Prado Named Head Coach of 2002 USA Baseball National Team
January 24, 2002 | Baseball
Jan. 24, 2002
Press Conference Audio:
TUCSON, Ariz. - Lelo Prado will serve as Head Coach of the 2002 USA Baseball National Team of collegiate all-stars that will play approximately 30 games on the USA Baseball Red, White and Blue Tour this summer, the organization announced today. Prado, the current Head Coach at the University of Louisville, succeeds the University of Florida's Pat McMahon - who directed the 2001 squad to a 21-7-1 mark.
"Coach Prado has been a strong supporter of our National Team program in the past, and we look forward to having him as our head coach for the first time this summer," said Paul Seiler, USA Baseball Executive Director/CEO. "His leadership both on and off the field will certainly be beneficial to our young players, as we try to capture the first ever collegiate level World Championship."
Prado becomes the first ever coach from Conference USA to take over the USA National Team program, after serving two previous coaching stints with USA Baseball. The first came in 1997, when he was a coach at the USA National Team Trials in Tucson, Arizona. The second occurred three summers later in 2000, when he worked under head coach Mike Gillespie (USC) as an assistant for a Team USA squad that posted the program's all-time highest winning percentage for a summer (.900), with a 27-3-1 record.
In June, USA Baseball will invite approximately 40 of the nation's top freshman and sophomore collegiate players to the USA Baseball National Team Trials in Tucson, Arizona. Prado and his coaching staff will select a team, then depart for the east coast to play a five-game series against the Japanese Collegiate All-Stars - the 31st annual meeting of the two countries. Team USA will then play approximately 10-15 additional games in July in various states on the USA Red, White and Blue Tour before traveling to the Honkbal Baseball Classic in Haarlem, The Netherlands in late July. Team USA's summer will climax at the first ever FISU World Baseball Championships in Sicily and Messina, Italy, August 1-11.
"This has been a lifelong coaching goal of mine, and there is no greater honor than representing the United States," said Prado. "I am truly thrilled to continue my relationship with USA Baseball, and look forward to an exciting summer."
Prado's Assistant Coaching and Support staff will be announced in the coming months, as will the complete USA Baseball National Team Schedule. Fans and Media can get updated information and follow the USA Baseball National Team this summer by logging on to www.usabaseball.com - the official website of USA Baseball.
HEAD COACH LELO PRADO - University of Louisville
- Is entering his 7th season as head coach of Conference USA's Louisville Cardinals.
- Has compiled a 13-year, 436-301-2 career mark as a head coach at Division II Tampa and Louisville.
- Won back-to-back Division II National Championships as the head coach for the University of Tampa in 1992 & '93.
- Served as an Assistant Coach on the 2000 USA Baseball National Team that posted the program's highest winning percentage in history (.900), with a 27-3-1 overall record.
- Was also a trials Coach at the 1997 USA Baseball National Team Trials in Tucson, Arizona and served on the 1996 USA Baseball Olympic Team Selection Committee.
USA Baseball is the National Governing Body of amateur baseball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The organization selects and trains the USA Baseball Olympic Team, the USA Baseball National Team (Collegiate), the USA Baseball Junior National Team (18-under), and the USA Baseball Youth National Team (16-under) which participate in various international competitions each year.
Release courtesy of USA Baseball
