October 14 - Some of the top high school players in the country will take the field in Jupiter, FL, at the Perfect Game WWBA World Championships late next week, and several Northern Virginia players will be among them.
Battlefield senior catcher Tyler Solomon, who has committed to play at Vanderbilt University, will do so for the three-time defending world champion Evoshield Canes. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound switch-hitting Bobcats standout, who has also been playing at first base with the Canes, is ranked by Perfect Game as the No. 2 senior in the state.
While the majority of Perfect Game’s events are geared towards showcasing prep players to collegiate coaches, next week’s world championships will place the players in front of dozens of professional scouts. Since the event began in 1998, 4,067 players who would eventually be selected in the Major League Baseball Draft have played in the event. Of those, 566 have appeared in the big leagues.
"I am grateful to be a part of the Canes, and I will be doing my best to help the team chase a fourth ring in a row," said Solomon, who helped Battlefield advance to the 6A state final in the spring. "I'm excited to be on a team that has a chance to compete for a championship."
The Canes were founded by Jeff Petty, who won a Group AA state championship as a senior at Courtland High School in 2000 before going on to play at UNC-Pembroke, and are based out of Fredericksburg. They annually roster top players from across the country at national events, many of whom have become high draft picks. Two of those players, Oakton grad Joe Rizzo and Flint Hill grad Khalil Lee, were taken in the top three rounds in this year’s draft.
Stars Showcase Baseball, a Northern Virginia-based travel organization, has received its first at-large invitation to the event after earning a trip last year by winning a qualifier earlier in the season. The Stars went 3-1 but did not advance out of their pool a year ago.
This year, Stars coach Carson Carroll feels the organization’s track record was recognized by getting an invite to the event.
“We got our bid because Perfect Game sees us as consistently producing Division I commits and as having enough professional-level prospects,” Carroll said. “We are an organization that has been putting out good Division I commits over the years.
“It’s very exciting for these players who will have the opportunity to play in front of pro scouts and against the top players in the world. And they do bring in players from all over the world, [so] they call it the world championships, not the national championships. It’s a great opportunity to take your organization down there and compete.”
The Stars, which is fielding seven teams at the 17U and 18U levels this fall, have invited the top players from those teams to travel to Florida. Some are unable to attend for various reasons, including a couple due to injury. A handful of remaining roster spots will be filled by guest players from outside the organization. The team will be coached by Carroll along with Ryan Terrill, the coach at Maryland’s Riverdale Baptist, and Shawn Camp, a former big league pitcher from Robinson who now coaches at Battlefield and with the Stars.
Carroll said local players who have committed to travel with the team include George Mason commits Tommy Bradley (Fairfax) and James Price (Patriot), UNC-Asheville commit Trey Campbell (Riverside), Georgetown commits Owen Lamon (Oakton) and Yareb Martinez (John Champe), James Madison commit Michael Morgan (Paul VI Catholic), and Duke commit Toma Shigaki-Than (Oakton). Also confirmed as traveling with the team will be uncommitted players Randy Prosperi (W.T. Woodson) and Nick Stewart (Rock Ridge). Undecided as of this morning were Alabama commit Cristian Sanchez (Paul VI Catholic) and North Carolina commit Will Schroeder (Loudoun County), among others.
Four more players from Northern Virginia who are uncommitted to a college will travel with the Richmond Braves to the event, Flint Hill’s Kent Morrison and David Ross, Woodgrove’s Ryan Miles and Centreville’s Carter Egbers.
The tournament will open with pool play on Thursday and conclude with the championship game on Monday, Oct. 24.
Photo of Tyler Solomon courtesy of Solomon Family
