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Tournaments  | Story  | 6/4/2021

Devine 14u Embraces Hometown Feel

Matthew Welsh     
Photo: Camden Hodge (Perfect Game)
ATLANTA, Ga. -- Devine Baseball, a program based out of the Buford, Ga. area, has burst onto the scene as one of the strongest competitors in the nation’s ruthless grind that is elite travel baseball. Particularly in the 14u age group, Devine has displayed a level of immediate success, that does not seem likely to waver anytime soon.

Although not the biggest name listed at Perfect Game’s Southeast Elite Championship, Devine Baseball 14u entered the tournament with a 26-7 record and an honorable mention nod in Perfect Game’s current national ranking composite.



Devine went on to dismantled 5 Star National 14u in their first game of the weekend on Thursday afternoon in a six inning 8-2 win.

“We’ve got a lot of talented players on the team,” said head coach Kevin Collier. “There’s a lot of good kids on the east side of Atlanta that have historically been playing behind East Cobb for years, but here’s a group of guys that are playing and coming together.”

Headlined by a rising trio of players, Devine has its sights set on making a dent in the youth baseball environment and its preconceived tournament favorites. Catcher/third baseman Camden Hodge, one of the team’s mentioned ranked players, slots in at No. 120 in his class and is the second-ranked catcher in the state of Georgia. The other two, both among the top-1000 2025 graduates are outfielder Tucker Holton and shortstop Daniel Pierce.

Together, these players combined for four hits and one RBI in the win, an effort willingly supplemented by their teammates.

The key to Devine’s pursuits: a core of players that have been playing with one another for years, and who almost all go to high school within 10 miles of each other. That connectedness breeds an atmosphere and culture that Collier says is unique to his ball club.

Within that bond is also a commitment to practice and patience that ensures each athlete the ability to develop as an individual and as a part of the team. Development is undoubtedly a key component of the program’s mission.

“Lots of practice, being able to stay together, and spend more time with each other, and being able to execute,” said Collier on how his team is structured. “I think it’s more of developing [your players] versus spending your time with your head up, looking around, trying to attract kids coming in. It’s more about spending your time with the kids, Monday through Friday, than it is pulling from all over the country to try and come and compete.”

To this point in this season, with Devine experiencing such an apparent surge in success, that strategy has worked essentially flawlessly. Still coming off of their recent win in the Perfect Game 14u Southeast Select Invitational in April, the team’s lofty goals remain ahead of them. And with what their coach described as a ‘certain momentum’ his team could certainly attain new heights.

“If you spend enough time with them, they’ll start to develop, and we’ve had the most amazing coaching staff, with 50+ years of pro ball and collegiate baseball experience that these kids get to be in. So, it’s a totally different philosophy than these explosive, nationally-ranked teams that you’re seeing.”

This weekend’s affair, and another tournament scheduled in Hoover, Ala. are at the top of the list. Regardless of how they may perform this week, expect Devine Baseball 14u to continue to embrace and shape their special form of brotherhood.

Their next matchups are on Friday against Titians Baseball 14u Blue and Saturday against Aces elite 14u Miller, with bracket play looming, depending on these performances.
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