CARY, N.C. – The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) announced today that Team USA received a wild card bid into the IX WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup. The event will span two years and begins with the group stage, where the U.S. will participate in Group A from August 8-13 in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. The top three teams from both groups will advance to the IX WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup Finals in 2024.
“We are excited to have received a bid to the upcoming Women’s Baseball World Cup,” said Women’s National Team Program Director Ann Claire Roberson. “Since competing in our last international tournament in 2019, our program has only gotten stronger and is poised to compete for another gold medal. We look forward to beginning the identification process and building a world championship-caliber team.”
The USA Baseball Women’s National Team has medaled in six of the eight WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cups since the tournament’s inception in 2004. The U.S. earned gold in the first two editions of the event in 2004 and 2006, posting a 10-2 combined record. After winning bronze medals in 2008 and 2010, the stars and stripes claimed silver in 2012 and 2014. Overall, the Women’s National Team owns five gold medals in international competition, most recently earning a first-place finish at the 2019 COPABE Women’s Pan-American Championships.
The Women’s National Team identification process will take place at the USA Baseball Women’s National Open from July 7-9. The event is open to female baseball players born in 2007 or earlier. Players will be divided into teams and compete in games and workout sessions, where they will be evaluated by the national team coaching staff. At the conclusion of the event, the coaching staff will select a minimum of 35 players from the Women’s National Open to participate in the Women’s National Team Training Camp.
Training Camp will take place immediately following the Women’s National Open from July 10-13, where 20 women will be selected to represent Team USA in the IX WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup group stage.
The location for the Women’s National Open and Training Camp will be announced at a later date.
The IX WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup group stage will include two groups made up of 12 nations. The U.S. will compete in Group A in Thunder Bay, Ontario, while Group B will be held in Miyoshi City, Japan. The U.S. is the ninth team to qualify for the group stage, joining Australia, Canada, Cuba, France, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela. The final three countries will qualify at the Asia Qualifier in May. The top three finishers from the group stage will advance to the IX WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup Finals in 2024, also set to take place in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
