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Jason Pospishil will lead an accomplished group of Australian coaches at the 2025 Under 18 World Cup.

From September 5-14, the best Under 18-age players will compete in Okinawa, Japan for the title of World Champion.

The skipper, Jason Pospishil, brings plenty of experience to the fray.

Pospishil (below, middle left), affectionately known as ‘Pops’ in Australian baseball circles, is the current manager of Australian’s National Women’s Team (the Emeralds). He led the Emeralds during their 2023 Women’s World Cup campaign.

Pospishil coached the Under 18 Australians through the qualifiers in December, 2024.

He brings plenty of punch on his resume including:
– Current manager of the Emeralds, Australia’s national women’s team;
– Former manager of Sydney Blue Sox (ABL);
– Former MLB scout;
– Former assistant coach with Australian men’s senior team;
– Former high performance manager with BaseballNSW;
– Former professional player with the Minnesota Twins’ organisation;

“It’s always an honour and privilege to be asked to lead a team that represents your country. No matter how many times you do it, it always feels the same,” says Pospishil

Joining Pops on his staff is:

– Assistant Coach – Shayne Watson: Long-time assistant coach on the senior men’s team, U23 World Cup manager, former Brisbane Bandits manager.

– Assistant Coach – Damian Shanahan: Long-time assistant coach on senior men’s team, U23 World Cup assistant coach, Melbourne Aces assistant coach, Performance Pathways coach with Baseball Victoria;

– Pitching Coach – Justin Clark: Long-time pitching coach for South Australia, U18 Pitching Coach at Perfect Game Trips to USA

– EO – Andrew Riddell: Baseball Australia’s National Player Development Manager and New York Mets Scout.

“I am looking forward to working together with the Coaching Staff and BA player development staff to prepare this team to compete in the 18U World Cup in September,” says Pospishil.

“Along with the help of the relevant state performance pathway leads, I am fully confident that our athletes will be in a space to compete and work towards being the number one tournament team in the world.”

Team Australia U18 will host a national selection camp on the Gold Coast in August. Invitations were sent to 29 players in February. You can view the list here.

For information on the 2025 U18 World Cup, you can visit the WBSC Website. 

Australia has qualified for the 2025 WBSC U18 World Baseball Cup after defeating New Zealand in a best-of-five series in Blacktown by a score of 5-0.

Australia will play at the World Cup in Japan, 2025.

Game recaps are below. Scroll down for rosters and info.

LIVE SCORING LINK: Follow on Game Changer

Live Update: Australia leads best-of-five series 2-0.

Game 1 – Thursday 5 December – Australia 10 def New Zealand 0
Game 2 – Thursday 5 December – Australia 4 def New Zealand 2
Game 3 – Friday 6 December – Australia 19 def New Zealand 6
Game 4 – Sunday 8 December – Australia 11 def New Zealand 1
Game 5 – Sunday 8 December – Australia 5 def New Zealand 0

RECAPS

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Game 5 – Australia 5 def New Zealand 0

Four Australian pitchers combined to one-hit New Zealand to wrap up the series.

Riley Peoples (3.0 innings), Mitch Evans (2.0 innings), Deakin Filko (1.0 innings) and Will Couzner (1.0) looked in fantastic form in the win.

New Zealand managed just one hit in the seance inning. The pitchers combined to strike out six batters and allowed just one walk.

Zach Altamura cashed in the first run of the game in the first inning on a two-out RBI single.

Ben Nesbit helped score a pair in the second to push Australia out to a 3-0 lead. Christian Lane and Riley Cooper each drove in a run to round out the scoring in the fifth.

It’s Australia’s fifth victory in the five game series.

Game 4 – Australia 11 def New Zealand 1

Australia has jumped out to a 4-0 series lead after another impressive batting display.

Max Durrington chipped in with three hits and two walks from the lead-off spot. Riley Cooper led the offence, going 2-for-4 with four RBI.

Australia came firing out of a cannon. They opened play with a pair of singles to Max Durrington & Ben Nesbitt.

Andrew Land followed by doubling in the first run. Three straight walks led to two more runs.

Riley Cooper soared Australia away with a two RBI single.

5-0 Australia, all before the first out.

Mason Malkoun added a sixth run with a ground out RBI.

Australia added two more in the sixth, and another pair in the seventh.

