A pair of high school students from Indiana will be playing for USA Baseball

Indianapolis, Indiana – This year, the 15U National Team for USA Baseball will be experiencing some Hoosier hospitality to celebrate the season.

Both Gavin Markus, a freshman from Greenfield, and Cooper Collins, a freshman from Vincennes, will be dressed in the stars and stripes when they go to Atlanta in September to compete in an international series against Australia.

Following the 2024 15U National Team training camp, which took place at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina, at the beginning of August, the roster of twenty players was announced.

“Determining a 20-man roster for this year’s 15U National Team was a very difficult process,” said Rob Shabanksy, the manager of the 15U National Team. “This was due to the high level of talent, competition, and versatility that was displayed at this year’s Training Camp.” In spite of this, we are certain that the twenty players that we have chosen are capable of and will achieve success on the world level. This conclusion was reached after careful analysis. The most important thing is that we are thrilled that they will compete in the finest possible manner while representing the United States of America.

Prep Baseball Report has classified Markus, a right-handed pitcher, as the fourth top prospect in the state out of all the players in the state.

Markus is a two-time Junior Future Gamer for Team Indiana, and according to Cooper Trinkle, the lead scout for Prep Baseball Report Indiana, he appears to be “next in line” to carry on Indiana’s heritage of developing arm talent. “The high-waisted, 6-foot-1, 156-pounder exudes athleticism inside the delivery and demonstrates clean, rapid arm action that delivers a fastball that is now in the mid-80s. This number is expected to skyrocket as he gains strength to his projectable frame. Markus is a strike-thrower, and he also possesses one of the best breaking balls in the class. It is a low-70s offering with a slurvey shape that offers glimpses of a pitch that has great potential for the future.

After playing travel ball together with the Indiana Bulls, Markus and Collins, a catcher who hits hard, are familiar with each other and have a good understanding of each other.