The Don’s Tournament of Champions Preview Fall 2020

From a purely baseball perspective, one of the things that COVID has robbed us of is the big weekend event where dozens of top teams are playing at the same time across multiple age groups. The Don's USSSA Tournament of Champions (TOC) should provide us with a reminder for how enjoyable those weekends can be. From the 8u-12u age groups, 34 teams ranked in either North Carolina or South Carolina will be in action. This includes the #1 team in each of those age groups as well as the #1 team in South Carolina in the 9u age group. In addition, 26 of those teams are ranked in our top 10 in either NC or SC. Needless to say there will be a huge amount of good baseball going on this weekend to likely close out the fall season for many teams. We decided to have a little fun and post our preview of The Don's TOC as well as pick our winners for each age group.

 

8u

9 teams are scheduled to compete in the 8u age group at The Don's TOC. This includes NC #1 West Raleigh Blue, #2 SBA Futures, #3 Dirtbags TR7, #4 Area Stars Orange, #6 GBG Carolina, #8 NC Rogue, and #9 Union County Crush. Now, we are the first to admit our 8u rankings are tough to feel a considerable amount of confidence in because many of these teams haven't competed against one another or more broadly. Nevertheless, it should be enjoyable to watch what is easily the best collection of 8u teams in NC this fall go at it this weekend. We have no idea what to expect from these teams, but do feel teams such as West Raleigh Blue and the SBA Futures might have a slight edge due to experience. The Futures will be up against the Pirates (SC) and GBG Carolina in pool play. Do not be surprised if GBG makes a little noise in this event as they currently own a 7-0 record this fall. West Raleigh will take on Dirtbags TR7 and Area Stars Orange in their pool play games. West Raleigh has two wins over the Dirtbags and one over the Area Stars this fall, and we like them to take home the crown (and the chains) at The Don's TOC.

Predicted champion: West Raleigh Blue

 

9u

7 teams will face off in the 9u age group at The Don's TOC. The field is led by our #1 team in South Carolina, the Carolina Reds, as well as NC's #1 team, the SBA Futures, #6 SBA Rowan, #8 West Raleigh Blue, #11 Area Stars Orange, and #13 Carolina Clippers. It's always a great event to have the top teams from multiple states in the same field, and this weekend should be no exception. The Reds will take on SBA Rowan and Area Stars Orange in their pool play games, while the Futures are set to go up against the Carolina Clippers and West Raleigh Blue in their pool play games on Saturday. The Reds edged the Futures earlier this year to take the title at the Jay Criscione Super NIT, so we'd expect the Futures to be itching for a chance to get their revenge. That loss remains the Future's lone loss against a 9u opponent this fall. While these two look to be the leading candidate's to take home the title, we could several other teams such as SBA Rowan, West Raleigh or the Area Stars making a run, with the Carolina Clippers having a chance to show they belong in the discussion with the big boys in the 9u age group this weekend. We're going to go with the Futures getting their revenge this weekend on the Carolina Reds.

Predicted champion: SBA Futures

 

 

 

10u

The 10u field is perhaps the top age group at The Don's TOC this weekend. In total, 12 teams will be in the field. This includes 9 of the top 10 teams in North Carolina as well as #15 Area Stars Orange and #24 Five Star Carolina - Secrist. This has been one of the more competitive age groups all fall with multiple games between highly ranked teams. Our #1 team, the SBA Nationals, will look to secure the #1 spot in our rankings with a big weekend. They will take on #4 Spartans - Mullins and #8 Mission Baseball - Smith in their pool play games. Our #2 team, the SBA Rowan Prospects, will take on Union County Crush - Roadcap and #5 West Raleigh Blue in pool play, while #3 SBA Futures will go against #7 MARA Cobras and #10 Park Sharon Nationals in pool play. The Futures will look to bounce back from a 1-2 showing at the Atlantic Coast Super NIT a few weeks ago - an event in which they lost to the Park Sharon Nationals. There are no easy games anywhere in this field, and this will be a really fun weekend to observe. There are a half dozen or more teams who have a real shot at the title this weekend, and its going to be nearly impossible to predict the winner. While the SBA group may be the headliners, teams such as Spartans - Mullins and Mission - Smith have played great baseball of late and could easily walk out of this weekend popping the chains. Our first inclination was to go with the Futures to make amends for their showing a few weeks ago and re-stake their claim as the top team in this age group, however we are going with the dark horse pick in this age group. We like the way SBA Rowan Prospects have been playing of late and are picking them to pull off the minor upset this weekend.

Predicted champion: SBA Rowan Prospects

 

11u

7 teams will be in action in the 11u age group this weekend. This includes our #1 team, the SBA Futures, #2 Dirtbags Black, #4 Five Star Carolina - Young, #5 LBC Swarm, #6 Rawlings Prospects NC - Piscorik, #11 Carolina Rockies - Sullivan, and #12 West Raleigh Blue. That's 7 of our top 12 teams in one field. The Futures are the powerhouse in this age group, boasting one of the best teams in the entire country. They will take on the Rockies and West Raleigh in pool play. They are followed closely by Dirtbags Black, also one of the best teams in the country. Both the Futures and the Dirtbags finished in the top 20 in Perfect Game's final national 10u rankings this past summer at #3 and #17, respectively. The Dirtbags will take on the Rockies (who got an exceedingly difficult pool play draw) and Five Star Carolina - Young, who look to be playing their best baseball of the fall. There will be a chance for some of the best teams in this age group such as Five Star - Young, the LBC Swarm, and Rawlings - Piscorik, to make a statement this weekend. In the end, however, we think the Dirtbags and the Futures are the top choices to take the title this weekend, but it's just impossible for us to pick against the Futures in this age group right now.

Predicted champion: SBA Futures

 

12u

10 teams are split across two pools this weekend in the 12u age group. The field is headlined by our #1 team in NC, the SBA Futures. #16 Carolina HighSpeed, and #20 LKN Hurricanes are also in this field. The Futures are the clear favorite as they boast an undefeated 18-0 record this fall season. They'll take on the Hurricanes and the DB Raptors in their two pool play games. HighSpeed is set to take on SBA Santos and Team 24 Gamecocks - Wilson. Any other result besides a Futures tournament win would be a pretty big shock here. While the 12u field isn't as deep some of the other age groups, many teams including Carolina HighSpeed have a chance to make a statement this weekend.

Predicted champion: SBA Futures