While the Combines tend to get the majority of the attention during the month of July, there’s certainly no ignoring the annual New Balance Baseball Future Stars Series National Tournaments, which entered their ninth installment this year.
Those tournaments have helped produce major-leaguers like Dylan Crews, Mick Abel, just-promoted CJ Kayfus and others, as well as some of the game’s top prospects like Nolan McLean, Markevian “Tink” Hence and more.
This year, there was certainly no shortage of talent or intense games, starting with the 2028/29 grad class tournament that got us started off. Lobos Baseball’s 2028 group won the event, first advancing out of Pool B with a 4-1 record that included wins over NorCal White, NorCal 2028, the Expos and the Blacksox in a game that ultimately gave them the tiebreaker to advance.
In the semis, they drew the late slot and shut out the PPA Sticks, 3-0, and were faced with the difficult task of playing immediately afterwards, winning 7-3 over Sandlot to win the trophy at San Jacinto College.
The 2026 grad class was up next, and it was GPS Legends Puffer who finished off a stunning run, going undefeated throughout the week to capture a true national championship with an 8-5 win over the TXT group on Sunday afternoon.
Led by former major-leaguer Brandon Puffer, the Legends started off their event at Baytown Sterling HS on Wednesday, squeaking out a 1-0 win over USA Prime San Antonio before finishing off their doubleheader with a win over Wow Factor Texas. The Puffer team pulled out another one-run win over the UB Big Dogs the following day at San Jac before finishing up their spotless pool play run with wins over Apex Academy and the Houston Scorpions.
A semifinal game win over the Mississauga HPP Tigers set up the matchup in the finals against TXT, which they captured at San Jac to earn the trophy.
Unfortunately, there was no sole winner determined in the final week for the 2027 grad class group; Mother Nature ended up taking home the title in the end with a pop-up thunderstorm that forced players off the field late in the second semifinal game and ultimately postponed the championship game between the Sandlot and Wow Factor.
However, the month’s tournaments were a success as a whole outside of just the games; numerous players were invited solely out of the tournaments — identified by our scouting staff — to their year’s respective Combines, and some may even earn opportunities to our signature events, for which the rosters will be fully revealed shortly.
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.
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