TCU’s Baker to become ninth Frog to play for college Team USA
TCU first baseman Luken Baker will play for USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team this summer, the ninth TCU player to do so, the school announced Friday.
Baker, a sophomore from Spring, leads the Horned Frogs in home runs (four) and the Big 12 in walks (18) and runs scored (23) through 16 games entering a weekend series against Kansas.
He has started all 82 games at TCU, primarily as a designated hitter. He moved to first base this season and is hitting .333 with 14 runs batted in.
Baker played for USA Baseball’s 14-under team in 2011, 15-under team in 2012 and 18-under team in 2014.
Eight other TCU players have played for the Collegiate National Team, including catcher Evan Skoug last year. Jake Arrieta played in 2006, Kyle Winkler in 2010, Josh Elander and Andrew Mitchell in 2011, and Riley Ferrell, Brandon Finnegan and Preston Morrison in 2013.
TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle was manager of the 2013 team and an assistant on the 2006 team.
The 2017 team will train in North Carolina and host games against Chinese Taipei and Cuba in June and July.
Carlos Mendez: 817-390-7760, @calexmendez
This story was originally published March 17, 2017 at 2:55 PM with the headline "TCU’s Baker to become ninth Frog to play for college Team USA."