Georgia baseball’s Tre Phelps and Kolten Smith earned invitations to USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team (CNT) Training Camp. The two Bulldogs will each compete for a spot on either the International Friendship Series (IFS) roster or the Summer League (SL) roster.
The most recent Bulldog to play for Team USA is Charlie Condon, who hit .256 with 10 home runs in 10 games last summer. His most memorable moment came on July 4, when Condon hit a walk-off single to lift the U.S. over Chinese Taipei. Fireworks followed the game to celebrate the Fourth of July.
The season’s training camp begins next week in Cary, North Carolina. Following the camp’s conclusion on June 29, USA Baseball will announce the rosters. Alabama State’s José Vázquez will lead the IFS roster, while Coastal Carolina’s Gary Gilmore will manage the SL one.
Phelps and Smith contributed heavily to a Georgia team that finished with its best program record since 2019. In Wes Johnson’s first year at the helm, the Bulldogs made their first Super Regional in 16 years.
Phelps ended his freshman season with a .353 batting average, .441 OBP and 12 home runs. His performance earned him a spot on the Freshman All-American Second Team. Phelps’ versatility allowed Georgia to play him at five different positions, while his energy kept the Bulldogs loose.
Phelps’ teammates and coaches project a bright future for the Georgia-native, who will be one of the Bulldogs’ leaders next season.
“I’m so proud of that guy and can’t wait to see where his career goes,” Condon said after Georgia’s season-ending loss to NC State. “He’s going to be a big, big piece of this program going forward.”
Smith transitioned from a reliever to a starter late in the season. The move helped steady an inconsistent Georgia rotation. In just his second year, Smith led the Bulldogs in wins and tallied a team-high 105 strikeouts with only 20 walks.
“People always ask ‘how do you rack up strikeouts,’” Johnson said after Smith struck out 12 against Florida. “You’re around the zone, and then you’re able to command pitches and move them out of the zone.”
Smith and Phelps are both expected to be big pieces of the Bulldogs next season. However, first, they will turn their attention to Team USA.
