3 O.C. Players Chasing a Dream

Mike Kolbach, Tony Milo and Ryan Owens have more in common than having completed superb prep baseball seasons.

The three Orange County players--Mater Dei’s Kolbach, Laguna Hills’ Milo and Sonora’s Owens--are among seven Californians who will be heading to Joplin, Mo., for the USA Baseball Junior Team tryouts.

Fifty-one players--either high school juniors or graduates--have been invited to attend the trials July 21-28.

From that camp, the roster of 18 junior players will be determined.

“All I know is, it’s going to be fun,” Owens said. “I think it’s going to be a great experience; it’s as good a summer league as you can get.”

Said Milo: “It’s a great opportunity to go play against great players.”

Owens was drafted by the Florida Marlins but turned down their offer. He said school and trying to make the junior team were higher priorities. “I wanted to go to school, and if I had signed I wouldn’t be eligible for this,” Owens said. “Pro baseball will still be there.”

Mater Dei’s Mike Hessman was invited to try out, but he signed a professional contract with Atlanta.

USA Baseball committee members had been tracking their progress for nearly a year, and the three O.C. players secured invitations with standout seasons.

Owens, who played shortstop and pitched, batted .500 and set school records in home runs (10) and runs scored (51). He was a Times Orange County first-team selection.

Kolbach and Milo were second-team all-county picks. Kolbach batted .443 with eight homers and 38 RBIs, and was 10-1. Milo was 11-3; he also batted .400 with eight home runs and 26 RBIs.

Of the three, only Kolbach returns to high school. Owens is headed to Cal State Fullerton, and Milo plans to attend Arizona if contract talks with the New York Mets fall through.

After the junior team is picked, it will play exhibition games in Joplin and Jacksonville, Fla., before traveling to Cuba for the 12-team world tournament in August.

“This is special,” Kolbach said. “If I can make it, I can represent our county in Cuba. I can try and be a role model. And it helps my future, especially being one of the youngest players there. I could open some eyes.”

Milo believes his chances are as good as any other player trying out but realizes it takes more than talent and hard work.

“It also takes a lot of luck,” Milo said. “You can’t have an off-day in a tryout like this.”

USA Baseball is the governing body for U.S. amateur baseball, overseeing the selection of candidates for the Olympic and junior team trials.

This is the 16th year for the junior baseball world competition, made up of athletes 18 and under. According to Paul Seiler, the special projects manager for USA Baseball who runs the junior team program, the United States is the only country to have won a medal in all 15 previous tournaments.

Seiler said the selection committee starts with a list of 300-500 players in the fall, then spends the next several months interviewing pro scouts, college recruiters, high school coaches and representatives of amateur baseball to decide on the 50-54 players to invite.

“It’s a matter of who’s hot and who’s not,” Seiler said. “By May 21 we have our invitations set. Then the baseball draft comes along in June. If a player signs a contract, then we contact a player from our alternate list.” A player’s versatility could mean the difference in making the team and not making it, to Kolbach’s way of thinking.

“I’ll be one of few juniors going there, so it won’t kill me if I don’t make it. I can try next year,” Kolbach said.

“But I think I have a good shot, being a left-handed pitcher and being able to play another [infield] position. Some coaches that I’ve talked to think I have a legitimate shot.”

Whatever happens, Owens said he will be the better for it.

“I just feel honored just to be invited,” Owens said. “It feels like I’m doing something right.”