Fresh off Britain’s first official WBSC event [link], Great Britain Baseball has announced its roster for the 2026 Women’s Baseball World Cup. The sole representative from WBSC Europe Baseball, GB will compete in the Tainan (Taiwan) Group Stage against the hosts (No. 6 in the WBSC Women’s Baseball Rankings), Cuba (No. 7), Japan (No. 1), the Philippines (No. 21), and Venezuela (No. 5). Along the Philippines, Great Britain will make its Women’s Baseball World Cup debut.
Over the first weekend in June, GB Women’s National Team Head Coach Pietro Sollecito and his staff evaluated a long-list of players during the Great Britain Women’s Baseball Invitational Tournament. A majority of the players return from the 2025 Women’s European Baseball Championship title-winning squad, including MVP Darier Malone, who hit. 462/.611/.692, and Best Pitcher, Claury Scatliffe, who struck out 10 in 5.1 innings, with only one hit surrendered. Scatliffe also slashed .571/.647/.857 and tied teammate Laura Hirai, also back, for the lead in stolen bases (5).
Hirai, meanwhile, was selection by Boston in the inaugural draft of the Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL), which commences play this August. This latest accomplishment comes after representing Great Britain in Fastpitch and on two separate Under-18 European Baseball Championships as the team’s only female player. Before the introduction of the women’s national team, Trask also played for GB, suiting up for the Under-12 squad.
“The level of talent, professionalism, and determination throughout our programme continues to grow, and each [player] has played an important role in that progress,” noted Sollecito. “[Their] efforts are not only helping to raise the standard of our national team but are also serving as an inspiration for the future of British baseball. We are proud of what we’ve accomplished together so far, and we look forward to the challenge ahead.”
“It is a fantastic achievement for the Great Britain women’s national team to not only win European gold but now take their place at the WBSC World Cup qualifiers,” said Richard Evans, President of the British Baseball Federation (BBF). “It is a real tribute to the commitment, skill and hard work all GB players and staff have put in over the past couple of years.”
The full roster is as follows, with an asterisk denoting a player rostered for the Women’s Baseball Euros in 2025 and a circumflex for 2022. In total, 15 of 20 players return from 2025 and 10 of 20 from 2022. Two asterisks indicate that a player was part of the coaching staff at the 2025 championship.
- Kath Armstrong – Herts Baseball Club
- Laura Bailes* – Manchester Baseball Club
- Dani Briggs** – Bournemouth Bears
- Bethany Casson* – Liverpool Baseball Club
- Saskia Davies* – Cardiff Merlins
- Betheliza de la Paz*^ – Birmingham Baseball Club
- Caitlin Frank*^ – Essex Baseball Club
- Jess Hastings – Birmingham Baseball Club
- Ella Henson* – London Mets
- Artie Herbert*^ – Bournemouth Bears
- Laura Hirai*^ – London Mets / Boston (WPBL)
- Darier Malone*^ – British Virgin Islands
- Sam Rahman* – Manchester Baseball Club
- Meg Rollins – Birmingham Baseball Club
- Gabriella Sassoli*^ – London Mets
- Claury Scatliffe*^ – British Virgin Islands
- Amy Trask^ – Canada
- Jess Vernon*^ – Guildford Baseball Club
- Stella Veski* – Essex Baseball Club
- Oona Ylinen*^ – Essex Baseball Club
If you would like to help support the GB Women’s National Team on its journey, you can donate at https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/gb-women-2024.