PORTLAND, Ore. --- For the third straight year, Portland baseball assistant coach Jake Valentine will coach at USA Baseball's National Team Identification Series (NTIS), which is the most comprehensive player identification program for the national team system. Launched in 2009, the program was created to provide all athletes from across the United States an opportunity to compete for a spot on a USA Baseball national team.
 
Coach Valentine will coach the Northwest team in the 15U and 16U NTIS Champions Cup, which will take place Aug. 21-25, 2019, in Cary, N.C.
 
"It's a huge recognition to be invited to again coach the top 15U and 16U players in the NW region in conjunction with USA Baseball," Valentine said. "The last two years has been an amazing opportunity to coach and work with the best players in the Northwest and to be asked to do so again is a big honor. USA Baseball is the pinnacle for prep baseball, so being able to help with the development and growth of tomorrow's best players is truly humbling."
 
The NTIS Champions Cup takes place at the USA Baseball National Training Complex, and the event features 12 teams per age group. Athletes will participate in workouts and a championship-style tournament, while being evaluated by national team coaches and scouts. Following the Champions Cup, USA Baseball will invite a minimum of 72 athletes to national team and National Team Development Program (NTDP) events in the subsequent calendar year.