Loganville Baseball Player Chosen for U14 USA Development Team

As the first ever 14U National Team Development Program team members began arriving Friday in Cary, NC, Loganville was well represented. Morgan Copeland, a 13-year-old rising baseball star with the Georgia Select team, was one of the 40 players nationwide chosen to join the team.

“The is a new program by USA Baseball and Morgan was one of only two players chosen from Georgia to attend,” said Scott Ward, who manages the Georgia Select Team out of Loganville. “We’ve had some success with some of our older players, but Morgan is the first one who started with us from the beginning and has come up through the ranks.”

Copeland, who was chosen for his catching skills, left Loganville Friday for a week at the National Training Complex in North Carolina. He has been playing baseball since he was 6 years old and now, just seven years in, he has a real shot at making a career of it.

According to a press release from USA Baseball, the 40-member development team arrived Friday, were given their gear, a visual performance test and then sat down to a team dinner. The whole week is designed to teach these young athletes the correct skills and protocol to become professional baseball athletes.

“They will learn how best to present themselves to scouts, how to deal with the media – everything they need to know to become professional athletes,” Ward said.

Copeland, a rising eighth-grader at said he was very excited about the opportunity.

“I think it will help me a lot. It will help with scouts looking at me more,” said Copeland, who makes no secret of his major league aspirations. “I would like to go to a D1 college and try to make it to the professional level.”

Ward thinks his young protégée has a good shot at reaching his goals.

“He was chosen to go as a catcher because of the leadership skills he displays in directing the game from the catcher’s position,” Ward said.

During his week in North Carolina, Copeland and his fellow U14 National Development Team members will be split into a red and a blue team and get to compete against each other in four games. When not training or on the field, the young players will be engaged in the various off-field educational opportunities. These will focus on strength and conditioning, nutrition, NCAA compliance, umpire education/interaction, media training, and character development.

“It’s a great opportunity for Morgan - we’re proud of him,” Ward said.

About USA Baseball

USA Baseball is the national governing body for the sport of baseball in the United States and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the International Baseball Federation (IBAF).  The organization selects and trains the World Baseball Classic, World Cup and Pan American teams (and all other USA Baseball professional teams); and the Collegiate, 18U, 15U, and Women’s National Teams, all of which participate in various domestic and international competitions each year.  USA Baseball also presents the Golden Spikes Award annually to the top amateur baseball player in the country.  For more information, please visit USABaseball.com and GoldenSpikesAward.com.