A Surrey-raised baseball player is getting a shot to play on the world stage with Team Great Britain.
Cameron Wright, 19, is in Shaoxing, China, for the 2024 WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup, a tournament involving 12 teams and 50 games from Sept. 6-15.
A Panorama Ridge Secondary grad and White Rock Tritons vet of the BC Premier Baseball League, the 2005-born Wright is a dual citizen of Canada and Great Britain. He started playing baseball in Newton at Unwin Park, not far from where his family still lives.
"He started at eight or nine years old and loved it right away," recalled Mark Wright, Cameron's dad.
"One time, we didn't want to do summer ball and he ran across the field and signed himself up," he added with a laugh.
A utility player, Wright already has a year of ball at Western Nebraska Community College under his belt, with another to come following the U23 tourney in China. He's on Team Great Britain with two other local players, Cameron Moore (North Shore Twins) and Oliver Duthie (UBC Thunderbirds).
"We were over there (in Europe) this summer," Mark explained, "and he got to try out with the manager (of the Great Britain team) and they liked him and put him on the squad. He was totally thrilled, excited."
Wright's stats and video highlights are posted on his website (cameronwright.ca) and X account.
The baseball tourney in China isn't his first international competition.
"I played my soccer with Guildford Athletic as a winger/wingback having been in Surrey United's development program since age 10," Wright says on his website. "I was captain of the Guildford Athletic U18 Metro team, one of the best in the province and winner of the 2020 Las Vegas Mayors Cup International Tournament beating the Netherlands in the final."
At the U-23 Baseball World Cup, Team Great Britain is in Group A with Australia, China, Puerto Rico, Colombia and Japan, with Group B competition of South Korea, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Netherlands, South Africa and Chinese Taipei.
"They're up against some really strong competition," Mark Wright said. "I mean, Japan's won it more times than anyone else. The rosters are just coming out and a lot of the guys have already been drafted into the MLB and have played a couple years in the minors. Cameron is still young at 19, and a lot of the other guys are 22, 23 years old, with more experience. But he's happy to be there."
