What began in the fall of 2016 as a grassroots initiative between New Balance Baseball and PROGRAM 15, the Future Stars Series has emerged as the gold standard for player identification and development events in the amateur baseball world. The organization has put a spotlight on over 70 MLB Draft Picks and International Signings along with hundreds of college-committed players who have participated in Future Stars Series events.
International scouting opportunities have been rare for the baseball world over the last two years. Just days before the inaugural Future Stars Series World Combine was to take place in early 2020 the planet was struck by the COVID-19 pandemic. The best and brightest amateur baseball talent from Puerto Rico, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, Australia, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, and Venezuela were scheduled to hit the field in Florida until emergency travel restrictions forced the cancellation with little notice.
After nine months of re-scheduling attempts to bring players to the event in the U.S. the New Balance Future Stars Series decided to take the event to the players in December 2020, with the first-ever World Combine taking place in the Bahamas. Players from that event including Cherif Neymour, Toby Simmons, Michael Arroyo, Steven Adderley, and Kristin Munroe have since signed major-league contracts.
Unfortunately, 2021 travel restrictions proved to be even more challenging, forcing the cancellation of the follow-up World Combine and the first Future Stars Series Caribbean Classic.
Jeremy Booth, CEO and President of the Future Stars Series predicts a much brighter horizon for 2022 with the following preview of the organization’s international calendar which includes the return of the World Combine and the launch of the pandemic-delayed Caribbean Classic signature event.
New Balance Future Stars Series International Events
The following confirmed events are expected to draw players from throughout the Caribbean Regions, South America, Italy, Netherlands and Asia once travel restrictions allow.
Italian Friendship Games – April 20-27 – University of San Francisco – San Franciso, CA
Dominican Republic – April 19 – 21 – Play de Beisbol Buena Vista – La Romana, Dominican Republic
Aruba – May 8-10 – Winston Field – Oranjestad, Aruba
Mexico – May 13-15 – Unidad Deportiva – Playa Del Carman, Mexico
Canada – May 24-25 – Brampton, Ontario
Additional dates and locations will be added once they are confirmed. All events are subject to change given the fluid nature of travel restrictions. With participation inquiries coming from as far as Africa many of the events are anticipated to repeat monthly or bi-monthly.
Players attending the FSS International events will be evaluated by Future Stars Series scouting staff for potential invitations to participate in the World Combine where they will compete for a spot on the first-ever Caribbean Classic international roster.
Conrad Efrem Orman of CEO 58 Sports, host of the Aruba event said, “I am exceptionally proud to bring the NBFSS programming to the players of Aruba. The NBFSS staff are the best in the business and care about the people of Aruba by coming here to find talent to play in other events around the world. Our players will get better every time these great baseball men arrive on our island. We hope together we can promote the game of baseball and allow some players opportunities to play college in the United States and even sign professionally. We thank the NBFSS staff for believing in the young players of our proud island.”
Through the Future Stars Series Foundation, a team of United States-born players will be selected to make up a U.S. roster to go head-to-head with the international team at the Caribbean Classic.
The 2022 return of the New Balance Future Stars Series World Combine will be immediately followed by the inaugural Caribbean Classic, the international player-focused counterpart to the wildly successful Future Stars Series Main Event at Citi Field. These highly anticipated events are currently scheduled for October with exact dates and location to be confirmed as COVID restrictions and other factors are being determined.
All Future Stars Series International events will be streamed globally by GameKast Live.
On the return of the Future Stars Series to the international landscape, Booth says, “We are excited to get back to global. It’s been a rough two years with Covid for the entire planet and it’s good to see baseball as a tool to bring us all together in goodwill. Many things took a backseat during Covid not the least of which is human connection, and being a part, in some small way, of helping the planet return to being a planet of people rather than sickness is extremely gratifying. These associations and groups know we’re there for the relationship and to help the players move forward rather than driven by some way to take advantage of them, and we’re thankful for the relationships and their endurance over time. The ability to work with people across all of these countries is best for a player-driven model and something we’re very much so looking forward to continuing. With efforts led by Hall of Fame scout Gordon Blakeley and his incredible list of international accomplishments, this is something that’s very easy for all of us to get behind, and we can’t wait to see the global initiative of New Balance Baseball and the Future Stars Series international calendar kick off in full once again.”
For the latest information Future Stars Series Event Dates & Locations visit https://futurestarsseries.com/overall-events-schedule
