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The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has a tight baseball community. Any chance they have to proudly represent interstate is an hour.

It’s a team made up of locals who have been together for ages, complimented by top-tier talent who just missed out on NSW state selection.

How will the group come together in January? Only one way to find out.

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

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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.

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

Of the players on their roster, twelve are from the ACT. The rest are friendship players from NSW.

While ACT will take it one game at a time, a big advantage they have is team unity and experience vs high quality opposition.

This crop of kids from the ACT have played with each other in charter tournaments and all throughout the Australian Youth Championship Ranks.

Elijah Tanouye, Cooper McMaster, Nate Quigg, Dom Hamilton, Nathan Corcoran, Benjamin Nash, Liam Oshyer, Jaden Angelo and Jack Blundell all have experience at the Division 1 level in the Capital. Their experience vs grown men might play into their favour.

Nate Quigg will likely shoulder the load in big games for the Capital.

“He throws the ball hard and has lots of good pitches. Can and will be lights out,” says teammate Cooper McMaster.

McMaster himself is no slouch. He is a first grade pitcher in Canberra and also one of the older guys in the team.

Both will be throwing to ACT catcher Dominic Hamilton who has been situated behind the plate for his state since 2021 at various representative levels.

Amongst the interstate players, there are a few to keep your eyes on.

One just may be Ryan Chou.

The versatile infielder had a big tournament for NSW Metro’s U16 Gold Medal squad in 2024. He was rewarded with selection to Australia’s national U16 team that travelled to the United States. As a younger player, he wasn’t selected to the U18s of his home state but will have a chance to make an impact here.