A first of its kind event deserves a first of its kind venue.
The Future Stars Series Showdown debuts from January 19-21 at Globe Life Field, home of the defending World Series Champion Texas Rangers, in Arlington. The unique format will feature this past year’s Main Event teams squaring off against some of the top JUCO teams in the country in a three-day event; set to participate are San Jacinto College, Blinn College, Northwest Florida State College, Navarro College and New Mexico Junior College.
With whispers already about an encore in 2025, other perennial junior college powers have expressed interest in what’s rumored to be an expanded event the following year, rumors that coincide with a long-term deal with Globe Life Field.
In an industry where hyperbole can often run rampant, the Future Stars Series Showdown is truly what it claims to be, an unprecedented series of games over three jam-packed days with a unique format that should be an instant must-watch for big league scouts and executives across the board.
“This is something we’ve been working towards for a long time now, ever since I issued the open invite to play late last year, and we knew we’d find someone to accept. It just wasn’t who we thought may do it,” said FSS president and CEO Jeremy Booth.
“Kory Koehler accepted the challenge, and worked his tail off to put this together with the right junior college programs. Putting up our best rosters against some pretty stacked JUCO teams, including his at San Jacinto, should be some of the best baseball we’ve ever seen at this level since we started, and we’re excited to have had the cooperation we’ve had from these schools to be able to provide a truly one of a kind development experience. But to do it in a facility like this is just special, and we can’t thank the Rangers scouting and business operations enough, specifically Darin Vaughan, Adam Leibowitz, Dayton Moore, Josh Boyd, and Mike Mitton as well as our own Jim Duquette for a partnership with Globe Life Field that we look forward to for years to come.”
Not only will some of the top JUCO talent in the country get a unique opportunity to show their talents, the scouts that filled the seats behind home plate at Fenway Park will get to see Main Event players once again, but this time even further along in their development and closer to the upcoming Draft.
“Man, what can I say…what Jeremy Booth and the Future Stars Series has done to put together this event is unprecedented,” Koehler said. “Playing in a major-league stadium is a dream for many of these young men, and it’s about to become reality. We are honored to be playing in an event of this magnitude and to do so in the World Champion Texas Rangers stadium, Globe Park, will be something special.
While players who have come through the Future Stars Series will be featured prominently in the event on the JUCO side, not to mention a vast array of premium talent that will be making their FSS debuts, those Main Event rosters are set to once again feature some of the top prep talent available in that 2024 MLB Draft, most notably Slade Caldwell, who was still recovering from an injury and unable to play in the Main Event.
Globe Life Field will become the third active big league park that the Future Stars Series will have hosted an event in — stay tuned for news on a fourth and a fifth shortly — and is a state-of-the-art, $1.1 billion facility that’s not only the newest in the majors, but has already hosted World Series games over multiple years and is set to have the 2024 MLB All-Star Game held between its white lines.
An extraordinary multi-purpose venue that opened in 2020, Globe Life Field has also hosted sold-out shows featuring Metallica, Lady Gaga and Elton John and is part of an overall complex, featuring AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, that is considered to be one the most technologically advanced collection of sporting venues in the world.
The excitement for one of the most electric events in youth baseball is already building.
- WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“I’d like to thank Jeremy Booth & the Future Stars Series for inviting us to compete at the inaugural Future Stars Series Showdown. Getting to play at Globe Life field is truly an amazing opportunity for Blinn College & for the other colleges/HS Athletes to showcase their abilities on a National level. The work put in, behind the scenes, to get this done is truly amazing. These young men will remember this experience for the rest of their lives & I can’t express how grateful we are for this opportunity.” – Dusty Hart: Head Coach, Blinn College
“We are honored to be invited to play in this New Balance Baseball Future Stars Series event. We appreciate Jeremy’s efforts to put this together. This event will attract a bunch of scouts for all teams participating to showcase its players. We are excited to play at the home of the Texas Rangers.” – Doug Martin: Head Coach, Northwest Florida State College
“JUCO Baseball in Texas is one of the best around, and we’re excited to be able to show that against some of the other top programs, as well as Jeremy’s teams from the Main Event. We are truly honored to be a part of this!” – Whoa Dill: Head Coach, Navarro College.
