Three
Perfect Game WWBA qualifying tournaments are scheduled to be played
in Texas, Georgia and Iowa this weekend, with the champion at each
event receiving a paid invitation to the prestigious PG WWBA World
Championship in Jupiter, Fla., Oct. 23-27.
The
5th annual PG WWBA South Qualifier will be played on
fields in and around Houston Friday through Monday; the PG WWBA
Southeast Qualifier #2 will be held on fields in and around Perfect
Game South at LakePoint in Emerson, Georgia, Friday through Sunday;
and the 13th annual PG WWBA Kernels Foundation
Championship is scheduled to unfold on fields in and around Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, Friday through Monday.
More
than 160 of the top travel ball teams from those respective regions
will be on hand to compete for the paid ticket to Jupiter and the PG
WWBA World Championship, the most heavily scouted amateur baseball
tournament in the world.
‘Battle
for Texas’ set at PG WWBA South Qualifier
TOMBALL,
Texas – The Houston Banditos Black, not far removed from their
championship at the 17u Perfect Game World Series in late July,
return to defend their title at the 5th annual PG WWBA
South Qualifier in a tournament that could accurately be billed as
the “Battle for Texas”.
The
tournament headquarters is the Premier Baseball of Texas facility in
Tomball; games will be played on seven other fields as well,
including those at the University of Houston, Rice University and San
Jacinto College, all in Houston.
The
Banditos Black are one of 54 teams from the Lone Star State in the
56-team field, with the Nola Monsters-East Coast BB from Mandeville,
La., and Extra Effort from Moore, Okla., being the interlopers.
The
Nola Monsters-East Coast BB should be especially competitive behind
three D-I commits, including 2015 right-hander/outfielder Dallas
Woolfolk, the No. 166-ranked national prospect in his class and an
Ole Miss recruit.
But
on that proverbial piece of paper that always seems be floating
around the press box at a tournament like this, it appears there are
about a dozen teams that are a cut above the rest, with the Banditos
Black being the choicest cut of all.
The
Black, under the direction of Ray DeLeon, boasts a roster with at 17
D-I commits (at this time) from the classes of 2015 and 2016, seven
of whom are ranked in the top-203 in their respective classes. It
also includes a couple of prospects who played in the Perfect Game
All-American Classic in August: right-hander Ryan Cole McKay, a
Louisiana State commit ranked No. 29 and shortstop Kody Clemens, a
Texas commit ranked No. 47.
Other
notables included 2015 catchers Garrett Wolforth (No. 68, Dallas
Baptist) and Joe Davis (No. 97, Houston); 2016 outfielder Conner
Capel (No. 29, Texas) – the MVP at the 17u PG World Series – and
2016 shortstop Andres P. Sosa (No. 69, Texas).
The
Prospects National Team out of Kyle, Texas, features five D-I
commits, including PG All-American shortstop Nick Shumpert, a
Kentucky commit ranked No. 13 in the 2015 class. Uncommitted 2016
shortstop David Hamilton is ranked No. 199 in his class.
The
always tough to take down Texas Sun Devils out of Beaumont come into
the event with eight D-I commitments: four to McNeese State, two to
Mississippi State and one each to Rice and Texas. 2015 right-hander
Parker Ford is one of those Mississippi State commits and is ranked
No. 53, and 2015 right-hander/third baseman Chase Shugart, the Texas
commit, is ranked 186th.
The
South Texas Sliders, sliding up here from San Antonio, feature five
D-I recruits including 2016 middle-infielder Jaxon Williams, an
Arkansas commit ranked 155th. The nationally renowned
Dallas Patriots organization have three very strong entrants – 17u
Navy, 17u Red and 18u Valdez – with 18u Valdez featuring the
talents of 2016 first baseman/outfielder Hunter Seay, an uncommitted
prospect ranked No. 88.
A
couple of highly ranked prospects scouts will have an eye on this
week are 2017 outfielder/right-hander Ronald Washington and 2016
right-hander/shortstop Mason Thompson. Washington, a Texas commit, is
ranked No. 1 nationally in the 2017 class and will be playing with
the Team Rawlings Texas Bandits Black 17u, and Thompson, also a
Longhorns recruit, is ranked No. 15 in his class and is playing with
the Austin Banditos
2015
left-hander Sarah Hudek will also be on hand, pitching for the Fort
Bend Texans 2015. Hudek, a “high follow” from Sugar Land, Texas,
recently announced that she has committed to Bossier Parish Community
College in Bossier City, La.
LakePoint
goes for two
EMERSON,
Ga. – With the 2014 WWBA Southeast Qualifier #1 in the books,
a second team will play for the chance to earn an automatic paid
invitation to the prestigious WWBA World Championship held in
Jupiter, Fla. at the end of October.
This
weekend’s WWBA Southeast Qualifier #2 kicks off Friday evening and
will conclude on Sunday, September 28, with a championship game
hosted at the new state-of-the-art Perfect Game Park South at
LakePoint facility.
Ten
locations will host the 58 participating teams hailing from seven
different southeastern states over the course of the three-day
tournament. The 58 teams are split up into 12 pools of four teams and
two pools of five teams, with the winner of each pool advancing to
the playoffs starting Sunday.
