Forty players are vying for a spot on the final USA Baseball Women’s National Team roster, representing the best in the nation. One of them will be playing in her hometown when Team USA takes the field at Segra Stadium this week.
USA Baseball is coming to Fayetteville on Friday, June 12, with the Women’s National Team playing a Stars vs. Stripes exhibition game in preparation for the 2027 World Cup, and the host city has its own local star on the squad.
Ashanty Marcano, a right-handed outfielder with utility talent and a career .413 batting average in two seasons at Jack Britt, is part of the US training camp roster as the team shapes up for World Cup competition, with the group stage coming next month.
By the time training camp concludes on June 15, Team USA will have a roster of 20 players set for the WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup Group Stage, running July 22-26 at Rivets Stadium in Rockford, Illinois.
Friday’s seven-inning game starts at 7:05 p.m. with fireworks afterward. Tickets start at $9 and can be purchased at this link or at the Segra box office.
Marcano, a National Team Development Program participant who also plays with the Lady Dukes Softball Club and Carolina Hitmen baseball, is part of a 40-player pool built on 23 WNT veterans trying to claim Team USA’s first World Cup gold since 2006. Japan is on a run of six straight golds in the bi-yearly finals, with the US winning two straight before that.
Team USA earned an automatic bid to group play and joins Canada, Australia, Mexico, Korea and Hong Kong, China, in Rockford. Another group stage will be held in Tainan, Chinese Taipei, where Japan, Venezuela, Chinese Taipei, Cuba, Great Britain and the Philippines are pooled.
The top three finishers from each group advance to finals in Rockford, scheduled for July 19-25, 2027.
Segra will also host two more USA Baseball showcases as the Men’s College National Team plays here June 30 and July 14.
2026 USA Baseball WNT training camp roster
- *Jillian Albayati – RHP/OF – Anaheim, Calif.
- Jordan Andreas – RHP – St. George, Utah
- *Jamie Baum – INF/OF/RHP – Los Altos, Calif.
- *Denae Benites – C – Las Vegas, Nev.
- *Elise Berger – RHP – Shelburne, Vt.
- *Kate Blunt – RHP/INF – Ladera Ranch, Calif.
- *Sophia Broderick – RHP/INF/OF – Geneva, Ill.
- Bailey Brown – RHP – Southampton, N.Y.
- *Niki Eckert – LHP – New York, N.Y.
- *Sarah Edwards – INF/OF – Bay Shore, N.Y.
- Madison Erickson – INF – West Linn, Ore.
- Maggie Foxx – RHP/OF/C – Bedford, N.H.
- *Amanda Gianelloni – INF – Napoleonville, La.
- *Beth Greenwood – C – Amherst, N.H.
- Gabbie Haas – INF – Jupiter, Fla.
- Amira Hondras – OF/UTL – Chicago, Ill.
- McKenna Huff – INF/RHP – Fairfax, Va.
- *Alex Hugo – INF – Olathe, Kan.
- Keira Izumi – INF/RHP – San Diego, Calif.
- *Alexia Jorge – C – Lyndhurst, N.J.
- *Anna Kimbrell – C/INF – Fort Mill, S.C.
- Mia Kruspe – OF/RHP – Lake Worth Beach, Fla.
- *Kylee Lahners – INF – Laguna Hills, Calif.
- *Ashton Lansdell – INF/OF – Marietta, Ga.
- Sarah Lessig – OF/INF – Seattle, Wash.
- Jasmine Mack – C/INF/OF – Whitsett, N.C.
- *Jamie Mackay – C/RHP – Laguna Beach, Calif.
- Ashanthy Marcano – OF – Fayetteville, N.C.
- Lillian Martineau – INF – Harwinton, Conn.
- *A’Lana Martinez – OF – Cooper City, Fla.
- *Meggie Meidlinger – RHP – Sterling, Va.
- Luciana Moreno – INF – Sun Prairie, Wi.
- Maggie Paulovich – OF – Albany, Calif.
- *Valerie Perez – INF – Corpus Christi, Tex.
- *Olivia Pichardo – OF/RHP – Queens, N.Y.
- *Naomi Ryan – LHP/INF/OF – North Chesterfield, Va.
- *Remi Schaber – INF/RHP – Memphis, Tenn.
- Lauren Schwab – OF/RHP – McKinney, Tex.
- Valentina Smith – RHP – Parkland, Fla.
- *Kelsie Whitmore – RHP/OF – Temecula, Calif.
- Addy Wilson – LHP/OF – Woodstock, Ga.
* National Team alum
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: USA baseball womens national team 2026 fayetteville nc
