USA Baseball Announces Inaugural Baseball5 National Team Roster

USA Baseball today announced its inaugural Baseball5 National Team roster that will compete at the 2026 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Baseball5 World Cup December 9-13 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The roster comprises USA Baseball Women’s National Team alum Amanda Gianelloni, former collegiate softball standouts Avery Hobson, Josie Muffley, and Carson Wood, former minor league players Jayce Easley and Jake MacKenzie, and recent college baseball graduates Cayden Gaskin and Rob Liddington Jr.

“We are excited to have these eight players represent the United States on our first-ever Baseball5 National Team and compete in a World Cup next month,” said USA Baseball General Manager, National Teams Ashley Bratcher. “This is a significant step for the organization in fielding its seventh national team, and it is an incredible opportunity as we continue to expand our reach in the United States in the discipline. We are confident that this team will not only uphold our standard of excellence, but also set a precedent as our first-ever Baseball5 National Team as we compete for a World Cup title.”

Easley, who hails from Peoria, Arizona, played six seasons in the minor leagues after being drafted by the Texas Rangers in the fifth round of the 2018 MLB Draft. He saw time in a combined 363 games and worked his way up to the Triple-A level with the Round Rock Express. One of his best seasons in the minors came in 2021 with the Down East Wood Ducks, as he was named an MiLB.com Organization All-Star after tallying a career-best 76 hits, 74 runs, and 70 stolen bases. He finished his career with 248 hits, 22 runs scored, 108 RBIs, 241 walks, and 157 stolen bases. Following his playing career, he founded Easley Hits in 2024, a baseball development and hitting facility in Peoria, Arizona, and is currently a youth instructor.

Gaskin played his final season of collegiate baseball this spring at the University of Central Florida after spending a year at South Carolina (2025) and two at Northwest Florida State College (2023 and 2024). As a senior at UCF, he finished with a slash line of .280/.346/.322 in 38 games and helped the Knights earn their second NCAA Regional bid in three seasons. As a junior at South Carolina, he made 20 game appearances, and in his two seasons at Northwest Florida he batted .346 in 108 games with 122 hits and 95 RBIs. Following graduation, the Loganville, Georgia, native played for the West Virginia Black Bears in the MLB Draft League where he slashed .320/.349/.471 in 39 games. He was named to the Second Half All-Draft League Team after setting a single-half league record with 37 stolen bases.

Gianelloni, a Napoleonville, Louisiana, native, is a three-time Women’s National Team alum. She made her debut in 2016, played in 2018, and most recently was on the 2024 squad that earned a silver medal in World Cup play. She has played in a combined 15 games in her USA Baseball career and owns a slash line of .286/.412/.357. Gianelloni played college softball at Nicholls State from 2016-2019 and started in 224 games in her career. She finished her career with a .336 batting average with 231 hits, 125 RBIs, and a .521 slugging percentage. She was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2024, as she still holds program records for RBIs, doubles, and walks. Gianelloni recently wrapped up playing for the San Francisco Firebells, who finished runner up in the inaugural WPBL season, and was the first woman to sign a contract with the league.

Hobson played college softball from 2021-2024, splitting time at Oklahoma State and Washington, and finished with a career .292 batting average in 170 games played. A Belton, Missouri, native, she participated in three consecutive Women’s College World Series from 2021-2023. As a senior in 2024 she recorded a perfect fielding percentage in the outfield and was one of five Husky players on the team to start every game that season. After graduation she spent time as a coach with the Kansas City Royals organization and at William Jewel College, and most recently joined the Missouri softball staff as a graduate assistant.

Liddington Jr. wrapped up his collegiate baseball career earlier this year, playing his last season at Texas Christian University after spending time at Incarnate Word (2024-2025) and Paradise Valley Community College (2023-2024). While at Incarnate Word he earned First Team All-Southland honors in 2025 after leading the Cardinals in almost every offensive category that season. At TCU, the Peoria, Arizona, native played in 44 games and finished with a .267 batting average, 35 hits, five home runs, and 28 RBIs.

MacKenzie, who hails from Wallingford, Connecticut, played college baseball at Fordham from 2018-2020, and following his career was signed by the Boston Red Sox as an undrafted free agent. With the Rams he started 132 games, finishing with a .306 batting average and 154 hits for his career. As a freshman he earned Atlantic-10 Rookie of the Year and Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-America honors. As a sophomore he set single season records for games played and started (62), at-bats (246), and was ranked among the nation’s best in stolen bases that year after swiping 43. As a junior he was rated one of the top shortstops in the nation by D1Baseball before COVID-19 ended the season. MacKenzie went on to play in the minor leagues until 2023, and saw time in a combined 73 games across four different teams. Following his minor league stint, he has played internationally for the last few seasons, which includes stops with the Sydney Blue Sox in Australia and Hünstetten Storm in Germany.

Muffley played softball at collegiate powerhouse Florida State from 2020-2023 after spending her freshman season at Tulsa. She appeared in 241 games over her five-year career, achieving a .253 batting average with seven home runs and 79 RBIs. She accumulated 129 hits, including 24 doubles and four triples. Muffley helped lead Florida State to two NCAA Women’s College World Series runner-up titles in 2021 and 2023 and a pair of Atlantic Coast Conference titles in 2022 and 2023. Muffley, who is a native of Portage, Michigan, went on to play in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) in 2023 and 2024 and played in 42 games in her career. She has served as an EMT in the Tallahassee community since graduation.

Wood, a Monument, Colorado, native, played collegiate softball at Florida State and Oregon State. As a freshman in Tallahassee, she played in 13 games and accumulated a .286 batting average. After redshirting her second season at FSU, she transferred to Oregon State in 2023 where she played in 12 games and batted .333. Following her playing career, she served as a strength and conditioning intern in Corvallis for the 2023-2024 academic year. She is currently a strength and conditioning graduate assistant at Florida State, a position she has held since July 2024, and works with several of the school’s Olympic sport teams.

USA Baseball’s Baseball5 National Team is the federation’s seventh national team and its first to be established since 2013. Team USA will be one of 16 teams competing in the WBSC Baseball5 World Cup after receiving a wild card bid, and the squad will be managed by four-time national team coach Victor Solis. The team is set to train at the National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina, in its High Performance Training Center from November 4-6, and will reconvene for additional training in December in Puerto Rico.

Launched in 2017 by the WBSC, Baseball5 is a five-on-five discipline requiring only a ball to play. The game was founded from a desire to make bat-and-ball sports more accessible while maintaining the fundamental elements of baseball and softball.  Inspired by the “four corners” game born on the streets of Cuba, Baseball5 evolved to become an urban version of baseball and softball built around the motto “Play Anywhere”.

To keep up with the action and stay up to date with the Baseball5 National Team, go to USABaseball.com or follow @USABaseball5 on Twitter/X and Instagram, and @USABaseball on all platforms.