On the mound, Ethan Bickell provided a great start. He went 4.0 innings allowing just three hits, one run, two walks while striking out four.

Damien Wilson and Tyler Howarth closed things out for the Aussies.

Game 3- Australia 19 def New Zealand 6

It took about six hours because of rain & lightning delays, but Australia brought the thunder on Friday afternoon to take a 3-0 series lead.

The win guarantees a best-of-five series victory for Australia, with two games still to be played. We’re going to the U18 World Cup!

Ten different Australians reached in this one. Tahlan Cavill and Ben Nesbit each had two hits. Cavill had four RBI.

Max Durrington and Andrew Land secured a pair of base knocks for Australia.

Zach Altamura had three walks, Mason Malkoun had two.

Nesbit and Land also chipped in with 3 RBI.

Australia stormed ahead with a seven run third inning to put the game beyond reach for the Kiwis.

Game 2 – Australia 10 def New Zealand 0

Australia is knocking on the door of the 2025 Under-18 World Cup after a hard-fought win over New Zealand to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series.

A strong start from Mitch Evans on the mound and a pivotal fifth inning loomed large for the Aussies in the win.

All players in the starting line-up reached base.

Seven different Australians combined for eight hits: Mason Malkoun, Max Durrington, Ben Nesbit (x2), Zach Altamura, Andrew Land, Christian Lane and Riley Cooper.

Liam Kiddle and Cooper Teichmann had walks.

Altamura and Land had the RBIs for Australia.

Mitch Evans (SA) was superb in his start. He threw 4.0 innings, allowing one hit, two walks and struck out four.

Australia put their first runs on the board with a two-out rally in the third. Zach Altamura (SA) cashed in his fourth RBI of the day with a single which was promptly followed by an RBI single Andrew Land (VIC) to double the lead.

New Zealand cut the lead in half in the fifth off a sacrifice fly.

But another two-out rally in the fifth proved to be the difference for the Aussie hosts.
With the bases loaded, Riley Cooper singled in a run. A walk to Liam Kiddle and just like that, Australia earned a 4-1 advantage.

The runs were important because New Zealand wouldn’t quit. They added a run of an RBI from H. Wong and had two base-runners on with one out.

Australian pitchers Will Couzner and Riley Peoples held their nerve, striking out two batters to escape the jam.

Peoples continued his fine form in the seventh & final inning, working a 1-2-3 frame.

Australia returns to the diamond for Game 3 on Friday at 3:00PM. They lead the best-of-five series 3-0.

Game 1 – Australia 10 def New Zealand 0

Photo: Damien Garth. Recap: Eric Balnar.

Australia has secured a run-rule victory in the first game of five-game qualification series for the 2025 U18 World Cup.

It was a full-blown team effort with multiple characters contributing on the box score.

Max Durrington, Andrew Land and Zac Altamura all had two hits.

Andrew Land (VIC) opened the scoring for Australia in the first with a two-RBI single. They added another with a bases-loaded walk to lead 3-0 after one.

Zac Altamura (SA, below)) soared the Aussies in front with a bases clearing double in the second inning to push the scoreline to 7-0.

A Ben Nesbit sacrifice fly moved the score to 8-0 in the third.

New South Wales pitcher Damien Wilson turned in a great start for the Aussies. He went 3.1 innings allowing just four hits while strikeout out six.

South Australian Tyler Green followed with 2.1 innings of one-hit work with one strikeout.

Australia next plays at 3:00PM with a 1-0 series lead.

BOX SCORE 

ROSTER

There has also been a roster adjustment. Queensland outfielder Liam Kiddle and Queensland catcher Cooper Teichmann have been added to the squad ahead of the qualifying event. The updated roster is below.

You have to hand it to this U18 squad – it’s a resilient bunch. And they get to end the U18 World Cup with a win over the World #6 ranked team.

Australia’s bats finally caught fire in a convincing 8-1 win over Venezuela on Sunday morning.

Nic Paparella (SA) led the offensive onslaught with a 2-for-3 performance that included a two-run homer and a two-run RBI double.

Australia scored five runs in the sixth inning to pull away.

It’s the game that took three games to play. This contest was started and postponed twice – once on Friday and again yesterday.

The real story here is the attitude and collective team effort this Australian side showed. Every player in the line-up made an impactful contribution.

Don’t believe me? Dig this box score.

