The 2026 New Balance Future Stars Series JUCO Main Event Showdown will be held January 26-27 at Globe Life Field. Nine high-octane programs will compete to kick off the 2026 season in style.
Those nine are: Florida SouthWestern State College, San Jacinto College, Wharton County Junior College, Grayson College, Seminole State College, Amarillo College, Florence Darlington Tech, Lake Land College, and Wabash Valley College.
Let’s meet these programs, one by one.
Head Coach: Julio Godinez
Home Ballpark: Laker Baseball Field
Notable Alums: Gary Gaetti, Hayden Birdsong, Javier Cardona, Saul Rivera
2025 Result: 45-21
2025 LEADERS
(MIN. 100 PA / 20 IP)
| STAT | LEADER | VALUE |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Vinny Spotofora | .388 |
| HR | Drew DuPont | 11 |
| RBI | DuPont | 79 |
| SB | Spotofora | 13 |
| OPS | DuPont | 1.111 |
| ERA | Lucas Bibby | 2.53 |
| WHIP | Bixby | 1.10 |
| K | Bixby | 85 |
Julio Godinez and his Lake Land College Lakers are a program inarguably on the rise, fresh off a 45-win season and trip to the JUCO World Series, ultimately advancing all the way to the semifinals. It had been a slow burn up in Illinois, with the now-seventh-year head coach finally getting the program over the hump of an over-.500 season in the modern era in just 2024. One year later? Boom.
With that said, the upcoming New Balance Baseball Future Stars Series JUCO Main Event Showdown presented by DraftLine presents an enormous opportunity to pick up right where they left off, albeit with an extraordinary task ahead of them with four games in three days against some of the top JUCO teams in the country; Seminole State College, fellow JUCO World Series teams Florida SouthWestern and Florence-Darlington Technical College, as well as Wharton County JC are set to make up an absolute gauntlet to start their 2026 season.
“The expectations are a lot higher, but the pressure is what you make of it,” Godinez told FSS Plus. “I think we made some splashes, but ever since taking over the program, it was, ‘All right, how do we leave our mark and get Lake Land back to what it used to be in the 80’s, 90’s, and early 2000s when coach Gene Creek was here.’ Last year, you get lucky with such a special group that really ran itself. Those guys played for each other, they loved each other, and those groups like that don’t come along very often.
“We’re excited this year to handle the higher expectations. Even this fall, with the bigger schools that were out to watch us at the recruiting events, it was kind of fun to be a part of it. So now I’m excited to get the guys on the field and showcase all the development that we’ve done over the past few months.”
Godinez is a baseball veteran, first as a player back in the late 2000s with Kishwaukee Community College and then Graceland University, and then starting his coaching career at Murray High School before assistant positions at both Graceland and Lake Land led him to a long stay at Eastern Illinois University prior to his return to the Lakers.
It was during his six years in a variety of assistant roles at EIU, where he worked with MLB Draft picks like Trey Sweeney and others, building his resume and bank of knowledge until taking over for Bill Jackson in 2020.
That first year? 2-15. The process of turning things around was slow, but steady, and one that Godinez is proud to have overseen to now having his program as a favorite to return to Grand Junction for a second straight year.
“The big buzz word is culture, but we had to change what the culture was and what was in place,” he said. “A big piece of that was that you’ve got to recruit better players that want to be about baseball and school or school and baseball. That’s really what it was.
“That first year was tough, but I think part of that year being tough was my fault, because I came in as a Division 1 assistant, and I’m like, ‘Oh, we’re going to play all these big guys, and we’re going to compete,’ and I got humbled very quick. We played a very tough schedule…and it led to a lot of adversity, but the truth is that last game of the year, right before COVID shut us down, I feel like that group really figured it out. That group, forever, for me, will always hold a special place in my heart because it was my first head coaching group.
“But, at times, I was also happy that COVID shut us down. In that group alone, though, you had a right-handed pitcher named Hayden Birdsong who, after one year, went to Eastern Illinois and then got drafted in the sixth round by the Giants and made history two years ago.”
