Jackson Barberi walks off the mound after an appearances for the CNT Stars at Training Camp. / Photo courtesy of USA Baseball
Florida Leads Way with Three on Collegiate National Team Roster
Sunday, July 5, 2026 | Baseball
UF right-handers Jackson Barberi, Aidan King and Joshua Whritenour will compete in the inaugural World Collegiate Baseball Championship in Taiwan from July 11-15.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – USA Baseball finalized the official 28-man roster for the 2026 Collegiate National Team on Sunday, with the Florida Gators pacing all schools with three representatives in right-handed pitchers Jackson Barberi, Aidan King and Joshua Whritenour.
Having made the official roster, the UF trio is set to compete in the inaugural World Collegiate Baseball Championship at Taichung City Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung City, Taiwan, from July 11-15. The roster was named after 11 days of workouts, practices and intrasquad scrimmages across North Carolina and Virginia.
"After nearly two weeks of an extremely competitive Training Camp, we are excited to finalize the 28-man roster that will represent the United States in the inaugural World Collegiate Baseball Championship," said Eric Campbell, USA Baseball's General Manager of Professional and Collegiate National Teams. "The talent at Training Camp was incredible and made this decision difficult, but we are confident that these 28 players will represent the U.S. well in our quest to win a gold medal."
Overall, 21 schools and five conferences are represented on the 2026 Collegiate National Team roster, led by Florida as the only program with three players to make the cut. This marks the fourth time that at least three Gators have made the Collegiate National Team roster in the same year. The Southeastern Conference (SEC) boasts 15 athletes on the roster to lead all conferences, followed by the Big Ten with six, the Big 12 with four, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) with two and the Sun Belt Conference with one.
Over the course of CNT Training Camp, Barberi, King and Whritenour combined for 11.0 innings of one-run ball for a 0.82 ERA. The trio was charged with five hits allowed, four walks and 13 strikeouts.
In his second collegiate campaign, Barberi dominated to a 5-2 record, .156 batting average against, 55-to-17 strikeout-to-walk ratio, 1.02 WHIP, 3.13 ERA and two saves over 19 outings spanning 37 1/3 frames. The righty pitched in five of UF's seven shutouts with 11 scoreless appearances – 10 being four outs or more. Barberi finished his sophomore season boasting 13.3 strikeouts per nine and 5.1 hits allowed per nine.
Tying for the most appearances at CNT Training Camp, Barberi worked three innings in three games out of the bullpen. He surrendered one run on one hit, one walk and one strikeout for a 3.00 ERA and 0.67 WHIP.
Taking over the role of UF ace in his sophomore season, King became the first Gator underclassman to collect SEC Pitcher of the Year honors including the fourth in league history. Making all 16 of his scheduled starts, King led Florida with eight wins, a 3.21 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 97.0 innings pitched while holding hitters to a .218 batting average. As a National Pitcher of the Year finalist, King fanned 92 batters against 19 free passes, equating to a 4.84 strikeout-to-walk ratio. In SEC action, he led all starters with a 0.89 WHIP, tied for the top spot in victories (six) and held hitters to a .184 batting average.
King fired five shutout frames across two starts at CNT Training Camp. He allowed four hits and one walk while racking up nine strikeouts – the second most on the squad.
Frequently touching triple digits, Whritenour made his collegiate debut as a redshirt freshman and led the Gators with seven saves as the primary closer. Making 25 appearances out of the bullpen, Whritenour held opposing hitters to a .223 batting average while delivering a 1.23 WHIP. The fire-balling righty racked up 49 strikeouts against 14 free passes in 36 2/3 frames, translating to 12.0 strikeouts per nine, 3.4 walks per nine and a 3.5 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Having also made three relief appearances at CNT Training Camp, Whritenour turned in three shutout, no-hit innings. He walked two and fanned three batters en route to a 0.67 WHIP.
The World Collegiate Baseball Championship format will feature five days of games, with three days of pool play followed by the semifinals and medal games. The U.S. will open its pool play slate on July 11 against Korea at 12:30 a.m. ET/12:30 p.m. local, face Chinese Taipei on July 12 at 6:30 a.m. ET/6:30 p.m. local and then play Japan on July 13 at 12:30 a.m. ET/12:30 p.m. local. The semifinals will be played July 14 and the finals, which will consist of gold- and bronze-medal games, will be held July 15.
World Collegiate Baseball Championship Schedule
*indicates two-time member of official USA CNT roster
For the most up-to-date information on the Collegiate National Team, visit USABaseball.com and follow @USABaseballCNT and @USABaseball on Twitter/X and Instagram.
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Having made the official roster, the UF trio is set to compete in the inaugural World Collegiate Baseball Championship at Taichung City Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung City, Taiwan, from July 11-15. The roster was named after 11 days of workouts, practices and intrasquad scrimmages across North Carolina and Virginia.
"After nearly two weeks of an extremely competitive Training Camp, we are excited to finalize the 28-man roster that will represent the United States in the inaugural World Collegiate Baseball Championship," said Eric Campbell, USA Baseball's General Manager of Professional and Collegiate National Teams. "The talent at Training Camp was incredible and made this decision difficult, but we are confident that these 28 players will represent the U.S. well in our quest to win a gold medal."
Overall, 21 schools and five conferences are represented on the 2026 Collegiate National Team roster, led by Florida as the only program with three players to make the cut. This marks the fourth time that at least three Gators have made the Collegiate National Team roster in the same year. The Southeastern Conference (SEC) boasts 15 athletes on the roster to lead all conferences, followed by the Big Ten with six, the Big 12 with four, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) with two and the Sun Belt Conference with one.
