Wichita State’s Ron Baker was named Sunday to the U.S. basketball team that will compete later this month in the Pan American Games in Toronto. His Shocker teammate Fred VanVleet did not make the final cut.
The official roster for the team was announced Sunday after the 16 finalists’ last practice at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Baker and VanVleet, both seniors at Wichita State, were among 16 who advanced before the final cut was made Sunday.
Baker, from Scott City, Kansas, is the first WSU player to ever appear on a Pan-Am Games men’s basketball roster. He’s also the first active Shocker in over three decades to represent the U.S. in international competition.
The Pan American Games are a multi-sport event featuring teams from North, South and Central America as well as the Caribbean. The games are played every four years in the year preceding the Olympics. The U.S. squad will play in the Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada, July 21-25.