South Africa Announces U23 National Team for 2026 World Cup

South African Baseball Union is proud to announce the players selected to represent South Africa at the WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup 2026, which will be held in Nicaragua from 6–15 November 2026.

The South African squad includes Taariq Adams, Rowan Banfield, Junaid Bedford, Joshua Botha, Tyron Brickhill, Jamie Brookes, Creedon Cockrell, Ethan Grobler, Stiaan Henning, Nicholas Jeffries, Aiden Mc Allister, Bryce Mc Cleland, Shane Mc Quirk, Josh November, Abud-Dayaan Osman, Cullen Pieterse, Darian Pretorius, Happy Ramaphoko, Aiden Schwartz, Conner Stopforth, Josh Tribe, Stef Van Duivenbooden, Kyle Weideman and Robert White.

The squad includes players from Cape Town Baseball Federation (CTBF), Gauteng Province Baseball Council (GPBC), Limpopo and Mandela Bay, together with a number of internationally based South African players.

The U23 programme forms an important part of South African Baseball’s national pathway, providing players with an opportunity to progress from junior national teams towards the senior national programme.

It is also encouraging to see players who represented South Africa at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup in Japan in 2025 continuing their progression into the U23 national programme.

South African Baseball President Dr. Marc Moreau welcomed the announcement and the continued progression of players through the national structures.

“It is particularly encouraging to see players from our U18 team that competed at the World Cup in Japan last year progressing into the U23 World Cup squad. The U23 programme is an important part of the pathway towards our senior national team. We congratulate all the players selected and wish them every success as they represent South Africa in Nicaragua.”

The team will represent South Africa in the green and gold when the World Cup gets underway in Nicaragua in November.

South Africa U23 National Team