Baseball Victoria will be once again sending four Victorian teams to Sydney for the Under 16 and Under 18 National Youth Championships to be held from 10-18 January 2016. Both tournaments will be held in Blacktown, New South Wales at the home of the Sydney Blue Sox. Victoria will be represented in both age groups with Victoria Blue and Victoria White, with the Under 16 Blue team looking to defend their title from last season.
“Strong showings by all four teams—especially last year’s title by the Under 16 Blue squad—provide further evidence that Victoria’s high performance program is operating at a remarkably high level,” said Ashely Blair, Interim General Manager of Baseball Victoria.
BV’s High Performance Manger Damian Shanahan sees more success on the horizon:
“We are very pleased with our teams. The talent, depth, and overall competiveness will serve us well on the national level.”
“Victorian Baseball has a long and proud history at the National Championships,” said Myles Foreman, President of Baseball Victoria. “For these young men the opportunity to represent Victoria and play for the “Big V” comes as a result of many hours of practice and dedication. It also comes thanks to the support of coaches and family who have all played a critical role in helping our State players’ journey in achieving their baseball goals.
“On behalf of the Victorian baseball community: congratulations to all the players on their selection. We look forward to the Championships and the opportunities it provides for these young men to play the great game of baseball at a state level.”
Supporters can follow the progress of the Victorian teams at the National Youth Championships with live scores, ladders, statistics and photographs on the Baseball Australia National Youth Championships website.
The final squads of the respective teams are as follows:
VICTORIA UNDER 18 BLUE
Name
Current Summer Club
Current Winter Club
Max Barrett
Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Matthew Beattie
Waverley
Forrest Hills
Steven Hughes
Springvale
Berwick
Jackson Boyd
Sandringham
Dingley
Jayson Arthur
Springvale
Dandenong
Mitchell Wicox
Sandringham
Dingley
Emerson Rickard
Geelong Baycats
East Belmont
Nicholas Mason
Blackburn
Ringwood
Oliver Dunn
Waverley
Ringwood
Cooper Goodman
Waverley
Heathmont
Jordan Barnett
Sandringham
Mornington
Liam Spence
Geelong Baycats
Guild Lions
Nathan Picchioni
Sandringham
Dingley
Luke Cartwright
Blackburn
Ringwood
Justin Burke
Waverley
North Balwyn
Chase Hodkinson
Waverley
GMBC
Aaron Ouwehand
Berwick
Berwick
Jamie Young
Sunshine
North Balwyn
Jordan Busch
Waverley
Forest Hill
VICTORIA UNDER 18 WHITE
Name
Current Summer Club
Current Winter Club
Andrew Di-Giovambattista
Springvale
Dingley
Jack Daniels
Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Rhys De Highden
Melbourne
North Balwyn
Jesse Hunter
Berwick City
Berwick
Oliver McMahon
Melbourne
North Balwyn
William Day
Berwick City
Berwick
Tim Lane
Sandringham
Dingley
Adam Pahos
Melbourne
North Balwyn
Warwick Purchase
Fitzroy
GMBC
Grant Svikulis
Doncaster
GMBC
Benjamin Wilson
Fitzroy
La Trobe University
Hamish Foreman
Preston
Greensborough
Tyson Cox
Essendon
Arncliffe Scots
Rydge Hogan
Springvale
Berwick
Mitchell Whiting
Blackburn
Ringwood
James Wolstencroft
Blackburn
Ringwood
Blake Hodgson
Blackburn
Ringwood
Jack Dunn
Cheltenham
North Balwyn
Malachi Kere
Waverley
Watsonia
Ayden Norman
Essendon
Essendon
VICTORIA UNDER 16 BLUE
Name
Current Summer Club
Current Winter Club
Alexander Barling
Melbourne
North Balwyn
Jarrod Belbin
Preston
Greensborough
John-Paul Callil
Cheltenham
N/A
Harvey Chinn
Waverley
Upwey Ferntree Gully
Jarryd Dale
Waverley
North Balwyn
David Hurley
Upwey Ferntree Gully
Knox
William Kline-Marantelli
Essendon
Essendon
Jai Lyttleton
Sandringham
Dingley
Liam Madden
Springvale Lions
Berwick
Joshua Meyer
Sandringham
Dandenong
Kyle Morrison
Newport
Bacchus Marsh
Conor Myles
Cheltenham
Frankston
Ciaran Palmer
Berwick
North Balwyn
Mackenzie Salmon
Waverly
North Balwyn
Kaioh Sato
Waverley
Waverley
Brian Smart
Waverley
Forest Hill
Blake Townsend
Waverley
Waverley and Traralgon
James Walshe
Newport
GMBC
Brock Wells
Geelong
Guild Baseball Geelong
Aidan Willis
Berwick
Dandenong
VICTORIA UNDER 16 WHITE
Name
Current Summer Club
Current Winter Club
Chris Burke
Waverley
North Balwyn
Curtis Cox
Preston
N/A
Declan Croker
Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Nicholas Dimitrakopoulos
Melbourne
North Balwyn
Liam Evans
Waverley
Waverley
Ben Fierenzi
Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Mohi Kahui
Waverley
N/A
Richard Kiel
Upwey Ferntree Gully
Knox
Cruiz Leech
Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Hugo Leropoulos
Essendon
Essendon
Maxwell Leuga
Newport
Newport
Daniel Ling
Melbourne
Forest Hill
Ryan Pahos
Melbourne
North Balwyn
Cody Rodwell
Essendon
Watsonia
River Stevens-Dobby
Upwey Ferntree Gully
Forest Hill
Anthony Tancredi
Berwick
Berwick
Lucas Taylor
Berwick
BonBeach
Julian Vance
Blackburn
N/A
Cooper Veal
Preston
Research Lower Plenty
Samuel Wild
Preston
Falcons
Scott Meager, switching white for blue, returns to manage again this year while Jordan Young takes his place helming the Under 16 White squad. Gavin Young will lead the U18 White team while Kerry Gassner assumes U18 Blue managerial duties.
The Victorian coaches are:
U16 Blue (Assistant): Jardy Rogers
U16 Blue (Pitching): Luke Abels
U16 White (Assistant): Marshall Skinner
U16 White (Pitching): Daniel Beattie
U18 Blue (Assistant): Andrew Hayes
U18 Blue (Pitching): Tim Ballard
U18 White (Assistant): To Be Announced
U18 White (Pitching): Tim O’Meara
And the roster of executive officers:
U16 Blue: Stuart Chinn
U16 White: Graham Norman
U18 Blue: Trevor Bird
U18 White: Vacant (yet to be appointed)