The
WWBA Southeast Qualifier #1 champion Team Elite 18’s Prime once
again look like one of the more talented teams to play this weekend,
with seven players ranked in the Top 200 for their respective class.
They are led by 2014 PG All-American Jahmai Jones (2015, No. 7),
along with lefthander Jonathan Gettys (2016, No. 20), righthander
Nick Neidert (2015, No. 59), outfielder Chad Smith (2015, No. 74),
third baseman Bryce Denton (2015, No. 77), catcher Michael Curry
(2015, No. 135), and shortstop Aaron Schunk (2016, No. 172). Don’t
count out Team Elite 17’s Prime, though, either. Led by shortstop
Cam Shepherd (2016, No. 51), they also have twins Austin Wilhite
(2016, No. 130) and Nick Wilhite (2016, No. 131).
East
Cobb Baseball (Astros) return to LakePoint for this weekend’s
qualifier with a loaded roster and as good a chance as anybody to
earn the automatic paid invitation to the WWBA World Championship.
They bring shortstop Jalen Miller (2015, No. 41), first baseman
Thomas Johns (2016, No. 102), outfielder Reggie Pruitt (2015, No.
110), righthander Brock Love (2015, No. 118), catcher Cody Roberts
(2015, No. 148), and lefthander Nick Bush (2015, No. 177). Their
fellow East Cobb Yankees look strong on paper as well, with four
players in the Top 200, including righthanders Jonathan Hughes (2015,
No. 85) and Shane Tucker (2015, No. 131), catcher Kyle McCann (2016,
No. 139), and shortstop Carter Hall (2015, No. 182).
The
recent 2017 rankings has been very good to the MBA Pride Elite
program, who bring a very young, but very talented team to LakePoint
for the weekend. Five players ranked in the Top 200 for the 2017
class will compete against older competition in the Southeast
Qualifier, but have an excellent chance t a deep playoff run. They
have a pair of players in the Top 10 in righthander Altoon Coleman
(2017, No. 4) and first baseman Alejandro Toral (2017, No. 6), along
with catcher Mervyl “MJ” Melendez (2017, No. 35), shortstop Jose
Ciccarello (2017, No. 143), and righthander Brady Greene (2017, No.
198).
Other
elite prospects in attendance will be Upstate Mavericks shortstop
Gabriel Holt (2017, No. 56), Team DeMarini GA 17u McCarthy;
lefthander Graeme Stinson (2016, No. 93), Mountain Expos Black;
catcher Caleb Raleigh (2015, No. 130), Chattanooga Cyclones;
righthander Corbin Brooksbank (2017, No. 171); and Doubleday Rockies
shortstop Brody Wofford (2015, No. 187).
Upper
Midwest stakes its claim for Jupiter
The
13th annual WWBA Kernels Foundation Championship
will take place Sept. 26-29 at various fields in and around the Cedar
Rapids, Iowa area. Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium,
home of the Cedar Rapids Kernels, the class A affiliate of the
Minnesota Twins, will serve as the hub for the event while hosting
the event's semi-finals and championship games on Monday, Sept. 29.
The
48 teams that are scheduled to participate will be placed in 12 pools
of four teams each. Each winner of their respective pool will advance
to the playoffs set to begin on Sunday afternoon, with the overall
event champion receiving the coveted automatic paid invitation to the
2014 WWBA World Championship.
Those
48 teams hail from 10 different states in the upper Midwest and
Canada, including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan
Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ontario and Wisconsin.
Last
year's event champions, the St. Louis Gamers 17u, return this year
along with their 16u and 18u travel team partners. Ryan Mantle, who
was named last year's Most Valuable Player, and Michael Plassmeyer,
the event's co-Most Valuable Pitcher, will play for the Gamers' 18u
squad this year.
On
paper the always powerful Reds Midwest Scout Team (Hartford, Wis.)
and Elite Baseball Training 2015 (Chicago, Ill.) have the most loaded
rosters. The Reds' team boasts 18 Division I commits of the 23
players on their roster, while 16 players of Elite Baseball's 17-man
roster are linked to D-I programs.
Of
those two teams the highest ranked players expected to participate
are PG All-American third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes, the 33rd ranked player in the 2015 class, and righthander Drake Fellows, the
21st ranked player in the 2016 class.
Perfect
Game has five sponsored teams in the tournament, including its Iowa
Select Black, Navy, Red and Royals teams. The Black team, which
advanced to the playoffs at last weekend's PG/EvoShield National
Upperclass Championship, is made up entirely of 2015 graduates,
mostly from the state of Iowa, and includes five Division I commits.
Four
players that participated in last year's WWBA Kernels Foundation
Championship were selected in the top 10 rounds of the MLB First Year
Player Draft including Mitch Keller (2nd round, Pirates), Sam Hentges
(4th,
Indians), Simeon Lucas (7th,
Indians) and Stetson Woods (9th,
Giants).
Recent
participants of the WWBA Kernels Foundation Championship that now
play in the big leagues include Mike Foltynewicz (Astros), Ian Krol
(Nationals), Cody Asche (Phillies), Lance Lynn (Cardinals), Drew
Storen (Nationals) and Jeremy Hellickson (Rays).