World No. 1 USA announced a 16-player roster for the WBSC Women's Softball World Cup. It includes 13 returners from the 2022 season, six from the Canada Cup, five from The World Games, five from the Pan American Championship and five from the Japan All-Star Series. Also highlighting the squad are two members from the 2020 U.S. Olympic Softball Team that earned silver at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, infielder Ali Aguilar and pitcher/Infielder Ally Carda (pictured).
Aguilar, 27, was also part of USA's 2018 and 2016 WBSC Women's World Championship gold medal winning teams, hitting .310 in the 2018 edition with 2 HR, 10 RBI and 8 runs scored and .333 at the 2016 edition with 1 HR, 4 RBI and 5 runs scored.
Thirty-year-old Carda went 2-0 in the circle at The World Games 2021 claiming 19 strikeouts in 12 innings pitched, having also thrown 6.1 innings with 12 strikeouts at the 2016 WBSC Women's World Championship.
Outfielder Aliyah Andrews is the only rookie selected.
"The roster includes a group of very talented athletes selected from our athlete pool that have shown exceptional skill – not only in USA Softball-related evaluations but also on the collegiate and professional levels," said head coach Heather Tarr. "It's a versatile group with solid pitching in the circle, some of the best defensive players in the world and both power and speed at the plate."
Tarr's coaching staff includes assistant coaches Cindy Ball-Malone, Tony Baldwin and Tim Walton.
The XVII Women's Softball World Cup will introduce a new two-stage format this year. The first stage will involve 18 National Teams split into three groups. The US will compete in Group A in Fingal-Dublin, Ireland from 11 to 15 July.
The three-time defending World Champions will face No. 3 Chinese Taipei, No. 9 Australia, No. 16 Great Britain, No. 17 Ireland and No. 43 Botswana.
USA has won a record 11 Women's Softball World Cups having won the last two editions in 2016 and 2018 as well as receiving the world champion title at The World Games 2021 last year. Japan (3), Australia and New Zealand (1) are the other World Cup winners.
