KC Royals Youth All Sport Expo offers Valuable Educational Resources for Community

KC Royals Youth All Sport Expo offers Valuable Educational Resources for Community

By Jeff Strange

The global youth sports market has turned into a highly profitable segment. Recently released analysis by Markets N Research, a research company that helps educate their members and consumers through tactical and strategic research methods, has observed that that the global youth sports market stood at $37.5 billion in 2022, with forecasted growth expected to reach approximately $69.4 billion in 2030.

While proving to be a very prosperous business overall, participating in sports as a child can help promote positive physical health, social skills, learning teamwork and aid in emotional well-being/mental health, amongst other benefits.

However, in a day and age where tools such as social media and specialized training is largely at an athlete’s disposal, there can be cons to focusing on developing dominating, sport-specific skills. Burnout, overuse and mental health are some primary examples of potential risks involved with becoming hyper-focused on athletics.

The Kansas City Royals recently hosted a Youth All Sport Expo at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Launched by the Royals Amateur Development System (RADS), the event was geared for coaches of all sports to learn about mental and physical health of athletes.

Casey Borovac, Manager of Sport Development for the Royals recognized a need to help promote the mental well-being of young athletes and opened up the door to many resources for coaches of all levels to learn positive and effective methods to carry over into their culture.

“Being an athlete today undoubtedly has many opportunities,” said Borovac. “But with those opportunities can be stresses and pressures that get amplified with things such as social media. There’s an expectation sometimes put out by coaches, parents or the athletes themselves to compare each other through avenues such as social media. While there are certainly some benefits available, there can also be an immense amount of pressure to perform that weighs heavily on athletes today.”

Dr. Joni Pro – APRN, FNP-C speaks to a crowd of coaches at the recent Youth All Sport Expo on December 2, 2023

With that in mind, the Royals Amateur Development System constructed this opportunity as a way to educate coaches on methods to help with mental health, along with managing and preventing burnout, the effects of social media, injury prevention and teaching life lessons.

The RADS program was created in 2021 with an emphasis to improve and enhance participation in local Kansas City youth baseball and softball leagues. This year’s expo was the first one offered by the RADS program, with Borovac envisioning it to be an annual event.

Featuring multiple speakers and presenters offering their input, topics discussed at the expo included:

  • Kinetic Chain Dysfunction of the Shoulder and Elbow by Dr. Vincent Key-MD (Medical Director and Head Team Physician for the Kansas City Royals)
  • Performance-Based Healthcare for Athletes by Dr. Joni Pro – APRN, FNP-C
  • Pressures that Youth Athletes Face and Signs of Mental Health Challenges by Dr. Becky Gernon – M.D., M.P.H.
  • Managing and Preventing High Level Stress and Burnout by Chris Cannon – LPC/MHSP, CCMHC, ACS
  • Effects of Social Media by Emily Hawkins – LPC/MHSP
  • Strategies to Build Confidence in Young Athletes by Melissa Lambert – Director of Behavioral Science, KC Royals
  • Recognizing the At-Risk Signs by Chris Cannon – LPC/MHSP, CCMHC, ACS
  • Perfectionism within the Athlete by Emily Hawkins – LPC/MHSP
  • Double Goal Coach/Coaching for Winning and Life Lessons by Coach Brian Swan
  • Project Play/Don’t Retire a Kid by Dylan Wilson
  • Not Good Enough by Jeff Diskin
    Melissa Lambert – KC Royals Director of Behavioral Science discusses topics with coaches at the recent Youth All Sport Expo on December 2, 2023

While recognizing the expo as a positive opportunity for the coaching community overall, Borovac envisions this event to be a constructive and informative resource for coaches, parents and athletes to utilize in an evolving atmosphere.

“We had about 150 coaches total that came out,” said Borovac. “Coaches of all age levels, ranging from the local scene to out-of-state were in attendance this year. The hope is to hold this event at least once a year as a positive resource to the community.”

