During his freshman season, Rutgers pitcher Christian Coppola was among the best pitchers in the Big Ten. He quickly became Rutgers Friday night starter and led all Big Ten pitchers in ERA. His play earned him special recognition as Coppola has received an invite to the 2023 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp this summer.
With an invite secured, Coppola will head to Cary, North Carolina, to compete for a spot on the 26-man Collegiate National team. The camp consists of a four-game intrasquad series from June 25-28. Once the roster is cut down to 26 players, that group will compete against Chinese Taipei and Japan from June 30-July 12.
Christian Coppola works around a solo home run and gets a pair of strikeouts to end the fourth inning.
T5 | Rutgers 4, Mercer 1#TCD pic.twitter.com/8rRyrQ2sTo
— Rutgers Baseball (@RutgersBaseball) March 18, 2023
During his first season in Piscataway, Coppola became the first freshman in program history to be named All-Big Ten First Team. He finished the season with a 3.68 ERA and struck out 71 batters in 61 innings. As the New Jersey native led Rutgers on the mound, he held opponents to a .240 batting average.
To head coach Stevie Owens, Coppola’s accomplishment comes as no surprise.
A great play by JKG and two strikeouts from Christian Coppola highlight a 1-2-3 fifth inning!#TCD pic.twitter.com/ird1VQ0Sps
— Rutgers Baseball (@RutgersBaseball) May 24, 2023
“Christian had a great year for us and accomplished some special things for a first-year player,” Owens told Rutgers athletics. “He is a gifted pitcher and a great competitor. This is a tremendous opportunity for him to continue to challenge himself against the best and keep developing.”
The Scarlet Knights will be well represented as Josh Kuroda- Grauer will also be competing for a spot. Regardless of the outcome, the chance to compete among the best players in the country is another example of why Coppola has a bright future.