207 total teams will come to the Rocky Mount area this weekend for the second weekend of the Top Gun Winter World Series (WWS). Across the 10u and 12u age groups, there will be 21 ranked teams in action in the D1 and D2 division. The 10u D1 division features 9 of our top 11 teams and 10 of our top 20 for what might be the best field of the fall in this age group. Here we preview the weekend ahead at the WWS.
10u
14 teams will compete in the D1 division in the Rocky Mount area this weekend. This includes 9 of the top 11 and 10 of the top 20 teams in North Carolina as well as several of the very best teams from Virginia in what may be the best field of the 10u age group this fall. There are numerous matchups between ranked teams, including #1 SBA Futures who will face #7 Summerfield Stars and #9 LBC Swarm in pool play. In their other pool play games, the Swarm and Stars will both take on Virginia Stars - Nardone, who are 21-0 this fall. #2 Dirtbags Black will take on #5 HPT HiToms and the Western Tidewater Rage (VA), who are 14-2 this fall. HPT will also face the rage in pool play. #3 Canes Baseball NC - Harris will face East Coast Elite in their opening game on Friday before facing off against #4 Triple Crown Lookouts on Saturday in what should be an absolutely great game. The Lookouts will take on #11 West Raleigh Blue on Friday night in their other pool play game, and West Raleigh will get East Coast Elite in their other pool play game. #8 NCABC Fungo - Piscorik is also in this field and will take on #17 NCDB Rivercats as well as Canes 757 - Celata (VA) who are 3-3-1 this fall. The Rivercats will also face Canes 757 in pool play.
The WWS is always a bit unusual of a format with only the top 8 teams after pool play making it to the play-in game with a chance to get in the Gold bracket. There will be a premium on pool play performance and going 2-0 is going to be the only way to guarantee your spot in the Gold or Silver brackets. That makes the pool play draw incredibly important, and there are some teams who definitely received more favorable draws than others. In this age group, the SBA Futures have been the top team for some time, and we'd expect them to prove their worth as #1 this weekend at the WWS.
Predicted champion: SBA Futures
The 10u D2 division will consist of 11 teams battling it out, including #12 Dirt Devils, #14 Carolina Titans - Ambrose, and #20 Area Stars Orange. The Dirt Devils will put their 10-2 record on the line this weekend and will face HYAA Hawks - Sykes and Titans - Ambrose in their two pool play games. The Titans will take on East Coast Clippers 2028 in their other pool play game on Saturday. The 12-3 Area Stars are set to take on Next Level/JG and Concord Athletics - McElhinny in their two pool play games this weekend. The Dirt Devils have a handful of nice wins this fall, and look to be one of the favorites in this division. This could be a good opportunity for several of these teams to lay the groundwork to step up to the D1 division in the spring season. The Area Stars have also been impressive this fall, and could be a force this weekend.
Predicted champion: Dirt Devils
12u
The Beast of the East was one of the very best fields in this age group this fall, and this weekend will be no different with many of the big guns in this division playing back-to-back weekends. 8 teams currently ranked in our top 20 in North Carolina, some of the top teams in Virginia including 17-2 Virginia Stars - Camp, 27-4 757 Canes - Chalk, 20-6 and SWS runner-up Battle Baseball, as well as the #3 team in South Carolina (East Coast Snipers - Clark/Hill) will all be a part of this 22-team field. #2 Rawlings Prospects NC lost their hold on the #1 ranking last week with a relatively early exit from the Beast of the East. They'll look to bounce back this week at the WWS and will take on #4 SBA Futures in a huge game on Friday night, followed by a matchup with 757 Canes - Chalk on Saturday. The Futures and Canes - Chalk will also face off on Saturday in pool play. #6 NCDB Rivercats will take on the FV Wildcats and DPC Academy Gold in their two pool play games. #7 Dirtbags East are set to take on #12 NCDB Rivercats 12u2 and #9 GRIT - Culler in pool play, while GRIT - Culler will face Next Level/JG and Rivercats 12u2 will be up against Luckies - Platinum in their other pool plays games this weekend. #16 LKN Hurricanes will make the trop to the Rocky Mount/Tarboro area this weekend and will face the Akadema Heat and Next Level/JG in their two pool play games. #20 Rock Solid Red will also be in this field and will take on Dirtbags Platinum and Battle Baseball (VA) in pool play. Dirtbags Platinum and Battle Baseball will also face one another in their other pool play game. Perhaps the top team in Virginia, Virginia Stars - Camp, should be one of the contenders for the title this weekend. They will go up against the Mid-Atlantic Red Sox (MD) and East Coast Snipers - Clark/Hill in pool play. The Snipers and Red Sox will also face one another in their other pool play games.
This is a really outstanding D1 12u field with teams from 4 states including 8 of our top 20 teams in North Carolina as well as several of the best teams from Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina. Similar to what we observed in bracket play at the Beast of the East, anything can happen. We think Rawlings Prospects NC and Stars Baseball - Camp are perhaps the top two teams heading in to this event, but with only 16 of the 22 teams making the Gold/Silver bracket play-in game, teams going 0-2 in pool play will likely be out of the running. Only 8 teams will make the Gold bracket for Sunday so the play-in game matchups on Saturday evening will go a long way towards determining our eventual champion. We think Stars Baseball - Camp has the inside track to the title this weekend as they are talented, well-traveled, and experienced in big game pressure situations. One potential confounder, however, is that they played this past weekend in Florida at the Perfect Game fall World Series, so it will be interesting to see how they bounce back from that travel.
Predicted champion: Stars Baseball - Camp
In the D2 division, 31 teams will be in action including 8 teams from Virginia and 1 from South Carolina. Although no ranked 12u teams will be in the D2 field, 11u #7 Rock Solid Red and #8 Dirtbags Black will take their shot playing up an age division. Rock Solid Red will take on the Neuse River Broncos and the Sandhills Heat in their pool play games, while the Dirtbags will be up against TPA Nationals - Hahs and Virginia Squires Navy in pool play. We'd expect to see a big weekend form the Wendell Knights. They are coming off a 3-1 weekend that included a win against #17 West Raleigh Blue and have won several D2 Summer and Winter World Series titles in the past in this age group. They'll take on Dirtbags East Gold and Fury Baseball in their pool play games. We think their experience in these event will be a huge advantage for them, but with 31 teams in the field, it really does make it difficult to come out with a title.
Predicted champion: Wendell Knights