COLORADO SRINGS, CO – The National Wheelchair Basketball Association and U.S. Men's Head Coach, Robb Taylor, have announced the initial selection of seventeen athletes to the pool for consideration for the 2022 Toyota Team USA Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team. This selection was made at the conclusion of the 2022 Toyota Team USA Men’s Selection Camp, a five-day camp at the United States Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO. The 17 selected athletes will continue to train and compete for a final roster spot on the 2022 Toyota Team U.S.A Men’s National Wheelchair Basketball Team.

Thoughts on selection camp were shared by U.S. Men's Head Coach, Robb Taylor, “It was great to see the development of individuals skills and level of understanding for team concepts by so many of the athletes during camp.” Taylor continues his comments on camp, “My staff and I are delighted to have this pool of athletes to work with towards an initial goal of qualifying for Worlds.”

The initial pool of selected athletes includes three returning athletes from the gold medal winning U.S. Men’s team from the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics this past summer. Joining this veteran core are a few athletes that have made it past previous initial selections for the U.S. Men’s team. Though the bulk of the pool of athletes will be individuals striving to wear the red, white and blue for the first time for the U.S. Men’s Senior National Team.

Brian Bell (Birmingham, AL) is among those initially selected and is coming off defending a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, Bell having first won gold with the U.S. Men’s team at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. Bell looks to have the opportunity for another podium finish at the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) World Championships having been a member of the silver medal winning U.S. Men’s team at this event in 2014 and 2018. Bell is also a gold medalist from the 2015 and 2019 Parapan American Games.

Both Jorge Sanchez (Oakland, CA) and John Boie (Milton, WI) return to the pool after making their Paralympic debuts in a successful 2020 campaign, winning a gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics. Boie and Sanchez also earned a silver medal at 2018 IWBF World Championships. Lastly, as teammates Boie and Sanchez’s trophy cases include gold medals from the 2017 IWBF America’s Cup and 2019 Parapan American Games.

Another selection to the pool includes Jorge Salazar (Delano, CA) who is gold medalist with U.S. Men’s roster for the 2017 IWBF America’s Cup in Cali, Columbia. Salazar was named as an alternate for the U.S. Men’s teams in 2019 and 2020. Currently Salazar is playing professionally in Spain on Gran Canaria. Salazar is a retired U.S. Marine Corps Corporal that has been awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart recipient.

Fabian Romo (Chicago, IL) remains active in the NWBA High Performance Program with an initial selection and recently was named an alternate for the U.S. Men’s roster in 2020. Romo earned his first Team USA experience at the IWBF U23 America’s Zonal Qualifier and IWBF U23 World Championships in 2017.

Chayse Wolf (Clover, SC) and Jeromie Meyer (Woodbine, IA) both attempt to make their second U.S. roster after being teammates of Romo’s on member of both U.S. U23 Men’s teams in 2017. Wolf was a graduate and member of the wheelchair basketball team at Edinboro University. Meyer has played in the Intercollegiate Division for both University of Nebraska – Omaha and University of Wisconsin – Whitewater.

Dylan Fischbach (Vermillion, SD) looks to add to his career accolades by making the final roster on the U.S. Men’s Senior National Team. Fischbach has made previous initial selections for the U.S. Men’s, most recently in 2018. Fischbach has playing experience playing with the Milwaukee Wheelchair Bucks and currently is playing professionally for the Thuringia Bulls in Germany.

Peter Berry (Houston, TX) and Talen Jourdan (Deerfield, WI) join the pool after recently capturing their first podium finish on Team USA as the U.S. U23 Men’s team captured gold at the IWBF U23 American's Zonal Qualifier in March 2022. Berry was first listed on a roster as an alternate for U23 U.S Men’s team for the 2017 IWBF U23 World Championships. Jourdan just finished the 2021-22 NWBA season playing at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

An initial selection for Derrick Bisnett (Whitewater, WI) allows him to continue to eye his first shot at making a U.S. Men’s Senior National Team. Bisnett found success as a Warhawk at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater winning three consecutive national championships and being name MVP of the Intercollegiate Division.

Matt Bollig (Chanute, KS) continues his effort to again earn the opportunity to wear “USA” on his chest after joining a Team USA roster that included Salazar at the 2016 Kitakyushu Champions Cup. Bollig also has played at University of Missouri in the Intercollegiate Division and for Adult Division I and II teams in Kansas City.

Making their first initial selection are Lindy Bridges (Bryant, AL), Spencer Heslop (Clearfield, UT) and Correy Rossi (Canton, MI). Both Heslop and Rossi played within the NWBA Intercollegiate Division as they obtained their bachelor’s degrees from the University of Illinois-Champaign. Heslop just finished the 2021-22 NWBA season playing for the University of Michigan in Adult Division III. Rossi has been playing professionally in German with the Doneck Dolphins since 2017. Bridges won two national championships while attending undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Alabama.

Auburn University teammates Luke Robinson (Everett, WA) and Joe Rafter (West Chester, PA) work towards a shared goal of making the final U.S. Men’s roster. Both Robinson and Rafter also remain in the pool of eligible athletes for selection to the U.S. U23 Men’s team attending the 2022 IWBF U23 World Championships on September 8-16 in Phuket, Thailand.

The team will continue to train and make additional selections to craft the final team rosters for this year’s competitions. The 2022 Toyota Team U.S.A Men’s National Wheelchair Basketball Team will attend the 2022 America's Cup in Sao Paulo, Brazil on July 9-19, 2022. The 2022 America's Cup, hosted by IWBF Americas, will serve as the qualifier for the 2022 IWBF World Championships taking place November 16-27, 2022, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. For the men's division of 2022 America's Cup there will be eight teams competing for one of the four team spots available for the IWBF World Championships.

Also joining Head Coach Robb Taylor on the sidelines will be:

- Assistant Coach Christian Burkett of Seattle, Washington

- Assistant Coach Scott Meyer of Columbia, Missouri

- Assistant Coach Michael Paye of Warren, Michigan

- Team Leader Tony Frescas of Omaha, Nebraska

- Athletic Trainer Jeremy Johnson of Dothan, Alabama

Assisting in preparations as part of the extended staff are:

- Strength and Conditioning Coach Katie McClosky of Houston, Texas

- Sports Dietitian Marta Scechura of Chicago, Iillinois

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