SACRAMENTO -- Sacramento State head baseball coach Reggie Christiansen will trade in his green and gold for the red, white, and blue this summer, joining the staff of USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team as its bench coach.
Under the direction of manager Larry Lee, who is currently the head coach at Cal Poly, Christiansen is joined on staff by fellow Division I head coaches in USC's Andy Stankiewicz and Alabama State's Jose Vazquez, along with Stanford pitching coach Thomas Eager and East Carolina student manager Brady Austin, who will serve as the bullpen coach.
"I am excited to represent Sacramento State as a part of the Team USA baseball staff," Christiansen said. "I just arrived today in Cary, N.C., and can't wait to wear the USA across my chest and represent our country over the course of the next three weeks."
Including Lee, the four head coaches on the 2023 coaching staff have amassed 1,677 wins at the Division I level, reaching nine NCAA Tournaments. The staff has combined to win seven regular season conference championships and six conference tournament titles. In addition, they have combined for nine conference Coach of the Year awards.
"We are looking forward to welcoming Brady, Reggie, Thomas, Andy, and José to our 2023 coaching staff," said General Manager of Collegiate and Professional National Teams Eric Campbell in a press release. "This staff features some of the best and brightest college baseball coaches in the nation, and we are confident that they will guide our team to a great deal of success this summer. Led by Larry, our staff will offer unparalleled guidance to the top non-draft eligible players in the country."
Recently wrapping up his 13th season at the helm of the Hornets, Christiansen has guided the Sacramento State program to at least 30 wins in each of the last 11 full seasons dating back to 2012 — the only Division I program in the state of California of accomplish that feat. In 2023, Christiansen picked up his 500th career victory at New Mexico State on April 30, and won his 400th career game at the helm of the Hornets in the regular season finale against Utah Tech on May 20.
Overall, the two-time Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year has guided the Sacramento State program to a pair of conference regular season titles, three WAC tournament crowns, three NCAA Regional berths, and a pair of 40-win seasons, while mentoring a pair of All-Americans, four all-region selections, eight freshman All-Americans, two conference players of the year, five league freshmen of the year, and a total of 48 all-conference selections.
In addition, 24 of his former players have gone on to be selected in the Major League Baseball first-year player draft — including at least one player in 10 of the last 11 drafts — and four of those players have reached the major leagues in Rhys Hoskins, Sam Long, James Outman, and Nathan Lukes.
The Collegiate National Team kicks off its summer schedule with the annual Stars vs. Stripes series on June 25-28 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C., featuring 56 of the premier non-draft eligible collegiate players in the country.
The final 26-man roster will be selected from that series to complete in a pair of five-game series against Chinese Taipei and Japan. The 20th USA vs. Chinese Taipei International Friendship Series is set for June 30-July 4, with games at the National Training Complex, the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, Atrium Health Ballpark in Kannapolis, and Segra Stadium in Fayetteville.
The National Training Complex will host the opening three games of the 44th USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Championship Series July 7-9, while games four and five of the series will be played in Charleston on July 11 and 12. Team USA leads the series with Japan 24-19 (Overall: 133-107-2), including a 21-1 (Overall: 87-33-2) series record in the United States.
For more information on the Collegiate National Team, visit USABaseball.com and follow @USABaseballCNT and @USABaseball on Twitter.
2023 USA BASEBALL COLLEGIATE NATIONAL TEAM SCHEDULE
2023 Team USA Stars vs. Stripes Series
• June 25; Stripes vs. Stars; National Training Complex (Cary, N.C.); 3 p.m. ET
• June 26; Stars vs. Stripes; National Training Complex (Cary, N.C.); 6 p.m. ET
• June 27; Stripes vs. Stars; National Training Complex (Cary, N.C.); 7 p.m. ET
• June 28; Stars vs. Stripes; National Training Complex (Cary, N.C.); 6 p.m. ET
20th USA vs. Chinese Taipei International Friendship Series
• June 30; Chinese Taipei vs. USA; National Training Complex (Cary, N.C.); 5 p.m. ET
• July 1; USA vs. Chinese Taipei; Durham Bulls Athletic Park (Durham, N.C.); 6:35 p.m. ET
• July 2; Chinese Taipei vs. USA; Atrium Health Ballpark (Kannapolis, N.C.); 6 p.m. ET
• July 3; USA vs. Chinese Taipei; Durham Bulls Athletic Park (Durham, N.C.); 6:35 p.m. ET
• July 4; Chinese Taipei vs. USA; Segra Stadium (Fayetteville, N.C.); 6 p.m. ET
44th USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Championship Series
• July 7; Japan vs. USA; National Training Complex (Cary, N.C.); 6 p.m. ET
• July 8; USA vs. Japan; National Training Complex (Cary, N.C.); 6 p.m. ET
• July 9; Japan vs. USA; National Training Complex (Cary, N.C.); 5 p.m. ET
• July 11; USA vs. Japan; Joseph P. Riley, Jr., Ballpark (Charleston, S.C.); 6:30 p.m. ET
• July 12; Japan vs. USA; Joseph P. Riley, Jr., Ballpark (Charleston, S.C.); 6:30 p.m. ET
