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Tournaments  | Story  | 5/17/2024

Beast of the East Event Preview

Jheremy Brown     
All eyes in the youth world will be on Panama City Beach as the Publix Sports Park plays host to the Beast of the East, arguably THE premier youth event from ages 9u all the way up to 14u. While almost all of these teams were in Houston for the Super NIT, the rosters are even more loaded this weekend as the field is condensed to just 8 teams at the 9, 11, 12 and 13u levels, 10 clubs at 10u and 12 teams at 14u, meaning every roster will be a juggernaut, creating a truly “any team on any given day” in terms of who could win it all. 

Don’t believe me? Take a look at the national team rankings (9-13U Rankings as of 4/1/2024, 14U Rankings as of 12/18/2023) and while these numbers are certain to shift a bit, it’ll only make the field all the more impressive as some clubs, especially at the 14u level, made some runs in Houston, including the then No. 30 ranked Motor City Hit Dogs who won the whole thing. 



National Team Rankings In Attendance
 9U: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11
10U: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14
11U: 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 13
12U: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11
13U: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 16
14U: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 24, 30, 31, 48

Our staff has only put together national players rankings down to the 2028 class, reaching a top 150, several of whom have appeared in at least one Select Festival to this point in their careers. With this 14u group being the first ever to have the opportunity to play in the 11u, 12u, 13u and 14u renditions of the game, the list of alumni is impressive though what’s even more exciting is knowing plenty of players will arrive in Panama City ready to make a name for themselves and will ultimately don a Festival uniform come August. 
 
Former Select Festival Athletes by Division:
 12U: (21) Athletes from the 2023 11U Festival
13U: (28) Athletes from the 2023 12U Festival
14U: (40+) Former Select Festival Athletes
 
Of the top 10 players ranked within the 2028 class, only one won’t be in attendance and to take things a step forward (as of this writing) only 3 players within the top 20 aren’t rostered for the 14u portion of the event. Amongst the players are the reigning 13u Player and Pitcher of the Year in Kaleb Foster and Ethan Torres, 12u Player and Pitcher of the Year in Colton Windham and Dylan Mercado as well as the 11u Pitcher of the Year with Christian Choe.

If making noise in a field like Houston seemed a bit daunting given the sheer volume of teams in attendance, imagine what the atmosphere and intensity of each and every inning in Panama City when every base hit, walk, or diving catch could be the difference of advancing and earning the ultimate bragging rights heading into the summer circuit. 

The action kicks off Friday, May 17th at 4 pm central and concludes Sunday afternoon on May the 19th. Be sure to tune in to PerfectGame.TV and all Perfect Game platforms to stay up to date on the latest action and standout performances from some of the biggest prospects in the game. 
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