TOKYO, Japan – The USA Softball U-15 Women’s National Team (WNT) has arrived in Tokyo, Japan as the 16-player roster looks to bring home the gold in the inaugural World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-15 Women’s Softball World Cup. With games taking place Oct. 21-29, the Red, White and Blue will compete alongside top opponents from across the world with hopes of claiming its third gold medal finish of the year.
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The 12 participating countries have been drawn into two groups with the U.S. competing in Group B alongside Brazil, Czech Republic, Philippines, Puerto Rico and Uganda, while Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru and Chinese Taipei will battle it out in Group A.
Beginning Opening Round on Saturday, Oct. 21 at Okura Sports Center, Team USA will take on Brazil at 3 p.m. JST (1 a.m. CT) before competing in additional matchups against the Philippines (Oct. 22 at 6 p.m. JST (4 a.m. CT), Puerto Rico (Oct. 23 at 3 p.m. JST/1 a.m. CT), Uganda (Oct. 24 at 3 p.m. JST/1 a.m. CT) and Czech Republic (Oct. 24 at 6 p.m. JST/4 a.m. CT) to close out Opening Round. The tournament will then advance to the Super Round where the top three teams in each group will face off to determine the final two teams who will go head-to-head in the World Cup Final on Sunday, Oct. 29. The third and fourth-place teams will compete for the bronze medal earlier that day.
Fans can keep up with the excitement all week long through the WBSC’s exclusive online GameTime video platform where live stream day passes can be purchased for $5.99 and tournament passes can be purchased for $9.99. Live stats will also be provided on USASoftball.com.
The U.S. U-15 WNT looks to round out its inaugural season following a pair of gold medal finishes at the Pan American Championship in Lima, Peru and the 2023 Utsugi Cup in Takasaki City, Japan, where Team USA clinched a narrow 1-0 victory over Japan to seal the championship title. With two gold medals in tow, the World Cup roster sets its sights on continuing the trajectory of success with 15 members of the 2023 Pan American Championship gold medal squad returning to the stage along with one additional athlete from the Utsugi Cup roster.
A result of the USA Softball High Performance Program (HPP), the U-15 roster represents six different regions across the U.S. with Region 10 (California) highlighted by six players, along with five players from Region 5 (Texas), two from Region 3 (Florida, South Carolina) and one athlete a piece from Region 2 (Virginia), Region 7 (Kansas) and Region 9 (Utah).
Once again leading the U.S. U-15 WNT on the international stage, head coach Kyla Holas looks to guide Team USA in its quest to stand atop the podium at the 2023 WBSC U-15 World Cup. Iyhia McMichael will coach alongside Holas after assisting at both the Pan American Championship and the Utsugi Cup earlier this year while Jimmy Kolatis will join the U-15 WNT staff for the first time in his career after assisting with the WNT program last year.
For more information on the USA Softball Women’s National Team program, visit USASoftball.com.