-Tyler Henninger

Winner: South Charlotte Panthers 2023

Don Hutchins, who founded the South Charlotte Panthers organization in 1998, returns to the dugout for his annual trek to Jupiter with his “super squad,” as he calls it. He will take the field with a roster that ranges from 2023 to 2025 grads and seemingly endless talent. The expectation will be to play hard-nosed, fundamentally sound baseball and still be in town on the final day of the event. The tone and mentality of this club will revolve around 2022 PG All-American, Walker Jenkins, the No. 2 player in his class as he puts his 5-tool skill set on display. Luke Nixon, Isaac Armstrong and Devin Parks are just a few of the talented sticks that will surround Jenkins in their potent lineup that averages 8 runs per game. Chance Mako is an NC State commit and will anchor the rotation with his low-90s fastball and invisible slider. Tyler Baird, Samuel Cozart and Parker Lakey may be the best stock of 2025 arms on the same staff this week and are part of a unit that boasts a dozen arms that reach 90 mph or better. The Panthers will go as far as their pitching and defense takes them, but this club has had a flare for the dramatic. A variety of different players have stepped up in huge moments for this team, they know how to win and 2022 could be their year to take home the hardware.

-Craig Cozart

Winner: Dirtbags

Andy Partin and the Dirtbags have been here before, as they took home the coveted “Jupiter” title in 2016. This year’s group will be led by a lineup with exceptional depth, some thump in the middle and more than enough arms to make a deep run. Ethan Gibson, Perry Hargett and the talented two-way Dalton Wentz provide catalyst qualities wherever they are deployed within the lineup, while Samuel Stafura and Luke Stevenson can lose a ball at any given moment. Experienced backstops in Max Kaufer and David McCann will provide leadership behind the dish and power-armed righties like Nathan Teague and Jackson Dilorenzo can stymie any lineup when locked in. Their whole attitude or mindset embodies the name accordingly, as they will do whatever it takes to hoist that trophy.

-Johnnie McAdams

Winner: Canes National/NY Mets Scout Team

If there’s a program that’s in discussion for taking home the title year-in and year-out, it’s the Canes, as they bring an abundance of talent and depth to Jupiter every year and regularly hold a large target on their back. This team made an impressive run through the UBC East, beating a number of the programs regarded as favorites for this event and with much of the same group coming back to South Florida, it’s clear they’ve got a good chance. Kevin McGonigle may be the best hitter at the event while a couple more All-American hitters in Trent Caraway and Macon Winslow give them three of the country’s best just in the lineup alongside guys like Jonny Farmelo, Gavin Gallaher, Campbell Smithwick and PJ Morlando. Add in potentially the best pitching staff at the event with almost 20 guys in the low-90s and committed to Power 5 programs, with a large handful peaking in the mid-90s like Cal Randall, Steven Echavarria, Tucker Holland, Alex Kranzler, and Chase Meyer, and you’ve got a ridiculous roster on paper that certainly fits the mold of a Jupiter Champion. 

-Tyler Russo

Winner: Top Tier 5 Star Roos Mafia

Winning Jupiter is about any number of things, and there’s no foolproof formula in an event like this. However, over the years, there have been some common threads amongst Jupiter champions, including but not limited to: Extreme depth of talent, well-balanced player variations on the roster, familiarity with one another, history of success, etc. This combo club of Top Tier and 5 Star, appropriately dubbed Top Tier 5 Star Roos Mafia, has all of the above in spades. The talent of the lineup stands way out, and this should be an offensive club with no real breaks 1-9 (or 1-10/1-11), and there’s a lot of star power in the middle with Aidan Miller, Alfonsin Rosario, Drew Burress, and AJ Ewing all projected to the top/middle of the order, with depth behind them. Liam Peterson, Wesley Mendes, and Landen Maroudis are all top-100 ranked arms in the ’23 class, and all of this without mentioning a solid handful of 2024s on this roster as well. They are loaded and check all the requisite boxes of a Jupiter champ, and are my pick to win as a result.

-Brian Sakowski

Winner: GBG Navy

The old adage, 'hitting and offense wins games, but pitching and defense wins championships' couldn’t be more true. GBG Navy demands the respect of it opponents, period. The Garciaparra Baseball Group will rely on its offense to put runs up on the board, no doubt, and they’re really good at doing that. UCLA commit Boston Baro, UCI commit Anthony Huezo, and Long Beach State commit Owen Martin will be leading the way in that department. However, making a serious run at the PG WWBA title is all about run prevention. GBG’s arsenal of arms is deep and experienced. PG All-American, Justin Lee will be expected to take care of business and show the national scouting community why he's in the 2023 MLB Draft discussion. Lee’s supporting cast of starting pitchers like ASU commit Jaden Alba, Cal Berkeley commit Oliver Boone, USC commit Mason Edwards, Long Beach State commit Owen Geiss, and the other role pitchers will determine their overall success in Jupiter.

-Steve Doherty

Winner: Power Baseball 2023 Marucci

Power is really interesting as they roll into Jupiter. A senior-laden event, they combined their 2023s and 2024s into one roster. The 2023 bats have plenty of fire power with Perfect Game All-American Braden Holcomb, left-handed slugging Collin Priest, speedster Jaden Bastian, and toolsy AJ Goytia, and they bring some composure to the Jupiter lineup. The 2024 class has finished runner-up at the last two WWBA National Championships over the summer for their age group and just won the WWBA Underclass World Championship last weekend. Austin Jacobs can pick it at shortstop and brings bat-to-ball skills to the lineup, Tyler Head has a good blend of on-base skills and left-handed juice, and Talan Bell has real left-handed bat speed, and he is a two-way player during the event. Speaking of Bell, he is tough as nails and attacks hitters with big confidence in his heater that can peak at 90 with big deception. Ryan Ashford, Eli Fleming, Matthew Heyl, Anthony Wilkie and Dylan Jordan should all log intense innings if Power makes the run they are primed for.

-Tyler Kotila

Winner: Scorpions/Giants Scout Team

The Scorpions/Giants Scout Team always seems to be in the thick of things when it gets to bracket play, and we saw it again during a deep run at the WWBA National Championships before winning the BCS over the summer. They are a disciplined group that can grind out at-bats and produce by moving runners around. Catcher Alex Sosa has star potential, Dallas Dale II can impact the game on both sides, Robert Nedry can really hit, Logan Hughes has big power, and new-comer Sebastian David is very well-rounded. The pitching staff has tons of gritty veterans that fill the zone up and can pitch backwards. Logan Bevis, Taylor Rabe, Grayson Smith, Adekide Adetuyi, Hudson Calhoun, Daniel Hartley, and Austin Waring will all be called upon to roll lineups during the gauntlet. This group knows how to win together.

-Todd Coffey

Winner: USA Prime National

USA Prime can line up with any team in the tournament in regards to depth and Power 5 commitments. The lineup should be very balanced with speed and power throughout. Antonio Anderson was a Perfect Game All-American over the summer and has juice from both sides of the dish, Steven Milam is another switch-hitter and earned back-to-back MVP honors at WWBAs a couple falls ago, Landon Greenhouse and Ashton Larson are both twitchy athletes that produce, and underclassman Rustan Rigdon can bring a quick spark at any time. On the bump, look for Garren Rizzo, Ryan Lynch and ’24 Ryan McPherson to attack the other top lineups in the pool.

-Cameron McElwaney