OKLAHOMA CITY –– Following three gold medal finishes in 2022, USA Softball has announced its first U.S. Women’s National Team (WNT) roster of the 2023 season as 16 athletes will look to represent Team USA at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) World Cup – Group A event slated to take place July 11-15 in Fingal-Dublin, Ireland. The competition will consist of a two-stage format with 18 teams competing across three groups (Group A, B and C) in Stage 1 followed by Stage 2, which will be held in 2024 and will include the top two teams from each group battling it out in the finals.

Oklahoma’s Jayda Coleman along with former Sooner and two-time Big 12 Player of the Year Jocelyn Alo joined Oklahoma State’s Kelly Maxwell as selections from the Big 12.

Competing in Group A, the U.S. will be joined by world-ranked No. 3 Chinese Taipei, No. 9 Australia, No. 16 Great Britain, No. 17 Ireland (host country) and No. 43 Botswana. An additional 12 countries will compete in Group B and Group C.

Returning for her second stint as head coach of the WNT will be Heather Tarr (Washington Head Coach) after guiding three squads to gold medal finishes during the 2022 season. Tarr will once again be joined by assistant coaches Cindy Ball-Malone (UCF Head Coach), Tony Baldwin (Georgia Head Coach) and Tim Walton (Florida Head Coach) following the coaching staff’s monumental gold medal victory at the 2022 World Games.

The 2023 U.S. WNT World Cup Group A roster includes 13 returners from the 2022 season, including 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 helped the Eagles earn silver at the Tokyo Olympic Games. A roster of 15 Team USA veterans and one rookie, the selected athletes combine for 44 medals (34 – Gold, 6 – Silver, 4 – Bronze) throughout their careers in the Red, White and Blue.

Athletes were selected by the Women’s National Team Selection Committee (WNTSC) based on previous and ongoing evaluations at the collegiate and professional levels as well as USA Softball National Team events, trials and camps. In addition to the World Cup Group A roster, USA Softball will also announce a Pan American Games roster later this year.

Follow along with the USA Softball National Teams at USASoftball.com.