From Main Event to Select Festival

Jheremy Brown

Photo: Cam Collier (Perfect Game)

Neither the 13u nor the 14u Main Event Showcases have been around as long as some of the others in the age group, but it has quickly proven to be a launching pad of sorts for prospects from all over the country as they descend upon the Sunshine State at the start of the new year. The 2022 rendition of both events will look to grow upon what we’ve already seen since their inception, and though there’s a lot of time and events between both the Main Event and the PG Select Festivals, it’s quickly proving to identify players who hear their names called come selection time.

The correlation between attending a Main Event and being named to the Select Festival isn’t a direct pipeline, but they do help the Perfect Game staff identify young talent early in the process, putting their name on the map for the upcoming summer circuit and can help secure a player’s spot in the invite-only National Showcase, where roster spots are ultimately chosen from. As we’ve seen throughout the years, dozens of players have gone on to receive a National Showcase invite, whether it be the 13u or 14u iteration, and both events have grown into the best offered at both ages given the venue, depth of talent, and overall competition level.

Just last year we saw 8 players hear their name called, whether for the 13u or 14u Select Festival and of those 8, just two were returners in Bubba Coleman (13u & 14u Select Fest alum) and Brendan Pyle (12u & 13u Select Fest alum), meaning the 6 others did more than enough to put their name on the map and warrant a strong follow heading into the spring and summer circuit. While nothing in baseball is guaranteed, odds are there will be at least a couple of future Festival picks in attendance at the Boombah Sports Complex in this year’s rendition of the Main Event and we, as a staff, look forward to uncovering even more talent in these already-loaded classes.

Below are the 30 players who have attended a Main Event Showcase and made a Select Festival, whether it was that subsequent game, or a year later, sorted by the year they attended the Main Event.

Main Event to Festival
2018 14u ME	Cam Collier	2019 14u Select Festival
2018 14u ME	Drew Burress	2019 14u Select Festival
2018 14u ME	Brady Neal	2019 14u Select Festival
2018 14u ME	Eduardo Fernandez	2019 13u & 2020 14u Select Festival
2018 14u ME	Jarren Purify	2019 13u & 2020 14u Select Festival
2018 14u ME	Litarris Murray	2019 13u & 2020 14u Select Festival
2018 14u ME	Jackson McKenzie	2019 14u Select Festival
2019 14u ME	Bryce Clavon	2020 14u Select Festival
2019 14u ME	Blake Ilitch	2021 14u Select Festival
2019 14u ME	David Hogg II	2020 14u Select Festival
2019 14u ME	Noah LaFine	2020 14u Select Festival
2019 14u ME	Litarris Murray	2020 14u Select Festival
2019 14u ME	Jose Perdomo	2020 13u Select Festival
2020 14u ME	Everett Johnson	2021 14u Select Festival
2020 14u ME	Carson Quillen	2021 13u Select Festival
2020 13u ME	Deion Cole	2021 13u & 2022 14u Select Festival
2020 13u ME	Alex Harrington	2021 13u & 2022 14u Select Festival
2020 13u ME	Hunter Harrington	2021 13u & 2022 14u Select Festival
2020 13u ME	Lorenzo Laurel	2022 14u Select Festival
2020 13u ME	Emmanuel "Manny" Lantigua	2021 13u Select Festival
2020 13u ME	RJ Cope	2022 14u Select Festival
2020 13u ME	Shawn Sullivan	2022 14u Select Festival
2020 13u ME	Jaxson Wood	2022 14u Select Festival
2020 13u ME	Matt Ponatoski	2022 14u Select Festival
2020 13u ME	Bubba Coleman	2021 13u Select Festival
2020 13u ME	Enmanuel Beltre	2021 12u Select Festival
2021 14u ME	Bubba Coleman	2022 14u Select Festival
2021 14u ME	RJ Cope	2022 14u Select Festival
2021 14u ME	Jaxson Wood	2022 14u Select Festival
2021 14u ME	Brendan Pyle	2022 13u Select Festival
2021 13u ME	Will Brick	2022 13u Select Festival
2021 13u ME	Landon Green	2022 13u Select Festival
2021 13u ME	Broder Katke	2022 13u Select Festival
2021 13u ME	Maddux Lessard	2022 13u Select Festival