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USA Softball announced today the athletes that will represent the U.S. at the inaugural World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-15 Women’s Softball World Cup set to take place October 21-29 in Tokyo, Japan.
Qualifying at the 2023 U-15 Women’s Pan American Championship in April, the 16-player roster will travel to Japan with sights set on gaining its third gold medal finish of the year.
Athletes were selected by the USA Softball Junior Women’s National Team Selection Committee (JWNTSC) after previously competing in both the U-15 Women’s Pan American Championship and the Utsugi Cup, where both teams finished victorious.
Click here for more information on the WBSC U-15 Women’s Softball World Cup »
At the helm of the U-15 Women’s Softball World Cup roster is head coach Kyla Holas alongside assistant coach Iyhia McMichael (head coach at Frisco Emerson HS).
Holas and McMichael previously led the U-15 WNT to a gold medal finish at the U-15 Women’s Pan American Championship earlier this year, along with a first-place finish at the 2023 U-15 Utsugi Cup last month.
Additional members of the coaching staff will be announced at a later date.
“It has been a thrill to see these athletes compete and come together as a team during the first two stages of events,” said Holas. “Each of them are exceptional athletes and young women in our sport.”
A result of the USA Softball High Performance Program (HPP), the 16-player roster consists of athletes from the Pan American Championship and Utsugi Cup rosters including three athletes from the Pan American Championship roster, one athlete from the Utsugi Cup roster and 12 athletes who represented the U.S. on both previous rosters.
Representing six different regions across the U.S., the roster is highlighted by six athletes from Region 10 (California), along with five players from Region 5 (Texas), two from Region 3 (Florida, South Carolina) and one athlete apiece from Region 2 (Virginia), Region 7 (Kansas) and Region 9 (Utah).
Click here to view the complete 2023 U.S. U-15 Women’s National Team WBSC World Cup roster » which is also published here:
World-ranked No. 1 Team USA will compete alongside 11 other countries at the inaugural U-15 World Cup with opponents including Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Puerto Rico who each qualified at the Pan American Championship after placing in the top five behind the U.S.
The Eagles will also see Japan and Italy once again after matchups at the U-15 Utsugi Cup in Takasaki City, Japan last month where the Eagles clinched the championship title after defeating Japan 1-0.
Rounding out the playing field in Japan will be the Czech Republic, New Zealand and Uganda in addition to Chinese Taipei and the Philippines who each qualified this past weekend.
“I look forward to one last challenge with the selected athletes and know the summer they have scheduled before them and the experience they developed in Peru and Japan will be key to moving through this last World Cup event,” added Holas.
The inaugural event will be played across three stadiums in Tokyo, Japan including Komazawa Olympic Park Sports Complex Baseball Stadium, Ota Stadium and Setagaya City Okura Sports Center Baseball Ground.
Advancing through the HPP and showcasing the opportunity of being involved in the Pipeline to the Women’s National Team Program, the selected athletes mark the first of their age group to advance to the world cup stage.
The HPP was created in 2020 with the goal of identifying a pool of athletes to train, compete and represent USA Softball in domestic and international competitions.
To learn more about the HPP or to get involved, visit USASoftball.com.
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