Great Britain Baseball men's team announces roster for 2022 World Baseball Classic Qualifier

The British Baseball Federation and Great Britain Baseball Men’s Senior National Team Head Coach Drew Spencer have today announced the players selected for the 2022 World Baseball Classic Qualifier.

The team will compete in Regensburg, Germany from 16-21 September, with the top two teams from the Qualifier advancing to the World Baseball Classic preliminary rounds in Taipei, Phoenix, Miami, or Tokyo next March.

Great Britain will play in their first game against cross-channel rivals France on 16 September at 19:00 CET (18:00 BST) at Armin-Wolf-Arena, with the winner facing host-nation Germany the next day.

The World Baseball Classic is the preeminent international competition for the sport of baseball, sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation.

The competition has previously taken place in 2006, 2009, 2013, and 2017, with Great Britain participating in the qualification round in 2012 and 2016.

The World Baseball Classic features 20 of the top teams from across the globe, with the final competition to be held in Miami, Florida at LoanDepot Park, the home of the Miami Marlins.

The following players will represent Great Britain at the 2022 World Baseball Classic Qualifier:

Donovan Benoit

Kent Blackstone

Shamoy Christopher

Daniel Cooper

Alex Crosby

Kennard Dawson

Chavez Fernander

Ural Forbes

Harry Ford

Gunnar Groen

D’Shawn Knowles

Matt Koperniak

McKenzie Mills

Akeel Morris

Camrin Opp

Michael Peterson

Chris Reed

Michael Roth

Jaden Rudd

Anfernee Seymour

Raul Shah

Aaron Singh

Matteo Sollecito

Tahnaj Thomas

Nick Ward

Alex Webb

Vance Worley

Justin Wylie

Great Britain’s roster features four players (Worley, Roth, Reed, and Morris) with previous Major League Baseball experience, as well as top prospects from the Seattle Mariners (Ford) and Pittsburgh Pirates (Thomas).

Additionally, four players from the Bahamas – Thomas, Fernander, Seymour, and Knowles- will don the Great Britain uniform, with two representatives (Dawson, Christopher) hailing from the British Virgin Islands.

Player eligibility for the World Baseball Classic is determined by citizenship, player ancestry, and passport eligibility.

The Coaching Staff, led by Drew Spencer, consists of:

Head Coach – Drew Spencer

Bench Coach – Brad Marcelino

Pitching Coach – Zach Graefser

Bullpen Coach – Conor Brooks

First Base Coach – Albert Cartwright

Third Base Coach – TS Reed

Advance Scout – Jonathan Cramman

Baseball Operations Coordinator – Will Lintern

Head of Delegation – Gary Anderson

Head Athletic Trainer – Alan Dean

Athletic Trainer – Jesse Guffey

Equipment Manager – Glen Robertson

The World Baseball Classic Qualifier can be watched on the World Baseball Classic YouTube and Facebook pages, as well as at WorldBaseballClassic.com and on MLB.TV.

Games will also be shown in the United Kingdom on BT Sport. A full schedule of games can be found at WorldBaseballClassic.com

For the latest news and notes from GB Baseball at World Baseball Classic Qualifier and more, make sure to follow Great Britain Baseball on Facebook, and gb_baseball on Twitter and Instagram.