Softball Canada announced the Canadian Women’s National Team roster that will compete at the 2023 WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup Group Stage from July 22-26, 2023, in Castions di Strada and Buttrio, Italy. Seven Tokyo 2020 bronze-medal winners are back on the roster for World Cup Group C.
The athletes who will represent Canada at the WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup Group Stage are:
- Dawn Bodrug
- Rylie Crane
- Emma Entzminger
- Larissa Franklin
- Sara Groenewegen
- Kelsey Harshman
- Zoe Hicks
- Kianna Jones
- Janet Leung
- Grace Messmer
- Callum Pilgrim
- Erika Polidori
- Morgan Rackel
- Nicole Rivait
- Samantha Ryan
- Natalie Wideman
The coaching staff is led by Olympic medallist Kaleigh Rafter, assisted by Chris Jones, Jenn Salling (who also is a Tokyo 2020 bronze-medal winner), and Christian Conrad. The Athletic Therapist is Natalie Ghobrial, Team Leader is Olympian Joey Lye and Manager is Angela Ballantyne.
Entzminger, Franklin, Groenewegen, Harshman, Leung, Polidori and Wideman were part of the Canadian team that claimed the bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the country’s first Olympic softball medal.
World No. 3 Canada will be in Group C, accompanied by No. 2 Japan, No. 8 Italy, No.22 Venezuela, No. 26 Philippines, and No. 28 New Zealand.
Canada will open their participation in the Group Stage on 22 July against the Philippines, followed by a doubleheader against Venezuela and Italy on the 23rd. Japan and New Zealand will be Canada’s rivals on 24 and 25 July respectively. You can see the full Group C schedule here.
Canada has won back to back bronze medals in the last two World Cups, in Surrey 2016 and Chiba 2018. Previously, they also won bronze in Caracas 2010 and lost the final of the San Salvador 1978, their only silver medal in the competition.
