Kai-Noa Wynyard signs deal with the Texas Rangers

Kai-Noa Wynyard signs deal with the Texas Rangers

Oct 3, 2020

Queenslander Kai-Noa Wynyard has become the latest young Australian to sign with an MLB organisation after inking a deal with Texas yesterday.

The 18-year-old pitcher is a product of the Redcliffe Padres and has represented both Queensland and Boral Team Australia during his junior years.

Wynyard was part of Australia’s fourth-place finish at last year’s WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup in South Korea.

He pitched in two games, working a scoreless inning and striking out two in a 13-2 win against China.

Wynyard also represented Australia in its Yomiuri Cup debut in 2017.

The right-hander has represented Queensland at four Australian Youth Championships.

In January he tossed 3 2/3 scoreless innings during Queensland’s run to the U18 final.

He struck out four and allowed only two hits in 2 2/3 innings as Queensland secured its spot in the final with a win over Western Australia in its penultimate game of the opening round.

Rangers’ Australian scout Ben Moore had been tracking Wynyard for more than two years after first identifying him at shortstop.

Wynyard made 14 pitching appearances, including six as a starter, with Redcliffe last Greater Brisbane League season.

He went 3-1 with and ERA of 3.24, striking out 50 in 41 2/3 innings.

Wynyard limited opposition hitters to a .222 batting average.

Congratulations Kai-Noa! We will be cheering you as you pursue your journey as a professional baseball player.

Kai-Noa Wynyard signs deal with the Texas Rangers

U18 Queensland Representative Squad Announcement

Sep 30, 2020

Congratulations to the players listed below. You will receive additional information shortly about the Program. The first session is Wednesday 14th October.

This year, the QLD Program will be delivering a new initiative for this age group called the Pitcher’s Development Program. The players listed below ‘Pitchers Development Program’ have been identified and will be provided an opportunity to work with our QLD Coaches who are accredited in both Driveline and Top Velocity Organisations. These sessions will run at the same time as the QLD Program. More information will be sent out shortly in regards to this program.

If you require further feedback please contact Shayne Watson, [email protected]

 

U18 Squad
ANDERSON, AshleyGC
ANTHONY, JoshBM
ARNOTT, JaecobGC
BELL, MillerBN
BISHOP, MajarGC
CROTTY, EddieBN
DAVIS, KynanGC
FAULKNER, TomaGC
FERGUSON, JakeBW
FIELD, JosephBM
FOX, JaimieGC
GROUNDS, JacksonBM
HAWKINS, NicolasBM
HOGAN, JoelBN
HOLDSWORTH, DanteBM
LEE, IanGC
LEMM, JohnBM
MAURER, LachlanGC
MCCLELLAND, CainBM
OLIVE, CooperGC
RASMUSSEN, AidenBW
RICHTERS, BillyBM
ROBERTS, LachlanBM
SHAFFER, CampbellGC
SMITH, LukeBN
SNELL, HaydenBM
SUMMERFORD, DeclanGC
VALDEZ, GabrielBM
VAN HILST, CaylanBM
WALMSLEY, BenBM
WILSON, LachlanBN
YAMAGUCHI, MaitoGC
Shadows
BRANCH, SorenGC
FOX, KobeBS
WHITE, BrendanBN
Pitchers Development Program
FOX, KobeBS
GONZALEZ, OrlandoBM
GOSSNER, KouperBW
LEONHARDT, TylerBS
MCDOUGALL, JoshBS
MOYNIHAN, JosephBW
ORR, DamonBM
PETHICK, KaiBS
SLOANE, MitchBW
THATCHER, RobbieBW
WINLAW, MaverickBN
WHITE, BrendanBN
Senior League Championship to open 2021 Little League calendar

Senior League Championship to open 2021 Little League calendar

Sep 17, 2020

Initial story from baseball.com.au

The 2021 Australian Senior League Championship in Lismore will open next year’s national Little League circuit.

Baseball Australia today announced Lismore’s Albert Park Baseball Complex will host the event from May 8-12 next year.

The five-day event will be supported by Lismore City Council and the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.

Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said the NSW Government remains focussed on supporting regional events across the state.

“I am delighted that the Australian Senior League Championship will be held in Lismore in 2021, helping to drive tourism and economic growth for the North Coast of NSW,” Ayres said.

“We know that many of our regional communities have suffered this year which is why we are working tirelessly to continue shining the spotlight on regional NSW, including building a world-class calendar of events for NSW.”

