Former Tiger Tyler Colvin To Represent Team USA in Baseball World Cup

Oct. 4, 2007

Clemson, SC – Former Tiger outfielder Tyler Colvin was one of 24 players selected to represent the United States in the 2007 International Baseball Federation (IBAF) World Cup in Chinese Taipei from November 6-18. The roster is comprised of professional, non-25 man roster players of the 30 Major League-affiliated organizations.

Colvin played this past season for the Daytona Cubs, the A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, and Tennessee Smokies, the Cubs’ AA affiliate. In a combined 125 games in 2007, he hit .299 with 72 runs scored, 35 doubles, five triples, 16 home runs, 81 RBIs, and 17 stolen bases.

The North Augusta, SC native, who lettered at Clemson three times (2004-06), was a career .315 hitter in 186 games (165 starts) in a Tiger uniform. He also totaled 210 hits, 54 doubles, 20 homers, 142 RBIs, and 39 steals in three seasons.

Colvin’s best season came in 2006, when he batted .356 with 100 hits, 22 doubles, five triples, 13 homers, 70 RBIs, and 23 stolen bases on his way to being named a first-team All-American by NCBWA and Baseball America. He led the Tigers to the College World Series and a #5 final ranking in all three major polls in 2006. In the summer of 2006, he was also drafted in the first round (#13 overall pick) by the Cubs.

Sixteen countries will begin IBAF World Cup competition in two groups of eight teams, with the top four of each group advancing to the quarterfinals after seven days of round-robin play. Joining the United States in Group A will be Chinese Taipei, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Panama, South Africa, and Spain. Group B will feature Australia, Canada, Cuba, Germany, Korea, Netherlands, Thailand, and Venezuela.

As a tune-up for the IBAF World Cup, Team USA will spend more than a week in Arizona at the Arizona Fall League (AFL). Along with the Chinese National team, the United States will compete as part of an international division against the traditional six teams of the AFL. The United States, led by Field Manager Davey Johnson, will begin play on October 25 and will play its final game in the AFL on November 1 before leaving for Chinese Taipei.