Top Players Showcase Their Skills at Power 50 Prospects Event

Top Players Showcase Their Skills at Power 50 Prospects Event

By Rob Else

Several top players from the 2025 and 2026 classes showed off their skills for college coaches at the Top Gun Events Power 50 Prospect camp.  The inaugural event, held November 18th at the Griffon Indoor facility in St. Joseph, MO, wasn’t a traditional camp that players are familiar with.  “It wasn’t a traditional camp like people are used to.  It was not an instructional camp at all it was purely a showcase camp,” said Paige Crawford, Director of Athletic Experience for Top Gun Events.

The all-day event started early with opening ceremonies and players being split up into teams, depending on their graduating class.  Following the opening ceremonies, the showcase kicked off with metric testing.  Athletes were run through several tests that college coaches use to evaluate recruits.  The tests included a 40-yard dash, the pro agility shuttle, throwing velocity, exit velocity, and pitching measurables.  All the results were posted in real-time to the Top Gun Events website allowing college coaches to pull up player performances while at the event.  

There were lots of great players, but here are a few that stood out during the metric testing:

  • Keegan Baker (2026) – Oklahoma Athletics – Fastest pitching velocity at 66 mph
  • Addison Ray (2026) – Select Fastpitch – Top exit velocity of 78 mph.
  • Payton Steuart (2026) – Epic Fastpitch – Best catcher pop time, between 1.66 – 1.90
  • Lydia Turner (2026) – Select Fastpitch – Fastest 40-yard dash time at 5.33.

You can view the full leaderboard on the Top Gun event website here: Top Gun Metrics

In addition to metric evaluations, athletes attended classroom training.  Sessions included the BMS Project talking about mental health, Tony Wylie from The Collective Engine provided information about Name Image Likeness (NIL), and Alana Vawter, a current player for South Carolina.  “I loved getting to listen in on the sessions to make me become the best player I can be, all while staying healthy,” said Cali Bentz (2026) from Nebraska Gold.

After a break for lunch, the day continued with live skills workouts and scrimmages in front of the college coaches.  “The day was long but fun! I learned a ton of new things about the NIL deals and the recruiting process,” said Avery Nelson (2026) from the SE IA Allstars. 

The event was limited to the Top 50 players in the Midwest region.  Each player was selected through an extensive process that included being nominated by their club organization.  The nominated players were then reviewed by a selection committee to determine if they met the participation criteria.  If a player was selected by the committee, then an offer to attend was sent.  “My initial reaction was very excited. I didn’t know if I would get in and getting to be one of the 50 athletes selected to go was a very exciting opportunity,” said Bentz.

Overall, the event was a success for everyone that attended.  The hope is to continue this event and make it an annual tradition.  Top Gun Events is already planning a similar event; the Top 100 Junior Prospect event will be held in January.  The event will include over 20 NAIA, JUCO, and Division 2 college coaches on hand to evaluate 2025 athletes.  It will use the same selection process for inviting players.

Savvy Softball’s Annual Easton Rawlings Elite Fall Championship Proves to be Big Draw for Athletes and Coaches

Savvy Softball’s Annual Easton Rawlings Elite Fall Championship Proves to be Big Draw for Athletes and Coaches

By Jeff Strange

The weather was terrific and the competition was top-notch on the weekend of 10/20-10/22 for the annual Easton Rawlings Elite Fall Showcase hosted by Savvy Softball. A big draw for elite level softball athletes and college coaches looking to evaluate prospective players for their programs, the Easton/Rawlings Elite Fall Showcase has become a staple event for overall exposure. We caught up with Savvy Director Dan Paulson to get his take on the busy weekend of softball, what drives him in this game and the future prospects of his events.

How long has this event been taking place?

Savvy Softball has been running this event since 2020. At the time, it was known as The Demarini. In 2021, we collaborated with Easton Rawlings and began running the event in O’Fallon and Edwardsville, IL. This was the 13th year overall that it has been ran.

How many teams were initially in the event when it became known as the Easton/Rawlings Elite Fall Showcase vs. the turnout for this fall?

We had roughly 80 teams total when we began running it in 2021. This year, we had 140 teams spread out over six complexes in the St. Louis metropolitan area – three parks in Illinois and three parks in Missouri with age groups ranging from 12u-18u.

