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Tournaments  | Story  | 6/15/2023

City of Palms Championship Preview

Riley Sheppard      Hannah Jo Groves     
This weekend, Southwest Florida is host to the City of Palms Championship with 88 teams across six age divisions taking the field. 

15 teams will compete in the 15U division this weekend - with the final four teams duking it out on Monday for the championship.



Posting a 16-6-3 record in 2023, JSB Elite 2026 will be a dominant force in the tournament with Jakob Wagner and Maddux Wolff headlining the roster. 

Wagner, (No. 465), from Cape Coral, Florida, is the highest ranked player in the division this weekend. The No. 120 shortstop in the country and top-15 in the state, he is just getting started this year - batting .294 with two triples, along with four RBIs in 13 games. 

Wolff, out of Fort Myers, Florida, has also gotten off to a hot start in 2023 - batting .524 with a .643 on base percentage through 10 games to go along with two doubles, two triples and two RBIs. 

A potential threat to JSB's run this weekend is two-way player Eli Chana from Wesley Chapel Storm 2026. Behind the plate, Chana is currently batting average .429 to go along with a .500 on base percentage. In the six games, he's also knocked two doubles, a triple and two RBIs. On the mound, Chana's registered nine strikeouts in just six innings pitched with a stellar 1.05 ERA. 

Similar to 15U, 16 teams are competing in the 16U division with the championship coming down to the four best records Monday.

SWFL Elite Platinum, off to a 7-2 start this summer and with two-way player Dalton Hill, it's easy to see why. 

Hill, hailing from Punta Gorda, Florida, leads his team in two categories: batting average and strikeouts. In the box, his average is at .667 - driving in three singles, a double and contributing five RBIs with a stellar .800 on base percentage. On the mound, he's wracked up 18 strikeouts over 13 innings. 

Right behind SWFL Elite Platinum in terms of record are 6-2 Prime Time with big contributors Nicholas Pino and Angel Deulofeu

The right-handed pitcher from Hialeah, Florida, Pino has already recorded 10 strikeouts over eight innings this calendar year - with an ERA of only 1.75. 

Miami native Deulofeu has a batting average of .625 this calendar year, registering four singles and a double with one RBI and a .667 on base percentage.

17U will be host to 17 of the top-1000 players in the Class of 2024, with Prospect Factory National leading the charge. The Manti, Puerto Rico, based club includes Angel Santiago Velazquez, a top-20 ranked shortstop in Florida, along with Illinois State commit Joey Rosa and Allem Borrero - two of the top ranked players in Puerto Rico. 

Velazquez, based out of Hialeah, batted an impressive .313 over 47 games in 2022, with eight doubles, two triples while driving 14 runs. While his infield counterpart Sosa, the No. 1 ranked first baseman in Puerto Rico, has also gotten off to a hot start this summer - posting a .522 on base percentage, with a home run and nine hits through seven games. 

Wolverines Baseball 17U’s and University of Pennsylvania commit Ernie Echevarria will also be a player to watch out for. One of the top-200 players in the state, Echeverria batted a whopping .396 in over 21 games in 2022, along with five doubles, a home run and 18 RBIs. 

12 teams across three divisions will be battling it out for four playoff spots in 18U, including Miami Night Owls - home to top-1000 players in aces John Oxios and Chase Grube and shortstop Ryan Yaroshuk

Oxios, a future West Point right-handed pitcher, is capable of reaching the low-90’s on the mound, striking out 13 over 13.2 innings on the mound in 2022. Grube, a top-50 left hander in Florida, struck out 31 over his 21 innings of work last year while allowing just six walks and 24 hits over that span. 

Elite Performance Baseball Nationals Zackary Gonzalez is another elite right-handed pitcher to keep an eye for after allowing a .40 ERA and striking out 33 over 19.2 innings in 2022.