New Zealand U21 Squads Named for 2025 FIH Hockey Junior World Cups
Hockey New Zealand is proud to announce the Men’s and Women’s Junior World Cup squads selected to represent New Zealand at the 2025 FIH Hockey Junior World Cups later this year.
Following strong performances throughout the Junior Hockey League (JHL), these 54 athletes have earned their spots on the international stage and will now begin their build-up towards the tournaments in India and Chile.
The Vantage Black Sticks Junior Men will head to India, where the 2025 FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup will take place from 28 November - 10 December in Chennai and Madurai, Tamil Nadu. It’s the first time the tournament has expanded to include 24 teams, offering even more emerging talent the chance to compete on the world stage.
The Vantage Black Sticks Junior Women will travel to Santiago, Chile, for the 2025 FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup, running from 1 - 13 December. This will be the fourth time Chile has hosted the event, and the expanded format will see 24 nations competing for the title.
While full programme details are still to be finalised, both squads will have touchpoints and preparation opportunities throughout the year, with a strong focus on development and exposure to be ready for international level hockey.
The Junior Men’s side features Jonty Elmes and Gus Nelson, both recently named in the Vantage Black Sticks Men’s squad for the Nations Cup in Malaysia – a clear sign of the exciting talent emerging in the New Zealand pipeline.
On the Women’s side, Emma Findlay and Riana Pho bring valuable senior international experience, having both represented the Vantage Black Sticks at the 2025 FIH Women’s Nations Cup, where they played key roles in a gold-medal-winning campaign.
Mike Delaney will lead the Junior Men’s programme as Head Coach, while Verity Sharland takes the reins for the Junior Women.
VANTAGE BLACK STICKS JUNIOR MEN’S SQUAD
AIDEN BAX, OLIVER BOWMAR, OWEN BROWN, RYAN CALDWELL, LUKA CLARK, DEAN CLARKSON, HARISON CLULOW, TIM CRAWFORD, JONTY ELMES, SCOTT ILLERBRUN, SETH IRONS, JAVAHN JONES, FOY KERKIN, JAKARTA KLEBERT, SAM LINTS, ROCCO LUDOLPH, THOMAS MEDER, FINLAY NEALE, GUS NELSON, HUGH NIXON, RYAN PARR, MILAN PATEL, BRADLEY ROTHWELL, MATTHEW RUETSCH, NICK STEPHENSON, MITCHELL SUDDABY, KARL WALLACE, JORDAN WHITTLESTON, HARRY WITHERS
VANTAGE BLACK STICKS JUNIOR WOMEN’S SQUAD
LIVVY BARKER, BROOKE CHANDLER, HANNAH DONALD, CHARLOTTE DUNN-HALL, KAEA ELLIOTT, GREER FINDLAY, HANNAH FINDLAY, EMMA FINDLAY, KATE FRASER, EMILIE GORDON, HOLLY HILTON-JONES, EMMA IRWIN, JODIE KENT, ELLA LEIGHTON, ARABELLE MCGUCKIN, NIAMH MCKENZIE, CARA MORRISON, NINA MURPHY, JAYDA PAWHAU, MURPHY PHILLIPS, RIANA PHO, LILY RUSHWORTH, SORELL SHAND, GEORGIE SHOTTER, LAUREN STOREY, MEZZY SURRIDGE, PENELOPE TAULAFO, CHARLIE WILLS
We’re excited to see how these young athletes develop across the year and perform at the world’s top age-grade event. Be sure to follow their journey as they prepare to take on the world in late 2025.