BBF High On National Tourney

The BBF will host the fourth Andre Rogers Junior National Championships from June 1st to 4th with 34 teams and over 600 players from 12 different leagues around the country.

When the BBF hosted the first Junior Baseball Nationals four years ago entered were 12 teams from five leagues with less than 200 players.

Champions will be crowned in five divisions including Coach Pitch 7-9, Bantam Minor 9-10, Bantam Senior 12-under, Junior 13-15, Senior 16-20.

During a press conference at the Sir Kendal Isaacs Gym on Thursday, BBF Executives were "excited" about this year’s tournament. It will be an ideal opportunity to see how the players and coaches have improved from last year and the event will provide opportunities for high school and college-aged players to be seen by the public and by visiting coaches.

BBF President Greg Burrows said at least half a dozen scouts from Florida-based high schools and colleges have already committed to be at the tournament.

Some of those schools include Nova Southeastern University, Jackson State, Norwood University and American Heritage, the latter, which already has four Bahamian players, namely Chris Fox, Sean Albury, Albert Cartwright and Scharad Johnson. They are all products of Freedom Farm Junior League.

Last week the Bahamians helped American Heritage advance to the semi-finals of the Florida High School State Baseball Championships.

Burrows said, "A number of protégés from their Freedom Farm Junior League are performing well at their various high schools and colleges in the United States and the foreign coaches want to see what else The Bahamas has to offer."

He said the national tournament has been scheduled to suit the time of year when most U.S. high schools and colleges would have already ended their baseball season.

The tournament will take place in three locations. The day games will be played at the Freedom farm multi-field facility in Yamacraw Beach Estates. The evening games will be played at the Andre Rogers Baseball Stadium and at the Churchill Tenner Knowles Stadium.

The opening ceremony will be held on Thursday June 1 at 6:30pm at the Churchill Tenner Knowles Stadium with a team march-pass, starting at the College of The Bahamas parking lot at 5:30 p.m.

Teams will participating will be from the Bimini Little League, the Exuma Baseball League (the newest member of the BBF), the Grand Bahama Amateur Baseball Association, the Grand Bahama Little League, the Legacy Baseball League out of Grand Bahama, the Long Island Baseball Association, the always tough Spanish Wells Baseball Association, the Inagua Baseball Association, and from New Providence the Freedom Farm Baseball League, the Junior Baseball League of Nassau and the New Providence Amateur baseball League.

Burrows says this is the greatest baseball tournament undertaking in the country for quite some time Compared to junior sporting events, he likens it to the track and field nationals or the Hugh Campbell Basketball Tournament in terms of excitement.

Craig Kemp, BBF First Vice President, noted that there are at least three international tournaments between July and August. The national tourney will be used to help select players for the various age groups.

The first tournament will be the qualifying rounds for the 9-10 Pony World Series in Puerto Rico. Then the Little League World Series qualifier for 12-under is also scheduled for Puerto Rico. The third event is the 3rd World University Games for senior men (age 16-25) in Havana, Cuba August 6-14.