News

A 20-man roster has been announced for the upcoming WBSC Oceania U18 World Cup Qualifiers.

The team will head to Auckland, New Zealand in early December to play against Guam, Northern Marianas Pacific and host New Zealand.

The winner of this tournament will book their spot in the 2023 WBSC U18 World Cup.

There is a solid combination of players from all over the country as the roster is comprised of 2 QLD, 7 NSW, 4 WA, 3 VIC & 4 SA players.

8 of the 20 were selected as first-year players in the 2022 U18 National Junior Squad that were in Florida earlier this year and are back.

The tournament is from 12 December-15 December in Auckland. Follow all Team Australia social media accounts to stay up to date with the results of the games.’

Team Australia’s opponents and schedule at the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) has been finalised.

Australia will compete in Group B with some of the best countries in the world including Japan (#1), South Korea (#3), Czech Republic (#14) and China (#21).

Australia, currently placed 10th in the WBSC Rankings, will travel to Tokyo to face their Group B opponents from March 9-13. Each team will play each other once in the tournament’s opening round.

There are four groups of five teams across the tournament with opening round games in Taiwan, Japan and the United States.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the second round in Tokyo from March 15-16.

The championship round will be contested in Miami from March 19–21

The WBC is an international professional baseball tournament featuring the best players from across the globe. The 2023 tournament will be the fifth edition of the WBC after 2021 was cancelled due to COVID-19. The last one happened in 2017.

Australia has played in all four previous World Baseball Classics but has yet to advance to the second round.

This summer is important for Australian baseball players vying to make the roster for the most prestigious baseball tournament in the world.

Coaching staff and selectors will have plenty of upcoming opportunities to scout talent. The first comes next weekend when Team Australia plays the Perth Heat in an exhibition series from October 28-30 in Western Australia.

The best test will come November 9-10 when Australia travels to Tokyo to play Japan in a two-game exhibition series.

The Australian Baseball League starts November 10 with ten rounds of exciting baseball featuring teams from across the country, New Zealand and Korea.

Some of the country’s best young talent is also currently competing at the Under-23 World Cup in Taiwan.

Stay tuned to baseball.com.au for more information as the tournament approaches.

GROUPS AND SCHEDULE

Group A – Contested in Taichung, Taiwan from March 8–13.
Panama
Chinese Taipei
Cuba
Netherlands
Italy

Group B – Contested in Tokyo, Japan from March 9-13
Australia
China
Czech Republic
Japan
South Korea

Group C – Contested in Phoenix, USA from March 11-15
Canada
Colombia
Great Britain
Mexico
USA

Group D – Contested in Miami, USA from March 11-15
Dominican Republic
Israel
Nicaragua
Puerto Rico
Venezuela

TEAM AUSTRALIA SCHEDULE (local time)

March 9 – vs South Korea (12:00PM)
March 11 – vs China (12:00PM)
March 12 – vs Japan (7:00PM)
March 13 – vs Czech Republic (12:00PM)

Written by Eric Balner for Baseball Australia

The Team Australia line-up to take on World Champions Japan in a two-game series at the Sapporo Dome on the 9th and 10th of November 2022 has been announced.

David Nilsson’s men return to the world stage with an action-packed line-up filled with international and ABL experience.

Leading the team are co-captains Tim Atherton and Tim Kennelly, with five players each from the Brisbane Bandits, Adelaide Giants and the Perth Heat, eight from the Melbourne Aces ABL champion team, the Sydney Blue Sox with three players and Robbie Perkins from Canberra Cavalry. Kyle Glogoski from Auckland Tuatara will make his debut for the team to round out a Team Australia side loaded with talent and experience.

The roster features some of Australia’s up and coming professional players who will debut for the Men’s team. Cameron Gibbens, Jarryd Dale, Rixon Wingrove and Solomon Maguire will come off professional seasons in the USA to debut for the Senior Men’s team.

It has been a long three-year absence of international baseball for our Men’s Team Australia side to which our representatives will be looking to pick up where they left off from the Premier12.

Baseball Australia CEO Glenn Williams, believes the team has what it takes to compete against the world number 1’s.

“It will be great to see this team compete against the Olympic Gold Medallists and current World Champions; it has been a while since they’ve had the chance to compete on the world stage and it will be a great content and the perfect start to a big six months for Team Australia with the WBC right around the corner.”

It will be the first senior international game for Samurai Japan since the Olympics where they claimed gold against the best in the world.

The two-game series will take place before the Australian Baseball League (ABL) season with ABL players set to join their teams for the commencement of the Opening Round.

Stay across Team Australia and Baseball.com.au social media for all the latest team and where to watch information.

Team Australia is set to take on World Champions Japan in a two-game series at the Sapporo Dome on the 9th and 10th of November 2022.

It has been a long three-year absence of international baseball for our Men’s Team Australia side to which our representatives will be looking to pick up where they left off from the Premier 12s.

It will be the first senior international game for Team Japan since the Olympics where they claimed gold against the best in the world.

The two-game series will take place before the Australian Baseball League (ABL) season with ABL players set to join their teams for the commencement of the Opening Round.

These games will be a preview of how Team Australia will line up for the upcoming World Baseball Classic, which is set to launch on March 8th 2023.

Team Australian Manager David Nilsson is thrilled to be back in the green and gold and ready to lead the team into a new season of international baseball.

“It is always and honour and very challenging to play against Team Japan and this will be a great opportunity to bring new players into the team and start our preparation for the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC).”

Baseball Australia CEO Glenn Williams is thrilled to be able to bring international baseball to the fans at home and abroad.

“ Our relationship with the NPB and Samurai Japan is strong, and we’ve worked closely for quite a while to secure this series. It will be amazing to be in Sapporo in November competing against the number 1 team in the world.”

“ This series, followed by ABL season 22/23 and then the WBC in March 2023, promises to be an actioned packed period of time for baseball fans.”

The full team roster, details on how to watch and other information about the series in Japan will be released in the lead-up to the series.