CLEARWATER, Fla. -- USA Softball announced today that athletes from across the country are heading to Clearwater, Fla. to attend the USA Softball National Team Selection Camps from December 31-January 5, 2017. Held at Eddie C. Moore Softball Complex, the Junior Women's National Team (JWNT) and the Women's National Team (WNT) will hold their respective tryouts for their 2017 rosters. Attendees will participate in a selection process as well as simulated games and will be evaluated by the Women's National Team Selection Committee (WNTSC) for a chance to represent the U.S. in various international events over the course of 2017.

The Selection Camps kicked off this morning as over 160 athletes from around the U.S. participated in an open tryout for the 2017 USA Softball JWNT.

Athletes participated in position drills, base running, hitting and bunting while being evaluated by members of the WNTSC. Leading the open tryouts were coaches within the USA Softball Women's National Team Coaching Pool who represent NCAA Division I universities from around the U.S., and included 2017 USA Softball JWNT Head Coach Laura Berg (Corvallis, Ore./Head Coach Oregon State) and 2017 WNT Head Coach Ken Eriksen (Tampa, Fla./Head Coach South Florida).

The top athletes from the open tryout received an invitation to participate at the USA Softball JWNT Selection Camp December 31-January 1.

Below is a list of athletes who received an invitation to attend the USA Softball JWNT Selection Camp following the open tryout:

Nicole Bates (Ceres, Calif.)
Shaye Bowden (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Alissa Dalton (Okmulgee, Okla.)
Cassidy Davis (Valrico, Fla.)
Silent Rain Espinoza (Alpine, Calif.)
Riley Gore (West Palm Beach, Fla.)
Jenna Kean (Los Alamitos, Calif.)
Bethaney Keen (Bradenton, Fla.)
Baylee Klinger (Alvin, Texas)
Kathryn Sandercock (McLean, Va.)

Those athletes who moved on from the open tryouts will join the athletes who already received an invitation to attend the JWNT Selection Camp. Following the conclusion of the camp, 17 athletes will be selected by members of the USA Softball WNTSC to represent the United States as a member of the 2017 JWNT roster that will compete at the World Cup of Softball XII in Oklahoma City and the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Junior Women's World Championship, which will be held July 24-30 in Clearwater, Fla.

Following the conclusion of the JWNT Selection Camp, over 40 athletes will attend the USA Softball WNT Selection Camp January 2-5, which is also held at Eddie C. Moore Softball Complex. These athletes will vie for 17 spots on the 2017 WNT roster that will compete at the World Cup of Softball XII and at a Pan American Games/WBSC World Championship Qualifier, where the U.S. will look to qualify for the 2018 WBSC Women's World Championship to be held in Chiba, Japan and the 2019 Pan American Games to be held in Lima, Peru.

A full list of National Team events, including exhibition games, will be released at a later date. Follow along all summer with all of the USA Softball National Teams at USASoftball.com.

Press release provided courtesy of USA Softball.