What format do you use for your showcase games:

At 16u and 18u, its 1 hour and 40 minutes, finish the inning and 2-hour time slots. We feel that is unique – the average number of innings played this fall for those age groups was 6.3 innings. The longer game times allows college coaches to see a student-athlete hit two, three or four times in a game…pitchers get to throw five or six innings as opposed to just two or three innings in a shorter game format. We schedule the games two hours apart; this allows us to stay on schedule and makes it easier for college coaches to plan accordingly. Ultimately, it is all about getting the athletes the best opportunity to showcase what they can do and helping the college coaches know where and when they need to be to look at an athlete that they may be interested in.

Do you know approximately, how many college coaches checked in this fall?

The number of coaches in attendance was over 200; we are still figuring exact numbers, but my estimation is somewhere around 250 this year. I noticed one game last Saturday that had 39 college coaches standing behind the backstop watching. It was a very good turnout – we try to make it as appealing for them as we can by providing them with a printed booklet to go along with the digital booklet for all of the information. We provide food and beverages as well so they generally remain at the parks all day to take it all in.

Was there any difference in how the 16u/18u divisions were ran vs the 12u/14u divisions?

16u and 18u play five showcase games between Saturday and Sunday with their schedules lined out. We had teams from 20 different states and with scheduling their flights and travel; it makes it easier for them to know when they’ll be done on Sunday. For the 12u and 14u, we made it competitive with a cash prize on the line. Each team started in a box-bracket with four teams per bracket. This way they knew exactly when they were going to play their three games on Saturday. Sunday was brackets with cash prizes awarded to the top two teams in each 12u and 14u divisions.

What are your plans for the future?

For our fall event, we’ll most likely continue with a very similar format. We run a summer event that in 2024 will be our third year conducting – the Savvy Softball Elite Summer Shootout. We continue to look for other areas that might have a need for a strong tournament, but really just need to find the right venues and the right dates. We want to make sure that we use top class fields and to make sure that we have the strongest teams that we can attract to any of our events. At the end of the day, in order to maintain the number of teams that want to play in the event and to give everyone – the teams and college coaches – a good schedule that they are happy with, it ultimately takes fields that are of good quality, but are not too spread out for any coaches that may want to travel from park-to-park to see athletes and teams that they want to see.

R.O.I Midwest Claims Top Gun Events Futures Invite Championship

R.O.I Midwest Claims Top Gun Events Futures Invite Championship

By: Rob Else

The inaugural Top Gun Events Futures Invite was held at Central Bank Sporting Complex over the weekend.  R.O.I Midwest claimed the 14u championship with their 7-2 win over the Aces Fastpitch NWA.  R.O.I, formally the Midwest Firecrackers, won the USSSA Nationals and finished top 3 in all the tournaments they played last spring.

ROI started the Futures Invite with a pair of wins on Friday night.  They beat the Prodigy Decker 9-0 and the Aces Fastpitch NWA 5-3.  Saturday, mother nature tried to ruin the day, but the turf fields at Central Bank Sporting Complex and Mid-America Sports Complex kept the games on track.  ROI was able to beat the KC Rebels 9-2 before rallying with 6 runs in the last inning, to beat Nebraska Gold 8-4.

Three more quality wins on Sunday sealed the championship victory for ROI.  They beat Ankeny Extreme Black 5-2 before getting back-to-back wins over Aces Fastpitch NWA.

In the circle, ROI was led Maisey McCarty and Raegan Brandt.  McCarty threw 12 innings allowing 6 earned runs with 19 strikeouts.  Brandt allowed 5 earned runs and had 13 strikeouts in her 12 innings of work.

Gabriyella Kessler led ROI at the plate.  She hit .556 for the tournament with seven RBI and five runs scored.  Kessler’s stats included two doubles, a triple, and a home run.

Overall, the Futures Invite was a great tournament with lots of high-quality teams from the Midwest region.  It was a great way for many teams to kick-off their fall season.

Top Gun Futures Event Preview

Top Gun Futures Event Preview

TGE Staff

Team name: Nebraska Quakes Gold Borgeson

Coach: Rich Borgeson 

Facebook: Nebraska Quakes Gold Borgeson

 

Spring & Summer Successes:

  • Ring Neck champions
  • USSSA State 3rd place
  • Silver bracket national champs 

 

Key players:

  • Teagan Stroud
  • Raelee Tackitt
  • McKinley Grojean
  • Josilyn Pieper 

 

Expectations for Fall: We are looking for lots of progression and mental toughness going into a new age bracket, we will be playing high level tourneys and win or lose we will keep getting better. 

