Australia invites 33 to WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup final selection camp

Baseball Australia announced that Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, Queensland, is hosting a selection camp for the U-18 National Team for 33 players. The six-day camp will run through Saturday, August 23. The day after, manager Jason Pospishil will announce the 20-player roster for the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup 2025 presented by RAXUS.

The selection camp will feature a series of work-outs, exhibition games and evaluations.

Baseball Australia revealed that 21 of the 33 players selected were on Team Australia trips to the USA last year. There are 23 players in their second year of eligibility, and 10 are in their first year of eligibility.

The coaching staff includes pitching coach Justin Clark and assistant coaches Shayne Watson and Damian Shanahan. Watson managed Australia at the WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup 2024, while Shanahan was his third base coach.

Japan will host the XXXII WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup in Naha and Itoman, Okinawa, from September 5 to 14.

World No. 10 Australia will compete in Group B and face No. 3 USA, No. 19 China, No. 18 Germany, No. 9 Panama and No. 2 Chinese Taipei.

No. 12 Cuba, No. 14 Italy, No. 1 Japan, No. 4 Korea, No. 7 Puerto Rico and No. 26 South Africa will compete in Group A.