THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,631 MLB PLAYERS | 16,402 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,631 MLB PLAYERS | 16,402 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Sign in Create Account
Sign in Create Account
Tournaments  | Story | 5/29/2021

3D Gold doubles-down in the desert

Jeff Dahn
Photo: Jaron Nevarez (Perfect Game)

SURPRISE, Ariz. – It’s repeated as legend that the late Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks would often arrive at Wrigley Field back in the day, take a long look around and with a broad smile overtaking the whole of his face exclaim, “What a beautiful day for a ballgame. Hey, let’s play two!”

And at this weekend’s Perfect Game WWBA West Memorial Day Classic being played in beautiful summertime-like conditions in the west Phoenix suburbs, at least a half-dozen prospects wearing the uniform of the 3D Gold program, are enthusiastically living out that age-old mantra.



3D Gold owner/general manager/head coach Dominic Robinson has competitive teams entered in both the WMDC 17u and 18u tournaments and is relying on a core group of prospects from the classes of 2022 and 2023 to carry the banner for both teams.

Eli Small is among them. He is a top 500-ranked 2023 catcher/infielder and a Kentucky commit who, like his 3D Gold class-of-2022 teammates Brayden Smith and Braden Sweet, hails from Omaha, Neb., the home of the College World Series.

“I’ve really been looking forward to playing in the nice weather – it’s like 50 (degrees) in Nebraska right now,” Small told PG late Saturday morning, speaking from the Royals’ side of the Surprise Spring Training Complex. “So I was looking forward to coming down, play in the heat, play on these nice fields, play with a good team; I’m just really glad to be here...

“You only get to play one game a day if you’re playing with just the 17u or the 18u but now I get to play two games a day,” he was quick to add. “That’s six pool-play games plus bracket-play so hopefully I’ll be playing 10-plus games while I’m down here, which makes it worth coming down.”

It is a feeling shared by many of his 3D Gold teammates on hand this weekend, and after the first two days of pool play, both upperclass teams still have the playoffs in their sights. The 18u 3D Gold are 2-0-0 after victories by a combined count of 19-2; the 17u 3D Gold stand 1-0-1 after winning Friday and rallying with a four-run sixth to tie LVR, 6-6, on Saturday.

2022 outfielder/left-hander Jaron Nevarez from California (No. 292-ranked, San Diego State commit), ’22 left-hander/first baseman Mario Bejarano from Tucson (t-500), the ’22 Omaha outfielder Smith and 2023 Phoenix catcher/infielder Isaac Macias joined Small in playing the field in all four pool-play games Friday and Saturday.

Nevarez wrapped up his spring season at San Ramon Valley High School about two weeks ago so he had a little down time before traveling here for the WWBA WMDC. Needless to say, he’d been looking forward to getting back out on the field and he hasn’t missed a beat.

Of the players who have batted in all four games, Nevarez has been the most effective hitting from the leading off spot for both teams. He’s a combined 3-for-10 (.300) with a double and has walked four times giving him an on-base percentage of .500; he’s scored six runs and driven in two.

“Anytime I get an opportunity like this I’m willing to come out and play every day,” Nevarez said. “Dominic (Robinson) has reached out to me a few times over the past few years asking me to play for him and whenever I had some time I just came out and played. He’s treated me like I’m family to him so I feel welcome here at 3D.”

Other top guys like ’23 outfielder/right-hander Duce Robinson (No. 60) and ’23 outfielder/third baseman Juan Carlos Kalemera (t-1000) played in at least one game for both teams the last two days.

The 3D Gold 17u team also received excellent pitching performances from 2023 right-hander Andrew Grenert and ’23 lefty Cayne Killion (t-1000, UC Santa Barbara) in a combined two-hit shutout of the AZ Thunder 2022 on Friday: Grenert allowed one hit and struck out seven in his four innings of work, Killion just one hit with six Ks in his three innings.

Dominic Robinson is the Founder/Director of 3D Sports Performance and 3D Gold Athletics in Phoenix which sponsors these teams. He was a baseball and football standout at Florida State in the late 2000s, playing for a pair of legendary coaches in Mike Martin and Bobby Bowden, and he called being here at this major PG event with this solid group of guys who only want to get out and play “incredibly exciting.”

