Oregon State freshman closer Kevin Rhoderick was named to the 22-man collegiate USA Baseball National Team on Tuesday, but catcher Ryan Ortiz didn’t make the cut.

Two spots remain, and will be filled later this week after the College World Series concludes.

It’s the third time with the USA Team for Rhoderick, who played on the junior national team in 2005 and 2006.

“It’s a huge honor to represent my country and play the best players from around the world,” Rhoderick said in a phone interview from Greenville, S.C., on a rare day off.

This year’s team plays a six-game series against Chinese Taipei that begins today and concludes June 30. Then it is scheduled to play at Haarlem Baseball Week in The Netherlands from July 5-13 and the World Collegiate Baseball Championship in the Czech Republic from July 17-27.

Exhibitions are scheduled before and after the tournaments.

The team is not the USA Olympic Team. That team is made up of professional players, and will be announced July 16.

“I’ve never been out to The Netherlands, so I can’t wait to go there,” Rhoderick said. “Playing the games against guys who are 28 years old is going to be fun and the highlight, but we should have enough down time to get to see some of Europe, too.”

Rhoderick becomes the fourth OSU player to make the team, joining Kevin Gunderson and Jonah Nickerson in 2005 and Darwin Barney in 2006.

The Scottsdale, Ariz., native appeared in six games at the USA Baseball tryouts the last two weeks throughout New England the Carolinas, which consisted of 12 games against New England Collegiate Baseball League teams, the Chinese National Team and intersquad contests.

He threw six innings in those appearances, allowing six hits and one earned run, while striking out 10. He posted an ERA of 1.50. Four of the games he worked as the closer and two as the setup man.

He pitched two days in a row three times with time off in-between to see how his arm responded in those intervals.

“I pitched really well, and felt really good when I was out there,” Rhoderick said. “The coaches at Oregon State really helped me with my pitching. My fastball and slider were on, and I mixed in the change-up. The coaches here really liked my attitude, and how I approached the game.”