 

Team Name: Nebraska THUNDER 2012

Coach Name: Chad Scebold (asst by Clay Tibke, Jacq Worth)

Twitter Handle: @NEThunder2012

 

2023 Spring/Summer Successes:

  • Nebraska Class A State Runner-Up
  • CIS Des Moines Stars & Strikes Champs
  • USSSA MidWest 3X Tournament championships

 

Key Players: Elite pitching staff lead by Jaycey Hargens, Emma Rehmann and September George.  Kennedy Grose & Skylar Fitch behind the dish, making these 5 players a dangerous battery combination.

Expectations for 2023 Fall Season:  Our team is truly focused on players having fun and getter better every day.  

Our players are “all-in” … meaning they and understands that success occurs when our preparation meets opportunities.  That said, our coaching staff expects players to show up, work hard, compete and have FUN every time they step onto the field!

 

Team Name: Nebraska Gold 11u

Coach Name: Kyle Naughton

Twitter Handle: @negold2012s

 

2023 Spring/Summer Successes: 65-18, won 7/13 tournaments including Quakes Classic, Class A state, IA/IL state, and 6 in the spring (KC); runner-up in PG Elite 20 invite & USSSA Nationals

 

Key Players: ALL 11 players 

 

Expectations for 2023 Fall Season: play free, play fearless, and have lots of fun!

 

Team Name: Nebraska Quakes Fessler

Coach Name: Nick Fessler

 

2023 Spring/Summer Successes:

  • 5th place out of 31 national teams in 12 Open at Road to the Show in OKC.
  • Hastings Hitfest Champions
  • 3rd place Quakes Classic. 

 

Key Players:

  • Kenzi Stoll
  • Cora Fessler
  • Kenna VonFeldt
  • Tessa Berner
  • Gianna Dannelly
  • Adrianna Moore
  • Tesni Lashley

 

Expectations for 2023 Fall Season:

Our expectations are to seek out the best competition we can find to develop these girls leading up to next summer in preparation for high school softball next year. 

 

Team Name:  Nebraska Wave Kroll 11U

Coach Name: Jeremiah Kroll

 

2023 Spring/Summer Successes: 

  • 5thplace USSSA Midwest National Championship

 

Key Players:

  • Zaniya Castor
  • Tatum Buckley
  • Millie Krueger
  • Piper Brown

Team Name: Top Gun 2K12 Premier

Coach Name: Jimmy Gallaway

Twitter Handle: 2K12TopGun

 

2023 Spring/Summer Successes: Newly formed this fall with girls from MO, KS and OK

 

Key Players: Every player is going to be equally important for us

 

Expectations for 2023 Fall Season: Play an extremely tough fall schedule to get these players familiar with each other ready for the spring season.

 

Team Name: Originals-Campbell

Coach Name: Tory Campbell

Twitter Handle: @OriginalsCB

 

2023 Spring/Summer Successes: New team

 

Key Players: All players are key as we start to gel as a team

 

Expectations for 2023 Fall Season: Development & gelling

 

Team Name: R.O.I. Midwest

Head Coach: Brad Kessler

Twitter Handle: @ROIFASTPITCH

 

2023 Spring/Summer Successes:

Formerly Midwest Firecrackers, finished top 3 of all tournaments played and won USSSA Nationals and finished 3rd at Alliance Nationals Tier 1.

 

Key Players:

  • CC Mateo-00-Catcher
  • Gabriyella Kessler-#77-Shortstop/Pitcher
  • Raegan Brandt-#7-Pitcher/3rd base
  • Maisey McCarty-#55-Pitcher/1st Base

 

Expectations for 2023 Fall Season:

To continue to grow as players and a team and to continue to compete with the best in the country. 

