World No. 7 New Zealand confirmed their 16-man roster for the maiden WBSC U-23 Men’s Softball World Cup, set to begin on 15 April in Parana, Argentina. The roster includes Tane Mumu, a veteran of the 2022 Men’s Softball World Cup New Zealand team, and five bronze medalists from the 2018 Junior Men’s Softball World Cup.
New Zealand had announced their roster in 2022, but with the postponement of the event, head coach Steven Deans had to make a few replacements, adding Mumu, Liam Potts and Ethan Shannon to the final roster.
New Zealand roster:
- Brock Attewell
- Oscar Clark
- Te Kirika Cooper-Nicola
- Damon Creasy
- Huw Davies
- Max Earley
- Brock Evans
- Xaviar Herrick
- Josh Lubiejewski
- Tobias Makisi
- Tane Mumu
- Floyd Nola
- Liam Potts
- Ethan Shannon
- Taine Slaughter
- Caleb Stewart
Mumu represented New Zealand at the Men’s Softball World Cup 2022 in Auckland. The speedy infielder hit .222 with three doubles and two runs scored in the biggest international men’s softball tournament.
The U-23 roster also includes six players with previous experience in junior world cups. Attewell, Davies, Makisi, Nola and Slaughter helped the Junior Black Sox to claim the bronze medal at the Junior Men’s Softball Championship 2018 in Prince Albert, Canada. As the everyday third baseman, Davies hit .313 with four RBIs and three runs scored. Slaughter tossed 11 scoreless innings, earning two wins in the tournament.
Cooper-Nicola is the only veteran of the 2020 U-18 team that finished in fifth place in Palmerston North. He hit .300 for the tournament, with a homer, four RBIs and eight runs scored.
New Zealand will open the WBSC U-23 Men’s Softball World Cup in Group B, along with No. 2 Canada, No. 3 Japan, No. 8 Venezuela, Team WBSC and No. 21 Israel. They will play Israel on Opening Day.
