The Canadian national senior men’s softball team will have a pair of brothers on the squad when it opens the WBSC world men’s softball championship Friday in the Czech Republic.
Shane and Ryan Boland from the Goulds join Brad and Kyle Ezekiel from Harbour Main on the 17-man roster, which also includes national team veterans Jason Hill of St. John’s, Sean Cleary of Harbour Main and Stephen Mullaley of Freshwater.
Jason Hill of St. John’s and Les Howey, a Saskatchewan native who now resides in C.B.S., are assistant coaches.
The world championship is held every two years, and Canada is looking to reclaim a gold medal after settling for bronze at the 2017 worlds in Whitehorse, Yukon.
The Canadians, who won the 2015 world championship in Saskatoon with Hill, Cleary, Mullaley, Brad Ezekiel and Ryan Boland on the roster, entered the 2019 worlds as the second-ranked team.
It was a tough 2017 for the men’s national team, which not only saw the world championship gold medal slip away, but it failed to qualify for the 2019 Pan American Games following a sixth-place finish at the Games qualifying tournament in the Dominican Republic.
The Canadians are managed by John Stuart of B.C. Hill will coach the third base line, while Howey will work the first base line. Doug Allin of B.C. is the bench coach.
The national team attended a tournament in Kelowna, B.C. last month, and has been in Innerkip, Ont. for four days for a pre-world championship training camp.
Canada is entered in Group B with Australia, United States, Venezuela, Denmark, South Africa, Netherlands and Singapore.
The 16-team event is a single round-robin, single elimination event with the top four teams in each group making the playoffs.
All 72 games will be live streamed through WBS’s official YouTube account.
Canadian roster
- Bryan Abrey, Richmond, B.C.
- Ryan Boland, Goulds, NL
- Shane Boland, Goulds. NL
- Patrick Burns, Saskatoon
- Sean Cleary, Harbour Main, NL
- Jeff Ellsworth, St. Lawrence, P.E.I.
- Brad Ezekiel, Harbour Main, NL
- Kyle Ezekiel, Harbour Main, NL
- Jason Hill, St. John’s, NL
- Blake Hunter, Nanaimo, B.C.
- Scott Lieph, Sooke, B.C.
- Derek Mayson, North Vancouver, B.C.
- Devon McCullough, Saskatoon
- Steve Mullaley, Freshwater, NL
- Tyler Pauli, Mitchell, Ont.
- Mathieu Roy, St-Gervais Que.
- Kris Walushka, Victoria, B.C.
Coaches and staff
- John Stuart, Merritt, B.C. (head coach)
- Doug Allin, Peachtree, B.C. (assistant coach)
- John Hill, St. John’s, NL (assistant coach)
- Les Howey, C.B.S., NL (assistant coach)
- Kalen Kovitch, Prince Albert, Sask. (video coach)
- Mike Branchaud, Ottawa (manager, men’s national team)
RELATED
