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PG Select Baseball Festival  | General | 8/14/2025

11u & 12u Select Festival Recap

Jheremy Brown
John McAdams
The historic East Cobb complex in Marietta, GA once again became the epicenter of travel baseball this past weekend, as 64 of the best 11u & 12u players enjoyed a once in a lifetime experience after being named to the Perfect Game Select Festival. A culmination of their past year's accolades and accomplishments starts with a gear reveal, where their beds are covered with a plethora of items that include custom uniforms, Bruce Bolt batting gloves, a Soldier Tank bat along with other items from several Perfect Game partners like Yeti, G-Form and Rawlings.

Throughout the event, the players partake in various activities such as a trip to Dave & Busters, a ping pong tournament and of course their respective ages awards banquet. Not to be lost amongst the exciting events leading up to the Festival game is the players fundraising efforts. For the second year in a row, the Elite Development Academy was both the 11 & 12U Fundraising beneficiary. The Elite Development Academy (EDA), an initiative of the Tampa-based nonprofit Fox Foundation, is designed to provide holistic support to deserving youth who are often overlooked by traditional development pipelines. This fundraiser supports essential wraparound services for deserving, needs-based athletes that enter the EDA through nomination, including academic tutoring, mental performance coaching, college readiness support, family engagement, and year-round mentorship. Your support helps ensure that every child in our program has the resources they need to thrive both on the field and in life. Program Director Spencer Nunez and Derek Del Rosal represented the EDA Academy at each of the banquets and presented awards to our highest fundraisers per age group. In total between both the 11u & 12u players, they raised nearly $10,000 dollars.



Now let’s get to the Game Action, as the 11u Group got things started on Saturday with a thrilling back and forth affair that saw the West squad come out with an 8-7 victory. Owen Klaus took home the Lucas Oil Player of the Game, as the Perryville, Missouri native collected both a double and a homer along with closing out the victory with a scoreless inning on the mound. It was a well-played, relatively clean contest with tons of young talent on display.

Their 12u brethren took the field on Sunday with monster talent littered across both rosters, as the future generations of baseball will be in great hands with some of these players leading the way. In a game which saw seven pitchers throw pitches at 80 mph or above, including a Festival all-time record of 85 mph from Angel Garcia, the East roster came away with a 10-6 victory over the West. Brayden Nims took home the Lucas Oil Player of the Game honors after going 2-for-2 at the plate with the big blow being an absolute no-doubt grand slam that put his squad ahead for good. The amount of talent on display was simply electrifying and brings to light the expansive platform that Perfect Game fosters within youth amateur baseball.

11u Award Winners

Player of The Game: Owen Klaus


Homerun Champion Challenge Champion: Jameson Wilhite


Player of The Year: Duncan Mount 


Pitcher of The Year: Hardin Sullivan
  

Offensive Player of The Year: Christopher Chikodroff 


Bruce Bolt Award Winners: Jaxon Spray & Taz Tulowitzki



12u Award Winners

Player of The Game: Brayden Nims
 

Homerun Champion Challenge Champion: Carlo Rivero
 

Player of The Year: Ruben Elias 

Offensive Player of The Year: Liam Patrick 

Pitcher of The Year: Ethan Palacios 


Bruce Bolt Award Winners: Cash Tellez & Daylon McCants 


Ten Batting Practice Highlights

I'll start this by saying every player entered on an even playing field as I've never seen any of these 36 players swing a bat prior to Saturday's practice. That said, below are some of the rounds of batting practice that stood out to me with the caveat being I saw 14 swings in total from each player. Those 14 swings aren't exactly a lot to go off of, but with players this young, this can and definitely WILL change even as they head into the fall circuit and begin their 13u journey. 

We were able to see the players on the center stage Sunday afternoon during the 12u Select Festival, but for this portion, we're going solely off of the swings I saw, in person, Saturday morning! 

Ryan Spann (2031, Tifton, GA) was the first player to jump into the batter's box and he didn't disappoint, quickly capturing my attention with his loose and leveraged left-handed swing. There's a combo of size, bat speed, and impact already and as he began getting the barrel out front, Spann unlocked the pull side and took his round to the next level with every swing.  

Angel Garcia (2030, Santo Domingo, DR) made the trip up from the Dominican Republic and had plenty of hype as there was some "mystery" around him. Well, the onlookers certainly got what they were looking for as Garcia whipped the bat as though it were a toothpick through the zone, backspinning hard line drive contact to the top of the trees. Oh, and he threw 85 mph on the bump the next day to set a 12u Select Festival record. 
 
Joshua Park (2031, La Mirada, CA) came out and immediately made it know that he knew where the barrel of the bat was, consistently squaring up pitches to all parts of the field, staying under control with his left-handed swing, remaining on time throughout. Come around the Home Run Derby prelims and we saw another side of Park as he began pummeling baseballs to the pull side, clearly showing a different approach and the ability to execute in the impact department.

Carlo Rivero (2031, Tucson, AZ) was one of the more physical players between the two 12u rosters and he knows how to use that to his advantage in the box. The left-handed stick out of Arizona does a nice job of whipping the barrel head through the zone while generating extension out front to truly impact the baseball, sending back spun liners deep to the pull side on a consistent basis. 

Brayden Nims (2030, Pace, FL) lets his presence be known during the actual game, but was just as impressive throughout his swings on Saturday. It's a simple set up in the box, standing tall before creating separation with a leveraged path through the zone, spinning on baseballs with some real whip in the hands in barrel. It's a quick move in the box for Nims from the launch point and he'll be a name we continue to hear about.  

Ethan Palacios (2030, Buda, TX) is another name on the circuit who's widely known for his two-way capabilities on the diamond already. Standing at 5-foot-11, Palacios utilizes a handsier stroke, but he has the strength to pull it off, generating solid bat speed through the zone while losing a couple baseballs of his own, including a long one to wrap up his round. 

Brett Hamlin (2031, Jupiter, FL) brings a physical element to the left-handed batter's box when he digs in and he immediately let the barrel eat, going off the top of the fence before pulling some down the line and around the pole. There's balance in the lower half and quickness in his hands, creating both separation and extension out front and through the point of contact. 

Blake Leal (2030, La Mirada, CA), truthfully, has the least amount of notes in my program as I simply watched him swing the stick, though the results resembled more that of a cannon than even a -5 bat. A West Coaster as a native of California, Leal showcased fast hands while consistently living on the barrel throughout both of his rounds, rocketing baseballs off of the barrel in a way that very few in attendance could replicate. 

Kristian Valadez (2031, Eagle Pass, TX), another bat out of Texas, quickly caught my eye with just how loose his hands were throughout and despite not being the most physical, he still managed to accelerate the barrel through the zone rather well. Given the components of his swing and what he's already able to have accomplished, plus the fact he's one of the youngest players in Atlanta, he'll be a fun one to watch. 

Weston Rayburn (2031, Dalton, GA) went to the plate looking to hurt baseballs and he was able to do just that, staying quiet through his process before unleashing the barrel with late acceleration through the ball. He consistently squared up baseballs, showing the ability to move the barrel around the zone to constantly catch it out front and turn on the ball with authority. 

-Jheremy Brown & John McAdams
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PG Select Baseball Festival | General | 4/21/2026

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