Rutgers baseball: Christian Coppola makes USA Baseball Collegiate National Team

Christian Coppola makes the USA collegiate national team.

Over the last few months, Christian Coppola has made headlines for Rutgers on seemingly a weekly basis. That continued earlier this week when the New Jersey native was named to the USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team on Thursday afternoon. After shinning against Big Ten teams, Coppola will now get to showcase his skills on a global stage.

The New Jersey native is one of the 31 players who will represent the United States in a five-game series against Chinese Taipei and Japan from June 30-July 12 in North and South Carolina. Coppola’s selection is partly due to the fact that he shined in the intrasquad series. On Tuesday, he pitched 3.0 scoreless innings and allowed one baserunner.

Additionally, the talented righthander has joined special company. Todd Frazier (2006) and Bobby Brownlie (2001) are the only other players in Rutgers history to make the Collegiate National Team. Coppola is also the only Big Ten player on the roster this year.

After posting a 3.68 ERA in his first season in Piscataway, Coppola has created excitement for what his future holds. However, his recent news has not surprised many, including his head coach Steve Owens.

“We are all excited for Christian, who stepped up and performed very well against elite competition at the Collegiate National Team training camp,” Owens told Rutgers athletics. “I’m sure he will enjoy the next two weeks competing with Chinese Taipei and Japan. His coaches and teammates, along with our Rutgers baseball fans, are rooting him on!”

Over the next few weeks, Coppola will compete alongside some of the best players in the world. Even after a 2023 season full of milestones, Coppola still has a few more goals to check off his bucket list when play begins on June 30th.