Jones set to lead Team USA in 2009

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FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
Durham, N.C. – USA Baseball announced today the naming of Tulane’s Rick Jones as head coach of the 2009 USA Baseball National Team (Collegiate).

Jones is the head coach at Tulane University in New Orleans, La., and he is coming off a 2008 campaign that was his 15th at the helm of the Green Wave baseball program. Over his career at Tulane, Jones has tallied a 639-306-2 record (.674), including a 257-127-2 mark in Conference USA play, which is more wins than any other league school. Inheriting a team that had been to the NCAA Regionals seven times in its previous 101 years of existence, Jones took the Green Wave to the postseason in his first season, again in 1996 and every year from 1998-2007.

“This is a tremendous honor and I am very excited to represent our country as the head coach of the USA Baseball National Team,” Jones said. “Having been an assistant coach on the 1989 Presidential Cup squad and with the 1990 national team, I fully understand what a privilege and responsibility it is to put on the hat and jersey with our stars and stripes. I am looking forward to the 2009 tour in the states and abroad, and leading our nation’s best players. This is a great opportunity for me to represent our country and Tulane University.”

Jones was part of the 1990 USA Baseball National Team coaching staff where he served as the squad’s pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. He helped lead Team USA to a bronze medal at the Goodwill Games and a silver medal at the Presidential Cup in Taiwan.

“It’s wonderful having Rick involved with the National Team program again,” says Eric Campbell, General Manager of the USA Baseball National Team. “His international experience will be invaluable as we begin to lay the groundwork for the 2009 team.”

Before coming to Tulane, Jones was the assistant head coach at national power Georgia Tech from 1990-93 where he coached the pitchers for four years and served as the Yellow Jackets’ recruiting coordinator for three seasons. During his stint in Atlanta, Jones helped the Yellow Jackets to four consecutive NCAA Regionals, and his recruiting classes were nationally ranked each year and included the likes of Nomar Garciaparra and Jay Payton.

Jones has also held head coaching positions at Elon College (Elon, N.C.), Ferrum College (Ferrum, Va.) and E.E. Smith High School (Fayetteville, N.C.).

Rick Jones Opening Statement from Today’s Press Conference:
“This is a tremendous honor and I am certainly proud to have the opportunity to be the head coach of our national team. Having coached the USA National Team in Taipei during the Presidential Cup in 1989 and again with the summer tour of 1990, I really have a good feel for what it is like to put on the USA uniform, whether it is in the states or abroad.

There is a lot of responsibility that goes with this, but this is something I have always wanted to do if I had the opportunity, and fortunately this is going to come to fruition in the summer of 2009. It’s going to be a busy summer with tours of Japan, Taiwan, the Netherlands, a West Coast swing, and also at least one game here at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium next summer with a date and opponent to be named later.

The team will be comprised of the 22 best collegiate players who are rising sophomores and juniors. I would expect there will be some local talent between ourselves and the other schools in the area on the ballclub next year, which would certainly create more interest as far as the tour is concerned, especially when you consider the tradition we have with college baseball in this area.

It’s about a two-month process and we’ll begin this fall with the selection of three assistant coaches to my coaching staff, a finalized schedule and finally the selection process of the team which will continue throughout next spring. My staff and I will have conference calls with USA Baseball and extend the invitations to those players who will attend the trials at the home complex for USA Baseball in Cary, North Carolina.”