Carbonear softball star shines in Columbia
By Mark Squibb
Adrian Green, 21, of Carbonear has been named the top batter at a World Softball tournament in Colombia.
Green wasn’t in the line up for the first game at the 2026 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U23 Men’s Softball World Cup in Sincelejo, Colombia, and didn’t expect to be made a full-time player. But in Game 2 he was put in opposite of Jack Besgrove, the Australian softball star recognized as one of the best, if not the best, pitchers in the world.
“I was like, ‘I’ve got to put the ball in play here and not strike out,’” said Green – and that’s exactly what he did.
“I got a hit off Besgrove, and I guess the coach liked that, because it was history after that,” said Green. “I was put in every game.”
Green played in seven of the eight games, and finished the tournament with a .545 batting average. He was the only Canadian to receive a statistical award. Besgrove, meanwhile, would be named the tournament’s best pitcher with a 0.59 earned run average.
Green has come quite a long way from his days playing with the Carbonear Islanders minor softball program, and has travelled the world playing ball – in fact, this wasn’t his first time competing in Sincelejo, Colombia. He competed with the Canadian U18 Men’s National Team there in the 2023 Pan American Championships.
“We were in the exact same hotel, and, funny enough, I was in the exact same room, as last time,” said Green.
The tournament ran from April 25 till May 3 and saw 12 countries compete for gold. Japan finished in the top spot, while Australia and Mexico earned silver and bronze medals respectively. Canada ranked eighth place in the 12-team tournament.
The games, featuring some of the world’s best young ball players, brought in thousands of fans on a nightly basis.
“For our last game against Colombia, I think they said there were 9,000-plus fans,” said Green. “It was crazy, man. I felt like I was playing for the Blue Jays. It was unreal.”
Even with the tournament behind him, Green has no plans of putting away his bat any time soon. He recently signed with the Ontario-based Kingston Axemen and will compete in a number of tournaments this summer, including the 2026 International Softball Confederation World Tournament in Melbourne, Ontario in August. He’ll also compete in the junior national tournament in Saskatchewan, and with the Galway Hitman in the senior national championship.
Green has tried his hand at a number of sports over the years, including table tennis, ball hockey, ice hockey, and cross country, and has excelled in all of them, but said softball remains his favourite, largely due to the camaraderie among the players.
“Teammates are so close knit, it’s almost like a family,” said Green. “I have so many friends and close buddies now because of softball that I would have never met (otherwise). I know guys all around the world, from the USA to New Zealand, just from playing ball.”
His ultimate softball goal is to make the men’s national team.
When not on the ball field, Green is hitting the books. He recently completed a four-year kinesiology degree at Memorial University and will be studying podiatry at the Michener Institute of Education in Toronto this fall.