USA Baseball Announces Coaching Staff for 2026 12U National Team

CARY, N.C. — USA Baseball today revealed the coaching staff for the 2026 12U National Team, with two-time gold medalist Wes Brooks stepping into the role as manager after two highly successful stints as the program’s pitching coach. Brooks will lead a seasoned coaching staff that includes pitching coach Kyle Howell, returning assistant Erick Quesada, and assistant coach David Houseton.

Brooks and Quesada will make their second consecutive appearance on the 12U National Team staff after leading Team USA to victory last summer at the 2025 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-12 Baseball World Cup in Tainan, Taiwan. Quesada also served on staff in 2023, while Howell and Houseton join the national team for the first time and bring a wealth of playing and coaching experience across all levels of baseball. Together, they will lead the program and compete in an event which will be named at a later date.

“I’m humbled to be named the 12U National Team Manager,” said Brooks. “I’ve been fortunate to be around some of the best leaders in the world to wear the USA jersey, and I will work relentlessly to uphold the gold standard set before us. It’s a rewarding opportunity to find the right players to wear that jersey, and we’re excited to identify the right eighteen. It’s an honor and a privilege to represent the greatest country in the world.”

“We are thrilled to announce the coaching staff for the 2026 12U National Team,” said 12U National Team Program Director Cole Beeker. “Wes, David, Erick, and Kyle are not only outstanding coaches, but are gifted leaders of young men that bring out the best in people. Our goal is to embrace the challenge of international competition and bring home a gold medal, and we could not ask for a finer group of individuals to lead Team USA.”

Brooks takes over as manager after propelling the 12U National Team to the top of the podium in back-to-back summers as pitching coach. In 2024, his staff played a crucial role in capturing gold at the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier, as Team USA pitchers boasted a 0.86 ERA, hurled four shutouts, and tossed one no-hitter. His pitchers followed up the strong performance last summer in the 2025 WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup when they recorded a tournament-best 1.62 ERA. In nine games, Brooks’ staff held opponents to a .145 batting average, striking out 52 batters in 62.0 innings of work to win the gold. This marks the fourth straight year that Brooks will be involved with the 12U National Team, as his first stint with the program began at 12U National Team Training Camp in 2023. In addition, Brooks has served as USA Baseball Task Force for the Futures Invitational and the National Team Identification Series (NTIS) Champions Cup for many years.

Before officially joining the 12U National Team staff in 2024, Brooks made his name coaching high school baseball in Alabama for over two decades. He played collegiately at Jacksonville State and spent a year in the minor leagues before beginning his career at his alma mater, Wellborn High School (Anniston, Ala.) in 2001. Brooks spent four seasons as head coach at Wellborn before taking the helm at Oxford High School (Oxford, Ala.), where he built one of the most respected programs in the state. His team competed in the first-ever USA Baseball National High School Invitational (NHSI) in 2012 and went 2-1 in tournament play, before capturing a state title the same season. In 2023, Brooks won his second state title in his final season, leading the Yellow Jackets to a 39-6 record. Brooks then transitioned into an athletics supervisor role at the school that he currently holds.

Stepping into Brooks’ previous role as pitching coach is Howell, who will make his Team USA coaching debut this summer. Howell is in his second season as the head coach of Mica Mountain High School (Tucson, Ariz.) following a storied past of coaching and scouting experience. He played collegiately at Wagner (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Southwest Baptist (Bolivar, Mo.). Since graduating, he has worked as a minor league strength and conditioning coach with the Washington Nationals, director of baseball operations at the El Paso Border Youth Association, recruiting coordinator at El Paso Community College, pitching coach at the College of Ozarks (Point Lookout, Mo.), head coach at Hesston Junior College (Hesston, Kan.), and associate scout for both the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers.

Howell has succeeded at each stop on the way, highlighted by his four years leading the Hesston program. He won a NJCAA Region VI Championship and Region Coach of the Year in 2016 and helped 35 players reach the collegiate level during his four years in Hesston. He has also been involved with USA Baseball since 2021, working as Task Force for USA Baseball events in both Phoenix, Arizona, and Cary, North Carolina, including last season when he helped select the roster that went on to claim gold in Taiwan. In addition to being the head coach at Mica Mountain, Howell is the dean of students and assistant athletic director.

Bringing further experience to the staff is Quesada, who will make his third appearance on the 12U National Team coaching staff after assisting in the team’s world cup-winning runs in 2023 and 2025. Quesada made his coaching debut in 2023 and under his guidance, the U.S. batted .484 as a team and outscored opponents by 83 runs in just nine games. He made his second appearance on the 12U National Team staff last summer, when he coached the gold-medal winning squad to an 8-1 record, .381 batting average, and 71 RBIs as a team. In addition to coaching, Quesada has served USA Baseball for the past 10 years as a member of the USA Baseball Task Force for the Futures Invitational, National Team Championships Arizona, and NTIS Champions Cup. He has served as the head coach of the baseball team at Mingus Union High School (Cottonwood, Ariz.) since 2018. Prior to his time at Mingus Union, Quesada coached at Texas Wesleyan, where he finished his collegiate playing career after stints at Western Oregon and Chandler-Gilbert Community College.

Rounding out the 2026 12U National Team staff is Houseton, who will make his Team USA coaching debut this summer. Houseton brings 26 years of experience coaching high school and travel baseball to the staff. He is currently in his 18th season as the head coach at Covenant Day School (Matthews, N.C.), where he has led the Lions to the state playoffs multiple times in his career and twice been named Coach of the Year in the Charlotte area. Houseton also coaches travel ball through the South Charlotte Braves Baseball Academy, which he has owned and operated for a decade. In this role, he has helped dozens of players in the 13U through 16U age groups reach the collegiate level. Houseton played collegiately at Motlow State and North Alabama.

Collectively, the staff looks to continue a storied streak of success for the 12U National Team, which has now won nine gold medals in international competition since its inception in 2013. The most recent victory at the 2025 WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup marks the program’s eighth gold medal in 12 years. The U.S. has medaled in six out of the seven WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cups it has participated in and currently leads all nations with six world cup titles.

The 12U National Team Training Camp will take place from June 22-26 in Cary, North Carolina, featuring five days of intrasquad games, on-field workouts, and player development. The final 18-player roster will be announced on June 26.

The full 2026 12U National Team schedule can be found here. USA Baseball will announce the competition format for the 2026 12U National Team at a later date. Follow along with the action by following @USABaseball12U on X and @USABaseball on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.