After a five-day tryout held in Clearwater, Florida, USA Softball announced its Women’s National Team roster for 2019. Olympians Monica Abbott and Cat Osterman are the blockbuster names of the 18-athlete roster, already full of stars.
The big novelty is Osterman’s return to her National Team. The two-time Olympic medallist (Gold in Athens 2004 and Silver in Beijing 2008) retired from international competition following the title in the World Championship 2010. Eight years later, and three years after her last competitive pitch in the NPF (Osterman retired of pro softball in 2015), the left-hander pitcher came out of retirement to represent her country again.
The roster includes 13 members from the 2018 WBSC World Championship winning title team, that also qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. USA and Japan are the only nations qualified for the Olympic Games, and will be joined in the six-team Olympic event by two teams from the Americas, one from Asia or Oceania, and one from Europe or Africa.
In July USA will attempt to regain the gold medal in the Pan American Games Lima 2019, after a stunning loss against Canada in Toronto 2015. The roster will be cut to 15 for this competition.
Ken Eriksen continues as the Head Coach. The complete coaching staff and list of National Team events, including exhibition games, will be released at a later date.
