The Australian national baseball team, nicknamed the Southern Thunder,represents Australia in international baseball tournaments and competitions. It is ranked as the top team in Oceania, and is the Oceanian Champion, having been awarded the title in 2007 when New Zealand withdrew from the Oceania Baseball Championship. After achieving a last (16th) place in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, its rank dropped to 13, which is the lowest rank Australia ever received. The highest rank it has achieved is 6th, and its current rank is 9th.

The Australian team participated in the Summer Olympic Games in 1996, 2000, and 2004, but failed to qualify for 2008. The team has also participated in both of the other major international baseball tournaments recognised by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF): the Baseball World Cup and most recently the World Baseball Classic (WBC).

The team is controlled by the Australian Baseball Federation, which is represented in the Baseball Confederation of Oceania (BCO). Prior to the BCO's formation, Australia competed in the Asian Baseball Championship under the Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA). Australia continues to have a relationship with the BFA; the 2011 resumption of the Asia Series includes the Australian Baseball League's champion team. Team Australia came in 6th in the 12-team 2019 WBSC Premier12 Tournament, in November 2019.

Team Australia will compete in the 2026 World Baseball Classic in March 2026. The captains for the World Baseball Classic include Tim Kennelly and Warwick Saupold.

Current roster

Results and fixtures The following is a list of professional baseball match results currently active in the latest version of the WBSC World Rankings, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Legend

2024

2026

World ranking

In January 2009 the International Baseball Federation created a ranking system so that the nations involved in international competition could be compared independently. Teams receive points based on the position they finish at the end of tournaments. The system takes into account results not only of the senior men's teams but also of junior teams. Weightings that emphasise the importance of certain tournaments are based on the number of teams competing, the number of continents represented (or eligible to be represented), and in the case of continental tournaments such as the Oceania Baseball Championship the relative strength of teams eligible. Only results within the previous four years are used, so points are added and removed over time. Since the system began, the rankings have been adjusted after the completion of tournaments qualifying for the ranking process; the most recent was the 2009 Baseball World Cup.

When the rankings were first introduced, Australia was listed at 10th position. The high-water mark was after the 2009 World Baseball Classic when they were in 9th. The lowest position they have been in the ranking since its inception is 11th. At the end of 2010, Australia had returned to their original position of 10th.

DateReleased Tournament* TournamentResult Ranking Points Position Above Position Below Rank Team PointsDifference Rank Team PointsDifference 1 December 2010** 2010 World Junior Championship 2nd 10th 226.83 9th +60.40 11th −13.60 2 June 2010** † † 11th 211.24 10th +20.15 12th −45.24 19 October 2009** 2009 World Youth Championship 9th 11th 211.24 10th +20.15 12th -45.24 2009 World Cup 5th 12 August 2009** † † 11th 214.11 10th +1.28 12th −1.79 24 March 2009 2009 World Baseball Classic 12th 9th 214.11 8th +66.08 10th −2.97 13 January 2009 † † 10th 191.43 9th +6.21 11th −38.61

International competition In January 2009 the IBAF, in releasing the first edition of the world rankings, announced the classifications of various tournaments that contributed to the rankings themselves. In doing so, they identified that of the "world" tournaments, there were different levels with differing levels of weighting towards the ranks: major world championships, minor world championships, world qualifying tournaments and continental championships/qualifying tournaments.

Major world championships There are currently three recognised tournaments that are considered "major" by the IBAF: the World Baseball Classic, the Summer Olympic Games and the Baseball World Cup. Of those, the Summer Olympics will be phased out of the rankings structure, as baseball will no longer be contested as an Olympic event.

World Baseball Classic Australia has competed in all four editions of the World Baseball Classic. All sixteen teams that played in the 2006 edition were invited to compete in the second in 2009. By virtue of their third-place finish in their first-round pool, Australia qualified compete at the 2013 edition of the WBC.; however, they were eliminated with an 0–3 record and finished in last place overall.

Australia, which has not progressed beyond the first round of competition, achieved its highest finish, 9th, in the 2017 tournament. Unusual for international competition in baseball, the squads selected in the World Baseball Classic tournaments featured players active in Major League Baseball in addition to Minor League, Nippon Professional Baseball and local players. Generally players in the Major Leagues are unavailable for international representative teams due to their contracts with the respective clubs.

Qualification recordYearRoundPosition 2006 Round 1 13th 0 3 4 18 No qualifiers held 2009 Round 1 12th 1 2 22 28 2013 Round 1 16th 0 3 2 14 Automatically qualified 2017 Round 1 9th 1 2 15 8 3 0 27 7 2023 Quarterfinals 7th 3 2 32 23 Automatically qualified 2026 Round 19th 2 2 13 12 Total Quarterfinals 6/6 7 14 88 103 3 0 27 7

Opponent Tournamentsmet W-Lrecord Largest victory Largest defeat Currentstreak Score Tournament Score Tournament 2 2–0 11–0 (F/8) Japan 2017 – W2 2 1–1 3–0Japan 2026 4–1 Taiwan 2013 W1 3 0–3 – 4–3 Japan 2017 & 2023 L3 2 2–0 8–3 Japan 2023 – W2 1 0–1 – 6–4 United States 2006 L1 1 0–1 – 10–0 (F/7) United States 2006 L1 3 0–3 – 7–1 Japan 2023 L3 1 1–1 17–7 (F/8) Mexico 2009 16–1 (F/6) Mexico 2009 L1 1 0–1 – 4–1 Taiwan 2013 L1 3 1–2 8–7 Japan 2023 6–0 Taiwan 2013 L1 1 0–1 – 2–0 United States 2006 L1 Overall 6 7–14 Against Against L2 11–0 (F/8) Japan 2017 16–1 (F/6) Mexico 2009

