Dylan Culwell looks back on time in World Baseball Classic

Last year, fans across the world had the chance to experience the World Baseball Classic for the first time since 2017.

For current Trash Pandas athletic trainer Dylan Culwell, it presented an opportunity to represent Team Italy on the biggest stage.

Growing up with an Italian background, Culwell grew up watching hall of famer Mike Piazza representing his country in 2006 and knew it was something he wanted to be a part of.

A baseball player himself, Culwell took athletic training courses on the side and ultimately chose that as a career path.

“I knew I wanted to stay around sports,” Culwell said. “When I was going to college, I had some offers to play at smaller schools but I chose the school I went to in Tabor College because they had an athletic training program.”

That led Culwell to the Angels organization where he would meet Jack Santora, the then defensive coach while the two were with High-A Tri-City.

Santora had represented Team Italy in a pair of World Baseball Classic’s as a player and was the infield coach for the 2023 team.

It was through Santora where Culwell discovered athletic trainers were needed for 2023 and didn’t hesitate to list his preferred team when an email came from the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society (PBATS).

“Send me an email back with your top three teams,” Culwell said. “Being Italian and having that upbringing, I only put Italy.”

Once there, Culwell joined a roster which was managed by Piazza and featured notable big leaguers such as Kansas City Royals infielder Vinny Pasquantino, Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Sal Frelick and former all-star starting pitcher Matt Harvey.

While several players on the roster had experience in the major leagues, the goal for Culwell and the rest of the staff was to recreate that experience for everyone on the roster.

“Make it as big league of an experience as we could for these guys,” Culwell said. “Being a younger athletic trainer in baseball, it was nice being around an experienced staff.”

With the games taking place during MLB spring training, updating the organizations which the players came from became especially important throughout the trip.

“We had to be sure that these guys went back the same way we got them,” Culwell said. “If anything changed or came up, just make sure everyone was on the same page.”

Team Italy played its group stage games in Taiwan and after qualifying for the quarterfinals, traveled to Tokyo where the run came to an end against the eventual winner in Japan.

Despite being well-traveled himself, there was nothing like the experience he received at both countries according to Culwell.

“I’ve been to 26 countries, I’ve never been to Taiwan or Japan and the response we got from these countries was overwhelming,” Culwell said. “They love baseball, that’s all they wanted to watch and they wanted to make sure that everyone had the best time while they were there.”

Although the fun business trip didn’t last long, the bond Team Italy made during that time is what Culwell believes made the group unique as they are still in touch today.

“Team Italy still has their WhatsApp group chat,” Culwell said. “If someone does something extraordinary during the season, highlights go up and we’re planning for 2026 and what we’re gonna do then.”

When talking about 2026, Culwell plans to be right there with Team Italy but would understand if things go another direction.

“I’m hoping I’m still involved but I’d be ok if someone else got that opportunity because it’s something people should experience,” Culwell said “The plan is right now to be part of that team.”

Working on that stage as a young athletic trainer in baseball, Culwell had a lot to take away from the experience. The most important thing being you can never stop learning.

“It doesn’t matter what team you're with, where you come from, what you’ve done, you can always learn from the guy next to you,” Culwell said. “I think I became a better athletic trainer because of the experience.”

It’s an experience he’s also tried to recreate with the Rocket City Trash Pandas during his first season with the organization.

“It’s a big league experience at the WBC, so I’ve always tried to give that feeling in the athletic training room,” Culwell said. “I want to treat every one of my players like a big leaguer, whether they’ve been there or not.”

Creating that big league experience could allow both Culwell and the Trash Pandas to adapt quicker when they receive the call to the show.

“I want to make it to the big leagues and so do our Panda players,” Culwell said. “Being able to recreate some familiarity with that into the Trash Pandas, it makes it an easier transition once they get that call up.”

When looking back at the major milestone from being on the team, it’s an experience Culwell will never forget.

“Special is an understatement,” Culwell said. “I think it was the best experience I’ve had personally and professionally in my life. We probably had the best environment to be around.”