The 2025 18U National Team Roster finalized the 20 man roster that will compete in the World Baseball U-18 Baseball World Cup that will take place in Okinawa, Japan from September 5th to 14th. The final roster was announced by USA Baseball after the second phase of training camp, which featured 42 of the best high school players around the nation in Cary, North Carolina.
18U National Team Manager Manager Rick Eckstein stated “It is always difficult to decide a final roster, and this year has been no different.” Eckstein isn’t wrong as the amount of talented players that went through Phase one and two of training and those that did not make the team is staggering, but that just shows how talented the national roster selected is and the work that they have put in to make the final roster.
While the 2025 roster features five Team USA alumni, the headline is Texas Longhorn Baseball commit Grady Emerson, who is appearing on a USA Baseball national team for the fourth summer in a row. Even more impressively, Emerson is the first player in USA Baseball history to appear and play on two 15U National Teams and two 18U National Teams. Emerson, already a two-time gold medalist from 2022 and 2024, will look to lead the stars and stripes to glory this summer in Okinawa.
Emerson is one of the most polished hitters in the class and is one of the top ranked prospects in the nation for the 2026 MLB Draft. While the hit tool is very loud and stands out, Emerson is well built physically for his age and has good athleticism with a strong throwing arm. All of this should allow him to stay on the left side of the infield long term. In addition to being named to the 18U National Team roster, Grady Emerson was previously named the Dick’s 5-Tool Award winner after the All-American Classic.
In addition to Grady Emerson, Texas Baseball commit RHP Trey Rangel has also made the final roster after an impressive summer on the mound. For those unfamiliar with Rangel, he is a hard throwing righty that runs his fastball up to 98, but typically sits in the 94-96 range with great shape and movement. In addition, Rangel throws a changeup that sits 87 and an elite sweeper that sits in the low 80s with a spin rate of over 3,000 RPM. In addition to being named to the 18U National Team roster, Trey Rangel was named the Pitchcom Scholar Award winner for his performance during the All-American Classic earlier this summer.
The United States 18U National Team will begin its title defense on September 4th against Panama. For the full schedule, check out the USA Baseball website for dates, times, and locations. https://www.usabaseball.com/team/18u/schedule
