2,082 MLB PLAYERS | 14,476 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Create Account
Sign in Create Account
Tournaments  | Story  | 10/14/2023

WWBA: Quick Hits By the Numbers

Jheremy Brown     
As another weekend concludes and the 2023 WWBA World Championship is now in the review mirror, lets take a moment to look back at some of the highlights, standout performances, and truly eye opening, “you need to see it to believe it”-type moments.

That said, we might as well start with the last team standing; the 5 Star National/Top Tier Roos Mafia.
A favorite heading into the tournament not only because they were the defending champions, but even more so due to the sheer depth of talent, from their bat to their arms while also boasting something that’s a must have in a setting like Jupiter: team chemistry. The club went 3-0 through pool play, opening up with a 9-0 victory before winning 9-4 and 6-5 to secure the No. 14 seed and advance to the Round of 32. Pool play or bracket play, it didn’t matter to the offense as they continued to roll with an opening round victory of 9-0 before 11-4 and 8-3 wins, propelling them to what ultimately proved to be the championship game. 



I say the semifinals game was the championship game as the winner was set to match up against the No. 1 seed Dulins Dodgers, but due to travel and flights, the title ultimately went to the winner of 5 Star and the Original Florida Pokers 2024. Despite entering the top of the 7th chasing a pair of runs, the offense never seemed to break a sweat and continued to push the pedal to the metal as they plated 5 on 5 hits, amongst a walk and hit by pitch, to steal both the momentum and the game, holding onto a 7-4 victory. 


There’s always a catalyst in the middle of a lineup that puts up at least six runs in every game and 5 Star/Top Tier Roos Mafia had just that in Perfect Game All-American Hunter Carns who went “Create a Player Mode” and set the difficulty to Beginner all weekend as it was truly an out of this world showing for the Florida State commit and tournament MVP. Carns slashed .400/.500/1.450 on the week but it was the three home runs and the violence in which he punished the baseball that grabbed the headlines as the first ball he lost came off the bat at a ridiculous 115 mph and set the tone for the rest of his tournament. 


Hoisting some hardware alongside Carns was Dulins Dodgers Performance right-hander Michael Catalano, an Oklahoma commit, who took home MV-Pitcher after tossing 6 innings of scoreless baseball, 4.2 of which came on opening day where he struck out 7 and ran his fastball up to 92 mph. 

Lets dive into some numbers. 

138: Arms 92 mph or Better
Keeping it simple here...138 different arms touched at least 92 mph throughout the 2023 WWBA World Championships!   


99: As in 99 mph. 
 Yep, a 16 year old out of New York, right-hander Miguel Sime Jr, broke the event record for top fastball in an event that has featured an outrageous number of big league all stars over the years, dating all the way back to the inception of the WWBA World Championship in 1998. 

Names who previously held onto a tie for the record?
 Rick Porcello, 2006 (Tigers 1st round)
Jordan Sheffield, 2012 (Rockies Comp round)
Masyn Winn, 2019 (Cardinals 1st round)
Xavier Cardenas III, 2021 (SDSU Freshman)


66: Total Number of Home Runs
 As you might imagine, walking around field to field, quad to quad, you’re certain to see some sort of firework and the bats in Jupiter certainly provided just that as there was a total of 66 home runs hit on the tournament, a number which is made up of 22 different states, as well as Canada and the Dominican Republic. 

14: Lighting up the Radar Guns
We're in the day and age where big velocity isn't all too hard to come by at premier amateur events and Jupiter proved that once again as 14 different arms peaked at 95 mph or better, with Sime (above) leading the way while setting an event record. Brayden Bergman (detailed below) followed Sime on the leaderboard with a top bolt of 97 mph while Tate Strickland was just behind with a 96 mph pellet. 

13: Bakers Dozen for Crecelius
Unshockingly, an arm committed to Arkansas had a magnificent showing in Jupiter, following the footsteps of Markevian Hence, Masyn Winn and Nate Wohlgemuth. Eli Crecelius led the event with 13 strikeouts over his 6.1 innings of work, though that just proved to be par for the course for the 6-foot-2 right-hander. Up to 89 mph with his heater this October, Crecelius had a 2023 season to remember as he finished with 47 strikeouts to just 8 walks in 29.2 innings while holding hitters to a .200 average against. 

9: Hitters Hit
 To find yourself atop the leaderboard for the most hits in the tournament, you would have needed 10 to claim the spot for yourself or 9 to tie, a number 5 players amassed throughout the week. Chris Newstrom, Jackson Sirois, Peter Mershon, Collin Mowry and Bo Walker all collected 9 knocks throughout the week with Walker grabbing 4 doubles and 2 home runs as part of his tally. 

8: More, Moore, Most
 Making the trip down from Canada, future Indiana Hoosier William Moore led the tournament with 8 stolen bags throughout the event, a stat helped by the fact he was on base at a .583 clip. The speed and instincts on the bases are a clear weapon in his arsenal as he stole at least one bag in each of Canadian Premier’s 4 games, including 4 in their first bout of the tournament.

5: Sam Cozart Trips to Jupiter
 In what I feel pretty confident is another all-time record, 3 time Select Festivaler Sam Cozart logged his 5th outing in the WWBA World Championship and he still has another year to add to the tally. (He probably has more trips to Jupiter than half the Perfect Game staff) Over the course of his five inning stint against the USA Prime Scout 18u club Cozart allowed just a single run on 5 hits, punching out 5 in that span while running his heater up to 91 mph as part of a complete and refined arsenal on the mound. 

3: Home Runs Kings
 We spoke on Carns above as he helped propel his team to the championship and while pitchers can breath a sigh of relief that he’s gearing up for his senior spring, Zaun, a Miami commit, still has another full year on the circuit as he did what he did as a junior. He’s long be lauded for his bat-to-ball skills and with the noticeable gains in the physicality department, those doubles to the gap are now clearing the fence and providing free souvenirs to those in attendance three times while in Jupiter. 


2: Heaters Thrown Under 95 mph by Brayden Berman
 I’ll let Vinnie Cervino’s write up tell you all about the two inning stint from Bergman:

Brayden Bergman (2024, Parker, Tex.) was the headliner in this matchup as rumors of his upper-90s velocity this fall were quickly confirmed with a loud first inning. The Baylor commit sat 95-97 mph with the fastball that had explosive life and carry at the top of the zone, really carrying to the top and getting empty swings underneath. There’s effort to the operation with a stretch only operation and a very compact arm stroke in the back. This allows Bergman to compete and live in the strike zone, attacking with all three pitches. The breaking ball is sharp with healthy bite and complements the arsenal nicely while he only showed the changeup a time or two but flashed devastating downward tumbling action to induce whiffs against lefties. It's a full arsenal with a power pitcher mentality and skill set; he’s definitely high on draft radars in the state of Texas and solidified that with a huge performance.  
1: One Team Left
 For 5 Star National/Top Tier Roos Mafia, I could’ve slotted them into #3 as they had three come from behind wins on their way to the championship, or #2 as they have now gone back-to-back titles and are the second team to do so. But frankly, putting them here in the #1 slot feels right, as there was only one team left standing in the craziness that is Jupiter, and it was 5 Star National/Top Tier Roos Mafia. 
PG Special Events
Travel, Lodging, Entertainment
PG Partners
Recommended
About Perfect Game :: Contact us :: Terms of Use :: Privacy Policy :: Testimonials :: Job Opportunities
Copyright 1994-2024 by Perfect Game. All rights reserved. No portion of this information may be reprinted or reproduced without the written consent of Perfect Game.