Baseball's Michael Aubrey Earns A Spot On Team USA
Jun 24, 2002 | Baseball
June 24, 2002
NEW ORLEANS, La. - For the third consecutive season, Tulane University baseball standout Michael Aubrey will represent his country as a member of Team USA, USA Baseball announced today with the release of its 22-man National Team roster.
Aubrey, a Junior National Team member in 2000 and National Team veteran of 2001, is one of three players from a Louisiana school on the squad, joining fellow infielders Rickie Weeks of Southern and Aaron Hill of LSU, and one of three Conference USA members on the team as Louisville outfielder Mark Jurich and Houston pitcher Brad Sullivan also earned spots on the club.
"It's certainly an honor to make the team again, and it will be fun to travel the States and play in the first ever world championship," Aubrey said. "It's going to be a great experience, especially with the guys who were here last year, and I look forward to developing relationships with the new guys."
Aubrey's selection marks the third consecutive year Tulane has been represented on the National Team as Jake Gautreau made the team in 2000 before Aubrey and Anthony Giarratano were on the team in 2001. Aubrey, meanwhile, is the first Green Wave player to earn the distinction two years in a row.
In 2002, Aubrey tied for third on the team with a .316 batting average, clubbed 15 doubles, hit seven home runs and drove in 52. Aubrey tallied 23 multiple-hit games, including six three-hit outings, and 15-multiple RBI contests, including a trio of four-RBI games.
On the mound, Aubrey was 8-1 in 11 starts before a back injury suffered in late April took him out of the pitching rotation. He tied a career-high with eight strikeouts at Memphis (April 6) and again the following week at UAB (April 13).
With Team USA last year, Aubrey hit .233 with two home runs, two doubles, a triple and eight RBI while also pitching one shutout inning to help the National Team finish 21-7-1. As a member of the Junior National Team in 2000, Aubrey helped Team USA win the silver medal at the IBA World Junior Championships in Edmonton, Canada.
Team USA will play a total of 30 games this summer, including 17 on the domestic side of their Red, White and Blue Summer Tour. From there, the National Team will travel to The Netherlands for international competition before closing out the summer with the FISU World Championships in Messina, Italy from Aug. 3-11.
NOTE: Michael Aubrey will give Green Wave fans an exclusive look inside Team USA this summer on the official website of Tulane Atheltics, www.tulanegreenwave.com. As Aubrey and Team USA travel the globe representing the country, Aubrey will write a journal discussing, among many topics, the games themselves as well as the towns the team visits and other Team USA activities. Check back soon to read Aubrey's first journal entry.
