OKLAHOMA CITY (September 15, 2024) — The USA Softball Men’s National Team (MNT) has arrived in Oklahoma City where the 2024 squad will compete in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Men’s World Cup Group C Stage Event with sights set on punching its ticket to the 2025 Finals.
With 18 teams competing across three groups (Group A, B and C), Team USA will battle it out in the Group C event alongside five other countries in the Softball Capital of the World® while Group A teams previously contested in Mexico and Group B teams in Canada. Featuring a two-stage format, the top two teams from each group, along with two wild card choices, will earn a spot in the WBSC Men’s World Cup Finals to be held in 2025 in Prince Albert, Canada. Held earlier this year, the Dominican Republic and Australia secured their ticket to the 2025 Finals during the Group A event while Argentina, New Zealand and Canada will represent Group B at the Finals.
Click here for the schedule, roster, stats, live streaming & more »
“We are excited to be able to play in front of our families and friends on home soil at the preeminent stadium for softball in the world that we take great pride in representing,” said head coach, Ron Hackett. “We feel like the work has been put in and our staff and players are ready to show the improvements they have made,” he added.
Set to kick off the action on Tuesday, Sept. 17 at Devon Park, world-ranked No. 6 Team USA joins five additional countries in the five-day competition including No. 19 Colombia, No. 12 Guatemala, No. 2 Japan, No. 17 Netherlands, and No. 16 South Africa. As hosts of a WBSC Men’s Softball World Cup Group Stage event, Team USA received an automatic bid in the Group C event and will play each evening at 7 p.m. CT. The top four teams will battle it out in the playoff round on Saturday, September 21 with the top two teams going head-to-head for a chance to advance to the Finals. The loser of the first playoff game will then take on the winner of the matchup between the third and fourth-place teams for the second spot in the Finals, which will be held in 2025. The game schedule is as follows:
- USA vs Colombia — Tuesday, September 17 at 7 p.m. CT
- USA vs Guatemala — Wednesday, September 18 at 4 p.m. CT
- USA vs Netherlands — Wednesday, September 18 at 7 p.m. CT
- USA vs Japan — Thursday, September 19 at 7 p.m. CT
- USA vs South Africa — Friday, September 20 at 7 p.m. CT
- Playoff Round – Saturday, September 21
Click here to view the complete Group C Schedule »
The WBSC Men’s Softball World Cup Group C Event will be streamed via GameTime. Fans will have the option of two different services: Group Pass ($12.99) or Daily Pass ($7.99). Group Pass subscribers will have full access to the 19 games played in the specific group that is subscribed for (Group A, B or C). For more information on subscriptions, click here. Fans can also follow along via live stats by following the U.S. Men’s National Team on GameChanger.
Tickets are free for this event but must be reserved in advance. Fans in the Oklahoma City area wishing to attend the event can reserve tickets via Eventbrite.
The 2024 U.S. MNT World Cup Group C roster includes 12 returners from the 2022 season where the Eagles took home the bronze medal at the WBSC Men’s World Cup to snap an 18-year medal drought. Also included is Junior Men’s National Team veteran Jeff Lewis and former U-23 MNT member, Frank Kimlinger. Two athletes — Freddie Bradford and Marco Diaz — will represent the Red, White and Blue for the first time in their careers. The selected athletes represent seven states with Michigan, Minnesota and Missouri leading the pack with three athletes apiece, while Arizona, California and Florida are each represented by two athletes. Pennsylvania is also represented on the roster with one athlete.
Click here to view the 2024 MNT Group C roster »
Returning for his third stint as head coach will be Ron Hackett (Virginia) after guiding the 2022 MNT squad to the historic bronze medal finish at the WBSC World Cup. Alongside Hackett will be returning assistant coaches Roman Foore (Minnesota), Greg Hicks (California) and Gerald Muizelaar (North Dakota).
“Since the 2022 World Championship in New Zealand ended in a bronze medal for us, our players and staff have been focused on putting the work in to get to our goal of a gold medal in 2025 Prince Albert,” said Hackett. “To get there, we must first qualify which is our current priority and that begins on September 17th with Colombia. We have the utmost respect for all of the teams competing here in Group C, but we also have a high degree of confidence in our players and staff and we expect to perform in that manner throughout the event.”
Athletes selected to the U.S. MNT are part of the USA Softball athlete pool, having attended previous softball camps and clinics, league softball events and/or attended events coordinated by USA Softball.
To learn more about the USA Softball Men’s National Team, visit USASoftball.com.