When it was announced that former Team Italy manager Gilberto (Gibo) Gerali was appointed the director of the newly-created Parma and Crocetta Baseball Development Academy on the same day as the Italian American Baseball Foundation (IABF) Gala in Brooklyn, New York on December 2, 2021, Federazione Italiana Baseball Softball (FIBS) President Andrea Marcon and IABF President Joe Quagliano were approached by FIBS media representative Roberto Angotti to bring Gibo Gerali and 10 of his most promising Italian prospects to San Francisco, California for the IABF Bay Area Collegiate Baseball Games from April 20-27, 2022.

In the spirit of the Sister Cities relationship between Parma, Italy and Stockton, California, it was natural to select Parma favorite Gibo Gerali to lead the Italian delegation to the San Francisco Bay Area. To be fair to all the local clubs so that it did not impede on their respective Serie A games, he made sure not to take away too many players from each team and find a balanced squad that could represent the area. .