“I look forward to this tournament really more than any other one just because it’s my first time seeing (the players),” since they completed their high school seasons, Robinson told PG on Saturday. “I’ve been watching them, I’ve been following them, I’ve been getting messages from them all year and talking to them...and now we all get to come together for the next eight to 10 weeks; this is the genesis of it all.

“I’ve looked forward to this tournament ever since I moved here to Phoenix and I absolutely love it; it’s very exciting.”

The most high-profile athlete on these two 3D Gold rosters is Dominic Robinson’s oldest son, Duce Robinson. He is a 6-foot-6, 225-pound outfielder/right-hander who is ranked No. 60 overall (No. 11 outfielder) in the class of 2023.

Duce Robinson is also a 4-star tight end prospect at Phoenix Pinnacle High School who is drawing tons of college interest on the gridiron. After playing in both 17u and 18u games for 3D Gold on Friday, he was honoring an obligation to participate in a 7-on-7 football camp on Saturday so was not in attendance at the Surprise STC.

Although it wasn’t able to happen on Saturday, Dominic Robinson has enjoyed coaching Duce on baseball fields across the country ever since the younger Robinson picked up a ball and a bat as a youngster and quickly began to excel at the game.

“Honestly, it’s a dream come true,” Robinson said. “You never really know how things are going to shake-out, but you do have an idea though; he’s always been very talented. He was a baseball player very early and always had to play up, so you think that projects to what he’s become now but you never know.”

Dominic Robinson previously spent time coaching in the Midwestern states of Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota and saw how those young players found their playing time restricted by snow and cold weather – they simply couldn’t get outside.

So, naturally, when the weather warmed-up he would see those same kids chomping at the bit to get after it and they’d jump at every opportunity to play multiple games on the same day; it just was never an issue.

The warm weather kids, on the other hand, are spoiled to an extent. They can play as much as they want whenever they want so the opportunity to play two or three games a day might not be that exciting to them. But don’t rush to judgement – not with this group, anyway.

“Usually, the type of kid that we have is the type of kid that can never get enough baseball and that’s what 3D is,” Robinson said. “It’s a bunch of like-minded people that  can’t get enough. We love to learn, we love to teach, we love to grow together and that’s why ‘We Are 3D’ is across our chest because it’s a ‘we’ thing; we are all growing in this thing together.

“It’s not just about ‘me’, it’s not just about one individual...it’s about us. We are all looking to grow together and that’s what’s fun about this,” he added. “Playing multiple games on multiple teams, they love that, they relish the opportunity and rarely, if ever, do any of them turn it down.”

Moving forward into “Separation Sunday” when pool champions will be crowned and the playoffs will begin in all six WWBA WMDC age divisions, no one with the 3D Gold program will be back on their heels. There’s simply too much to gain and, conversely, too much to leave at the table. They’ll be ready play even if they may not know what’s exactly in front of them.

An odd aspect of the 2021 PG West Memorial Day Classic, Robinson noted, is that everyone is in kind of different place as far as their high school seasons are concerned.

Some of these players were at schools that played a full slate of games, others experienced partial seasons. Some have had two or three weeks off now because their team didn’t make the state playoffs, others may have played as recently as recently as early in the week. It can be a tricky stream to navigate.

“This is a very unique Memorial Day because without the Southern California kids, that makes this look a lot different, and the Colorado kids also are not here because they’re still in their season,” Robinson said. “So it’s hard to even tell what we need to have because our opponents will all be in different places.”

But, as always, baseball is all about playing catch and then when you see good pitches to hit, getting the barrel on them and putting the ball in play. Go out and do that and it shouldn’t matter how many games these players have gotten under their belts before the Memorial Day holiday.

Robinson feels like both of his 3D Gold teams will be ready to make the ultimate playoff push on Sunday. He speaks about the “high-character people” associated with the program in regard to both his players and their parents.

