Elon’s Brnovich Selected to 2018 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team

ELON, N.C. – Elon University sophomore right-handed pitcher Kyle Brnovich has accepted an invitation to join the 24-man USA Baseball Collegiate National Team roster this summer.

2018 Collegiate National Team Schedule

“This is a huge honor and I’m very excited to represent the United States this summer,” said Brnovich. “I’m very thankful for the opportunity and I am looking forward to playing the game I love for my country.”

The 2017 Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Year, Brnovich ranks second nationally with 132 strikeouts this season. That number is an Elon single-season record and ranks 10th on the CAA’s single-season chart. The resident of Milton, Ga., also ranks among the national leaders with a 1.83 ERA (26th), 4.79 hits allowed per nine innings (fourth), 13.45 strikeouts per nine innings (sixth) and a 0.91 WHIP (20th). Brnovich is 7-2 on the year and has held opponents to a .156 batting average over 88.1 innings of work.

Brnovich has made 13 starts this season and has struck out 10 or more eight times. He has twice fanned a season-best 14 hitters and has thrown one complete game. He is on the watch list for both the Golden Spikes Award and the College Baseball Foundation’s Pitcher of the Year Award.

Over his two seasons at Elon, Brnovich has gone 13-7 with a 2.47 ERA. His 235 career strikeouts rank fifth in program history.

“I am so excited and thrilled for Kyle,” said Elon head coach Mike Kennedy who served as the pitching coach for the Collegiate National Team in 2009. “Very few get the chance to represent their country. To be a part of USA Baseball and the Collegiate National Team is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I know he will take full advantage of. Kyle has had an awesome spring and I know he will work very hard to duplicate that with Team USA. USA Baseball is getting a great one!”

Brnovich will be the first Elon baseball player to don the Stars and Stripes.

Brnovich will have the opportunity to play alongside some of the top collegiate players in the country and for a top-notch coaching staff. The head coach of the 2018 team is LSU’s Paul Mainieri. East Carolina head coach Cliff Godwin will serve as an assistant, while Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor will be the team’s pitching coach. Serving as the team’s bench coach will be Jim Hendry of the New York Yankees. Jorge Perez of St. Thomas will also serve as an assistant coach.

The USA Baseball Collegiate National Team will participate in three international friendship series in 2018, beginning with the 18th USA vs. Chinese Taipei International Friendship Series that will be held in North Carolina from June 28-July 2. The U.S. will then compete in the 42nd USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Series from July 3-9 with games being held in North Carolina, Georgia and South Carolina. Finally, the team will participate in the 7th Annual USA vs. Cuba International Friendship Series in Cuba from July 13-18. Seven Collegiate National Team games will be streamed live on USABaseball.com, as well as Facebook Live and YouTube.

For more information on the USA Baseball and the Collegiate National Team, follow @USABaseball on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter; and @USABaseballCNT on Twitter.