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Queensland won the Under 18 championships in 2023 but missed out on the medal rounds in 2024. Can they return to the top?

Preparation is at an all-time high with a large chunk of the teams playing in a tournament in Taiwan in December.

Let’s see what the Queenslanders can do in 2025!

For all your tournament information, head to www.baseball.com.au/ayc2025/.

We’re previewing each state in the U16 and U18 ahead of the 2025 Australian Youth Baseball Championships in Blacktown from January 7-15. Head here for full coverage and schedule.

Make sure you follow us at @baseball.com.au on Instagram and Facebook for coverage.

Broadcast of games on Diamond 1 will be provided live, free and on-demand on Baseball+.

UNDER 16 ROSTER – QUEENSLAND

Queensland bring an experienced squad to the fray. Fourteen players are aged 15 at the time of the tournament.

You’ll want to remember this name: Alonzo Zaire Griffin.

The 15-year-old was hurt in the first game of last year’s tournament but he is one of the best of his age-group. He won a Little League and Intermediate League World Series with the Brisbane North Vikings and played for Australia’s U16 team.

Griffin is a legitimate two-way star.

Tirrell Waiwai has also helped Brisbane North win a few championships. He’ll be slated to start some important games this tournament.

Thomas White pitched a gutsy effort in the 2024 Junior League Championship game. He has winning experience and can go deep into games.

Outfielder Logan Lokeni has been teammates with Griffin & Waiwai throughout their Little League exploits and is primed to make an impact, too.

“Logan Lokeni, he’s one of the youngest in the team still playing senior league but his attitude and determination is something that everyone in our team should and does admire,” say teammate Bailey Russell.

Blake Pearce, Hunter Ryan and Troy Dean are three more 15-year-olds who are listed as pitchers. The depth should pay off.

The Under 16s have the pitching, they have the stars, and they have players who have championship experience.

Will the stars align for them in Blacktown?

UNDER 18 ROSTER – QUEENSLAND

Queensland should be contenders. They have a nice blend of experience, Team Australia talent, and high-level preparation.

Much of this group played in in an international tournament in Taiwan in December. They also had an exhibition game vs New Zealand in early December, and time vs Perfect Game USA in January. They’re in form.

They also have three position players and a pitcher who represented Australia at last month’s U18 World Cup Qualifiers.

They are: catcher Cooper Teichmann, catcher Wes Wilford, outfielder Liam Kiddle and pitcher Kobi Wise.

The Team Australia catching duo of Teichmann and Wilford should provide great stability.

Of all the names to watch for most Queensland players shoutout 17-year-old middle-infielder / pitcher Caleb Duke.

“He was our captain on the Taiwan trip,” says teammate Andre Chang. “He is a powerful two way who can perform on both the mound and the batter’s box while playing solid defence up the middle when needed.”

Pitcher Kobi Wise moves up from the 16s to the 18s this season. He tossed three innings vs USA 15U in September, allowing just one run.

16-year-olds Cooper Teichmann, Kobi Wise, Thomas Calvert and Paddy McLoughlin all also played for Australia’s U16 team on a USA tour in September.

17-year-old Luka Moore is also gaining attention from teammates.

“He’s a hard worker with a firm fastball I’m hoping he does well this tournament,” says Paddy McLoughlin.

The Australian Youth Championships are set to return to Blacktown, NSW in 2025 with a slightly altered tournament format and set-up.

Seven representative teams – Queensland, ACT, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, New South Wales and New South Wales country – from the Under 16 and Under 18 age group will battle it out for a national championship.

All games will be played at Blacktown International Sportspark in front of over a dozen MLB scouts, with a chance for players to showcase their abilities to a vast baseball network.

You will be able to follow along the tournament through our broadcasts on Baseball+ and on digital platforms.

There are a couple notable changes to the event this year.

There will be two different start and finish dates for the tournament, and the finals format has altered.

Let’s run through both the changes.

CHANGE 1: STAGGERED START

Based on the loaded schedule when running simultaneous Australian Youth Championship tournaments, the decision has been made to continue hosting both events together, however, the start date for each tournament will be two days apart.

The Under 16 tournament will run from January 7-13, and the Under 18 event from January 9-15.

Baseball Australia’s tournament manager Michael Ibbotson says this will allow for more flexibility and contingency planning in case of weather.

“The staggered start still provides the large event experience, whilst making allowances for inclement weather and the prioritising of games shortly after,” says Ibbotson. “The list of contingency schedules and facilities are currently being finalised.”

In previous years, both the Under 16 and Under 18 tournaments started and finished on the same days.

CHANGE 2: REVAMPED FINALS 

The tournament will still open with a round robin between the seven teams, but will conclude in a different way.

There will be a double-elimination tournament between the top four team in the finals.

Here’s how the tournament format will work:
– Each team will play a full round robin of six games each, playing each opponent once;

– The top four teams will advance to the finals and be seeded #1 through #4 based on record;

– The finals will feature a double elimination bracket, similar to the Australian Women’s Championships;

– The #1 seed will play the #4 seed, and #2 will play #3;

– The winners of those games will advance to a qualifying final, the losers will play in an elimination game;

– The winner of the Prelim Final advances to the Gold Medal game, the loser will play the winner of the elimination final in the preliminary final.

Finals mock schedule:

Game 1 – #1 vs #4
Game 2 – #2 vs #3
Game 3 (Qualifying Final) – Winner G1 vs Winner G2
Game 4 (Elimination Final) – Loser G1 vs Loser G2
Game 5 (Preliminary Final) – Winner G4 vs Loser G3
Game 6 (Gold Medal) – Winner Game 3 vs Winner Game 5

In past years, the Top 4 teams would play a second stage of round robin games prior to seeding into medal games.

“This new format will reward higher seeds and place more importance on games in the second stage of each tournament,” says Baseball Australia tournament manager Michael Ibbotson.