Echols Earns A Spot on Junior National Training Team

Michigan State freshman Charla Echols (Newnan, Ga.) has been named to the 2019 Junior National Training Team, as announced on Wednesday by USA Softball. Selected by members of the Women's National Team Selection Committee (WNTSC), these athletes will compete in select tournaments/invitational events before the final 17-player roster for the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-19 Women's Softball World Cup will be finalized.

"I am extremely excited for the opportunity that Charla has in front of her," said Spartan head coach Jacquie Joseph. "She has made a name for herself in high school and club ball, culminating with her excellent performance last summer at PGF Nationals. She's supremely talented and her selection is not a surprise. We're about 10 days away from the start of our preseason, and I'm excited to see her in our lineup as we embark on our 2019 campaign. She will have several opportunities to let her game speak for itself both in our challenging Big Ten schedule and also on the national stage."

Two other Spartans have made the USA Junior National Team – Tiffany Thomas earned a silver medal in 1999, while Bianca Meija was on both the 2006 and 2007 U-19 squads.

Collegiately, eight NCAA Division I universities have student-athletes on the 2019 training team roster – Alabama and UCLA each have two athletes while Baylor, Florida State, Michigan State, Oregon, Oregon State and Washington are each represented by one student-athlete.

"I'm super excited about this summer!," said Echols. "Meeting all the girls and now getting the chance to work with them to represent the United States is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I want to thank Coach Tarr and the Team USA selection committee for giving me the chance. I get to start my first collegiate season in the next couple of weeks, so there is a lot to look forward to in 2019. I cannot wait to get to work."

"The 2019 19-Under team was selected based on dominant pitching, defense and offense," said 2019 JWNT Head Coach Heather Tarr (Redmond, Wash./Head Coach at Washington). "The team will be led by the current college freshmen in the NCAA. We are excited to begin our journey together in pursuit of the Gold Medal this August in Irvine, California. I want to thank all of the athletes who competed in the tryout process. We appreciate the work done by the coaches and USA Softball staff at the trials and the committee members who were involved in the selection of this year's team."

"The players on this team all come from Championship JO programs and each has a background in playing for Championships. I am excited to help these women reach their personal goals as athletes while at the same time help guide them to become the best 19-Under softball team in the world by August," Tarr continued.

Players Mentioned

Charla Echols

Related Videos