DAYTON/CARY, N.C. – Wright State head baseball coach Alex Sogard has been named to the 2021 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team coaching staff, USA Baseball announced on Wednesday afternoon.
 
This year's USA Baseball Collegiate team will feature 48 of the top non-draft-eligible collegiate players in the country on two 24-man rosters, the Stars and Stripes, with Sogard tabbed to manage the Stars squad.
 
"I'm extremely honored for this opportunity. To be able to wear USA across my chest has always been a lifelong dream," Sogard said. "I'm also thrilled that I get to coach alongside my former college coach, Elliott Avent. He is a mentor of mine, he's an incredible person and he's someone I have always looked up to. He had a tremendous impact on me as a person, a player, and now a coach, and coaching with him will be something I will cherish forever. I am very grateful and excited to wear the colors and represent this great country."
 
Joining Elliot Avent (Manager; NC State) on staff is Bobby Austin (Mississippi State), Dan Hartleb (Illinois), Kevin O'Sullivan (Florida), Kobe Phillips (NC Central), Josh Pike (NC State), Troy Tulowitzki (Texas), Jerry Weinstein (Colorado Rockies) and Sogard. Florida Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan will serve as Team USA's pitching coach and assisting him as the pitching coach technician will be Josh Pike of North Carolina State.
 
The Stars coaching staff will be led by Sogard, who will work alongside Illinois Head Coach Dan Hartleb (assistant coach) and Bobby Austin (bullpen coach). American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Jerry Weinstein will manage the Stripes with University of Texas assistant Troy Tulowitzki serving as the team's assistant coach and Kobe Phillips as the bullpen coach.
 
"We are honored to welcome eight tremendous coaches to assist the Collegiate National Team this summer," said USA Baseball General Manager of National Teams Eric Campbell. "This year will be unique for the Collegiate program as we welcome in forty-eight athletes to represent Team USA. As we constructed this season for the athletes, the need for an experienced and versatile coaching staff became a priority to heighten the overall development experience, and we are confident that we have done just that. These coaches bring a wealth of knowledge that will impact every single athlete who will wear the red, white, and blue in a positive way now and for many years to come."
 
This year's Collegiate team will play an 11-game tour of intrasquad games. Team USA will play its Fourth of July game at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina, and the remaining schedule will take place in the cities of the Appalachian League. The Appalachian League is in its first year as a summer collegiate league as part of Major League Baseball and USA Baseball's Prospect Development Pipeline, and a national team identification opportunity for future Collegiate and Professional National Teams.
 
Sogard recently completed his third season at the helm of Wright State, leading the Raiders to a Horizon League Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament this spring. The Phoenix, Arizona, native led the Raiders to a 42-17 record in 2019, the most wins by a first-year head coach in program history. Wright State beat three ranked teams in 2019 and took down top-ranked Louisville in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign before going 35-13 in 2021 on the way to the Horizon League regular season and tournament titles.
 
As a player, Sogard spent two seasons at Oregon State, which won the national championship both years (2006, 2007), before transferring to North Carolina State to play his final three seasons under Avent. He then played at the professional level for six years, reaching as high as Triple-A in the Houston Astros organization. Sogard's brother, Eric, currently plays for the Chicago Cubs.