After spending three weeks with Team USA at Cary, N.C., Cal Poly rising junior catcher Ryan Stafford heads to Massachusetts for more summer league play in the Cape Cod League.
Ryan Stafford Completes 'Unforgettable Experience' with Team USA
7/13/2023 3:48:00 PM | Baseball
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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Cal Poly rising junior catcher Ryan Stafford collected three hits in six games for USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team against Chinese Taipei and Japan over the last two weeks.
Stafford was 3-for-14 in five-game series against both teams. Team USA, managed by 21-year Cal Poly head coach Larry Lee, swept Chinese Taipei 5-0 and lost three of five games against Japan.
All three of Stafford's hits were singles and he drove in one run and scored twice. The Folsom High School graduate also drew four walks, finishing with a .389 on-base percentage, and handled 52 fielding chances without an error. He started all six games in which he played.
"It was an unforgettable experience," Stafford said of playing for the Collegiate National Team. "It's a dream come true to wear USA across my chest and represent my country on the diamond."
Ryan Stafford collected 10 hits in three weeks with Team USA.
Stafford, who picked off one base runner and threw out four others trying to steal, earned a spot on the 31-man Team USA roster by going 7-for-15 (.467) at the plate with a double and two RBIs in a four-game intrasquad series.
"To be around the best players in the country and take the field with them over the last three weeks brought my game to a new level," Stafford said. "As it is with any summer ball experience, the best part was building bonds with teammates that will last a lifetime."
Team USA completed its season with this week's series against Japan. Stafford will travel from USA Baseball's National Training Complex in Cary, N.C., to Massachusetts to play for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod League the rest of the summer.
"Landed in Boston an hour ago," Stafford said Thursday afternoon. "Quick turnaround!"
Stafford was the 11th Mustang to accept an invitation from USA Baseball and the sixth to play in friendship series. The previous five were Brooks Lee (2021), Drew Thorpe (2021), Nick Meyer (2017), Mark Mathias (2014) and Matt Imhof (2013).
The other five invited to training camp were Matt Jensen (2009 and 2010), Mike Zirelli (1997), Jon Macalutas (1995), John Orton (1986) and Ozzie Smith (1976).
In his second season at Cal Poly, Stafford hit .313 with 20 doubles, seven home runs and 44 RBIs in 56 games, starting 42 games behind the plate and 14 in left field. Stafford threw out 11 would-be base stealers for the second straight year and picked off three other runners. He was 22-for-50 (.440) with 10 multiple-hit games in a 12-game stretch from April 4-23, lifting his average 48 points to .342.
Prior to the opening of the 2023 season, Stafford was added to the 2023 Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award Watch List.
As a freshman a year ago, Stafford hit .321 with 16 doubles, three home runs and 33 RBIs in 58 games en route to a first-team All-Big West Conference award and a pair of freshman All-American awards (Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America). Stafford led the Big West in sacrifice flies with six and picked off four runners on the basepaths.
