USA Softball Names First-Ever U-15 Women’s National Team Roster; Twenty-One Athletes Advance through HPP to Represent Team USA on International Stage

OKLAHOMA CITY – Selected to the first-ever U-15 Women’s National Team (WNT) program, USA Softball announced today the athletes that will represent the U.S. on the international stage after advancing through the USA Softball High Performance Program (HPP) National Selection Event held in November 2022. A total of 21 athletes – split between two 16-player rosters – will compete for Team USA at the U-15 Women’s Pan American Championship in Lima, Peru held April 1-8 in addition to the Utsugi Cup in Takasaki, Japan slated for June 2-4. After previously competing at the HPP National Selection Event, the two historic rosters were selected by the USA Softball Junior Women’s National Team Selection Committee (JWNTSC).

“It’s such an honor to see this group of athletes turn their dream of representing Team USA into a reality by advancing through our High Performance Program and being named to our first U-15 Women’s National Team roster,” said Chief Sport Development/Performance Officer, Chris Sebren. “It’s a competitive process across all our USA Softball regions with many athletes starting their journey through the HPP over a year ago at local identifiers before advancing through the National Selection Event. We are excited to get this group on the field and are confident they will get the job done on the international stage.”

Click here to view the athletes selected to the 2023 U-15 Women’s National Team rosters »

Working their way through the pipeline to the WNT, the selected athletes represent eight states and six USA Softball HPP regions with California (Region 10) highlighted by eight players followed by Texas (Region 5) with seven. Also represented are Arizona (Region 10), Kansas (Region 7), Florida (Region 3), South Carolina (Region 3), Utah (9) and Virginia (2) with one athlete apiece.

The 16-player roster set to travel to Lima, Peru for the Pan American Championship – a qualifying event for the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) World Championship held in Tokyo, Japan later this year – will be led by head coach Kyla Holas who previously helped the 2021 U-18 JWNT to gold medal finishes at the 2021 Junior Pan American Games and 2021 WBSC Junior Women’s World Cup in addition to guiding the 2019 U-17 JWNT to gold at the 2019 U-17 Women’s Pan American Championship. Joining Holas in Peru will be assistant coaches Iyhia McMichael (head coach at Frisco Emerson HS) and Scott Smith (head coach of Texas Bombers) who each join the JWNT coaching staff for the first time in their careers. McMichael garners a stacked resume including being a former All-American at Mississippi State, a Top 3 Finalist for the 2004 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year and a member of the 2003 USA Softball WNT Elite Team, while Smith brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in the game including assisting with the 2022 WNT Selection Trials and leading the Texas Bombers to the 16-Under Gold National Championship title in 2016.

Traveling to Takasaki, Japan will be another 16-player roster – including 11 athletes from the Pan American Championship roster – with head coach Holas at the helm alongside assistant coaches McMichael and Mike Steuerwald (head coach at Gaston College) who helped lead the WNT at the 2022 Japan All-Star Series in addition to assisting in multiple USA Softball Women’s and Junior Women’s National Team Selection Trials.

The two rosters mark the first group of athletes to advance through the HPP program, showcasing the opportunity of being involved in the Pipeline to the Women’s National Team Program. The HPP was created in 2020 with the goal of identifying a pool of athletes to train, compete and represent USA Softball in domestic and international competition. The program focuses on providing an equal opportunity for players to showcase their talent while growing the game of softball in the United States. To learn more about the HPP or to get involved, visit USASoftball.com.

Additional informational on both U-15 WNT events will be announced at a later date.