CANCÚN, Mexico – The United States continues World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-15 Baseball World Cup group play against Australia Sunday morning at Estadio Sherwin-Williams Beto Ávila in Cancún, Mexico, with first pitch at 10:30 a.m. local/11:30 a.m. ET.
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
Team USA cruised past Nicaragua, 10-0, at the 2026 WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup on Saturday morning, fueled by an eight-run third inning. Paris Head sparked the rally with a double, while Matti Di Maggio and Paxton Scoggin delivered key hits. Nate Handley-White threw four scoreless innings with six strikeouts, and Lathan Boddie struck out the side in the fifth as the U.S. secured the run-rule victory.
PITCHING MATCHUP
LHP Cale Morris (AUS) vs. RHP Max Kimbrell (USA)
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Australia owns a 1-1 record at the World Cup, dropping the tournament opener to Venezuela, 11-1, while defeating Czechia Saturday afternoon, 9-2. After getting off to a slow start in game one in which the team tallied four hits and committed three errors, Australia bounced back in game two and produced 10 hits en route to its first win of the week.
Offensively, Australia is led by Bodhi Evans, Beau Stockdale, and Jacob Tayler, each of whom are batting above .400. As a team, Australia ranks in the middle of the pack, batting .275 with 14 hits and 13 strikeouts at the plate.
Across two games, Australia has used seven arms while its pitching staff owns a 5.73 ERA. Similar to its offense, Australia is just as average on the bump, holding opponents to a .304 batting average, surrendering 13 runs, walking 11, and collecting 10 strikeouts.
HISTORY AGAINST AUSTRALIA
The 15U National Team is 5-0 all-time against Australia, with all five games happening in an international friendly series across the southeastern United States in 2024. During that series, the U.S. swept Australia in a five-game set and broke numerous records. Team USA outscored Australia 62-0, threw two no-hitters, and allowed only eight hits.
TEAM USA STAT LEADERS
- BA: Matti Di Maggio (.667)
- HITS: Raylen Hunter (5)
- RBIs: Matti Di Maggio (3)
- RUNS: Matti Di Maggio, Tyler Early (3)
- TB: Matti Di Maggio (7)
- BB: Many tied (2)
- IP: Nate Handley-White (4.0)
- ERA: Many tied (0.00)
- Ks: Nate Handley-White (6)
GROUP B STANDINGS
- Chinese Taipei (2-0)
- United States (2-0)
- Australia (1-1)
- Venezuela (1-1)
- Czechia (0-2)
- Nicaragua (0-2)
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 28 - at Chinese Taipei - 6:30 p.m. local/7:30 p.m. ET
- 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.
