The selection of the U-18 National Baseball Team for the 31st World Youth Baseball Championship has been completed.
The Korea Baseball Softball Association (KBSA) has finalised the coaching staff and players for the national youth baseball team to participate in the 31st World Youth Baseball Championship, which will be held in Taipei, Taiwan, from 1 September to 10 September.안전놀이터
The federation held a meeting of the Performance Improvement Committee at Mokdong Baseball Stadium on the 16th and appointed Yulgok Go Baseball Club’s Moon Yong-soo (head coach), Cheongju Go Baseball Club’s Kim In-cheol (pitching coach) and Gunsan Sang-il Go’s Suk Su-cheol (fielding coach) as the coaches for each discipline, and selected a total of 20 players for the final roster, including nine pitchers, two catchers, five infielders and four outfielders for each position.
Led by Chungam-go head coach Lee Young-bok, the youth squad includes two-hitting duo Cho Dae-hyun (Gangneung High School 3) and Jeon Mir (Gyeongbuk High School 3), who have been dominating the high school scene, while Jangchung-go left-handed ace duo Hwang Jun-seo (Jangchung High School 3) and Yuk Sun-yeop (Jangchung High School 3), along with “Little Oh Seung-hwan” Kim Taek-yeon (Incheon High School 3), will protect the mound.
‘Big Gun’ Lee Sang-jun (Gyeonggi High 3), who won the World Power Showcase, and ‘Returning Youngest’ Lee Yul-ye (Gangneung High 2), who participated in last year’s tournament as a bullpen catcher, will serve as anchors.
In addition, Park Ji-hwan (Saeadang 3), Yeo Dong-gun (Seoul 3) and Jung Ahn-seok (Hwimun 3) are expected to be the keystone combinations, while Lee Seung-min (Hwimun 3), the ‘Little Red Tomah’, will play in the centre field and Lee Chung-heon (Chungam 3), with his mobility and defensive skills, will anchor the outfield.
A total of 12 nations will compete in the 31st World Youth Baseball Championship (U18), with South Korea drawn in Group A, where they will face Chinese Taipei, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Australia and the Czech Republic in the preliminary round. Group B is made up of the United States, Japan, Venezuela, Panama, the Netherlands and Spain. The top three teams from the preliminary round will advance to the Super Round, with the top two teams in the overall standings based on the combined results of the preliminary round opponents (two games) and the Super Round (three games) qualifying for the final.
Meanwhile, the federation, aiming to regain the top spot after 15 years since the 2008 tournament in Edmonton, Canada, will convene the squad at the end of August to conduct domestic strengthening training and maximise the team’s strength before departing for Taiwan.