This new Gamecock will play for Team USA baseball. Here’s what to know

South Carolina baseball will be represented on the global stage this month.

Transfer portal commitment JD Stein is on the final 28-man roster for the 2026 Collegiate National Team, USA Baseball announced Sunday. Stein will compete alongside some of the best college baseball players for Team USA at the inaugural World Collegiate Baseball Championship in Taiwan from July 11-July 15.

The tournament will start with three days of pool play followed by a day for semifinals and a day for medal games. Team USA will play Korea, Chinese Taipei and Japan in pool play.

USA Baseball, the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association and the Japan University Baseball Federation announced the creation of the WCBC in May. The three countries will play each other each year in the event and a fourth team will be decided by an invitation from the host country. This year, Korea received the wild card invitation. The WCBC will be hosted in Cary, North Carolina in 2027 and Japan in 2028.

The new event effectively fills the gap left by the World University Baseball Championship, which ran from 2002 to 2018. Team USA won that tournament three times.

Although Stein is representing South Carolina in the tournament, he technically isn’t a Gamecock just yet. Stein spent this past season at Wake Forest but entered the transfer portal and committed to new Gamecocks head coach Kevin Schnall on June 24.

Stein played in 58 games for the Demon Deacons and had a .266 batting average. Stein tallied 50 hits, 41 RBIs and an on-base percentage of .384. He also stole 13 bases and scored 38 runs. He projects as a player who can start right away at shortstop for South Carolina in 2027.

Team USA’s schedule at World Collegiate Baseball Championship

All games at Taichung City Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung City, Taiwan.

• July 11: vs. Korea at 12:30 a.m. ET
• July 12: vs. Chinese Taipei at 6:30 a.m. ET
• July 13: vs. Japan at 12:30 a.m. ET
• July 14: Semifinal games
• July 15: Gold and bronze medal games

Michael Sauls

The State

Michael Sauls is The State’s South Carolina women’s basketball reporter. He previously worked at The Virginian-Pilot covering Norfolk State and Hampton University sports. A Columbia native, he is an alum of the University of South Carolina.