Is there another Birdsong-like success story on the roster this year? Godinez offered up a few names who will be worth keeping an eye on once the games get going in Arlington in two weeks.
“Looking at this group, we lost a lot,” he said. “After last year, you lose a guy who has almost 30 doubles and almost 70 RBI in (Drew) DuPont, who went to App State, and our captain, (Kiefer) Tarnoki, but the cool part of this group and even last year is you’re returning a catcher in Nathan Steumke, who caught the back half of the year and helped us get to a World Series.
“Your middle infield is returning in Sharif Colon, who hit .350, had 15 doubles, ten home runs, close to 60 RBI, and Eddie Letamendi, who’s a Division 1 transfer to us last year who got hurt in the beginning of the year, and to me, he might be one of the better defensive infielders in our league. You return our left fielder, Kaiden Maurer, who is now going to be our center fielder and is a 6.6 runner and was just crazy on-base for us, kind of set the tone for offense with his ability to draw walks or hit a single or double when needed.
“And then you add some firepower offensively this year with a guy like Kyle Hartman, who is transferring from Northern Illinois, has a really good arm behind the plate, he can be versatile and play first or left…you return another catcher too in Logan Winkleman, who probably has one of the better arms in the Midwest behind the plate and can chuck it down to second base at 86 to 87 miles per hour.
“Then you add a couple transfers like Jalen House, who is a 6-4 outfielder and left-handed swinger, and Isaac Flowers from Toledo, who is a local guy to us, who is another left-handed bat…you’re expecting big things from a sophomore first baseman named Bryce Beyers to come in and do something there. On the mound, you return your ace, Lucas Bixby, who threw 78 innings for you.
“The crazy piece and the crazy story about him is that dude started six games for us in the playoff run; two in the regional tournament, two in the district tournament, and two in the World Series. He’s a guy that wants the ball in any situation.”
For those standouts and others, it will be a sizable challenge to be “regular-season ready” in the last week of January, but against competition like this, there’s no other choice.
“There’s two things that make that first weekend very challenging,” Godinez said. “First one is January 25, that’s two to possibly three weeks earlier than I have ever opened in my career as a player and as a coach.
“The challenge there is making sure the arms are ready, making sure we’re getting guys healthy. Because of that, we’ve had to not change what we have done preparation-wise, but just adjust the timing of everything. That’s a challenge in itself, especially being a Midwest school, it’s adjusted some of the things we do.
“The second piece of that is we’re playing four games in three days against some guys that are going to be able to have been outside…the talent of those four teams is really what I’m most excited about, because it’s going to be a challenge.
“I was just talking to the guys about it, I said that as much as I want to go down there and I want to go and show the world what we’re made of and win four games, that ultimately is just an opportunity for us to give you guys the opportunity to play in a big-league stadium, have the opportunity to play in front of a bunch of pro scouts, and ultimately get ready and use these four games as preparation leading into March and April and May when we play our Region 24 schedule.
“I think that’s one of the toughest Midwest regions in the country.”
About New Balance Future Stars Series
The New Balance Future Stars Series presented by Program 15 is a global platform for amateur baseball development and scouting, powered by a commitment to impact, integrity, and player-focused innovation. Its alumni can be found throughout professional baseball, and its events and partnerships have reshaped how talent is identified, nurtured, and celebrated.
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Since 2003, he has covered multiple World Series and has worked high-profile events ranging from the MLB All-Star Game to the World Baseball Classic. In addition to his role working for the Future Stars Series that he's held since 2017, Ashmore currently serves as the beat writer of the Double-A New York Yankees affiliate, the Somerset Patriots, as well as national hockey writer and New York Jets game day beat reporter for The Trentonian.
A regular contributor to Baseball America, Ashmore has worked seven Super Bowls, 12 Stanley Cup Finals, the 4 Nations Face-Off, the NBA Playoffs, College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Frozen Four, Daytona 500, major UFC events and much more as he approaches 3,300 games covered in his career.
An avid trading card enthusiast, he lives with his wife, Sarah, their son, future No. 1 overall draft pick in 2042, William, their beloved dog, Bailey, and occasionally well-behaved cat, Smokey.
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