be invited to a USA CNT summer camp since shortstop Cam Shepherd in 2017.

The Bulldogs who toured with the USA Summer Team include pitcher Cris Carpenter (1987), pitcher Dave Fleming (1989), pitcher Brian Powell (1994), catcher Clint Sammons (2002), shortstop Kyle Farmer (2012) and pitcher Robert Tyler (2015).

Hancock and Wilcox are projected first round draft picks in the 2020 MLB Draft next June.

Listen

news

weather

traffic

mobile apps

Everything you love about wsbradio.com and more! Tap on any of the buttons below to download our app.

amazon alexa

Enable our Skill today to listen live at home on your Alexa Devices!