Eight players had hits, every player reached. The whole team had to dig deep to limit the Venezuelan offense to just one run off of 10 baserunners.

Australia used four pitchers in the game, including shutout performances from three on Sunday.

In another world, in another time, this could have been a different story. Venezuela had glorious opportunities.

This game originally started – with nearly two innings played – on Saturday night before rain postponed the game and forced a continuation today.

When the game started, Australia was down 1-0, Venezuela was batting, they had bases loaded and just one out.

Jai Hewitt (WA) sensationally got a ground ball double play to start the game, and Australia launched themselves from there.

The victory leaves Australia with a 3-2 record in the placement round and in good stead to finish 8th of 12 in the tournament. However, they need to wait until the conclusion of the Venezuela – Czechia game to know their final placing.

Game Recap

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The game that lasted three days.

Australia and Venezuela were originally scheduled to play Friday evening. While the teams arrived at the field on Friday, baseball was never played. The rain was much too heavy.

The two opponents tried to get the game in Saturday afternoon immediately following Australia’s 2-0 win over Spain. They got a little over an inning in before the game was postponed until Sunday morning.

What action did occur on Saturday did not favour the Aussies.

A pair of early hits off Australian starter Adam bates put Venezuela up 1-0 after one.

They then loaded the bases with a couple more hits in the second. That’s where the teams left it – top of the second, Venezuela batting, bases loaded, one out, 1-0 lead for the South Americans.

On to Sunday…

Things bounced Australia’s way when the game resumed in incredible fashion.

New pitcher Jai Hewitt entered with bases loaded and promptly got a ground ball double play ball to end the inning.

Australia levelled it in their half of the second. A wild pitch from the Venezuelan pitcher scored Josh Davies from third.

From staring down the barrel of going down a big hole, to tie game, just like that.

Both pitchers settled into a groove from there. Hewitt pitched a cruisey third and fourth for Australia, while Oscar Meljerajo seemingly had things in control.

That is until the Aussies struck again.

Nic Paparella launched a massive two-out homer – the team’s only one of the tournament – to give Australia a 3-1 lead.

Lachlan Rosser took over from Hewitt in the fifth inning. He got Australia out of a mini-jam in the fifth before retiring the opposition in order in the sixth.

The final line on Hewitt: 3.0 innings with one hit and no runs.

Rosser? 1.2 innings of scoreless work, allowing just two hits.

The fantastic pitching and defense allowed Australia to pile it on in the sixth.

Declan Speirs and Lachlan Smith led off with singles. Then, with two-outs, Nic Paparella stepped to the plate.

He hammered home his third and fourth RBIs of the day with a clutch two-out, two-run double to put Australia up 5-1.

Tom Chessel cashed in Paparella with an RBI single to make it 6-1.

Jack Ratcliffe and Blake Barlow kept the train rolling with singles of their own.

Then, with bases loaded, a walk to Callum Donnelly and a wild-pitch brought two more runs home. It pushed the lead to an insurmountable 8-1 advantage.

Daniel Mills closed things out in the ninth for Australia.

NOTES ABOUT THE PLACEMENT ROUND

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Australia’s U18 World Cup has come to an end. They finished in the ‘Placement Round’ of the tournament.

The Top 3 teams from each first round group advanced to the ‘Super Round’, while the bottom three move to the placement round.

To view Australia’s past results, click here.

Australia, from Group A, played the three teams from Group B. They are Panama, Venezuela and Spain. Games vs teams from your original group hold off, meaning Australia gets credit for a win vs Mexico and loss vs Czechia that carries over from Group A action.

At the end of the Placement Round, teams will be ranked from #7-#12 in the competition and world ranking points distributed accordingly. Current standings are:

7. Panama – 4-1 (wins vs Spain, Venezuela, Czechia & Australia, loss to Mexico)
8. Australia – 3-2 (losses vs Czechia & Venezuela, wins vs Venezuela, Spain & Mexico)
9. Mexico – 3-2 (wins vs Spain, Panama & Czechia, losses vs Australia & Venezuela)
10. Venezuela – 2-2 (losses vs Australia & Panama, win vs Spain & Mexico)
11. Czechia – 2-2 (wins vs Australia & Spain, losses vs Mexico & Panama
12. Spain – 0-4 (losses vs Venezuela, Panama, Mexico and Czechia)

To see the Top 6 in the Super Round, visit the WBSC Website.