The New Balance Baseball Future Stars Series is proud to announce the launch of the Future Stars Series Baseball League, which will begin in Canada, but feature regions throughout North America as it quickly expands.
Founding organizations in Canada include the Mississauga Tigers, Vaughan Vikings HPP and Durham Stallions with others in final preparation.
While the process to start the league begins immediately — FSS President of Baseball Operations and CEO Jeremy Booth will personally be at upcoming Scout Days to be held in Toronto between May 11-15 — games will be played this fall, with a regional director set to oversee them to be named at that time.
Currently in Kamloops at the “Best of the West” event to see players from partner programs Vauxhall Academy and the Langley Blaze, Booth is excited to bring a concept that’s been talked about in amateur circles for years to the masses in the proper fashion.
“If we were going to do this, we were always going to do this right,” Booth said. “To be able to bring the league concept, but without any league fees whatsoever and still be able to provide what what’s been proven to be the industry’s best in scouting, social media and data capture is significant. This isn’t for everyone. A lot of what we do isn’t. But, this is just the beginning here, and we’re excited to be partnered with programs here that we know will be able to lead us as we roll this out all over the continent moving forward.”
With no league fees, this is sure to become the top option for amateur players across the continent; players must participate in Scout Days with their organization, just as many top Canadian players such as current major-leaguer Bo Naylor, Josiah Romeo, Dasan Brown, Adam Macko, David Calabrese, Myles Naylor and many others all did as part of their path to professional baseball.
Those Scout Days will play a big part in preliminary evaluation; FSS will visit the Mississauga Tigers on May 11 and the Durham Stallions on May 14, with other dates to be announced shortly, and that will be the model followed as the league expands to seven already-determined regions across North America over time.
The FSSBL is another way to make sure that players are getting seen, and are doing so in a competitive environment that will provide real statistics in an environment that’s anything but watered down. There will be no more than eight teams in the league in any region, ensuring quality competition, and also to provide opportunities for the FSS scouting and development staffs to properly evaluate each player, with full reports directly available to all collegiate programs.
Additionally, as has been the case in the past, this also allows players to be seen and advance to the individual player events that the FSS has successfully held since 2017.
Some of the most highly-regarded events in the space such as the Main Event, Underclass Elite, Fresh 50 and others have seen New Balance Baseball’s global initiative for amateur baseball evolve into helping produce a third of the players at the most recent MLB Draft Combine, as well as over 100 players from the 2024 MLB Draft and countless first round picks, including 2023 second overall selection, Dylan Crews, and fellow major-leaguers like Tyler Soderstrom, Grayson Rodriguez, Kyren Paris, Zac Veen and others well on their way like Cooper Pratt, Tommy Troy, Petey Halpin, Drew Gilbert, Mick Abel, Cam Collier and more.
For more information on the New Balance Baseball Future Stars Series and all the latest updates on the FSSBL, please visit futurestarsseries.com and be sure to follow the FSS on X at @ftrstarsseries, as well as @NB_Baseball for up-to-date info on shoes, gear and more.
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, 11 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 3,200 games covered in his career.
An avid card collector and sim racer, he lives with his wife, Sarah, their son William, and their beloved dog, Bailey, and cat, Smokey.