 

Team Name: Aces NWA 14U

Coach Name:  Joel Garcia & Brittany Hoskins



Facebook: AcesFastpitchNWA14U

 

2023 Spring/Summer Successes: 

Finished 5th place in TX Southern Nationals out of 34 Teams

 

Key Players: 

  • Brooke Dixon
  • Aubrey Eiland
  • Harper Jernigan
  • Mallory Harvey
  • Emillie Curry
  • Taryn Stoner

 

Expectations for 2023 Fall Season:

Continue to improve. Get ready for tough Spring/Summer 2024

Already won Six in September Tournament in Kansas City and the Back to School Bash in Rogers, AR

 

Team Name: Ottawa Raptors 12 Beers 

Coach Name: Jason Beers 

 

2023 Spring/Summer Successes: Quality At Bats 

 

Key Players: All of THEM! 

 

Expectations for 2023 Fall Season: Growth in all aspects of the game. Raise IQ, take extra bases and hit with runners in scoring position. 

 

Team Name: Nebraska Gold 13U Zach       

Coach Name: Matt Zach

Twitter Handle: NeGoldZach13

2023 Spring/Summer Successes: 47-29-1 as a Fury Gold team. We were promoted to a Nebraska Gold team.

Key Players:

  • Brooklynn Rhode
  • Justice Love
  • Peyton Boone
  • Lily Thompson
  • Lillee Zach
  • Teagan Nielsen
  • Addy Smart
  • Jolie Eber
  • Maddie Craig
  • Kristyn Hayduk

Expectations for 2023 Fall Season: As a new team, we need to build a solid foundation with trust, communication, and just to get to know each other

 

College Prospect Series set for Unique Showcase Event

College Prospect Series set for Unique Showcase Event

Mid America West Sports Complex located in Shawnee, KS will be the host of the first ever KC College Prospect Series powered by Top Gun Events this upcoming weekend. A unique feature of this event will allow athletes to be coached by college coaches during games. Teams will change fields each game to allow the athletes the experience of being managed by different college coaches.

 

Additional features of the College Prospect Series will include:

 

  • Camp Friday night
  • During pool play, college coaches will be in the dugout and on the field serving as head/assistant coach of the team assigned to their dugout for each game.
  • Travel ball coaches will write their respective team’s lineup before pool play starts. Travel ball coaches will not be in the dugout during the game in pool play.
  • Sunday will start bracket play. During bracket, Travel Ball coaches will then coach their teams and college coaches will be free to float as they recruit.

 

With 18 teams in attendance between a 16u Division and 18u Division, Top Gun Events Media has outlined details of some of the clubs attending this weekend’s showcase. Here’s a look at some of the key elements for squads participating, as indicated by their head coaches:

 

16u

 

Team Name: AFA Vasquez ‘08/‘09

 

Coach Name: Anna Vasquez

 

Twitter Handle: @AFA_Vasquez

 

2023 Spring/Summer Successes: Developing together as a team, so we can age to 16u this fall and be ready. 

 

Key Players: All of our players play a key role on our team. Bella Diggs and Danielle Steenkamp are both 2026!

 

Expectations for 2023 Fall Season: We want to expose ourselves to 16u softball this fall. We want to be prepared for high caliber softball for the summer. 

 

 

Team name: Purple Crush Platinum 16u

 

Coach name: Amber Slaughter

 

Twitter handle: @PCrush_Platinum

 

Spring/Summer 2023 successes: 

We got our feet wet playing at the National level as a 14u team. We are a small town club from Pittsburg, Kansas competing with some bigger name/city squads. We beat and definitely competed with some top teams at bigger tournaments, such as both Tulsa Elite events, Team One, and World Fastpitch Championships. Looking forward to competing at the 16u level as well!

 

Key players:  

1) Bryleigh Webb, who is a 2026 grad already has an offer from Central Methodist University. She had 6 home runs last spring and summer…3 just at Team One. Ended her 14u season with 44 RBIs.  She plays 3rd base and has recently started catching. Bryleigh is a powerhouse! Strong arm and good mechanics!  

 

2) Breck Slaughter is another 2026 grad that is a big component to our team. She is a fierce competitor who is a RHP, topping 59mph, just turning 15 in July, but she is climbing fast. She is also an aggressive SS or catcher, or wherever she is needed. She has speed and strength. Breck is also a consistent hitter, finishing her 14u season with a .442 BA and 36 RBIs and 58 runs.  

