by British Baseball Federation, www.britishbaseball.org
Great Britain Baseball has announced the roster for the first GB Lions team, a new squad created to give domestic-based players the best chance of making the Senior GB Baseball Team.
The inaugural version of the GB Lions includes 19 players from across the country, with a mix of players who are new to Great Britain Baseball and others who have international experience, including in last year’s European Championship in Holland.
Lions Head Coach Liam Carroll said: “We have a talented group of players who I think have a chance to play for our senior national team. The Lions programme will provide the type of instruction, support and experience required to make the transition to the international level. There are no guarantees, but I’ve told the guys that we’re committed to finding a way to get them onto Coach Dempster’s [GB Seniors] squad, whether that takes a few months or a few years.”
The Roster
Here is the initial GB Lions roster, with more information about the Lions to be announced in the coming weeks:
| Player | Club |
|---|---|
| Richard Chesterton | Essex Arrows |
| Jonathon Cramman | London Mets |
| Gary Davison | Southampton Mustangs |
| Luke Foley | Essex Arrows |
| Luis Goncalves | Harlow Nationals |
| Stuart Harper-Horn | Essex Redbacks |
| Gian Jiminez | Bristol Badgers |
| Josh Lawrence-Saunders | London Mets |
| Matthew Lawrence-Saunders | London Mets |
| Luke Looney | Bristol Badgers |
| Matthew Mackintosh | London Mets |
| Daniel Parker | Harlow Nationals |
| Ben Pearson | Hamburg Stealers (GER) |
| James Pearson | Cartmel Valley Lions |
| Josh Rapaport | London Mets |
| Jamie Ratcliff | Harlow Nationals |
| Julian Somers | London Mets |
| Sam Sproule | London Mets |
| Martin Tucker | London Mets |