USA Baseball announced their 20-man roster for the XXXI U-18 Baseball World Cup, to be played from 31 August to 10 September in Taiwan. The world No. 2 team will open the tournament in Group B, facing No. 1 Japan, No. 6 Venezuela, No. 7 Netherlands, No. 11 Panama and No. 21 Spain.
“After an extremely competitive training camp process, we are excited to move forward with these twenty players,” said manager Michael Cuddyer. “There was no shortage of talent all week long, making this a difficult process for our coaching staff. Now that we have decided on our 20 players, it is time to shift our focus to defending our title next week in Taiwan.”
Nine players on the 2023 roster have previously played for the USA. A trio of players from last year’s WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier squad returned to the U-18 national team as Matthew Champion, Noah Franco, and PJ Morlando all helped the US win gold last November.
Additionally, a pair of 2022 U-15 World Champions also earned spots on the 2023 U-18 roster. Coy James, who was named the 2022 WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup Most Valuable Player, joins two-time Team USA alum and fellow gold medallist Jack McKernan on this year’s team.
Two-time U-18 national team alum and former major leaguer Michael Cuddyer will be at the helm of Team USA at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup, making his international managerial debut. Cuddyer played for the U-18 national team in both 1996 and 1997 before being selected with the ninth overall pick in 1997 and spending 15 years in the big leagues, including two All-Star seasons. He will become just the second alumnus to play and manage the U-18 national team, joining Jason Hisey, who played for the USA in 1987 before managing the team in 2006.
Cuddyer is joined on staff by pitching coach and 21-year big-leaguer LaTroy Hawkins, as well as assistant coaches Butch Chaffin and Jason Maxwell.
The United States is the only nation to have competed in all 30 editions of the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup. The stars and stripes have won 10 world titles, second to only Cuba’s 11, including five of the last six.
They will begin their title defence on 1 September against the Netherlands. The first pitch is set at 10:30 local time. Check the tournament’s schedule here.
