The 2023 National Championship roadshow heads returns to Victoria as the #SoftballofSummer comes to a close.

Softball Victoria, in conjunction with the Victorian State Government, will welcome the Laing Harrow Shield competitors to the brand-new Craigieburn Softball Centre for one of the venues first major events since opening in September 2022.

Defending champions Queensland, will be challenged by New South Wales, Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory, in similar fashion to the Open Men’s National Championships that have recently wrapped up at Hawker.

New South Wales have seen a wave of success so far throughout the National Championships, and the Laing Harrow Shield is poised to continue the trend. While a number of the Open Men’s team are eligible to represent New South Wales at the Under 23 level, selectors have chosen to take a team without any of the John Reid Shield winning squad.

Queensland have had all the recent success at the Under 23 level, winning the past four titles. Expect them to be competitive once more, with the likes of Jesse Barnes, Riley James and Jeremy Waters joining the squad straight from the Open Men’s tournament.

The ACT will bring four on the road: Matthew Harrow, Nathan Lynch, Tyler Damon and David Watson all making the trip down from the capital. While the hosts have booked the return of Marcus Ferraro and Cody Smith, who both took part in the final day of action for Victoria at the John Reid Shield.

As we have seen with the Open Men’s National Championships, having just four teams means finals is a given, but how a team builds to it, and how they can perform on the day, means the door is open for anyone to pick up a big result. You can expect tight competition and an upset on almost every day.

Check out the full team lists as well as the draw, ticket information, and more, in the Laing Harrow Shield Digital Program

Of course, it isn’t just the pride of their states on the line at this year’s Under 23 National Championships – The WBSC Under 23 Men’s World Championships are later in the year. Selectors will be present and personal performances will be ever so important.

Softball Victoria will be living streaming most games, so be sure to give them a follow on Facebook. The vast majority of games on diamond one will be streamed, and Softball Victoria will bring you the odd game from diamond two where possible.

The Under 23 Men’s trophy is named after Softball Australia and International Hall of Famer, Laing Harrow, a leading figure in the history of Australian Men’s softball. Laing is likely to be seen throughout the tournament, so if you see him at the Craigieburn Softball Centre, be sure to give him a cheerful wave.

Softball Victoria and Softball Australia are grateful for the support of the Victorian State Government to host this event.

Good luck to all those taking part. We’ll see you on Sunday to see who will hoist the Laing Harrow Shield in 2023!

Softball Australia wishes all players, officials, statisticians, volunteers and tournament staff the best of luck for a successful tournament.

View the 2023 Laing Harrow Shield Digital Program