My Signature: Tyler Johnson Proudly Represents the U.S.A. and the Gamecocks

The first time I put on the Team USA jersey, I was in my hotel. I wanted to put it on before I got to the field just to see what I looked like. Red, White and Blue is a little different than Garnet and Black.

It was pretty special.

When I made the roster, there were so many emotions that ran through me pretty quickly. At first I felt humbled. This was something I always wanted to do since I was a kid.

I remember buying USA Baseball hats when I was little and watched those guys. I never thought I would be able to do that, so when I made the team, it was a big personal accomplishment.

I also wanted to keep in mind that I was also representing my hometown and my school, and hopefully I did that the right way. I didn’t want to perform for myself. I wanted to perform for the United States and everybody back home.

They played our national anthem at the games. That was actually my favorite part of the whole trip because it’s playing there, and you’re all the way across the world. You start thinking about everyone back home; your friends and family. You get a little homesick, but you’re also thinking about how wonderful the United States is, and how truly lucky we are to be able to live here.

I pitched a scoreless ninth in a 1–0 win over Japan.

That was one of the tougher things I had to do because they are very disciplined hitters. I got the first out, but the next guy hit a double, so I knew I had to get the next two guys out. I had to stick with what got me to where I was. I was that guy for that spot. It was very intense. That got me pretty fired up.

As the 11th Gamecock to play for the Collegiate National Team, I assume there are people who were a lot better than me on that list. It’s a pretty cool list to be a part of and it’s something I’ll always remember.

Now that I’m back at South Carolina, I can’t wait to get back with this team. I think we have a really special team, and hopefully we’ll be able to make a run at some things. I’ve been looking forward to that all summer.