The GB Under-18 Men’s Fastpitch Team, and the UK’s newest national team, the GB Under-16 Men’s Fastpitch Team, have announced the players selected to compete in European Championships this summer.
The selections were made following trials held on the weekend of 18-19 March for players across all four teams in the GB Men’s Fastpitch programme.
The European Under-16 and European Under-18 Men’s Championships will be held together from 3-8 July in Sezimovo Usti in the Czech Republic.
In the European Under-16 Championship, the new GB Under-16 Team will face the Czech Republic, Israel and Denmark, while in the European Under-18 Championship, GB’s opponents will be the Czech Republic, Denmark, Israel and Croatia.
The Under-18 Championship will serve as a Qualifier for the next WBSC Under-18 Men’s World Cup.
GB Under-16 selections
Players selected for the GB Under-16 Men’s Team for their first-ever European competition are:
Ben Acton
Beau Arnold
Jack Ashby-Lloyd
Oliver Brown
Rory Casey-Wright
Lucas Harrison
Freddy Henry
Jacob Henry
Noah Hickling-Fox
Ethan Hull
Mustafah Khalid
Jack Leslie
Jonah Lord-Taylor
Luca Taylor
Charlie Thacker
Nathan Wyborn
GB Under-16 Head Coach Richard Brown said, “This year sees the dawning of a new era in GB Men's Fastpitch as we have selected our first-ever GB Under-16 Team to enter the European Championship in in the Czech Republic in July. I am so excited to be taking a team of talented young players to the competition, which will be an experience none of them have had before. The competition will be strong, but we can learn from it. The future looks bright, and I am proud to be a part of this new beginning.”
GB Under-18 selections
Players selected for the GB Under-18 Men’s Team are:
Will Adams
Luis Allan Arrevillagas
Charlie Barnes
Bailey Brown
Connor Buxton
Sam Buxton
Danny Casey-Wright
Raul Dodson-Richi
Henry Dunn
Fin James
Kyle Johnson
Edan Lord
Slane Maguire
Connor Peberdy
GB Under-18 Head Coach Ian Tomlin said, “I want to congratulate all the players who have been selected for the Under-18 Team. The talent on show at our trials clearly demonstrated that the work put in by our coaches this winter to identify young talent has really paid off. It also highlighted the work put in by individuals across the country who are helping to develop young players.
“The players who attended the trials look to have real potential,” Ian added, “and I am looking forward to seeing how they develop throughout the season. The experience of attending the Europeans will be an unforgettable one for the players and the parents who are watching, and for GB softball it will be a massive boost to our developing programme.
“Congratulations again to the players and good luck for the season.”