Breaking News: USA Softball Announces Roster for U-18 Junior Women’s National Team

The opportunity to represent the United States as a member of the 2021 USA Softball U-18 Junior Women’s National Team (JWNT) became real for 18 athletes following a two-day selection trial process held at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Selected by members of the Junior Women’s National Team Selection Committee (JWNTSC), the 16-player roster and two replacement players will compete at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 World Cup in Lima, Peru August 28 – September 5 and the Junior Pan American Games in Barranquilla, Columbia November 25 – December 5.

“I am enthused for this team to display their athleticism and talent,” said 2021 JWNT Head Coach Kyla Holas (Pasadena, Texas). “This will be most of the team’s first international experience and opportunity to represent the United States of America; however, I feel their attributes balance out well and I look forward to returning back to action after over a year hiatus.

Here is the list of the 16 who will compete for Team USA:

* Valerie Cagle, Pitcher

* Raelin Chafflin, Pitcher

* Mac Morgan, Pitcher

* Keagan Rothrock, Pitcher

* Maci Bergeron, Catcher

* Olivia Johnson, Catcher

* Erin Coffel, Infield

* Alyssa Brito, Infield

* Megan Grant, Infield

* Avery Hodge, Infield

* Rylee Holtorf, Infield

* Joecelia Roberts, Infield

* Mia Scott, Infield

* Ashton Maloney, Outfield

* Keely Williams, Outfield

* Violet Zavodnik, Outfield

Due to the postponement of the WBSC U-18 World Cup, which was originally scheduled to take place in August 2020, the WBSC extended the age eligibility to allow athletes who were eligible for the 2020 event with the opportunity to participate in the rescheduled event this year.

With the extended age eligibility, the 2021 USA Softball U-18 Junior Women’s National Team roster includes one member of the 2019 U-17 JWNT World Championship Gold Medal team, six current NCAA Division I student-athletes and 12 committed and/or signed NCAA Division I student athletes – four of which also advanced to the JWNT Selection Trials through the USA Softball High Performance Program (HPP).

“I want to thank all of the athletes who competed in the tryout process. We appreciate the work done by the coaches and the USA Softball staff at the trials and the committee members who were involved in the selection of this year’s teams,” Holas continued.

Led by Head Coach Kyla Holas and Assistant Coaches Suzy Brazy (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Lisa Navas (Tarpon Springs, Fla.), the Red, White and Blue will look to claim a fourth-consecutive WBSC Junior Women’s World Championship title, having won the previous three World Championships in 2015, 2017 and 2019. Additionally, the 2021 U-18 JWNT roster will compete for the gold medal at the Junior Pan American Games.