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Tournaments  | Story  | 10/23/2024

What a ride it was for these PG veterans

Jim Salisbury     
Photo: Sam Cozart & Don Hutchins (Perfect Game)
JUPITER, Florida – They came to compete, to show their skills, to make a few more friends. They also came to say good-bye.

More than 1,700 players descended on this baseball wonderland for Perfect Game’s 27th WWBA World Championship. 



And for many, it was the last stop on a PG travel ball journey that, for years, took them all over the country for showcases, tournaments and a whole bunch of good times.

What a ride it was for Luke Billings …
Luke Billings
The 18-year-old outfielder from Prosper, Texas, and the SBA Sticks/White Sox scout team attended his first PG event in Sanford, Florida, when he was just 12. Now, there he was, back in Jupiter for the third time, playing in front of all the scouts who ride from field to field in an armada of golf carts.

“I have to check behind my shoulder when I’m walking on the gravel path to make sure I’m not going to get run over,” Billings said with a laugh between games.

“PG is special. You’re surrounded by all the best players in the country and that helps you elevate your game. You also get to become friends with them.”

“I really like coming to Jupiter because everyone takes a break and recoups from the summer. Then they come back ready to play and really excited. The intensity of this tournament is really good. You get everyone’s best because they’re antsy to play baseball.”

Billings, who also pitches, has committed to play at Texas A&M.

“I’ve thought about this being my last travel ball tournament, but I’m not really emotional about it,” he said. “It’s a blessing that I got to be able to do all of it. I know my baseball experience is not over.”

What a ride it was for Hogan Nelson …

“I’ve had Jupiter circled on my calendar for almost a year now,” the Dallas Baptist commit from Liberty Christian High School in Argyle, Texas, said.
Hogan Nelson

Even when Hurricane Milton threw a curveball and forced the event to be pushed back a week, Nelson remained committed to attending with his Midlands Redskins team.

“No chance I was missing,” the 17-year-old outfielder said. “I skipped my homecoming for this.”

Nelson participated in many PG events over the years but this was his first WWBA World Championship in Jupiter.

“It’s really cool,” he said. “Since I was 15, I’ve been hearing about Jupiter. You got golf carts everywhere. You got all these scouts. I’m thinking, ‘Oh, there can’t be that many.’ Then you come here and – they weren’t lying – there are hundreds of them."

Must be tough to focus with all those scouts.

“Not really,” Nelson said. “I don’t get nervous. I love pressure. You see them but it’s like, ‘Sweet, let’s go. I’ve worked my way up here. I’m ready to show something.’ ”

And show something Nelson did – albeit on a gusty day.

“If the wind wasn’t blowing 20 miles per hour in, I’d have hit one 450 feet,” he said with a laugh. “It was caught on the track.

“This was a great experience. It’s been an awesome journey with PG and I’m super excited to see what comes next.”

What a ride it was for Don Hutchins …

It’s fair to call this guy a legend. He co-founded the South Charlotte Panthers (along with Bill Merrifield, father of major-league veteran Whit Merrifield) in 2002. Hutchins figured he’d coach for a year and move on. One year turned to two years, two years turned to three … Oh, you get it.

“I just fell in love with the kids and kept doing it again and again,” Hutchins said.

This was his 20th and final trip to Jupiter. His teams won 99 ballgames in Jupiter and made the Final Four four times.

“I’m 70 now,” he said. “I’ve loved every minute of it. It’s been a labor of love. But I’m ready to hand off to the guys I’ve coached with for many years. We have a great group.”

Hutchins laughed.

“I love the kids, but I won’t miss those 40 to 50 nights a year in Hampton Inns,” he said.

From the beginning, Hutchins’ players recognized Jupiter’s spot in the travel ball solar system.

“This was the place they wanted to go,” he said. “They knew it was a big deal. We came to our first one in 2005 and have been back ever since. This is the culmination for these kids, in many cases for their travel ball careers. It’s the one they all point to.”

Jupiter is also the one that scouts point to. Every major league team was represented at this year’s event. A number of scouting directors were on hand, including Damon Oppenheimer of the New York Yankees. The morning after his big-league team sprayed champagne after winning the American League pennant in Cleveland, he was roaming the Jupiter complex looking for the next great Yankee.

Paul Scott, scouting supervisor for the Cincinnati Reds, was at his 20th WWBA World Championship in Jupiter. He was one of five Reds scouts on site, peeking in on players from 72 teams.

“This event is way up there (on the travel ball circuit),” Scott said. “You can see so many players in one spot, and see them against good competition. They use wood bats. You see kids from all over the country. It’s very valuable for us.”

Scott enjoys the intimate feel of the event. It's like one big baseball neighborhood. Scouts chat with players between games. Relationships are built.

“You can’t help but root for them,” Scott said. “You follow a lot of these guys for years and through college and the pros.”

Speaking of the pros, Hutchins’ South Charlotte Panthers have seen 17 of their graduates go on to the major leagues.

That counts for a lot. But so, too, do the relationships.

“Every team we have, I always shed a tear when the season is over because we invest a lot of sweat in a lot of great kids,” Hutchins said.

What a ride it was for Xavier Mitchell …

There was no way the 18-year-old left-hander from the Canes National/New York Mets scout team was missing this year’s WWBA World Championship.

Xavier Mitchell
“This is the number one event for me,” he said. “I came last year, saw all the scouts, saw the great competition. I knew I was coming back. The golf carts at first are a little intimidating but once you’re on the mound you really don’t see anything.”

Mitchell started coming to PG events when he was 12. By his count, he’d been to 23 in all.

“It’s my last travel ball event,” he said. “It’s a little emotional because I’ve been doing it so long and had so many good experiences and made so many friends.”

Mitchell hails from Garland, Texas. At 6-3, 165 pounds, he has the kind of pitcher’s body that you can really dream on. He’s ready for his senior season at Prestonwood Christian Academy and has committed to pitch for the University of Texas.

“My dad (Robert) was always a ‘Horns fan and he made me one,” Mitchell said. “I just want to be competitive, be a good teammate and keep having fun.”

Sounds like a good plan.


What a ride it was for Sam Cozart …

Jupiter and PG has always been a family affair for Sam Cozart. His brothers, Caleb and Jacob, played here. Caleb went on to play at UNC-Chapel Hill and UNC-Greensboro, where he slugged his way to Southern Conference Coaches’ Player of the Year honors in 2024. Jacob, a catcher, starred at NC State and was selected by Cleveland in the second round of the 2024 draft. Craig Cozart, the boys’ dad, was the longtime head coach at High Point University and is now an analyst for Perfectgame.TV.

Sam might be the little brother in the Cozart clan but he’s hardly little at 6-7, 235 pounds. The right-hander from Don Hutchins’ South Charlotte Panthers is headed to the University of Texas after his senior season at Wesleyan Christian Academy.

But first things first – one final trip to Jupiter.

“Throughout this past year, my intention was to make sure I pitched one last time here,” Sam said. “It’s always a thrill.”

This was Cozart’s sixth trip to the WWBA World Championship in Jupiter so he knows his way around the place. He pitched in a two-inning exhibition game as a 13-year-old and has been a mainstay on the Panthers staff ever since. 

“I kind of feel a sense of completion,” said the 18-year-old, who plans to major in mechanical engineering at Texas. “I’ve done my journey being here as many times as possible and I competed each time and showed everyone here who I was each year.

“Jupiter is the top event in my opinion, the event that every year each individual player and team looks forward to and preps for because you know you’re going to be in front of the most scouts possible and you know you’ll be competing against the best teams from around the country.

“This place is just special to me.”

And to so many others, as well.

What a ride it was.
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