2025 Christmas Classic Player Spotlights

14U DIVISION

2030 Charlie Bates

Wrecking Crew

Charlie has an athletic frame that projects well to the next level. He features a balanced setup at the plate with a smooth, consistent load. Charlie keeps the barrel in the hitting zone for an extended period and creates good extension through contact, resulting in frequent loud contact. Over the weekend, he collected seven hits, scored seven runs, and drove in four, posting an impressive 0.636 batting average. His offensive performance played a key role in leading his team to a championship finish and earned him tournament MVP honors in the 14u division.

2030 Sota Otsuka

Wrecking Crew

Sota has an athletic frame and showcased his ability to impact the game in multiple ways. Offensively, he features a shot, smooth left-handed swing with good barrel control and a mature, all-fields approach, showing flashes of power. Over the weekend, he recorded five hits and drove in four runs while posting a 0.385 batting average. Sota also contributed on the mound, tossing 3.1 innings, striking out two, and earning the win. His two-way efforts helped lead his team to a championship finish.

2030 Cooper Cordero

TB SoCal Quakes 2030

Cooper has a long, lean, projectable frame and was a force on the mound this weekend. He works downhill with a smooth, repeatable delivery from a high three-quarter release. Cooper consistently works down in the zone with his fastball sitting 73-75 mph and topping out at 76 mph, featuring late arm-side run. He keeps hitters off balance with a curveball sitting 65-67 mph. In 5.1 innings of work, Cooper struck out six, allowed just two earned runs, and posted a 2.62 ERA.

2030 Allen De La Fuente

Sixers De La Fuente 14u

Allen has a big, strong frame that projects well as a middle-of-the-order power bat. He hits from a strong base and features a short, smooth swing with quick hands and good bat-to-ball skills. Allen consistently creates good extension through contact, showcasing significant power potential. Over the weekend, he collected four hits – three for extra bases – drove in five runs, and posted a 0.400 batting average. He also contributed on the mound, tossing two scoreless innings.

UNDERCLASS DIVISION

2028 Kris Ramos

Aquinas JV

Kris has a big, strong frame that projects well to the next level and showed the ability to impact the game both on the mound and at the plate. On the mound, he features a smooth, repeatable delivery and stays in his legs well, generating easy velocity. He commands all quadrants of the strike zone with an impressive three-pitch mix, including a fastball sitting 77-80 mph, a curveball with late vertical action at 64-67 mph, and a deceptive changeup sitting 57-60 mph. Over the weekend, Kris tossed five innings, struck out seven, and allowed zero earned runs. He also contributed offensively, collecting 6 hits and posting a 0.545 batting average. His two-way efforts helped lead his team to a championship finish and earned him MVPitcher honors.

2028 Zane Nicholson

Aquinas JV

Zane has a big, strong frame that projects well as a middle-of-the-order bat. He hits from a wide base with little to no stride, allowing him to consistently stay on time and adjust to off-speed pitches. Zan shows quick hands, keeps the barrel in the hitting zone for an extended period, and displays a mature gap-to-gap approach. Over the weekend, he recorded four hits – two doubles – scored three runs, and drove in six while posting a 0.500 batting average. His offensive performance helped lead his team to a championship finish and earned him MVP honors.

2028 Oliver O’Connor

310 Baseball 16u

Oliver has a long, athletic frame that projects well as a starting arm at the next level. He works with good tempo, moves down the mound efficiently, and features a fee and easy delivery. Oliver keeps hitters off balance with an impressive four-pitch mix that includes a fastball sitting 74-77 mph, a curveball with good depth at 66-68 mph, a changeup sitting 70-72 mph, and a splitter with late vertical break at 70-72 mph. In five innings of work, Oliver struck out seven, allowed just three hits, and posted a 0.00 ERA. His performance on the mound helped lead his team to a runner-up finish.

2028 Seita Koge

310 Baseball 16u

Seita has a lean, athletic frame and was dominant on the mound this weekend. He mixes tempo well, features a repeatable over-the-top delivery, and stays in his legs, allowing him to consistently fill up the strike zone. Seita commands the corners with a fastball sitting 75-77 mph and shows good feel for his off-speed pitches. His curveball features true 12-6 action at 62-64 mph, while his changeup shows arm-side fade sitting 66-68 mph. In seven innings of work, Seita struck out nine, allowed zero earned runs, and earned the win. His performance on the mound played a key role in leading his team through their playoff run.

UPPERCLASS DIVISION

2026 Matthew Hernandez

Sharks National 2026

Matthew has a strong, athletic frame that projects well to the next level. He features a balanced setup at the plate with good rhythm and timing, quick hands, and a mature gap-to-gap approach. Over the weekend Matthew collected three hits, scored three runs, and drove in two while posting a 0.500 batting average. His offensive performance helped lead his team on a championship run and earned him MVP honors.

2026 Giovanni Tazza

Sharks National 2026

Giovanni has a strong, athletic frame that projects well to the next level. He hits from a wide setup with good hip engagement and a smooth, consistent load. Giovanni keeps his hands inside the baseball and creates good extension through contact, generating significant power. Over the weekend, he recorded three hits – two doubles – and scored four runs while posting a 0.300 batting average. His offensive performance played a key role in his team’s championship run.

2028 Cesar Castro

California Select

Cesar has a big, strong frame that projects as a power arm at the next level. He works with good tempo and features a smooth, repeatable delivery with a strong base, allowing him to work down the mound effectively. Cesar overwhelms hitters with a heavy fastball sitting 86-88 mph and keeps them off balance with a devastating slider at 75-77 mph that shows lat horizontal movement. In four innings of work, he allowed only two hits, struck out 4, and posted a 1.75 ERA.

2028 Aiden Mirabal

California Select

Aiden has a lean, wiry frame and showed flashes of being an elite arm in the 2028 class. HE features a quick, whippy high three-quarter delivery with strong hip engagement. His fastball explodes out of his hand, sitting 85-88 mph with significant arm-side run. Aiden keeps hitters off balance with a curveball that shows good depth and late vertical action, sitting 71-74 mph. In four innings of work, he was electric when in the zone, striking out eight hitters.

2026 Emilio Alcala

Jara Baseball Academy National Gamecocks

Emilio has a strong, athletic frame and was an offensive powerhouse this weekend. He features a balanced setup with a calm, repeatable load, allowing him to consistently stay on time. Emilio shows quick hands, good barrel accuracy, and a mature all-fields approach. Over the weekend, he recorded seven hits, scored three runs, and drove in five, posting an impressive 0.636 batting average.