The captains for the eight competing countries at the 18th WBSC Men's Softball World Cup stand for a photo in the infield of Rotary Field at Prime Ministers Park in Prince Albert on July 7, 2025. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

By Logan Lehmann

Opening remarks

Canada looking to recapture gold at 18th Men’s Softball World Cup

Jul 7, 2025 | 1:26 PM

The wait is over and the world has arrived in Prince Albert as the first pitch of the 18th WBSC Men’s Softball World Cup is set to be thrown in less than 24 hours.

Local dignitaries and the coaches from the eight competing countries along with their team captains gathered in the lobby of the Art Hauser Centre on Monday for a press conference to officially kick off the festivities of the tournament.

Canada’s Manager/Head Coach John Stuart said the team is feeling good after landing in Prince Albert.

“The excitement’s been building since last year. We’ve had some good camps, good selection camps – we’re very excited with the 16 athletes that we’ve chosen. We had a good prep tournament that was the 4 Nations last weekend, so we expect every game to be a dog fight and come down to the last inning. We’re super excited to get it started.”

The eight coaches take questions from the media during the opening press conference of the 18th WBSC Men’s Softball World Cup inside the lobby of the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert on July 7, 2025. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

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Canada will play its first game tomorrow when they play host to New Zealand at 8:30 p.m., a team that they played at the Super 8 International Men’s Fast Pitch 4 Nations Cup in Saskatoon that ran from July 3-5. The Canadians faced off with the Black Sox national team twice in the World Cup tune up, winning both times including 4-2 in the round robin and 2-1 in the finals to capture gold. Japan and the United States also took part, where the U.S. finished third and Japan placed fourth.

Stuart said that the 4 Nations tournament was just what they needed to iron out the final kinks ahead of the World Cup.

“We played three other amazing countries and anyone could have won those. You get to plan a little bit different for that, get some players in and get your full roster in. Each country doesn’t want to show too much in that tournament, but we’re very familiar. All teams are very familiar with each other throughout the year. It was very important for us to get everyone together and play some meaningful games.”

At the 2022 World Cup in Auckland, Canada finished second after falling in the gold medal game 5-2 to Australia, which came on the heels of back-to-back bronze medals in 2017 and 2019. However, the last time the World Cup came to Saskatchewan in 2015, Canada claimed gold following a 10-5 win over New Zealand.

A team photo from when Canada last won the Men’s Softball World Cup back in 2015 at Bob Van Impe Stadium in Saskatoon. (WBSC)

Canadian captain Shane Boland said the team is looking to redeem themselves after falling short in 2022.

“Not gonna lie, 2022 hurt a lot – being so close yet so far. Usually our motto is how we steer our ship, if you’re not first you’re last. We’re here for one goal and that is to come back out on top. It’s nice to be back in our own country, so hopefully we can get to that game and prove to the world that we’re gonna come back out on top.”

“We don’t like to dwell on the past, but we do like to look back and relive that moment,” he continued, when asked about the last time Canada won the Men’s Softball World Cup 10 years ago. “We want it to be our year, so being back up here in our own country, we’re super ready – we’ve done everything we can. I just can’t wait to get on the field and prove what we can do.”

The 18th Men’s Softball World Cup is the third major international tournament to be played in Prince Albert in the last seven years. The first time P.A. welcomed the world was in 2018 during the Junior Men’s World Softball Championship and the second was just last year in 2024 during the Men’s Softball World Cup Group B qualifiers.

A sellout crowd is seen watching the host Canada face off with New Zealand during a game at the 2018 Junior Men’s Softball World Championship at Rotary Field in Prime Ministers Park in Prince Albert. (WBSC)

Ian Litzenberger is the chair of the Local Organizing Committee and said this tournament has been over a decade in the making.

“We started this journey in October 2014, and we got one final day to just work out the kinks, putting the final touches on pieces. But to be at this, you know, so close to the finish line, it’s amazing. We have 300 volunteers, community partners, everybody just throwing in every effort they can to welcome the world here to P.A., so it’s pretty humbling.”

The first game of the World Cup is slated for tomorrow, July 8 at 11:30 a.m. when the Dominican Republic squares off with Japan. That game will be followed by Venezuela and Argentina at 2:30 p.m., the U.S. and Australia at 4:30 p.m., and the tournaments opening ceremony at 7:30 p.m. As mentioned, Canada will play New Zealand in their World Cup opener at 8:30 p.m.

A full schedule for the tournament can be found here or on the World Cup’s Facebook page.

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

On Bluesky: @loganlehmann.bsky.social