Over the course of CNT Training Camp, Barberi, King and Whritenour combined for 11.0 innings of one-run ball for a 0.82 ERA. The trio was charged with five hits allowed, four walks and 13 strikeouts.
In his second collegiate campaign, Barberi dominated to a 5-2 record, .156 batting average against, 55-to-17 strikeout-to-walk ratio, 1.02 WHIP, 3.13 ERA and two saves over 19 outings spanning 37 1/3 frames. The righty pitched in five of UF's seven shutouts with 11 scoreless appearances – 10 being four outs or more. Barberi finished his sophomore season boasting 13.3 strikeouts per nine and 5.1 hits allowed per nine.
Tying for the most appearances at CNT Training Camp, Barberi worked three innings in three games out of the bullpen. He surrendered one run on one hit, one walk and one strikeout for a 3.00 ERA and 0.67 WHIP.
Taking over the role of UF ace in his sophomore season, King became the first Gator underclassman to collect SEC Pitcher of the Year honors including the fourth in league history. Making all 16 of his scheduled starts, King led Florida with eight wins, a 3.21 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 97.0 innings pitched while holding hitters to a .218 batting average. As a National Pitcher of the Year finalist, King fanned 92 batters against 19 free passes, equating to a 4.84 strikeout-to-walk ratio. In SEC action, he led all starters with a 0.89 WHIP, tied for the top spot in victories (six) and held hitters to a .184 batting average.
King fired five shutout frames across two starts at CNT Training Camp. He allowed four hits and one walk while racking up nine strikeouts – the second most on the squad.
Frequently touching triple digits, Whritenour made his collegiate debut as a redshirt freshman and led the Gators with seven saves as the primary closer. Making 25 appearances out of the bullpen, Whritenour held opposing hitters to a .223 batting average while delivering a 1.23 WHIP. The fire-balling righty racked up 49 strikeouts against 14 free passes in 36 2/3 frames, translating to 12.0 strikeouts per nine, 3.4 walks per nine and a 3.5 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Having also made three relief appearances at CNT Training Camp, Whritenour turned in three shutout, no-hit innings. He walked two and fanned three batters en route to a 0.67 WHIP.
The World Collegiate Baseball Championship format will feature five days of games, with three days of pool play followed by the semifinals and medal games. The U.S. will open its pool play slate on July 11 against Korea at 12:30 a.m. ET/12:30 p.m. local, face Chinese Taipei on July 12 at 6:30 a.m. ET/6:30 p.m. local and then play Japan on July 13 at 12:30 a.m. ET/12:30 p.m. local. The semifinals will be played July 14 and the finals, which will consist of gold- and bronze-medal games, will be held July 15.
World Collegiate Baseball Championship Schedule
- July 11; USA vs. Korea (pool play); Intercontinental Stadium (Taichung City, Taiwan); 12:30 a.m. ET/12:30 p.m. local
- July 12; Chinese Taipei vs. USA (pool play); Intercontinental Stadium (Taichung City, Taiwan); 6:30 a.m. ET/6:30 p.m. local
- July 13; Japan vs. USA (pool play); Intercontinental Stadium (Taichung City, Taiwan); 12:30 a.m. ET/12:30 p.m. local
- July 14; WCBC semifinals; Intercontinental Stadium (Taichung City, Taiwan); 12:30 a.m. ET/12:30 p.m. local OR 6:30 a.m. ET/6:30 p.m. local
- July 15; WCBC finals; Intercontinental Stadium (Taichung City, Taiwan); 12:30 a.m. ET/12:30 p.m. local OR 6:30 a.m. ET/6:30 p.m. local
| Florida's All-Time Appearances on USA CNT Roster (29) | |||
| Count | First Name | Last Name | Year |
| 1 | John | Kaufman | 1994 |
| 2 | John | Tamargo | 1994 |
| 3 | Adam | Davis | 2005 |
| 4 | Brian | Jeroloman | 2005 |
| 5 | Matt | LaPorta | 2005 |
| 6 | Matt | den Dekker | 2008 |
| 7 | Nolan | Fontana* | 2010 |
| 8 | Brian | Johnson* | 2010 |
| 9 | Nolan | Fontana* | 2011 |
| 10 | Brian | Johnson* | 2011 |
| 11 | Jonathon | Crawford | 2012 |
| 12 | A.J. | Puk | 2015 |
| 13 | Buddy | Reed | 2015 |
| 14 | JJ | Schwarz | 2015 |
| 15 | Logan | Shore | 2015 |
| 16 | Alex | Faedo | 2016 |
| 17 | Dalton | Guthrie | 2016 |
| 18 | Mike | Rivera | 2016 |
| 19 | Hunter | Barco | 2021 |
| 20 | Brandon | Sproat | 2021 |
| 21 | Wyatt | Langford | 2022 |
| 22 | Hurston | Waldrep | 2022 |
| 23 | Jac | Caglianone | 2023 |
| 24 | Brandon | Neely | 2023 |
| 25 | Liam | Peterson* | 2024 |
| 26 | Liam | Peterson* | 2025 |
| 27 | Jackson | Barberi | 2026 |
| 28 | Aidan | King | 2026 |
| 29 | Joshua | Whritenour | 2026 |
For the most up-to-date information on the Collegiate National Team, visit USABaseball.com and follow @USABaseballCNT and @USABaseball on Twitter/X and Instagram.
Follow the Gators
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