These are groups on both the 17u and 18u levels that know how to put the time in, know how to communicate with one another as individuals and teammates and know how to win. They also, without apology, know how to have fun.

“We laugh and we joke but we play hard. We get on and off the field with energy and enthusiasm so I’m always very excited,” Robinson said. “Because they’re character people, the scoreboard will always take care of itself.”

Character alone can’t put runs up on the board, of course, a fact not lost on the players: “We still need to keep playing together,” Small said. “Pitchers need to throw strikes; hitters need to have good approaches and we need to play the same game from there.”

Or, as Nevarez pointed out: “Everyone is talented and it’s good to be a part of a team when everyone is also good and they can help you out, as well. It’s good to play with them all because you can really get to know everybody and start to build a bond with the team.”

Hey Ernie, let’s play two!
Give us your feedback
Tournaments | Story | 11/6/2026

National All State Preview: Week 1
Hannah Jo Groves
Article Image
This weekend, teams from all around the country in the 10U, 12U and 14U divisions will converge on the Houston area for the 2026 PG National All-State Select Championships. The 10U division will have 22 teams, 12U will have 23 and 14U will have 22. All ages have many different states represented - from Hawaii, to the Pacific Northwest, to Arizona, to New England, to Carolina to Florida and many more. “National All-State brings together the best players in the country across Houston,” national crosschecker and northeast scouting director, John McAdams, said. “It’s a fun atmosphere for ultimate bragging rights amongst all the regions the PG platform reaches domestically while serving as a good litmus test for myself, Jheremy Brown and Tyler Russo to see the players. We get another glimpse at the end of the year as we start to formulate our initial thoughts on the...
Read More
General | General | 11/6/2026

Class of 2028 Rankings Update

Article Image
Read More
Draft | Rankings | 11/6/2026

2027 MLB Draft Board Update: Top 200

Tyler Henninger
Article Image
PG Draft Content Hub With the fall season winding down and the winter months approaching, it is time for another draft board update.  After getting more live looks and gathering information from the fall action across the country, we have expanded the board to a Top-200. The class continues to feature an intriguing mix of arms from both the prep and college ranks, along with an enticing position player pool.  There is still plenty of time for new names to emerge and established prospects to continue to improve their draft stock, but here is where things stand as we head into the winter.  * denotes draft eligible sophomore Rk. Name Level Pos. B-T School Hometown State Commitment 1 Dylan Seward H SS S-R Norco Eastvale CA Tennessee 2 Brendan Lawson C SS L-R Florida Toronto ON 3 Dax Whitney C RHP R-R Oregon State Blackfoot ID 4 Tomas Valincius C LHP L-L Mississippi State...
Read More
College | Story | 11/6/2026

College Fall Notebook: November 6

Craig Cozart
Article Image
Virginia Cavaliers  2026 In Review:  Under the leadership of first year Head Coach Chris Pollard, the Cavaliers won 37 games which was the second most victories by a first-year coach in program history.  Virginia went (37-23) finishing tied for 8th in the ACC and earned an at-large bid to the Hattiesburg Regional.  They fielded a talented offense that averaged over 8-runs per game, highlighted by AJ Gracia and Eric Becker who were both selected on Day 1 of the 2026 MLB Draft.  While the defensive squad wasn’t quite as elite as usual, they were ultra-competitive on the mound with a strong rotation and lock down bullpen.  With plenty of talent returning for Pollard and his staff in ’27, they should be a force on a national level once again.  Impact Returners:    Senior Antonio Perrotta (.266/.459/.431, 5 HR, 6 2B, 24 RBI) experienced...
Read More
General | General | 11/5/2026

Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 70

Ron Wolforth
Article Image
That Off-Season Program Wasn't Built for Your Son. It Was Built for Nobody. The Harsh Reality of Skill Development · Part 2 of 5 Somewhere right now, a pitcher is starting a twelve-week off-season program. It came from his travel team. Or a trainer. Or a big leaguer's Instagram. It has phases and a logo, and every kid in the building got the same one. Here is the harsh reality. That program was written before anybody looked at your son. It doesn't know he exists. It was built for the average pitcher... and the average pitcher does not exist. A Template Fixes Somebody's Problem. Maybe Not His. Every pitcher who is stuck is stuck for a reason. We call that reason his constraint... the thing that is actually limiting him right now. For one kid it is strength. For the next it is mobility. For the next it is a mechanical inefficiency, or an arm that isn't recovering, or a body that...
Read More
General | General | 11/5/2026

Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 69

Ron Wolforth
Article Image
Your Son's April Arm Injury is Being Scheduled Right Now   The Harsh Reality of Skill Development - Part 1 of 5 Let me start this series with something most people in baseball won't say out loud. In my experience, a great many of the arm problems we will see next April are being set up right now... in October, November and December. Not necessarily because a young pitcher is throwing too much. Often it's because of what happens when he stops. Here is the pattern. I have watched it for more than thirty years. The fall season ends. The arm is tired, so the family does what seems like the responsible thing.  They shut it down. No throwing. For a lot of kids, no anything. Weeks go by. The holidays come and go. Then somebody looks at a calendar in January and realizes tryouts are three weeks away. Suddenly, an arm that has done nothing since October is asked to go from zero to game...
Read More
High School | Rankings | 11/4/2026

Class of 2027 Rankings Risers

Kyler Peterson
Article Image
Complete Class of 2027 Rankings With the end of the summer and fall seasons behind us, it was time for a quick refresh of the 2027 class rankings. Below you'll be able to read about some of the biggest risers up the board, led by North Carolina outfielder John Hucko who jumped more than 110 spots to now sit at No. 20 overall.  John Hucko, OF, Charlotte, N.C. Previous Rank: 132 | Current Rank: 20 Hucko makes a huge leap into the top-20 players in the class after a dominating showing in Jupiter. It’s as good of a left-handed swing as you’ll come across with pretty easy impact to all parts. He’s a supreme athlete with all the tools to play center long term and is a present plus runner. Hucko is a name that cemented his prospect status in Jupiter and will be a name to follow for next year’s MLB Draft. Elyjah Mason, SS, Lake Forest, Calif. Previous Rank: 71 |...
Read More
General | General | 11/3/2026

Class of 2027 Rankings Update

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
Read More
Press Release | Press Release | 11/2/2026

PG Partners Up with Minority Prospects

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
  667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923 www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   PERFECT GAME ANNOUNCES MEDIA RIGHTS PARTNERSHIP WITH MINORITY PROSPECTS   Sanford, Florida (Monday, November 2, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced a media rights partnership with Minority Prospects, the Atlanta-based organization that has become the largest platform in the world for minority baseball and softball prospects. The partnership kicked off last month at the WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Fla., Perfect Game's premier fall event, where Minority Prospects produced content featuring some of the nation's top amateur players in front of college coaches, professional scouts and MLB legends. Under the agreement, Minority...
Read More
Draft | Story | 10/30/2026

2027 Draft Preview: Prep Middle Infielders

Ryan Miller
Article Image
2027 MLB Draft Profile Preview: Collegiate Right-Handed Pitchers | Collegiate Left-Handed Pitchers The premium profile in each class often are prep middle infielders, a sought-after group with the athletic ability to stick on the dirt or land throughout the diamond long term. This demographic has produced the superstars of today’s game and therefore are selected in prime spots while demanding high-end signing bonuses. This group features a mix of loud tools, high level projection, and impact defenders. Below we break down at the top prep middle infielder in the 2027 cycle.  ‘27 SS Dylan Seward (CA)- liftoff from the No. 1 player in the class. A solo blast to RCF to extend the lead for @TheCanesBB #WWBA @California_PG @Vol_Baseball commit https://t.co/lJjNg6T7PS — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) June 27, 2026 SS Dylan Seward, Norco (CA)  The Southern...
Read More
Loading more articles...
About Perfect Game :: Contact us :: Terms of Use :: Privacy Policy :: Testimonials :: Job Opportunities
Copyright 1994-2026 by Perfect Game. All rights reserved. No portion of this information may be reprinted or reproduced without the written consent of Perfect Game.