USA Baseball has announced that the 2009 USA Baseball National Team (Collegiate) coaching staff will include Elon Phoenix skipper Mike Kennedy. Former Elon head coach Rick Jones is the head coach for the 2009 squad.
“I am very excited about this opportunity with USA Baseball,” said Kennedy, a Fayetteville, N.C. native. “I am grateful to the staff at USA Baseball and especially to Coach Rick Jones for entrusting me with this position. I have always wanted to work along side of Coach Jones and to do so on this stage is a dream come true.
“I believe this honor is a reflection of where our program at Elon is and I hope that my coaching staff, as well as our current and former players, take pride in this honor.”
Joining head coach Rick Jones (Tulane) are assistant coaches Kennedy, Rob Cooper (Wright State) and Dan McDonnell (Louisville). Cooper and Kennedy have both worked with Jones before, as a coach and player, respectively.
Kennedy will be the pitching coach for the 2009 National Team. Kennedy is going into his 13th year as the head coach of the Phoenix, and he is the winningest coach in school history. Elon won the 2008 Southern Conference regular season and tournament titles, and it finished third at the NCAA Baseball Championships Cary, N.C. Regional.
Before being named head coach, Kennedy served as Elon’s pitching coach for four years. He also played catcher under Jones from 1988-89 at Elon, and later spent time in the minor leagues as a member of the Oakland A’s organization.
“Mike shares a rich tradition with Coach Jones at Elon,” said Eric Campbell, general manager of the USA Baseball National Team. “He has continued to take the Elon program to new levels, and his experience as a college and professional player will help our players prepare for their future transitions.”
Coming off of an unbeaten summer (24-0), and a gold medal at the FISU World University Baseball Championships, the National Team will participate in the annual USA vs. Japan Collegiate Championship Series in Japan and then compete in the World Baseball Challenge in Prince George, British Columbia (Canada).
USA Baseball is the National Governing Body of amateur baseball in the United States and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The organization selects and trains the United States Olympic Baseball Team (and all other USA Baseball Professional Teams); the USA Baseball National Team (collegiate); the USA Baseball 18U, 16U and 14U National Teams; and the USA Baseball Women’s National Team, all of which participate in various international competitions each year.