From t-ball to triple gold: The unmatched journey of Riley James

Riley James is a pure product of Australia’s highly successful Men's National Team program. He joined the program at a young age, and at just 23 years old, he has already played in two U-18 World Cups, a U-23 World Cup, and now finds himself in his second senior-level global competition.

Even more impressively, along with teammate Matt Harrow, James is one of only two players in the history of the sport to win world titles in three different age categories. He captured gold at the U-18 World Cup in 2018, the U-23 World Cup in 2023, and the senior World Cup in 2022.

"It's pretty honourable to be able to be part of those World Cups, especially playing up in age groups and then coming back into the men's team," he said after helping his team clinch the first win at the Finals 2025 in Prince Albert. ·It's always something I look forward to. As Australians, we strive for a great environment, and once you're in that environment, it's kind of like a family. So I'm pretty happy to be a part of it."

This is James’ second World Cup in Prince Albert. Back in 2018, he was one of the youngest players on the U-18 Australian team that lifted the trophy. "It was a different experience, obviously, being so young. I probably still hadn't matured enough. Obviously, now I'm a bit older, but being around all the 19-year-olds in that age group, it kind of helped me grow my mentality a lot faster and just learning the plays a bit quicker and just a bit more faster pace of the game," he remembered.

With his wealth of experience on the international stage, James believes Australia’s system is second to none. "We work really hard on our culture and being there for everyone because, it takes 16 people to win a World Cup. So all the coaches and us all band together and we work really hard in that culture aspect," he added. 

Softball has taken the third baseman around the world—but never alone. His family has been present at every World Cup he’s played: his parents, Alan and Antoninette, and his sister Kiera, are in Prince Albert cheering him on. "It's really good to have them in the crowd. It's just a friendly face. You see up there, kind of help calm the nerves, but they've been supportive since I was a little kid, so I can't take my hat off to them."

Antoninette, Riley’s mother, remembers the very beginning. “He started playing when he was two years old. I had signed my daughter up, and Riley wanted to play too,” she recalled. “At first they weren’t taking kids that young, but they said, ‘Oh well, might as well sign him up.’ So he started playing t-ball.”

“He was actually left-handed. He wanted his own glove, for a left-handed throw, but all the gloves were right-handed. So now he throws right-handed—and still bats lefty.”

Talking about today's game against the Dominican Republic, Riley said it was good to bounce back after yesterday's loss. "It took a lot of us to group together and it showed today when we put the runs on the board. We got the sticks moving and that's what we kind of needed as a team, so it was good." 

He delivered a clutch hit to put Australia ahead. What was his approach at that key moment? What was your approach in this key moment of the game? "Kind of just there for the team. Everything that we can all do, we just band together. It takes 16 people to win a World Cup, so it's just doing our small jobs, banding together, trying to put the ball in play and move runners around," ha mentioned. 

He also had high praise for teammate Jack Besgrove, who bounced back with a strong performance on the mound. "I've been with Bezzy for a while now. I've watched him grow into the person he is now. He's obviously great on the mound, but as a team person, he's always there for you. He puts pretty much his heart on the line and that's kind of what you want from your pitcher. Personally, I wouldn't want anyone else on the mound. He's unreal," commented Riley.