Photo by: Quinn Bezenah
Former Spartan Baseball Player Sam Benschoter Tabbed To USA Baseball Roster for 2024 Premier12
10/21/2024 4:08:00 PM | Baseball
USA To Face Puerto Rico In First Game Of World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12™
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Former Michigan State baseball player Sam Benschoter has been named to the USA Baseball roster for the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12™ presented by RAXUS, announced Monday afternoon.
The 28-player U.S. roster comprises 15 pitchers and 13 position players who are not currently on Major League Baseball 40-man rosters, and features four USA Baseball alumni as well as four MLB Pipeline Top 100 prospects.
Team USA is one of six teams in Group A and will compete in the group stage from November 9-14 in Guadalajara and Tepic, Mexico, opening with Puerto Rico on Nov. 9.
A member of the Cincinnati Reds system, Benschoter split the 2024 campaign between the AA Chattanooga Lookouts and the AAA Louisville Bats, pitching to a 4.33 ERA with 101 strikeouts in 104 innings. Benschoter posted a 3.95 ERA in 27 appearances (10 starts) in Double-A.
Benschoter signed a non-drafted free agent contract with the Cincinnati Reds in July of 2021.
A native of Tecumseh, Michigan, Benschoter, finished with 143 strikeouts in 45 career appearances. In 2021, he tied for 12th in the B1G with 79 strikeouts, posting three wins in eight starts in 69.1 IP. Benschoter also finished eighth in the B1G in strikeouts per nine innings (10.3).
He opened the 2021 season in explosive fashion, firing a then career-high 10 strikeouts in a 6-0 shutout Victory for MSU over Maryland in the 2021 season-opener on March 5 at Fluor Field in Greenville, South Carolina, going a career-high 8.0 innings, scattering just five hits to a Maryland offense that hit .258 as a team, and the Spartan hurler stymied the Terrapin offense, shutting them out after they led the Big Ten the previous year with 111 runs in 15 games (7.4 runs per game), including striking out well-decorated Preseason Award winner Maxwell Costes twice as part of holding him to 0-3.
Benschoter had another smashing outing on April 25, striking out a modern day school record 17 batters vs. B1G-leader Nebraska in 9.1 IP of relief. The 17 strikeouts was the most in modern day school history, bettering Mark Mulder's 16 Ks against Campbell on March 7, 1998. He was named to Collegiate Baseball National Players of the Week list and was named the Big Ten Conference Baseball Co-Pitcher of the Week for his performance. Coming into game to start the third inning, Benschoter struck out the side in the third and fifth innings on the way on the way to stymieing Nebraska bats, as they entered game leading the Big Ten in batting average, and he did not allow a hit until the eighth. The 17 Ks matched the most in the B1G this season and was tied for the second-most in a game in the NCAA that season, while the 9.1 IP was the most in the B1G and second-most in NCAA.
Team USA will be led by 19-year MLB managing veteran and Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics Manager Mike Scioscia in 2024. Scioscia is joined by an experienced staff, including Bench Coach Ron Roenicke, Pitching Coach Dave Wallace, and Hitting Coach Rick Eckstein. Dino Ebel (Third Base Coach), Jemile Weeks (First Base Coach), LaTroy Hawkins (Bullpen Coach), and Carlos Muñoz (Bullpen Catcher) complete the staff, which combines 84 seasons of big-league coaching experience.
The 2024 Premier12 will feature the world's 12 top-ranked teams (as of December 31, 2023) in an international competition in Japan, Mexico, and Taiwan. After placing second in the first rendition of the competition in 2015 and fourth in the 2019 tournament, Team USA looks for its first gold medal in Premier12 history. The team will begin its 2024 Premier12 campaign in Guadalajara and Tepic, Mexico, from November 9-14 and will look to advance to Tokyo, Japan, for the final round of the competition.
For more information on USA Baseball and the 2024 Professional National Team, follow @USABaseball on social media or visit USABaseball.com.
The 28-player U.S. roster comprises 15 pitchers and 13 position players who are not currently on Major League Baseball 40-man rosters, and features four USA Baseball alumni as well as four MLB Pipeline Top 100 prospects.
Team USA is one of six teams in Group A and will compete in the group stage from November 9-14 in Guadalajara and Tepic, Mexico, opening with Puerto Rico on Nov. 9.
A member of the Cincinnati Reds system, Benschoter split the 2024 campaign between the AA Chattanooga Lookouts and the AAA Louisville Bats, pitching to a 4.33 ERA with 101 strikeouts in 104 innings. Benschoter posted a 3.95 ERA in 27 appearances (10 starts) in Double-A.
Benschoter signed a non-drafted free agent contract with the Cincinnati Reds in July of 2021.
A native of Tecumseh, Michigan, Benschoter, finished with 143 strikeouts in 45 career appearances. In 2021, he tied for 12th in the B1G with 79 strikeouts, posting three wins in eight starts in 69.1 IP. Benschoter also finished eighth in the B1G in strikeouts per nine innings (10.3).
He opened the 2021 season in explosive fashion, firing a then career-high 10 strikeouts in a 6-0 shutout Victory for MSU over Maryland in the 2021 season-opener on March 5 at Fluor Field in Greenville, South Carolina, going a career-high 8.0 innings, scattering just five hits to a Maryland offense that hit .258 as a team, and the Spartan hurler stymied the Terrapin offense, shutting them out after they led the Big Ten the previous year with 111 runs in 15 games (7.4 runs per game), including striking out well-decorated Preseason Award winner Maxwell Costes twice as part of holding him to 0-3.
Benschoter had another smashing outing on April 25, striking out a modern day school record 17 batters vs. B1G-leader Nebraska in 9.1 IP of relief. The 17 strikeouts was the most in modern day school history, bettering Mark Mulder's 16 Ks against Campbell on March 7, 1998. He was named to Collegiate Baseball National Players of the Week list and was named the Big Ten Conference Baseball Co-Pitcher of the Week for his performance. Coming into game to start the third inning, Benschoter struck out the side in the third and fifth innings on the way on the way to stymieing Nebraska bats, as they entered game leading the Big Ten in batting average, and he did not allow a hit until the eighth. The 17 Ks matched the most in the B1G this season and was tied for the second-most in a game in the NCAA that season, while the 9.1 IP was the most in the B1G and second-most in NCAA.
Team USA will be led by 19-year MLB managing veteran and Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics Manager Mike Scioscia in 2024. Scioscia is joined by an experienced staff, including Bench Coach Ron Roenicke, Pitching Coach Dave Wallace, and Hitting Coach Rick Eckstein. Dino Ebel (Third Base Coach), Jemile Weeks (First Base Coach), LaTroy Hawkins (Bullpen Coach), and Carlos Muñoz (Bullpen Catcher) complete the staff, which combines 84 seasons of big-league coaching experience.
The 2024 Premier12 will feature the world's 12 top-ranked teams (as of December 31, 2023) in an international competition in Japan, Mexico, and Taiwan. After placing second in the first rendition of the competition in 2015 and fourth in the 2019 tournament, Team USA looks for its first gold medal in Premier12 history. The team will begin its 2024 Premier12 campaign in Guadalajara and Tepic, Mexico, from November 9-14 and will look to advance to Tokyo, Japan, for the final round of the competition.
For more information on USA Baseball and the 2024 Professional National Team, follow @USABaseball on social media or visit USABaseball.com.
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