 

3) Gracen McLaren is another big time player, who has become a powerhouse hitter. She is a 2027 grad that has a great glove at middle infield. We call her “Hoover” because not much gets past her! Gracen finished her season with a .362 BA and 20 RBIs. Gracen just started high school and is getting stronger every day!

 

4) Kyleigh Pinion is another standout 2026 player!  She usually leads us off in the lineup and is very consistent. Kyleigh ended her season with .464 BA and 24 RBIs and 47 runs. She is a mean center fielder, and will dive for anything she thinks she can get! She is also a great RHP! 

 

5) Peyton Morey, is our main catcher, and also a 2026 grad. She has a very strong arm and has had several put outs a bases. She also plays tough at MI and 3B as well!  

 

6) Kallie Griffin is a 2027 grad, and our main LHP, topping 56mph, but definitely gaining. This girl works hard. She is always smiling no matter the situation and has the biggest heart. She’s got power in her swing as well!

 

*We have some new players that are definitely stepping up to the plate to become great players, so I definitely do not want to leave them out!*

Gracin Riggs 2025

Emma Cook 2027

Maddie Cook 2025

Gabbie White 2025 (filling in)

Emmy Stark 2027 (playing high school right now)

 

Expectations for fall 2023:

We really just want to see the girls compete with these top level 16u teams as their first year at 16 & under. Being from a small town and being a small club, we don’t have all the choices of players, but rather we work with what we have. We want to see them have fun and enjoy the game (win or lose), gain experience, play hard, and get some exposure for their futures. The girls are getting stronger all the time, so it will be fun to see their growth along the way.

 

 

Team name: Select Fastpitch Adams 

 

Coach name: Brandon Adams

 

Twitter Handle: @SelectFP09

 

Spring/Summer 2023 successes: 

Top 12 World Fastpitch Championships 

2nd place 13u USSSA nationals 

Usssa 16A 2nd place 

Usssa KOKO 1st place 

USSSA 3rd place 

Usssa 3rd place 

Competed well in Top Club and Top Gun invite Maverick. 

 

Key players:

Trinity Deters C/3B 2027 

Kenley Sutton P/1B 2028

McKenna O’Leary C 2028 

Olivia Adams P/utility 2028

Landri Adams P/1B 2027

Audrey Beeler OF/P 2028 

Harper Allin P/1B 2027 

 

Expectations for fall 2023:

We are a second year team but still a young one. 3 2010s and 8 2028s on the roster. They are a very talented group though with lots of potential. To start our Fall 2023, we took 2nd out of 32 first weekend out in a USSSA event. We are playing up at 16A in this Top Gun event. We will also play PG fall showcase, Easton Rawlings invite, Top Gun Select Invite, and Fall Top Club Invite. Hope to compete and finish with the top teams each weekend. 

 

 

Team Name: Athletics Mercado Bonola 16u 

 

Coach Name: Rebecca Bonola 

 

Twitter Handle: @AMBonola16u

 

2023 Spring/Summer Successes: Played in power pools for Top Gun, IDT and Hotshot National. 

 

Key Players: Adelaida Sierra (2026-RHP) and Jaylene Rodriguez (2025 RHP) will be a big one-two punch for us. We have some great lefty hitters with speed & who can run the bases well with Chipper Mayorga (2025- Utility), Gabby Alves (2026 – OF) and Kyana Liparado (2025- Utility). Defense will be held down by our SS/3B Novalee Gloria (2025) who has a great field presence & Mia Perez (2026) as our center fielder with amazing range and an arm! 

 

Expectations for 2023 Fall Season: We will be playing and competing mostly local this fall. We expect to be competitive and get recruited along the way with the majority or all 10 of our 2025s being committed going into summer season. 

 

 

Team Name:  Midwest Power Legacy

Coach Name: Brian Smith

2023 Spring/Summer Successes: 2nd place finish, 16open NSC Recruiting Tournament; 3A All-State Team Honorable Mention – Gretchen Huizenga 

Key Players: Returners – Gretchen Huizenga, Peyton Ganger, Kennedy Meredith, Madison Davison, and Kinsley Smith. 

Newcomers – Aubrey Warren, Sophia Halton, Sydnee Sleichter, Kayleigh Neill, and Addison DeChant 

Expectations for 2023 Fall Season: We have several new players this fall, so we are looking to learn each other and how to play together. There is some talent here that we are hoping to build on. We are excited for the girls to see some bigger competition and hopefully get some looks! 

