The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Former Softball All-American Jefferson to participate in WBSC World Cup Finals
07.11.2024 | Softball
Four-time All-American Janae Jefferson, USWNT look for 13th WBSC Gold Medal
AUSTIN, Texas – Former University of Texas softball standout Janae Jefferson, along with the rest of the 16-member United States Women's National Team (USWNT), are set to participate in the upcoming World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) World Cup Finals.
Scheduled to take place over a six-day period from Monday, July 15 to Sunday, July 21, Team USA, the number one ranked softball team in the world, will begin its six-game slate at 9:30 a.m. CT on Monday, July 15, when the U.S. play No. 5 Canada. The following day, the Eagles will play host No. 6 Italy at 1:30 p.m., before facing off against No. 15 China at 7 a.m. CT on Wednesday, July 17 to round out Group A play.
No. 2 Japan, No. 3 Puerto Rico, No. 8 Netherlands and No. 10 Australia make up the four-team Group B.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the Super Round — Thursday, July 18 to Friday, July 19 — for a chance to compete in the Medal Round that will take place on Saturday, July 20. All games will be played at Campo Comunale da Softball in Castions di Strada, Italy.
"The U.S. Women's National Team is excited to have an opportunity to compete for a gold medal at the 2024 WBSC World Cup," said head coach Heather Tarr, who is also the head coach at the University of Washington. "We are really happy that we get a chance to prepare for the next few days before the competition.
"Our team expects to bring dominant pitching, great defense and timely hitting. We can't wait to see how good we can get as we grow together as one unit throughout the tournament."
The U.S. is looking to claim its fourth consecutive WBSC Women's World Cup title after having won the event in Birmingham, Ala., (2022), Chiba, Japan (2018) and Surrey, British Columbia, Canada (2016).
The WBSC Women's Softball World Cup Finals will be streamed via GameTime. Fans will have two streaming options: a tournament pass ($12.99) or daily pass ($7.99). A tournament pass will allow subscribers full access to all 22 games of the WBSC Women's Softball World Cup. Fans can also follow along via live stats by following the U.S. Women's National Team on GameChanger.
Jefferson, who played on the Forty Acres from 2018 to 2022, is one of a team-high eight representatives from the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Texas is also one of 11 different NCAA Division I universities represented on the team as well.
Team USA Game Schedule
|
Opponent |
Day |
Time |
|
Canada |
Monday, July 15 |
4:30 p.m. CET (9:30 a.m. CT) |
|
Italy |
Tuesday, July 16 |
8:30 p.m. CET (1:30 p.m. CT) |
|
China |
Wednesday, July 17 |
2 p.m. CET (7 a.m. CT) |
|
Super Round |
Thursday, July 18 to Friday, July 19 |
TBD |
|
Medal Round |
Saturday, July 20 |
TBD |
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