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Two Gators baseball players will be traveling to North Carolina with the chance to represent the USA in Japan for the 45th representation of the Friendship series against the Japanese National Squad.
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Freshman Aidan King will be making his first appearance at the USA Collegiate National Team Camp. Sophomore Liam Peterson will be making his second consecutive appearance at the camp. He was the only Gator to be selected in 2024.
The Gators have had at least one member of their squad represented since the 2021 season.
What is the USA Collegiate National Team Camp?
56 primarily non-draft-eligible players from around the country are selected to play in five-games, the Stars vs. Stripes intrasquad series.
The first of these games will be held at Atrium Health Ballpark in Kannapolis on June 29.
Following the conclusion of the series, USA Baseball will announce the roster to take on the Japanese National Team in Japan apart of a five game series.
This five game series is apart of the Friendship Series. This series has been around since 1972 and will be returning to Japan for the first time since 2019.
Gators looking to build upon 2025 season.
The 2025 season was full of ups and downs for the Florida Gators. The season ended in South Carolina at the Conway Regional when the Gators were eliminated by East Carolina.
King led the Gators with a 2.58 ERA in 17 appearances this year with seven wins and two losses. He also had a program record with four SEC weekly honors during the 2025 season. King recorded the lowest ERA by a Gator across a full season since Brady Singer in 2018.
Peterson was second on the team in ERA with a 4.28 across his 69.1 innings pitched. Peterson led the team in strikeouts with 96.
The upcoming.
Peterson and King will be apart of the squad during the Stars vs. Stripes games held between June 29-July 3. The first game is at Atrium Health Ballpark in Kannapolis at 5:35 p.m. The next three are held at USA Baseball’s National Training Complex in Cary followed by the finale at Segra Stadium in Fayetteville.
After these five games the USA Baseball committee will select the finalist and then they will play in a Fourth of July game against the Appalachian League Select Team in Kannapolis before heading to Japan July 8-13.
