A free BCS National Championship bid among four age groups is on the line in Fort Myers, Florida this weekend.
Kicking off Friday afternoon, the 15-18U BCS National Championship Qualifier provides an opportunity for one team in each division to punch a ticket to their respective big dance.
In the youngest of four age groups, Florida Padres 15u will be a team to look for, with nationally ranked Bryan Borges (No. 346) and Sebastian Echeverry (No. 410) headlining the Miami, FL ball club.
Borges, the highest ranked player in the group, batted .324 with a .461 on base percentage, while ripping 11 doubles and driving in 19 RBIs in 2022. While Echeverry posted equally impressive numbers, registering nine doubles, three triples and driving in 32 RBIs in 59 games a season ago.
The San Diego Padres Scout Team certainly looks to make some noise in 16U - bringing in three of the top four ranked players in the division.
Gustavo Melendez, a Wake Forest commit and the No. 1 ranked player in Puerto Rico registered a mind-boggling .390 batting average with 12 doubles, three triples and 35 RBIs in 2022.
Jonathan Matos, the No. 189 ranked player in the nation and Arizona State commit Marcelo Rodriguez also headline this talented roster. Matos, the No. 2 ranked catcher in the state of Florida, crushed five home runs while driving in a whopping 60 RBIs over 71 games last year.
And Rodriguez, a top-25 right-handed pitcher in Florida, allowed just seven earned runs over 29 ⅓ innings of work in 2022 while striking out 38 victims in the process.
Hr14-2025’s Fernando Ferrer should also be a player on everybody’s radar. Based out of Kissimmee, FL, the No. 5 ranked third baseman in the state batted an impressive .351 a year ago, ripping nine doubles, three triples and driving in 13 RBIs a season ago.
Despite each age group being filled with talent, 17U is arguably the deepest class from top to bottom. With 26 top-1000 ranked players spread across 27 teams, the rising seniors will have no shortage of talent heading down to Southwest Florida this weekend.
PYF Rays bolster a roster filled with collegiate level talent, including No. 153 ranked Jason Bello (South Florida), Trey Lawrence (North Carolina A&T) and Anthony Brown Jr. (Jackson State) along with top-500 uncommitted outfielder Raymond Gonzalez.
Joining Bello on the Bulls next fall, MVP Florida 2024’s Andreas Alvarez, the No. 10 ranked right-handed pitcher in the Sunshine State. In 2022, Alvarez registered 52 strikeouts compared to just 29 total hits and a mere 2.10 ERA over 36 ⅓ innings.
X Team 2024 is also a team to keep on the radar, bringing in division one commits Aj Ciscar (Miami), Jason Wachs (Tulane) and Aaron Groeneveld (Eastern Kentucky).
The eldest of four brings 11 teams competing for a free bid to the 18U National Championship later this month.
A top-40 player in Puerto Rico, Pedro Morales looks to make some noise in Fort Myers this weekend. An uncommitted outfielder in the 2023 class, Morales drove in 15 RBIs, to go along with four doubles and three home runs in 37 games last year.
Viper Baseball Club brings a talented roster to the table including AJ Seymour (Rollins College), John Roberts (South Georgia College) and a pair of Avila University commitments in Mason Blake and Joseph Domingos.
The BCS National Championship qualifier will kickoff Friday, June 2nd, with eight games slotted throughout the day.