Opponent Tournamentsmet W-Lrecord Largest victory Largest defeat Currentstreak Score Tournament Score Tournament 1 1–0 11–1 (F/7)Australia 2017 – W1 1 2–0 12–5Australia 2017 – W2 Overall 1 3–0 Against – W3 11–1 (F/7) Australia 2017– –

2006 (United States)

Prior to formally starting their campaign, Australia played an exhibition game, which they lost, against a Boston Red Sox squad at City of Palms Park in Fort Myers, Florida. This was also the site of their training camp.

Australia competed in Pool D—along with Dominican Republic, Italy and Venezuela—in the first round at Cracker Jack Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The other three teams were able to field a large number of Major League players. Of players born outside the United States on 2006 Major League Opening Day rosters, the Dominican Republic (85) and Venezuela (43) had more than all other countries and between them accounted for more than 57% of foreign-born players in the leagues. Italy is among the top nations in Europe and had access to Italian-American players under the eligibility rules for the tournament. Thus, Australia was considered the underdog in the pool.

Having failed to win any of their round-robin pool games, they finished last in their pool, and were eliminated with Canada, China, Chinese Taipei, Italy, Netherlands, Panama and South Africa. The eventual champions were Japan.

2009 (Mexico)

Australia was based in Peoria, Arizona—the site of the Seattle Mariners spring training camp—for their preparation for the formal start of their 2009 campaign. Unlike 2006, in which they had one exhibition game, they competed against three different Major League clubs: the Seattle Mariners, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago White Sox. Their game against Seattle was Ken Griffey Jr.'s first game playing for the Mariners since October 1999, and was also their first victory as part of a World Baseball Classic tour.

Australia was drawn in Pool B for the 2009 tournament, along with Cuba, Mexico and South Africa, competing at Foro Sol Stadium in Mexico City. After beating Mexico in their opening game, they lost their next two games to Cuba and Mexico, and were eliminated from the tournament. The Australians set a WBC record against Mexico: 22 hits in a single game is more than any other team has achieved in either tournament.

2013 (Taiwan)

In June 2011, it was announced that the field for the 2013 WBC would be expanded to include an additional 12 teams and that a qualifying round would be several months prior to the main tournament. The qualifying tournament involved the 12 newly invited teams, as well as the four lowest-placed teams from the 2009 tournament; all teams who did not win a game. The qualifying tournament broke the teams into four pools of four teams each, which competed in a six-game, modified double-elimination format, similar to the first round of the 2009 tournament, with the winners of the sixth game in each pool proceeding to the main tournament. Australia, having finished 12th after beating Mexico in their first game in 2009, automatically qualified for the main tournament.

The main tournament combined elements of both previous WBC editions. The first round was split all teams into four pools, where the teams competed in a round-robin, as was the case in the 2006 tournament. The second round used the same modified double-elimination format as used in the 2009 tournament and the 2013 qualifying tournament. The final round was contested in the same manner as both previous tournaments: the top two teams from each group in the second round qualifying for the two semi-final matches, the winners of which played in the championship game.

Australia was drawn into Pool B, which was held at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taiwan. In their opener, they fell to host and qualifiers Chinese Taipei, 4–1. They followed up with a 6–0 loss to South Korea before finishing with a 4–1 defeat to the Netherlands.

Pool B Game 1

Game 4

Game 5

* – Player has not played for Australia in international competition prior to 2013 WBC † – Player did not play for Australia in WBC prior to 2013

2017 (Japan)

Australia went 1–2 in pool play, losing to Cuba for a chance to advance to the second round of the 2017 WBC.

2023 (Japan) Australia advanced to the WBC quarterfinals for the first time in 2023, defeating the Czech Republic in an elimination game in its final pool game. Cuba defeated Australia in the quarterfinals, 4–3.

2026 (Japan)

Australia will compete against Japan, South Korea, and the Czech Republic in the 2026 WBC in Toyko.

Olympic Games

Australia was the third nation, after the United States and Sweden,Cava 1992 pp.7–15 to participate in baseball at the Summer Olympics, making their first appearance at the 1956 Games in Melbourne, and again as part of its demonstration at the 1988 Games in Seoul.

Since baseball was first included as a medal sport at the 1992 Games in Barcelona,COOB'92 1992 p.133 Australia has participated in three of the five tournaments. The best result achieved was in the 2004 Games in Athens, where Australia lost the gold medal match to Cuba to receive silver. Their medal tally puts them at 5th, equal to Chinese Taipei.

Australia did not send a team to the 2020 Olympics qualifiers.

World Cup

Australia participated in ten IBAF World Cup tournaments. Its best result was fifth, achieved in the two most recent tournaments held—2009 and 2011. At the 2007 tournament, Trent Oeltjen became the first Australian player to be named in a World Cup All Star team, in recognition of his tournament-leading hitting and base-running statistics.