SAN DIEGO – San Diego State rising junior Eldridge Armstrong III (Simi Valley, Calif.) has accepted an invitation to the 2023 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp scheduled for June 25-28 in Cary, North Carolina.
The USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp will feature 56 of the premier non-draft eligible college players for a four-game Stars versus Stripes intrasquad series to be held at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.
The intrasquad series commences on Sunday, June 25 at 3 p.m. ET, with an additional game on each of the ensuing three days. Game two is slated for June 26 at 6 p.m. ET, while game three is pegged for a 7 p.m. ET start on June 27 to be followed by the final game on June 28 at 6 p.m. ET.
Upon the conclusion of training camp, USA Baseball will reveal its final 26-man collegiate national team roster that will represent the United States in a friendship series against Chinese Taipei and Japan from June 30-July 12.
A native of Simi Valley, California, Armstrong posted a 5-1 record with a 3.24 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 41 2/3 innings as a relief pitcher in 2023. The Aztec right-hander led the Mountain West with 29 appearances during the regular season and tied for seventh with his five victories, helping the SDSU capture the conference co-championship, which marked the program's first MW regular-season title since 2004.
Armstrong allowed one walk or less in 27 games, finishing fifth on the squad with a 1.34 WHIP. He matched his season-high with four strikeouts in the Aztecs' home opener against CSUN on Feb. 21, as well as the series finale at New Mexico on April 2.
In SDSU's 5-2 home victory over UC San Diego on April 11, Armstrong struck out the side in the ninth inning to earn his first career save.
Aztec Hall of Famer and 2019 World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg was the last SDSU player to participate in the event after receiving an invitation following the 2008 campaign. Other Aztecs to compete for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team include Bobby Meacham and Al Romero (1980), Chris Gwynn and the late Flavio Alfaro (1984), along with Travis Lee (1995-96) and Royce Ring (2001).
After an 0-5 start to the 2023 campaign, San Diego State regrouped to claim a share of the Mountain West regular-season title with an 18-11 mark in conference play. The Aztecs' MW regular-season championship was the program's third overall and first since 2004.
SDSU earned seven Mountain West postseason honors, including Mark Martinez, who received MW Co-Coach of the Year recognition.