Besides McDermott, 2013 U19 National Championship player of the tournament Billy Stanlake, South Australian Bupa Sheffield Shield batsman Kelvin Smith, and 17-year-old New South Wales batsman Jake Doran who recently played in the Chairman's XI match against England in Alice Springs, have also found a place among the probables.
The squad will be reduced to 15 players next month. Australia will compete in Group B of the tournament against Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Namibia with the top two teams progressing to the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup Super League quarter-finals.
CA national talent manager Greg Chappell said: "The ICC U19 Cricket World Cup is the world's leading underage cricket tournament and has a history of fielding young Australian talent who have later gone on to wear the baggy green, including Michael Clarke, Shane Watson and James Pattinson.