The popular Atlantic Coast Showcases are on the move.
After being held in North Carolina for the first five years, the 2010 Atlantic Coast Top and Underclass Showcases will be held at beautiful Harbor Park Stadium in downtown Norfolk, Va., along the Elizabeth River. Harbor Park Stadium is the home of the Norfolk Tides, the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles.
The Atlantic Coast Showcases this year will be held on Aug. 6-8, and you may request an invitation now. Simply return to the www.PerfectGame.org home page, click on showcases in the upper left-hand corner, click on the appropriate showcase and click on “Request an Invite.” It’s that easy.
The Atlantic Coast Top Showcase is intended for high school players who will graduate from school in 2011. The Atlantic Coast Underclass Showcase is aimed for 2012 and 2013 high school grads.
The Atlantic Coast Showcases were added to the Perfect Game circuit in 2005 to reflect the strong interest from players in the talent-rich area. More than 400 players have attended the Top Showcase the past five years, and the event has proven attractive to players from a wide geographic area. Players from 24 different states and Canada have attended over the years with North Carolina, Florida, Michigan, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Colorado, Tennessee, Alabama, New York, South Carolina, Connecticut, Indiana, Maryland, West Virginia, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Texas, Ohio, Wyoming and Maine all represented.
The Atlantic Coast Showcases also are popular with the scouting community. Graduates from these showcases have continued their baseball careers at more than 100 colleges throughout the country, including premier schools in the ACC, Big East, SEC, Big 10 and Big 12.
Dozens of future draft picks also have come through the gates at these showcases. Michael Belfiore attended the very first Atlantic Coast Showcase in 2005, enjoyed a productive career at Boston College and was taken by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 45th pick in the 2009 draft. He received a signing bonus of $725,000.
Who’s next?