COLUMBIA, Mo. – Former Mizzou Baseball RHP Tanner Houck was one of 28 individuals selected to the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12 roster, announced Thursday by USA Baseball.
This will mark Houck's third career appearance on a USA Baseball roster, as he competed for the Collegiate National Team in 2015 and 2016. He became the first Tiger ever to earn a spot on the Collegiate National Team twice.
Following his 2015 performance with the Collegiate National Team, Houck earned USA Baseball's International Performance of the Year. The Collinsville, Illinois, native tossed 4.0 flawless innings en route to Team USA's combined no-hitter against Cuba. Overall in his 2015 stint, Houck led Team USA in innings pitched and strikeouts.
The U.S. will begin the WBSC Premier12 in Guadalajara, Mexico, from Nov. 2-4 as a member of Group A with the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Netherlands. The top two nations from Group A will then advance to the Super Round in Tokyo from Nov. 11-16.
The Premier12 is the first opportunity for Team USA to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The 28-man WBSC Premier12 roster is made up of 15 pitchers and 13 position players currently not on a Major League Baseball 40-man roster. It features six former national team alumni and seven current members of MLB Pipeline's Top 100 prospects list.
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