June 23, 2012

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DURHAM, N.C. - UCLA freshman right-hander David Berg has accepted an invitation to compete for the 2012 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, as announced Saturday by USA Baseball.

Among the nation's most successful relief pitchers in 2012, Berg went 5-3 with a 1.46 ERA in a nation-leading 50 appearances (all in relief). He led all Pac-12 pitchers with a 1.46 ERA and .165 opposing batting average as a freshman, setting the conference record with 50 appearances.

Berg finished his freshman campaign tied for second on the all-time NCAA Division I single-season appearances record list (50). South Carolina's John Taylor also appeared in 50 games in 2011. Berg pitched in 25 of the team's final 26 games.

Berg, a side-arming right-hander from Covina, Calif., becomes the sixth UCLA selection to the Collegiate National Team in the last four years and the seventh selection under eighth-year head coach John Savage. He joins teammate Adam Plutko on the 2012 Collegiate National Team Roster.

"We are very excited to have two of our pitchers represent Team USA this summer," Savage said. "David had an exceptional year out of the bullpen. He was as good as any setup reliever in the country."

Other recent UCLA players to compete for Team USA have included Gerrit Cole (2009, 2010), Steve Rodriguez (2010), Trevor Bauer (2009) and Brandon Crawford (2006).

Berg concluded his freshman season at UCLA having posted the school's fourth-lowest single-season ERA (1.46). Berg shattered UCLA's single-season appearances record, previously at 39 appearances (set by Dan Klein in 2010 and Bruce Baranick in 1972).

The schedule for this summer's team includes a five-game series against the Cuban National Team in Havana (July 5-9), as well as a trip to Haarlem, The Netherlands, for the Honkbal-Haarlem Baseball Week (July 14-22).

The 2012 Collegiate National Team will be coached by Tennessee head coach Dave Serrano. The team's assistant coaches include Jason Gill (head coach at Loyola Marymount), George Horton (head coach at Oregon) and Andy Stankiewicz (head coach at Grand Canyon).

USA Baseball selects its Collegiate National Team based on its professional teams' selection model. The player pool is primarily comprised of non-draft-eligible college players. Trials are no longer utilized to select the team.