Fresno State Athletics
Thomas named to USA Baseball Collegiate National Team
5/20/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
By: Travis Blanshan
tblanshan@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State sophomore LHP Ricky Tyler Thomas has been selected to play for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team this summer, as announced by USA Baseball on Friday.
"This is a huge honor to be able to represent our country," said Thomas. "I have to give credit to my coaches and teammates, becuase without them I would not be fortunate enough to be given this opportunity."
Thomas, a San Diego native, made his final regular season start of the season on Thursday picking up his ninth win tossing 6.1 innings while limiting San Francisco to five hits, one earned run and struck out four in a 10-1 Bulldog victory.
On the season, the southpaw is 9-4 with a 1.94 ERA in 14 starts, including three complete games. He leads the Mountain West in innings pitched (97.2), opposing batting average (.216) and strikeouts (99) and ranks second in the league in ERA, wins (9) and runs allowed (21).
Nationally, Thomas ranks among the top 25 pitchers in the country in ERA, strikeouts, WHIP, and strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Thomas is the first Bulldog to play for USA Baseball since former 'Dog Taylor Ward, a 2015 first-round selection in the MLB Draft, played for the team in 2014.
Thomas and USA Baseball open up summer play on June 27 with National Team Training in Los Angeles. After facing Summer Collegiate League teams in Southern California from June 28-July 2, USA Baseball will then travel overseas to face Chinese Taipei (July 5-9), Japan (July 12-17) before closing out the summer facing Cuba (July 23-27).
"Fun. Family. Forever." - The official home of the Fresno State Bulldogs is 940 AM ESPN Radio. Stay connected with Thomas and USA Baseball this summer on Facebook (Fresno State Athletics), Instagram (FresnoStateAthletics) and Twitter (@FresnoStateBSB).
