Fighting Illini freshman Aidan Flinn has accepted an invitation to the 2026 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp, the organization announced on May 17.
Flinn will attend the training camp from June 24 to July 5, where he will compete for a spot on the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. The team is set to participate in the inaugural World Collegiate Baseball Championship in Taichung City, Taiwan. This event will feature collegiate national teams from Chinese Taipei, Japan, and Korea and is scheduled for July 11-15 at Taichung City Intercontinental Baseball Stadium.
During training camp in Cary, North Carolina, Flinn will play with CNT Stripes. The exhibition schedule includes games against Appalachian League teams before moving into the Stars vs. Stripes Series from June 30 to July 4. Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb was named manager of the 2026 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team earlier this year.
In his first season with Illinois, Flinn has posted a 2.67 earned run average over fourteen appearances and twelve starts. He has pitched fifty-four innings during the regular season with fifty-one strikeouts and a WHIP of 0.87 while holding opposing hitters to a .188 batting average.
The University of Illinois Fighting Illini baseball program participates in conference and non-conference games as part of its development efforts under NCAA Division I and Big Ten Conference rules; it offers student-athletes opportunities for competition, growth, and academic achievement as part of intercollegiate athletics at the university, according to the official website.
Flinn and his teammates are set to open play in the Big Ten Tournament on Tuesday against Iowa.
