Michigan Alumnus Hill Selected for USA Premier 12 Roster
10/24/2024 12:26:00 PM | Baseball
CARY, N.C. -- On Tuesday (Oct. 21), USA Baseball announced the 28-player roster for the World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 tournament featuring Michigan baseball alumnus Rich Hill.
WBSC's Premier12 tournament features the world's 12 highest-ranked national baseball teams. Hill was selected as one of the 15 pitchers. Along with him, 13 other position players not currently on a Major League Baseball 40-man roster will begin tournament play on Nov. 9 against Puerto Rico.
This year is the third-ever Premier12 tournament which consists of two groups: Group A, whose group stage takes place in Guadalajara and Tepic, Mexico, from Nov. 9-14, and Group B, which will play in Taipei City, Taiwan, from Nov. 14-18. The best two teams in each group will advance to the Super Round in Tokyo, Jaan, from Nov. 21-24. Group A also features Puerto Rico, Panama, the Netherlands, Venezuela and Mexico.
During his time as a Wolverine from 2000-02, Hill was named All-Big Ten second team in 2002. He ranks ninth all-time in program history with 229 strikeouts and led the team in the category all three years in Ann Arbor, with his best and final year totaling 104 strikeouts in 76.1 innings pitched. After the 2002 season, he was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the fourth round of the MLB Draft.
In 2005, Hill started with the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx of the Southern League and led the league with 90 strikeouts. Shortly after, he was promoted to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs of the Pacific Coast League, and in only 11 games, had 92 strikeouts. Hill then debuted for the Cubs on July 25, 2005.
Hill continues to impress and was the oldest active player in the majors this season. He has 1,428 strikeouts in 1,409 innings pitched over his 20-year career. Most recently, Hill played for the Boston Red Sox in 2024 pitching 3.2 innings and striking out five.
