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OTTAWA - Baseball Canada is pleased to announce the coaching staff that will lead the Women’s National Team program in 2023 led by Manager Anthony Pluta (Victoria, BC) along with coaches Chris Begg (Uxbridge, ON), Patricia Landry (St-Étienne-des-Grés, QC) and Kate Psota (Burlington, ON).
The national team will be competing on home soil from August 8-13, 2023 at the IX Women's Baseball World Cup when Thunder Bay, Ontario plays hosts to “Group A”, a six-team tournament with qualifying nations from Groups A & B (Group B will be played in Japan) advancing to the final stage in 2024 in Thunder Bay.
“I’m honoured and excited to be given the opportunity to manage the Women’s National Team especially at a time when we’ll be involved in intense, international competition,” said Pluta. “The national program has a rich history of success on the international stage so it is a privilege to work with an amazing group of athletes and coaches, I can’t wait to get started.”
Pluta was a guest coach with the Women’s National Team program in the summer of 2021 at a showcase event in Trois-Riviéres, Québec and was pitching coach with the program in 2022 for a five-game Friendship Series against the United States at Baseball Central in Thunder Bay.
Born in California before being drafted by the Houston Astros out of a Las Vegas High School in 2001, Pluta spent 11 seasons in professional baseball before settling in Victoria, BC where he’s had an enormous impact on the Baseball BC coaching and high performance programs.
Patricia Landry returns to the Women’s National Team coaching staff where she’s been involved since 2011. A former athlete with the Women’s National Team from 2005-2010, Landry competed in two WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cups (2006 & 2010) and has been a member of the coach staff at world cups in 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018. She was also on the coaching staff in 2022 at the Friendship Series and currently oversees Baseball Québec’s Girl’s academy program.
Kate Psota is one of the most decorated athletes in Baseball Canada history having participated with the Women’s National Team program from 2004-2018 that included six WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup medals (two silver, four bronze) and a silver medal at the 2015 Pan Am Games. Upon retirement, Psota joined the national team coaching staff at the showcase event in 2021 before coaching at the Friendship Series in 2022.
Chris Begg will join the coaching staff for the first time in 2023 and will act as the Women’s National Team’s pitching coach. A former professional pitcher who spent six seasons in the San Francisco Giants organization, Begg represented Canada on multiple occasions including the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games and the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classics. He’s coached with the Junior National Team program in recent years including the 2017 and 2019 WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cups and the 2018 and 2022 WBSC Americas U-18 World Cup Qualifiers.
Stay up-to-date with the Women’s National Team program by following @BaseballCANWNT on Twitter.
