As the New Balance Baseball Future Stars Series staff gets set to descend into Louisiana for the last big event of the calendar year — the 2025 Instructs are set to begin just after Christmas — it’s never too early to start looking ahead to 2026.
“Coming off what was hands down our strongest and most impactful year to date, the only path forward is to push ourselves to be even better,” said FSS CEO and President of Baseball Operations, Jeremy Booth. “We’ve got the right people locked in—both on the business end and the baseball side—to turn that into reality for 2026. With the backing of our partners and programs, the commitment from our players and families, and the real momentum we’ve carried through the back half of this year, we’re locked in and confident that 2026 is going to deliver something the game remembers for a long time.”
With that being said, Booth revealed some key details surrounding our upcoming schedule over the recent days, including dates for some of the most anticipated signature events on the amateur circuit.
The 2026 Main Event is set for September 18-20, and is once again expected to have a component where the games are split between one of the top MLB parks in the country and one of the top facilities in all of the minors. Details on a location are expected to be unveiled early in 2026.
For the first time ever, the Fresh 50, Underclass Elite and Underclass Premier are all set to run during the same weekend under one roof, with that weekend set for September 11-13. Again, details on a host will be announced soon, but rumors abound that one of the top college baseball stadiums in the country is contention for the honors.
The Caribbean Classic and JUCO Showdown have both been previously announced, and are both presented by DraftLine. Those events go off January 17-19 and January 25-27, respectively, and remain set for Puerto Rico and Globe Life Field. The first portion of the Regional Combine schedule, which will also feature OPEN ID events with SportsForce, is set and the dates are listed below with more to come as the year unfolds:
• 1/3 – NorCal
• 1/4 – SoCal
• 1/10 – Houston
• 1/11 – San Antonio
• 1/31 – Arizona
• 2/1 – Oregon, PDX Fieldhouse
• 2/7 – Mississippi, The Farm
• 2/14 – Chicago
• 2/15 – Ohio
• 2/21 – Knoxville
• 2/22 – NC
• 2/28 – Pennsylvania
• 3/1 – New York / New Jersey
• 3/7 – Massachusetts
Additional events are expected, particularly in Canada for Future Stars Series Baseball League players — as well as other soon-to-be-announced installments of the FSSBL — not to mention other domestic cities coming soon.
College All-Star Week remains scheduled for June 18-19 and will be hosted at Dunkin’ Park in Hartford, Connecticut, continuing a rich tradition of signature events being held there over the past few years. Four-year college players and JUCO players are eligible for selection in what should be a must-watch event for the industry leading into the following month’s Draft.
Additionally, dates for the tenth annual installment of our National Tournaments have been set, with each grad class represented below accordingly:
2026 NBFSS – National Championship Tournament and Combine – Class of 2030
06/23/2026 – 06/28/2026
North Houston
Houston, Texas
2026 NBFSS National Championship Tournament and Combine: Class of 2027
06/30/2026 – 07/05/2026
North Houston
Houston, TX
2026 NBFSS – National Championship Tournament and Combine – Class of 2029
07/07/2026 – 07/12/2026
North Houston
Houston, TX
2026 NBFSS – National Championship Tournament and Combine – Class of 2028
07/14/2026 – 07/19/2026
North Houston
Houston, TX
A JUCO Regional Series is also expected to unfold for six weeks starting in early October, with more details and host sites set to be unveiled for that initiative. That calendar continues to grow, and a lengthy schedule of lists and locations will be unveiled for that shortly.
Lastly, the International calendar is set to remain robust; there are tentatively over a dozen trips scheduled to the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Bahamas and Aruba for International Combines, which will help set the stage for the returns of the World Combine, Caribbean Classic and other international initiatives. In all, 18 events are set to go off on the International side for 2026, with the potential to add 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, 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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