Four Tigers to Represent USA Softball in 2024 Summer Events in Italy, Japan
Aliyah Andrews, Carley Hoover, Sahvanna Jaquish and Taylor Pleasants will participate in two upcoming international softball events for USA Softball.
OKLAHOMA CITY—Four LSU All-Americans, Aliyah Andrews, Carley Hoover, Sahvanna Jaquish, and Taylor Pleasants, have been selected to participate in two upcoming international softball events for USA Softball.
Andrews and Pleasants are on the 2024 Japan All-Star Series roster. They are scheduled to compete in a three-game series against Japan July 4-8. The series will be played in three cities in Japan (Nagoya, Fujinomiya, and Yokohama). The No. 1 world-ranked U.S. Women’s Elite Team will also play two games against Great Britain before the series.
Hoover and Jaquish earned a spot on the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) World Cup Finals roster, which will be played in Castions de Strada, Italy, July 15-21. The top-ranked Women’s National Team will compete in Group A alongside No. 5 Canada, No. 15 China, and No. 6 Italy. No. 2 Japan, No. 3 Puerto Rico, No. 8 Netherlands, and No. 10 Australia will play in Group B.
Each roster consists of 16 players. The 2024 WBSC roster includes six members from the 2023 WBSC World Cup Group Stage that helped the Eagles qualify for the World Cup final, including Andrews and Jaquish. Four athletic conferences are represented on the roster, including the Pac-12 (seven athletes), SEC (six athletes), Big 12 (three players), and ACC (one athlete). UCLA has the most selections with four athletes, followed by LSU’s two. Other universities represented are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Florida State, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Washington, with one athlete each.
The 2024 Japan All-Star Series roster has six returners from the 2023 Japan All-Star Series, including Pleasants. The roster is represented by four athletic conferences: the SEC (six athletes), Big 12 (five athletes), Pac-12 (four athletes), and ACC (one athlete), which collectively represent nine NCAA Division I universities. Oklahoma has the highest representation with four athletes, followed by Florida, Kentucky, LSU, and Stanford, each with two athletes. Clemson, Oklahoma State, UCLA, and Washington have one selection.
The Women’s National Team Selection Committee selected athletes based on previous and ongoing evaluations at the collegiate levels and USA Softball National Team events, trials, and camps.