‘Wearing the jersey for a reason’: Two Sask. products to don the Maple Leaf at U15 Softball World Cup

WATCH: Two Saskatchewan softball players are preparing to represent Canada on the world stage. Donovan Maess has the story.

Two Saskatchewan softball players will represent Canada at the 2025 WBSC U15 Women’s Softball World Cup in Italy.

Kenzie Newman is a pitcher and plays first base.

“It’s just a super cool opportunity,” she told CTV News. “Not everyone gets to [play for Canada].”

Newman is a third-generation softball player. Both her mother – Carrie – and grandfather played the sport, so she says she fell in love with softball at an early age.

“It’s just a family thing,” Newman said.

But she is the first member of her family to represent Canada on the world stage.

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The World Cup is the second time Newman will have the Maple Leaf across her chest.

She pitched for Canada at the Pan-Am Games earlier this year to qualify her nation for the U15 World Cup for the first time.

“[Saskatchewan] is just a small part of Canada that we get to represent,” Kenzie said. “It is really important and I’m super grateful.”

Joining her in red and white is Saskatoon’s Alayna Dimen.

Dimen, a catcher, got the call from Softball Canada to join the team for the World Cup after not appearing at the Pan-Am Games.

“I didn’t think it would actually be a real thing,” she said. “I’ve thought about, ‘maybe I can wear that Canada jersey,’ but like now it’s like, ‘oh my gosh, I am wearing that.”

Dimen says she’s trying not to put too much pressure on herself ahead of what will be the biggest tournament she has played in.

“I’m kind of trying to prepare myself,” she said. “I’ve never stepped in the batter’s box with that good of pitching. But it’s just kind of the thought of, ‘You’re wearing the jersey for a reason.”

“Don’t add extra pressure to myself. Just let it happen the way it does and do your own thing. And I feel like it’ll be really well,” Dimen added.

Kenzie and Alayna are teammates on the 222’s Fastpitch travel team, something Dimen feels will create some comfortability as battery mates.

“[Kenzie] is an amazing pitcher,” she said. “We both know how to interpret that to each other. And I think it’ll be great at worlds because we’ll kind of know when to push each other and where to stop and what to say.”

Kenzie’s mother, Carrie, doubles as her club team coach. Carrie played in a National Championships but never for Team Canada.

She adds opportunities for girls in the sport continue to grow, particularly at the US college level.

“College softball is huge [and] it’s more prominent,” she said. “All the girls on my team are watching [the College World Series]. They follow it, they watch it on YouTube.”

“Every single one of them aspires to be one of those individuals playing on the field in college,” Carrie added.

Softball made its official Olympic debut at Atlanta in 1996 and was featured in the next three Games before it was removed from the program.

The sport then made its return in Tokyo at the 2020 games and will once again be featured at the 2028 Olympics.

Kenzie and Dimen both hope there may be more opportunities to play for Canada down the road.

“I just have to keep working and we’ll see where we get,” Kenzie said.

“Being on Team Canada would be such a privilege again,” Dimen said.

The 2025 WBSC U15 Women’s Softball World Cup begins June 27 in Lombardy, Italy.

Canada opens the tournament against Czechia.