University of North Carolina Athletics
Woodard Named To USA Baseball Tournament Of Stars Staff
June 23, 2017 | Baseball
DURHAM, N.C. --- USA Baseball announced the task force and coaching staffs that will lead 80 of the nation's best 18-and-under players in the 2017 Tournament of Stars presented by Major League Baseball on Thursday, and North Carolina pitching coach Robert Woodard is among those included.
The staff, which is made up former professional players, respected collegiate and high school coaches and Major League scouts, will guide and evaluate this year's athletes in the event at the National Training Complex June 26-July 1.
Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM) will stream the bronze and gold medal games live on USABaseball.com and MLB.com on Saturday, July 1.
The coaching staff and task force will assist the 18U National Team coaching staff in identifying athletes to be invited to the USA Baseball 18U National Team Trials, which will be held August 19-24 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Andy Stankiewicz will lead the 18U National Team for the second time in his career. In his first stint as manager, he led the 18U team to a gold medal in the 2014 COPABE Pan Am “AAA” Championships in La Paz, Mexico.
This year's Tournament of Stars participants will be divided into four teams of 20 players (Brave, Free, Pride and United), and each team staff will be comprised of a manager, assistant coach and pitching coach.
Atlanta Braves' Special Assistant to Baseball Operations, and 19-year MLB veteran, Fred McGriff, will lead the Brave team. McGriff will be joined by assistant coach Chris Carter and pitching coach Robert Woodard.
Former Clemson University head coach Jack Leggett will manage the Free team. Five-time MLB All-Star Todd Helton will join him as an assistant coach and former UNC star Scott Bankhead will round out the team's staff as the pitching coach.
The Tournament of Stars is made up of 80 of the best baseball players in the country that are international age-eligible (Born January 1, 1999 or 2000) for 18U National Team consideration. The event serves as the primary pool of talent from which USA Baseball will select its team to compete in the 2017 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 World Cup in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. The World Cup will be played from September 1-10.
Team USA is the three-time defending World Cup champion and will look to become the second country to win four-straight gold medals in the tournament.
The complete list of Tournament of Stars staff and task force and their bios are as follows:
Name, Coaching Position
DeAndre Asbury-Heath, Task Force
Scott Bankhead, Free Pitching Coach
Willy Banks, United Pitching Coach
Joe Barbera, Position Rover
Taylor Black, Task Force
Chris Carter, Brave Assistant Coach
Jesse Cassard, United Assistant Coach
Royce Clayton, Pride Manager
Daniel Coles, Task Force
Todd Helton, Free Assistant Coach
Rick Jones, United Manager
Jack Leggett, Free Manager
Fred McGriff, Brave Manager
Ricky Meinhold, Pitching Rover
Mark Ross, Pride Pitching Coach
Ryan Schmidt, Task Force
Steve Stone, Pride Assistant Coach
Wes Theriot, Task Force
Robert Woodard, Brave Pitching Coach
Scott Bankhead is the owner of the North Carolina Baseball Academy and is no stranger to suiting up for Team USA. He served as an 18U National Team Trials coach in 2016 and was a member of the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Team. Bankhead was the 16th overall pick in the 1984 MLB Draft out of the University of North Carolina and he spent ten seasons in the Major Leagues, pitching for the Kansas City Royals, Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. He finished his professional career with a 4.18 ERA over 901.0 innings.
Robert Woodard finished his first year as the pitching coach at the University of North Carolina after serving as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Virginia Tech. Prior to joining the Hokies staff in 2013, Woodard coached at UNC, his alma mater, and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Woodard is the Tar Heels' all-time winningest pitcher with a record of 34-5 and spent three years in the San Diego Padres' farm system after being selected in the 20th round of the 2007 MLB Draft. The Charlotte, N.C., native has also coached for the Orleans Cardinals of the Cape Cod League. In 2016, Woodard made his Tournament of Stars debut as a pitching rover at the event, and he also served as a coach at the 2016 17U National Team Development Program (NTDP).
About USA Baseball
USA Baseball is the national governing body for the sport of baseball in the United States and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The organization selects and trains the World Baseball Classic, Olympic, Premier12 and Pan Am teams (and all other USA Baseball Professional Teams); the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team; the USA Baseball 18U, 15U and 12U National Teams; and the USA Baseball Women's National Team, all of which participate in various international competitions each year. The organization is responsible for the continued proliferation and health of the sport, and leads a number of amateur initiatives including PLAYBALL and Pitch Smart. USA Baseball also presents the Golden Spikes Award annually to the top amateur baseball player in the country. For more information, please visit the organization's official websites: USABaseball.com, USABaseball.Education, PLAYBALL.org, PitchSmart.org, GoldenSpikesAward.com and USABaseballShop.com.
