During the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Congress Gala Dinner and Awarding Ceremony held in Bangkok, Thailand, from October 16-18, which celebrated honorees from 2022-2025, USA Baseball was recognized for its on-field success.
Sanford native Rick Eckstein, who led the USA Baseball 18U National Team to a world championship at the 2025 WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup, was named the 2025 WBSC Baseball Coach of the Year. The gold medal was the 18U National Team Program’s 11th world title, tying it for the most in the history of the U-18 age group.
In front of a sold-out crowd of 16,693, Team USA beat Japan, 2-0, in the World Championship Final at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup at Okinawa (Japan) Cellular Stadium.
The shutout win was a fitting conclusion to the United States’ gold-medal run. It was the team’s sixth shutout in nine games at the tournament, matching the 2017 championship team for the most shutouts in a World Cup in program history.
The stars and stripes went 8-1 and led the tournament in nearly every category while rewriting the program record book. The pitching staff allowed just 25 hits, the fewest in 18U National Team history, and just two of them were for extras bases. The starting pitchers tossed 47.0 innings and allowed just one earned run, good for a sparkling 0.14 ERA. The team’s 0.57 overall ERA led the tournament and was the second lowest in program history, and the staff also led the tournament in WHIP (0.64) and BAA (.126).
Offensively, the team finished with a tournament-leading .438 on-base percentage and a .797 slugging percentage, along with a .308 clip at the plate.
Overall, the 18U National Team is now 11-6 in World Championship Finals. Team USA has won gold at six of the last eight WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cups and is 4-0 all-time against Japan in title games. In addition to tying Cuba for most all-time gold medals, the U.S. now has 28 World Cup medals, eight more than any other country.
It was the second consecutive Gold Medal winning 18-and-Under squad managed by Rick Eckstein, who was assisted a both events by younger brother David, as in 2024 he led Team USA to a perfect 8-0 record at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier in Panama City, Panama. In winning its seventh consecutive gold medal at the tournament, the U.S. outscored opponents 58-9 in the eight-game span; batted a tournament-best .280, reached base at a .398 clip and the defense committed just four errors–tying for the fewest in a tournament in program history–and posting a .982 fielding percentage, the best of the 13 competing nations.
Later in 2024, Eckstein joined the Professional National Team coaching staff as the hitting coach for the 2024 Premier12 tournament. In his sixth appearance on the Pro Team staff, Eckstein helped lead the stars and stripes to their first bronze medal in Premier12 history. Team USA’s offense ranked second in the tournament in hits (83), runs scored (51), and home runs (12) as Eckstein captured his fifth overall medal. Prior to his stint as hitting coach at the Premier12, Eckstein had previously been a member of the Professional National Team coaching staff on five different occasions. Eckstein mainly worked under longtime big-league manager Davey Johnson and helped Team USA collect a trio of medals, including a bronze at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. He was also the bullpen coach for the United States at the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006.
Not resting on his laurels, Rick Eckstein, who also took home the 2008 “Doc” Counsilman Science Award for his coaching efforts through scientific data and technology, is now serving as the hitting coordinator for the Women’s National Team Development Program, in which his young daughter Grace was a part of. While he has been on a national team staff eight times in his career, this will be Eckstein’s second exposure with Women’s National Team programming, as he was an evaluator for the All-American Women’s Baseball Classic powered by USA Baseball earlier this summer.
David Eckstein, the former 2-time World Series Champion shortstop with the Anaheim Angels and St. Louis Cardinals, in which he was named MVP, secured his third gold medal in as many appearances on an 18U National Team staff. His first gig with the team was in 2015, when he helped lead the U.S. to an 8-1 record and a world title at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup in Osaka, Japan. Joining his brother’s staff in 2024, David Eckstein assisted in helping the Team USA go a perfect 8-0 and win its seventh consecutive gold medal at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier, before helping Team USA go 8-1 en route to a world title at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup this year.
