Ottawa, Ont. – The Canadian U23 Men’s Softball Team will travel to Vero Beach, Florida on Friday to begin their preparations for the 2023 WBSC U23 Men’s Softball World Cup that will take place April 15-23, in Parana, Argentina.
The team will first compete in a four-game exhibition series against the U23 United States National Team in Vero Beach, Fla., from April 9-10 at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex as a tune up prior to the U23 World Cup. All games are open to the public and will be livestreamed by USA Softball.
The team will arrive in Argentina on April 12 and will play three exhibition games April 12-13 against Israel, Australia, and Argentina.
Team Canada will open the WBSC U23 Men’s World Cup against Venezuela at 4:30pm ART on Saturday, April 15th (3:30pm EDT).
Softball Canada previously announced the roster that will represent Canada at the WBSC U23 Men’s World Cup in January. Team Canada was awarded a wild card spot in December to participate in the tournament and will join the 11 other countries who qualified for the event through continental qualifiers held in 2022.
The 12 teams will open the tournament in two groups from April 15-23:
Group A: No. 1 Argentina, No. 4 Australia, No. 6 Czechia, No. 10 Mexico, No. 12 South Africa, No. 14 Singapore
Group B: No. 2 Canada, No. 3 Japan, No. 7 New Zealand, No. 8 Venezuela, Team WBSC, No. 21 Israel
ATHLETES
| FIRST NAME | LAST NAME | HOMETOWN |
| Thomas | Baker | Kitchener, Ont. |
| Tyler | Branchaud | Metcalfe, Ont. |
| Connor | Brooks | Napanee, Ont. |
| Jordan | Hudson | Saskatoon, Sask. |
| Dallas | Kipfer | Breslau, Ont. |
| Matthew | Kutnikoff | Prince Albert, Sask. |
| Isaac | Lefebvre | St.-Leonard-d'Aston, Que. |
| Riley | Manion | Napanee, Ont. |
| Mason | McKay | Tavistock, Ont. |
| Mitch | McKay | Tavistock, Ont. |
| Jordan | Pomeroy | Placentia, N.L. |
| James | Shirley | Delisle, Sask. |
| Mark | Stack | Petty Harbour, N.L. |
| Owen | Torrie | Williamsford,Ont. |
| Brant | Wiebe | Delisle, Sask. |
| Reese | Yantzi | Shakespeare, Ont. |
COACHING STAFF
| POSITION | NAME | HOMETOWN |
| Head Coach | Doug Allin | Peachland, B.C. |
| Assistant Coach | Dean Holoien | Melfort, Sask. |
| Assistant Coach | Mark Quinn | Mermaid, P.E.I. |
| Athletic Therapist | Mark Kiervin | Saint-John, N.B. |
| Delegation Leader | Mike Branchaud | Cornwall, Ont. |
| Manager- Operations | Gilles LeBlanc | Dieppe, N.B. |
2023 U23 MEN’S EXHIBITION SERIES SCHEDULE
| DATE | GAME | TIME |
| April 9 | Canada vs. USA | 1:30 pm EDT |
| April 9 | Canada vs. USA | 4:00 pm EDT |
| April 10 | Canada vs. USA | 1:30 pm EDT |
| April 10 | Canada vs. USA | 4:00 pm EDT |
2023 U23 MEN’S EXHIBITION GAMES – PARANA, ARGENTINA
| DATE | GAME | TIME |
| April 12 | Canada vs. Israel | 8:00 pm ART |
| April 13 | Canada vs. Australia | 2:00 pm ART |
| April 13 | Canada vs. Argentina | 4:30 pm ART |
2023 WBSC U23 MEN’S WORLD CUP SCHEDULE
| DATE | GAME | TIME |
| April 15 | Canada vs. Venezuela | 4:30 pm ART |
| April 16 | Canada vs. Team WBSC | 1:00 pm ART |
| April 17 | Canada vs. Japan | 5:30 pm ART |
| April 18 | Canada vs. New Zealand | 5:30 pm ART |
| April 19 | Canada vs. Israel | 2:30 pm ART |
Live scoring will be available through the WBSC U23 Men’s Softball World Cup Championship site, with live streaming available through GameTime.sport.
