by Australian Baseball Federation
The Australian 18U team has been announced for the 18U Baseball World Cup in Taichung, Taiwan from August 30-September 8. The team will be headed up for the first time by Jason Pospishil, and supported by Graeme Lloyd, Damian Shanahan, and Brian Murphy.
“We have a strong team here, which is also reflected in the quality of players who didn’t make it. There is a real depth of talent in the squad and selections had to be made based on the player’s performance in-camp” said Manager Pospishil.
“The practice games against Canada and the Japanese side this week were really valuable to evaluate the players against good quality opposition”. For Pospishil the goal is simple: “to go and win a gold medal”.
2013 National 18U Roster:
Full Name |
State |
Position |
Throw |
Bat |
MLB Affiliation |
Ben Aslett |
VIC |
Utility |
R |
L |
|
Troy Bullingham |
WA |
OF |
R |
R |
|
Bryce Collins |
QLD |
P |
R |
R |
|
Jared Cruz |
VIC |
IF |
R |
R |
|
Ryan Dale |
VIC |
IF |
R |
R |
KC |
Andrew Hayes |
VIC |
C |
R |
R |
|
Darcy Heppleston |
WA |
P |
R |
R |
|
Nick Hutchings |
SA |
P |
R |
R |
PIT |
Sam Kennelly |
WA |
IF |
R |
R |
PIT |
Connor MacDonald |
QLD |
OF |
R |
R |
HOU |
Lachlan Madden |
VIC |
P |
R |
R |
|
Kieran McCluskey |
NSW |
P |
R |
R |
|
James Philibossian |
NSW |
Utility |
R |
R |
DET |
Zac Shepherd |
NSW |
IF |
R |
R |
DET |
Brandon Stenhouse |
VIC |
P |
R |
R |
|
Lewis Thorpe |
VIC |
P |
L |
L |
MIN |
Hayden Timberlake |
QLD |
C |
R |
R |
HOU |
Jason Warburton |
WA |
Utility |
L |
R |
|
Lachlan Wells |
NSW |
P |
L |
R |
|
Shaun Wright |
SA |
P |
R |
R |
|
Jason Pospishil- Manager
Graeme Lloyd- Coach
Damian Shanahan- Coach
Brian Murphy- Coach
Neil Barrowcliff- Team Leader
Annie Italiano- Trainer
The MLB Australian Academy Program, which wraps up this week, served as the final selection camp before naming the team representing Australia. Stand out performances were seen at the Academy from select players who were given the following awards:
Connor MacDonald – Most Valuable Player Award
Zac Shepherd- Hitting Award
Nick Hutchings- Pitching Award
Ben Aslett- Golden Glove Award