CANCÚN, Mexico – The United States continues World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-15 Baseball World Cup group play against unbeaten Chinese Taipei Monday evening at Estadio Beto Ávila in Cancún, Mexico, with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m. local/7:30 p.m. ET at Estadio Beto Ávila in Cancún, Mexico.
Team USA, along with five other teams in Group B, are competing for three berths to the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup Super Round, which is set to be held October 1-3, while the World Championship Final will be played on October 4. All team records and standings can be found HERE.
LAST TIME OUT
Raylen Hunter tallied a program-record five hits, including a solo home run, as Team USA cruised to a 23-0 win over Australia on Sunday morning at the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup in Cancún, Mexico. The United States recorded 19 hits, highlighted by a five-run first inning and a 14-run third, while limiting Australia to one hit. Max Kimbrell earned the win in his first start of the tournament, striking out six in three innings, as Braylon Rogers and Tyler Early combined to complete the shutout.
PITCHING MATCHUP
LHP Michael Ohman (USA) vs. RHP Maiput Kintalu (TPE)
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Alongside the United State, Chinese Taipei is the lone unbeaten team in Group B. Chinese Taipei has thrown two shutouts thus far and outscored opponents with a 19-3 margin. Chinese Taipei ranks fifth among all teams with a combined .294 batting average as a team and fourth with a .926 OPS. The team relies on its bats more than base running to produce runs, however, as the team has only five stolen bags.
At the plate, Chinese Taipei is led by tonight’s starter, Maiput Kintalu, who owns a .500 batting average with 10 hits through three games. Five players bat over .300, but Chinese Taipei lacks depth at the plate, as only eight players have picked up a base hit in the tournament while five players have two hits or fewer.
Chinese Taipei shines on the mound, owning a 0.67 ERA as a staff while holding opponents to a .181 batting average. Its arms have given up only six walks, four extra-base hits, and is the only nation not to have thrown a wild pitch. Through three contests, Chinese Taipei has used only six pitchers and should be in line to have fresh arms for tonight’s game. Additionally, Chinese Taipei has committed only two errors and can work out of trouble on the basepaths, as the team has turned eight double plays.
This will be Maiput Kintalu’s first outing on the mound for Chinese Taipei.
HISTORY AGAINST CHINESE TAIPEI
The 15U National Team is 3-1 all-time against Chinese Taipei, with the teams first meeting in 2014 at the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup in Mazatlan, Mexico. In that first contest, the U.S. managed to tie the contest at 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh to send the game into extras. The game remained tied until the tenth, when Christopher Martin doubled to left field to score Royce Lewis, the winning run. The last time these two teams met was in the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup in 2022, with the United States shutting out Chinese Taipei, 10-0.
Since the two teams first met in 2014, Team USA has outscored Chinese Taipei 34-9. Two contests have been decided by one run, while two contests have been decided by double digits. The United States has competed against Chinese Taipei in every single World Cup the stars and stripes have competed in. Team USA’s lone loss to Chinese Taipei came in the 2018 World Cup, ending with a final score of 2-1.
TEAM USA STAT LEADERS
- BA: Raylen Hunter (.769)
- HITS: Raylen Hunter (10)
- RBIs: Raylen Hunter, Paxton Scoggin, Greyson Wuis (5)
- RUNS: Raylen Hunter (7)
- TB: Raylen Hunter (14)
- BB: Tyler Early, Greyson Wuis (2)
- SB: Tyler Early (5)
- IP: Nate Handley-White (4.0)
- ERA: Many tied (0.00)
- Ks: Nate Handley-White, Max Kimbrell (6)
GROUP B STANDINGS
- Chinese Taipei (3-0)
- United States (3-0)
- Australia (1-2)
- Nicaragua (1-2)
- Venezuela (1-2)
- Czechia (0-3)
INSIDE THE ROSTER
The 2026 roster features seven USA Baseball national team alumni, with all seven having been on either the 2023 12U National Team World Cup Qualifier roster, World Cup roster, or both. Eleven players on the roster have participated in USA Baseball national team development programming, while one player boasts experience in past development events jointly hosted in partnership with Major League Baseball. Twelve states are represented on the 2026 15U National Team roster, with California leading all states with four players, while Alabama follows with three players. Florida and Texas each boast a pair of athletes, while nine states–Arizona, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Virginia, Wisconsin–each account for a player apiece. More information on the 2026 15U National Team Roster can be found HERE.
AT THE HELM
The 2026 15U National Team will be led by the same coaching staff that guided last year’s gold medal-winning squad. Three-time Team USA coach Casey Scott returns as manager for a second consecutive summer, while two-time Team USA medalist and former 15U National Team manager Drew Briese serves as pitching coach. Four-time assistant coach Steve Butler returns to the dugout, and JD Pruitt will make his second straight stint as assistant coach. More information on the 2026 15U National Team coaching staff can be found HERE.
SCHEDULE
The schedule for the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup is as follows:
- September 29 - at Venezuela - 2:30 p.m. local/3:30 p.m. ET
- October 1-4 - Super Round/Finals - TBD
FOLLOW ALONG
To stay up to date with the USA Baseball 15U National Team, follow along with @USABaseball15U on Twitter/X, and @USABaseball on Instagram. All games will be streamed on GameTime.Sport, while fans in the United States can also view games on BallySports.com or in the Bally Sports Live app on the MiLB Channel and MiLB Extra Channel. For more information on the schedule including live statistics and streaming, visit HERE.
