USA Baseball Blog

On the latest episode of Offseason Chatter, we catch up with USA Baseball alum Paul Sewald. Sewald talks about getting the call to join Team USA, his decision to continue the grind of playing professional baseball and how he owns the offseason both on and off the field. Sewald also shares a few of his favorites from the USA Baseball Shop.

Sewald was drafted in the 10th round of the MLB Draft by the New York Mets in 2012 and made his Major League debut on the mound in 2017. He was a member of Team USA’s 2015 Pan American Games Team where he made five appearances and allowed just one run on the way to a silver medal.

On the fifth episode of Offseason Chatter, we catch up with three-time USA Baseball alum Michael Hollimon. Hollimon talks about the differences of playing with Team USA at multiple levels, winning a gold medal twice in his career and what life as a player representative has been like. He also shares a few of his favorites from the USA Baseball Shop.

Hollimon was a member of the 1998 16U National Team, 2000 18U National Team and 2007 Professional Team, where he won two gold medals to bookend his time with Team USA. Along the way to his first gold-medal with the 16U Team, He scored a team-high 13 runs and recorded eight RBIs to go undefeated. He was a Minor League All-Star in 2006 and spent time in Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers in 2008.

On the latest episode of Offseason Chatter, we catch up with two-time Women’s National Team alum Alex Hugo. Hugo touches on being named MVP in the Women’s Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier, what it was like learning and excelling in baseball after a lengthy softball career, and what training this year has looked like for her. Hugo also shares a few of her favorites from the USA Baseball Shop.

Hugo played softball at the University of Georgia from 2014-2016 where she was an All-SEC First Team selection each year and set multiple records that still stand. She was drafted 10th overall in the National Pro Fastpitch league by the Akron Racers in 2016 before making her USA Baseball debut in 2018. In 2019, she held a .652 batting average with four home runs along the way to winning gold and being named MVP in the COPABE Women's Pan-American Championships, qualifying Team USA for the WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup 2020.