10u End of Season Rankings Recap 2018-2019

The 10u age group may be the best overall age group in North Carolina. With 5 teams in Perfect Game's top 100 National 10u teams, it seems others have started to take notice of the overall talent in this age group as well. While the level of talent in the 10u age group is fun to watch, it makes separating these teams into stratified rankings quite difficult. Here we recap the season that was in the 10u age group.

1. SBA Futures

   The SBA Futures finished our rankings last year as the #1 9u team in North Carolina. They posted an overall record of 61-8 this past year against one of the most competitive 10u schedules in the United States. They started the spring as the #1 team in Perfect Game's top 100 10u teams in the US, and are currently ranked #4. We've already written about this at length, but the Futures have a strong case to be ranked #1 when Perfect Game updates their national rankings. They finished #1 in the USSSA 2018-2019 10u Majors National Power Rankings. They won an amazing 21 games against teams in Perfect Game's national top 100. This included wins over current #1 East Cobb Astros (GA), #2 FCA Blueclaws (FL) #3 Banditos Black (TX), #5 Motor City Hit Dogs (MI; x2), #10 Kennesaw Generals (GA; x2), #11 Kangaroo Court Americans (FL), #18 Oklahoma Fuel, #20 SBA Nationals (x2), #25 Chet Lemon's Juice Corns Jr. (FL), #26 Knoxville Stars (TN), #32 Park Sharon Nationals - Pirro (x2), #35 Tallahassee Heat (FL), #36 Team 24 Gamecocks - Ashley (SC), #45 Remix Ripcity (GA; x3), and #59 Team Atlantic (GA). Of their 8 losses, 4 came against teams ranked in the top 13 of our 11u top 20. Their 4 other losses came against#20 SBA Nationals, #21 MVP Hustle - Garcia (CA), and #51 I Am Baseball (x2). Admittedly we have not reviewed the seasons of many of the other contenders for the top team in the country, but we'd be hard-pressed to believe a better resume exists anywhere for any team in any age group. In short, it was just another amazing year for this group.

2. SBA Nationals

   It's hard to imagine any team having a resume that even comes close to the SBA Futures, but if any one does, it's the SBA Nationals. Perhaps the first thing to point out is that the SBA Nationals are one of only 3 10u teams to beat the Futures this past year. In fact, the Nationals are the only North Carolina in this age group who has beaten the Futures in two years. The Nationals, who are currently #20 in Perfect Game's national top 100, finished 55-16-3 overall and 42-11-2 this spring. Along the way, they scored 11 wins over National top 100 teams. This included their win over the SBA Futures, #27 Brave Baseball (CA), #36 Team 24 Gamecocks - Ashley (SC), #38 Bravos Baseball (TX), #45 Remix Ripcity (GA; x2), #47 Eastside Rawlings SE Red (GA), #49 Texas Bombers - Germanos, #49 Team Atlantic (GA), #80 Dirtbags Black, and #87 Rawlings Cobb (GA).

3. Park Sharon Nationals - Pirro

   The Park Sharon Nationals were just a small step behind #1 and 2 on our list, and were appropriately ranked 32nd in Perfect Game's latest 10u national top 100. The Nationals went a combined 41-8 this year including a win over national #87 Rawlings Cobb (GA) as well as #8 Five Star Carolina - Jones, #10 Carolina Blue (x5), #11 SBA Americans, #14 Carolina Flight KW (x2), and #15 Carolina Rockies Black. Of their 8 losses this past year, only 4 came against in-state 10u opponents (#1 SBA Futures [x2], #4 Dirtbags Black, and #8 Five Star Carolina - Jones).

4. Dirtbags Black

   The Dirtbags went 22-11-1 this spring and 35-19-1 overall this past year. This performance boosted the Dirtbags to the 87th spot in Perfect Game's national top 100 rankings. They scored a total of 10 wins over top 20 teams throughout the year, including wins over #3 Park Sharon Nationals - Pirro, #6 Rock Solid Red (x3), #7 Coastal Cyclones, #12 NCDB Rivercats (x2), #17 Smash Baseball, #19 Carolina Titans, and #20 MVP Red. They also notched 8 wins over 11u competition this spring as well.

5. West Raleigh Blue

   The 10u West Raleigh Blue continued the track record of success that West Raleigh has every year at the younger ages. This spring they posted a 33-7-1 record, as well as a 49-9-1 record overall, which resulted in receiving the 68th spot in Perfect Game's national top 100. They notched 10 wins over top 20 teams this past year including wins over #4 Dirtbags Black (x4), #7 Coastal Cyclones, #9 Dirtbags East (x2), #10 Carolina Blue, #12 NCDB Rivercats, #13 Five Star Heat, #18 Athlete's Lab, and #20 MVP Red. They also had wins over teams ranked 52nd, 69th, and 94th in Perfect Game's 10u National Top 100 rankings to cap off an impressive 10u resume.