 

Team Name: Midwest Firecrackers 16U-Wildey 

 

Coach Name: Aldyn Wildey 

 

Twitter Handle: MWFC_Wildey 

 

2023 Spring/Summer Successes: Finishing Top 32 in the 16U Colorado Fireworks Supplemental Power Pool our first year competing in the power pools. 

 

Key Players: 

2025 CIF Maddie Bruson 

2025 RHP/OF Kaelyn O’Rourke 

2025 C/UTL Addie Callaway 

2025 C Katie Gillihan 

 

Expectations for 2023 Fall Season: I’m very fortunate as a coach to get to work with so many talented players from around the KC Metro area. This team is a mix of newer players and some that have been with me for 5 years. My expectations for the fall season are to see this team buy-into the “why”, so why we do the things we do to develop them for the next level and just simply enjoy the game of softball. This group is super talented, so I’m very blessed with that, but now I need them to understand how to use their specific talents to market themselves for the next level. 

 

 

 

Team Name: Select Fastptich 15/16U Heinemann

 

Coach Name: John Heinemann

 

Twitter Handle: @SelectHeinemann

 

2023 Spring/Summer Successes: Had a lot of success playing in a shortened Summer Season with so many Kansas girls, but saw lots of good competition at several national tournaments.

 

Key Players: Reagan Chapman, Pilar Cox, Emma Heinemann

 

Expectations for 2023 Fall Season: This fall, we are looking to have a great showinig with several new key additions to the team along with continuing to get better and competing at a high level. Our goal is to get every athlete ready to compete at the next level.

 

 

 

18u

Team Name: Athletes United 18U

Coach Name: Steve Jaso

Twitter Handle: @AUFastpitch18U

2023 Spring/Summer Successes: We started our season in February 2023, winning the USSSA High School Warm Up in Wichita. After the high school season, we went 25-14-2, winning the Top Gun Nebraska Thunder Gold tourney in Omaha, NE.

Key Players: I feel that each and every one of our girls are key players. They have all contributed to the success of this team. 

Expectations for 2023 Fall Season: To continue to develop our skill and knowledge of the game and to prepare the girls for success at the next level. 

Team Name: KC Rebels Gold Jenkins

Coach Name: Mark Jenkins

Twitter Handle: @KCRebelsJenkins  /  KC Rebels Gold Jenkins

2023 Spring/Summer Successes: We had a great summer and placed eight girls on college rosters. That was quite a few girls to send to college and we have added eight new girls to the roster. Of the eight, we added four seniors, giving us a total of six seniors overall.

Key Players: Everyone of the girls will play a key role for our team. We will be leaning on our seniors, they are Hanah Forlow OF/C, Rylee Griffin P, Makayla Ekis P/OF, Reagan Wiehe C/3, Abbi Minton P/U and Maggie Richardson P/SS.

Expectations for 2023 Fall Season: I feel we will be a contact hitting team and have above average speed. Will put the ball in play and move the girls around. We have had a great start to our fall season and looking to keep improving week after week.

IL College Prospect Series

IL College Prospect Series

By: TGE Staff

Over Labor Day Weekend we debuted a new event style called the TGE College Prospect Series. The premise of the College Prospect Series is that college coaches coach the teams, while the club coaches sit back and relax for the weekend.

In this new event style, there are three exhibition games that do not count towards bracket seeding. The brackets are pre-determined but are played out to completion to ensure a champion of the event. This allows the event to still have a competitive nature, while maintaining a showcase style event.

The IL College Prospect Series was the first installment of the format and was widely liked among teams and college coaches.  Fontbonne University coach said, “I really enjoyed being able to pass on my knowledge to the girls as well as get the opportunity to work with other coaches,” while St. Mary of the Woods coach said, “Great experience for me and the recruiting process. Live game interaction was a great success!”

The Southeast Iowa All-Stars showed up ready to compete in bracket play on Sunday. The Allstars were division champions in each division, 14u, 16u and 18u.

Tournament Results

We look forward to the next installment of the College Prospect Series taking place in Kansas City September 16 and 17, 2023.

Preview KC Schedule