Oklahoma City, OK - - WBSC Junior Men's World Championship groups and schedule announced; Junior Men’s National Team looks to improve upon fifth-place finish in 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 18, 2018
WBSC Junior Men's World Championship groups and schedule announced; Junior Men’s National Team looks to improve upon fifth-place finish in 2016
OKLAHOMA CITY — The groups and full competition schedule for the 2018 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Junior Men’s World Championship (JMWC) was recently released by the WBSC. The USA Softball Junior Men’s National Team (JMNT) will travel to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada and compete in the WBSC Junior Men’s World Championship from July 7-15, 2018, where they will look to improve upon their fifth-place finish at the 2016 World Championship in Midland, Mich.
“We’re looking forward to competing at the WBSC Junior Men’s World Championship this July,†said USA Softball Executive Director, Craig Cress. “The Selection Committee, coaching staff, and athletes have worked incredibly hard to select, train and prepare for what we know will be an incredible showing of junior men’s fast pitch from competing countries across the globe."
Click here to view the complete schedule for the USA Softball JMNT at the WBSC Junior Men’s World Championship<https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/Events/2018/July/07/WBSC-Junior-Mens-World-Championship>
“We are excited to have the opportunity to compete at the WBSC Junior Men’s World Championship,†said Junior Men’s National Team Head Coach, Tyron McKinney. “The young men that make up Team USA have the passion and desire to get better and improve each and every day. We take pride in representing the United States and look forward to competing on the international stage in Prince Albert come July."
The 13 participating countries, representing five Olympic continents, have been drawn into two groups. Competing in Pool B, Team USA will take the field against Canada in its opening match July 7 at 7:30 p.m. MT (8:30 p.m. CT). The Red, White and Blue are also scheduled to play Czech Republic, Guatemala, Hong Kong and New Zealand as part of preliminary round-robin action before heading into the playoff rounds. The top four finishers from each group will advance to the double page playoff round, while nations not advancing will compete in the placement round.
"This global showcase will feature the top young under-19 men's softball players in the world and National Teams from five continents," said WBSC Softball Division Chairman, Tommy Velazquez. "The hosts in Prince Albert are ready to roll out an exciting world stage for these elite athletes, who will have 54 games to prove who's the best in the world."
Joining Head Coach Tyron McKinney (Ashland, Ohio) are Tony Aresco (Stoneham, Mass.), Mike Armitage (Normal, Ill.) and Bob Piddock (Castro Valley, Calif.) who will serve as Assistant Coaches in 2018. The JMNT heads to Canada having placed fifth in their last appearance at a WBSC Junior Men’s World Championship, where the Red, White and Blue finished with a 4-3 record.
Click here to see the 2018 USA Softball Junior Men’s National Team roster<https://www.teamusa.org/usa-softball/team-usa/junior-men>
Tickets for the 2018 WBSC Women’s World Championship are available for purchase through the tournament website, www.jrsoftballworlds2018.com<http://wbsc.pointstreaksites.com/view/2018wbsc/tickets-1>. For updates on the USA Softball Junior Men’s National Team and events throughout the 2018 season visit www.USASoftball.com<https://www.teamusa.org/usa-softball/team-usa/junior-men>.<https://www.teamusa.org/usa-softball/team-usa/junior-men>
About USA Softball
USA Softball is a 501(c)(3) not-for profit organization headquartered in Oklahoma City, Okla., and is designated as the National Governing Body (NGB) of Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. One of the nation’s largest sports organizations, USA Softball sanctions competition in every state through a network of 69 local associations and has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 150,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2 million. USA Softball is dedicated to providing people of all ages the opportunity to play the game they love at a variety of levels by offering recreational, league, tournament and competitive play for fast pitch, slow pitch and modified pitch. USA Softball annually conducts thousands of tournaments throughout the country including over 100 National Championships. The USA Softball umpire program is among the nation’s largest and are widely known as the best trained umpires in the game.
As the NGB for the sport of softball, USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in events such as the Olympics, Pan American Games, World Championships and other international and domestic events. For more information on USA Softball, including its founding and history as the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), please visit www.USASoftball.com<http://www.usasoftball.com/>.
About the World Baseball Softball Confederation
Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland -- the Olympic Capital -- the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) is the world governing body for baseball and softball. WBSC has 202 National Federation and Associate Members in 143 countries and territories across Asia, Africa, Americas, Europe and Oceania, which represent a united baseball/softball sports movement that encompasses over 65 million athletes and attracts approximately 150 million fans to stadiums worldwide annually.
The WBSC governs all international competitions involving official National Teams. The WBSC oversees the Softball World Cups, Softball World Championships (Men, Women, U-19 Men, and U-19 Women), Premier12, World Baseball Classic, and Baseball World Cups (U-12, U-15, U-18, U-23 and Women's).
For more information, visit www.wbsc.org<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001qCkRAShOoG2l2A_34AfFaCSkd5OvaMjYxrIeNs8oW-azVmOlj4rwUJQBlNGyQL9Q_g3LZQJa1Axf_Dty2MBvIMGYfnbqTvG6sRIMgWCPJPoL9XD9plo2bJCzenVvinBasfdTQGGJj943Jz9nFdtoGLdLGxvR8Cop&c=YU_Z8F_bBs0wxx35iEEXfrMUMJUT8tca0HXj2LOwfhTJXOuytmaINg==&ch=AZ1ehx8orVJw2opV8tf9AOERvusteRqfp1eLIBwV4L4RQ8KRN27HbA==>, which is available six languages: English, French, Japanese, Korean, Spanish and Traditional Chinese.
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Katie Willis I Communications Manager
USA Softball
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