Leave it to a player with the last name of Paris to be the most excited about the “International” in International Week.
But, when 16-year-old shortstop Kyren Paris caught up with FutureStarsSeries.com in advance of the second annual event, facing some competition from outside the United States was what seems to have him most excited.
“Playing against kids from different countries — playing against the World Team — that’s going to be a great experience,” he said. “I want to see how our team and myself compare to kids from a different place. Playing in these tournaments, we really only see kids from the United States, so it’ll be great to be able to play kids from different places.”
The 5-foot-11, 165 pound Cal commit is “extremely excited” to have been named to the National Team for the marquee Program 15/New Balance Baseball Future Stars Series event, which will be held from September 1-3 at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona.
“This is a great opportunity,” he said. “They’ve done a great job so far with putting it all together, and I can’t wait to go out there and perform, be with all the guys, get to meet new players and just be a part of a great event.”
Paris, a 2019 HS grad who says he can’t wait to play at Cal and in the Pac-12, is also particularly looking forward to getting to pick the brains of the P15/NBBFSS staff, many of whom have major-league experience either on or off the field.
“I can’t wait to be able to go out there and ask questions,” he said. “I love asking questions of guys who have that experience, just to learn from them. They’ve been to where we all dream to go. Having them there, it’s unbelievable. I’m sure I’ll learn a lot and be able to bring it back home and work on things.”
Paris has worked hard to become a more complete player, but takes great pride in his defense at shortstop. When asked for a self-scouting report for just what the baseball world will get to see this upcoming weekend, he offered an honest assessment of his game.
“I’ll make a lot of plays and am very energetic on the field,” he said. “I like to be a leader on and off the field; but definitely being at the shortstop position, you’re one of the main guys on the field, so I like to keep control of the defense. Offensively, I have a lot of speed. I like to hit the ball gap-to-gap and steal bases. I like to keep the game interesting.”
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