Sights on LA28 Olympics and beyond: Softball Australia names preliminary Women's National Team for 2025
Softball Australia announced the 2025 women’s squads, aiming to begin their path to the LA28 Olympic Games and beyond. The national governing body has named two teams: The Aussie Spirit Squad, featuring the country’s top players, and the Aussie Spirit Futures Squad which highlights the next generation of talent. This two-squad structure enhances depth, expands international exposure, and creates more opportunities for athletes at various stages of their high-performance journey.
“This is an incredibly exciting time for Australian softball," said Softball Australia’s National High-Performance Director, Peta Searle. "With a new head coach to be appointed, a World Games campaign on the horizon, and the LA 2028 Olympic cycle now in full swing, these squads represent a crucial step in preparing our athletes for success on the international stage.
"The Aussie Spirit Squad will bring experience and leadership, while the Aussie Spirit Futures Squad highlights the impressive talent emerging through our pathways.”
With a busy 2025 schedule, both squads will play a vital role in building a strong foundation for selecting the strongest team for The World Games this year. The Spirit Squad will participate in several training camps focused on refining skills, game strategy and preparing athletes physically and mentally for the demands of international competition.
A total of 31 players have been selected to begin the Olympic cycle, including four Olympians in Tokyo 2020 like pitchers Kaia Parnaby and Ellen Roberts, catcher Taylah Tsitsikronis and outfielder Jade Wall. The team also features 13 veterans from the 2024 National Team, which finished seventh in the WBSC Women's Softball World Cup Finals in Italy. Seven players are veterans from the fourth-place U-18 Women's Softball World Cup 2019 team.
2025 Aussie Spirit Squad
- Pippa Adkins
- Sarah Beales
- Hayley Bonython
- Taylor Chillingworth
- Nicole Connacher
- Olivia Elliot
- Amelia Fidge
- Georgia Hood
- Shannon Keevers
- Hirari Kurihara
- Olivia Kuzminski
- Kandra Lamb
- Alyssa Mighell
- Kaia Parnaby
- Jayme Reddacliff
- Sara Riou
- Ellen Roberts
- Maddison Schofield
- Hannah Scott
- Madison Scott
- Kylie Steemers
- Brooke Stewart
- Jenna Trim
- Taylah Tsitsikronis
- Jade Wall
- Kayla Waller
- Shaylan Whatman
- Tamieka Whitefield
- Sasha Willems
- Grace Wrixon
- Brianna Young
Softball Australia said that the 31-player Futures Squad reinforces Softball Australia’s commitment to developing elite talent and maintaining a strong pipeline for future success. Led by Gen32 coach Neridah Wearne (Gen32 is an Australian Institute of Sport initiative aimed at providing a pathway to the Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games coaching ranks), the Futures Squad will play a crucial role in developing a strong pipeline of talent for the national programme with softball hoping to be on the sports programme along with baseball at the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games.
The squad features nine 2024 U-18 Women's Softball team players that finished fourth in the World Cup Group C last year in Dallas, USA.
2025 Aussie Spirit Futures Squad
- Neve Adams
- Abbie Bastian
- Lauren Brown
- Sienna Burgess
- Alyssa Charter-Smith
- Lianna Doyle
- Amaya Foxover
- Isabelle Hanna
- Becky Havis
- Caitlyn Hosking
- Angelique Iredale
- Georgia King
- Shannon King
- Teoni Lamb
- Sophie Lawrence
- Isabella Lorenzo
- Jayda Lorigan
- Alex Maiden
- Bianca Markham
- Rachel Miller
- Abbie Morris
- Indy Munro
- Haylee Nelson
- Matilda Newman
- Charli Orsini
- Jessica Rhode
- Kasey Smith
- Rhiannon Smith
- Emilee Solomon
- Matisse Sorbello
- Zoe Thomson