Photo by: Mark Natale | Louisville Athletics
Knapczyk, Payton Receive Invites to USA Collegiate National Team Training Camp
June 17, 2022 | Baseball
The pair will participate in the Stars vs. Stripes Intrasquad Series in North Carolina from June 30-July 4.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – University of Louisville sophomores Christian Knapczyk and Jack Payton have received invitations to the 2022 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp.
The USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp will feature 48-50 of the premier non-draft eligible college players for a five-game Stars vs. Stripes intrasquad series in North Carolina from June 30–July 4. USA Baseball will name a final, 26-man Collegiate National Team roster after Training Camp that will represent the United States at Honkbalweek Haarlem in the Netherlands from July 9–15.
Louisville has had 10 players compete on the international stage with the Collegiate National Team, most recently with Reid Detmers and Lucas Dunn in 2019 playing for Dan McDonnell who served as the manager that summer.
Knapczyk had an outstanding sophomore season for the Cardinals this spring, hitting .346 with 12 doubles, four triples and a team-leading 72 runs scored. Despite missing 10 games in May due to injury, the Louisville shortstop still ranked second in the ACC in runs and was fourth nationally in runs per game. He also finished fourth in the ACC in triples and on-base percentage and was an All-Conference selection.
Payton moved into a starting role in his sophomore season with the Cardinals, starting 62 of Louisville's 64 games at catcher or designated hitter. An All-ACC selection, Payton finished the year with a .350 batting average, 23 doubles and 89 hits, all of which were team highs. His 23 doubles tied for the ACC lead and are tied for the fifth-most in a single season in program history.
The pair helped the Cardinals to a 42-21-1 overall record in 2022, capturing the program's fifth ACC Atlantic Division title in seven full seasons as members of the league. Louisville earned its 14th NCAA Tournament berth and won the NCAA Louisville Regional to secure the program's ninth Super Regional appearance.
The opening game of the Stars vs. Stripes series will take place at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina, at 7 p.m. ET on June 30. The Durham Bulls Athletic Park (DBAP) in Durham, North Carolina, will host games two, three, and four. The first pitches of games two and four are set for 6:35 p.m. ET on July 1 and 3, respectively, and game three will start at 5:05 p.m. ET. Training Camp will conclude with the series finale on July 4 at Truist Field, the home of the Charlotte Knights, in Charlotte, North Carolina, with the first pitch at 6:05 p.m. ET. All five games of the series will be available to watch on USABaseball.com.
Team USA will begin Honkbalweek Haarlem against Japan on July 9 at 8 a.m. ET (1 p.m. local time) before taking on Italy, Cuba, the Netherlands, and Curacao to close out group stage play. The second round of competition will then be played on July 14, ahead of the championship on July 15.
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USA COLLEGIATE NATIONAL TEAM PLAYERS
Mark Jurich – 2002
Tony Zych – 2009
Ryan Wright – 2010
Kyle Funkhouser – 2014
Zack Burdi – 2015
Brendan McKay – 2015, 2016
Corey Ray – 2015
Devin Hairston – 2016
Reid Detmers – 2019
Lucas Dunn – 2019
The USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp will feature 48-50 of the premier non-draft eligible college players for a five-game Stars vs. Stripes intrasquad series in North Carolina from June 30–July 4. USA Baseball will name a final, 26-man Collegiate National Team roster after Training Camp that will represent the United States at Honkbalweek Haarlem in the Netherlands from July 9–15.
Louisville has had 10 players compete on the international stage with the Collegiate National Team, most recently with Reid Detmers and Lucas Dunn in 2019 playing for Dan McDonnell who served as the manager that summer.
Knapczyk had an outstanding sophomore season for the Cardinals this spring, hitting .346 with 12 doubles, four triples and a team-leading 72 runs scored. Despite missing 10 games in May due to injury, the Louisville shortstop still ranked second in the ACC in runs and was fourth nationally in runs per game. He also finished fourth in the ACC in triples and on-base percentage and was an All-Conference selection.
Payton moved into a starting role in his sophomore season with the Cardinals, starting 62 of Louisville's 64 games at catcher or designated hitter. An All-ACC selection, Payton finished the year with a .350 batting average, 23 doubles and 89 hits, all of which were team highs. His 23 doubles tied for the ACC lead and are tied for the fifth-most in a single season in program history.
The pair helped the Cardinals to a 42-21-1 overall record in 2022, capturing the program's fifth ACC Atlantic Division title in seven full seasons as members of the league. Louisville earned its 14th NCAA Tournament berth and won the NCAA Louisville Regional to secure the program's ninth Super Regional appearance.
The opening game of the Stars vs. Stripes series will take place at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina, at 7 p.m. ET on June 30. The Durham Bulls Athletic Park (DBAP) in Durham, North Carolina, will host games two, three, and four. The first pitches of games two and four are set for 6:35 p.m. ET on July 1 and 3, respectively, and game three will start at 5:05 p.m. ET. Training Camp will conclude with the series finale on July 4 at Truist Field, the home of the Charlotte Knights, in Charlotte, North Carolina, with the first pitch at 6:05 p.m. ET. All five games of the series will be available to watch on USABaseball.com.
Team USA will begin Honkbalweek Haarlem against Japan on July 9 at 8 a.m. ET (1 p.m. local time) before taking on Italy, Cuba, the Netherlands, and Curacao to close out group stage play. The second round of competition will then be played on July 14, ahead of the championship on July 15.
FOLLOW LOUISVILLE BASEBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at @LouisvilleBSB.
USA COLLEGIATE NATIONAL TEAM PLAYERS
Mark Jurich – 2002
Tony Zych – 2009
Ryan Wright – 2010
Kyle Funkhouser – 2014
Zack Burdi – 2015
Brendan McKay – 2015, 2016
Corey Ray – 2015
Devin Hairston – 2016
Reid Detmers – 2019
Lucas Dunn – 2019
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