It will be the fifth time Lismore has hosted the Australian Senior League Championship, which was added to Little League Australia’s program in 2016.

“The announcement that the Senior League Championship will be held again in Lismore in 2021 is fantastic news for our community and our economy,” Lismore Mayor Isaac Smith said.

“We are a centre for sporting excellence and sports will play a big role in our city’s COVID recovery.”

This year’s Senior League Championship – along with the Little League titles slated for Lismore – were both cancelled due to the impact of COVID-19.

Far North Coast Baseball Association commissioner Paul Latta was thrilled the event would remain in Lismore.

“It was disappointing for our community that this year’s event could not happen, but we’re glad to have it back in 2021,” he said.

“The Senior League Championship brings some of the country’s best up-and-coming talent to Lismore and is a great chance for us to show off our region.”

Baseball New South Wales chief executive Mark Marino was thrilled the event would be played in his state again.

“Lismore and the Far North Coast Baseball Association are fantastic hosts of the Senior League Championship,” he said.

“It’s a feature of the baseball calendar in New South Wales and one we’re glad to have in our state.”

The winner of the five-day event will represent Australia Region at the 2021 Senior League Baseball World Series, tentatively schedule for July 31 to August 7 in South Carolina.

WA’s Western Suns secured gold at the 2019 Senior League Championship after topping Queensland’s Brisbane Metro in the decider.

SportsLink Travel, major partner and official travel provider of Baseball Australia and Little League, will manage travel and accommodation for all competing teams at the event.

They have also secured additional allocations for family and supporters to follow their teams.

Click here for more information on SportsLink Travel’s options for the 2021 Australian Senior League Championship.

COVID Safe Attendance Registry for State Titles

COVID Safe Attendance Registry for State Titles

Sep 16, 2020

Baseball Queensland State Title events will be proceeding under an Industry Approved COVID Safe Plan. This being the case anyone that wishes to attend the event and access the facilities must agree to provide their contact details for the purposes of contact tracing.

Baseball Queensland and the host clubs will be utilising the Safe Visit application to securely record and store all mandatory contact tracing details. The app utilises a QR Code recognisable by the camera on most modern smartphones. There is no requirement to download an app to your phone. All attendees will be required to check in on arrival and check out upon departure. You can learn more about the app from:

https://safevisit.com.au/signup?mc_cid=8c43d99d6a&mc_eid=f87e512bce

Kai-Noa Wynyard signs deal with the Texas Rangers

Call made on #AYC2021

Sep 16, 2020

Initial Story from baseball.com.au

The 2021 Australian Youth Championship has been cancelled and will be replaced with a range of localised content to ensure the development of the country’s up-and-coming talent is not negatively impacted.

Baseball Australia and the state and territory bodies have unanimously agreed to the move – which comes in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic – following an extensive review which included consultation of athletes and teams that would likely have featured in the event.

Instead a range of local events will be held in each market to ensure players are afforded the opportunity to continue their development.

Baseball Australia performance pathways and player development general manager Michael Crooks said a number of factors came into the decision, including health implications, logistical challenges presented by quarantine measures and financial risk.

“It’s a bitterly disappointing outcome,” he said.

“But our goal now is to ensure with the support of states and territories we provide enough opportunities to affected athletes to continue their development.

“By doing this we can minimise the long-term disruption on our up-and-coming prospects and keep open the pathway they’ve worked so hard to climb.”

The tournament, which traditionally takes place during the January school holiday period and includes U-16 and U-18 age brackets, will be replaced by local series.

Details for the local series will be released in coming weeks but each event would be preceded by a showcase for college and professional scouts.

The local series will see each market’s top talent given the chance to go head-to-head.

Following the events the U-16 and U-18 National Junior Squads will be selected from the participants.

Both squads would be invited to a camp in Canberra over the Easter period should government restrictions allow it.

The squads, subject to restrictions, would also head to Florida for a Perfect Game event prior to the U-18 World Cup later in the year.

If international border restrictions prevented it, athletes would again attend a National Junior Squad camp in Canberra.

Crooks said Baseball Australia’s strong relationship with technology providers would ensure international exposure for players.

“Through our technology partnerships Rapsodo and Driveline’s TRAQ software will allow player profiling to be produced for all players competing in the local competitions,” Crooks said.

“This information will be collated and distributed to the professional scouting and college network to ensure international exposure for all players.

“This will minimise the medium to long-term impact on the development of our junior talent.”

Baseball Australia is working closely with the performance pathway systems in each state and territory to lock in details of local series.