We are blessed as parents, players, and coaches to live in a state like North Carolina when it comes to youth baseball. Baseball can be played outdoors for 10+ months per year and there is a wide variety of options available to pursue for travel baseball. From national organizations who put dozens of players into college each year, to local rec/all-star leagues and baseball “academies”, there are a multitude of options when considering where or for whom your child should play. But with the wide variety of options comes some difficult questions: cost, travel, commitment, professional or family coaching, friendships, etc. None of these questions are easy to answer, and with such a variety of options it may seem very difficult, at first, to know what is right for each child or family. We’d like to spotlight several of these organizations through the state of North Carolina, and offer insights into what makes each organization special. The hope is to highlight several organizations throughout the state and also provide a resource for parents who are considering the options for their child.
In North Carolina, there are several different types of organizations to choose from. Some, such as the Dirtbags or Evoshield Canes, are national “brands” that have teams at all levels throughout the state and even country. These clubs have very high level youth programs, especially as the teams get into high school and begin the “showcase” circuits. The may have outstanding track records for placing kids into college and even the pros. With that national prominence, these programs are usually “decentralized” and don’t have one specific facility they call home. They may have teams at different age groups who share the same name but come from opposite corners of the state and have never met one another. But these programs can be highly competitive and represent some of the best teams in the state.
Other organizations, such as West Raleigh and MARA, focus on developing competitive recreation leagues, especially at younger ages, from which they draw “all-star” teams that spend the Summer and Fall playing a combination of travel ball and all-stars competition. Many of these teams grow up playing together as early as 5 or 6
years old. Generally the kids come from a single geographic area and from a very early age are taught the fundamentals of the game and grow together as a team.
In between these two models are organizations such as North Carolina Developmental Baseball, Norman Showcase Academy, or Showcase Baseball Academy that exist as purely travel ball organizations, but are local, state, or regionally-based and generally draw players from a single geographic area. Some of these organizations have their own facilities, professional coaches or trainers, multiple teams per age group, and teams extending from 8u all the way through high school showcase teams.
Dirtbags. Founded in 2002 by Andy Partin, the founder of Impact Baseball, the Dirtbags are one of the premier youth programs in the US. With a track record of putting kids into college and the pros from the older levels, the Dirtbags trademark camo uniforms have attracted coaches and players all the way down to the 8u level. They, like the Evoshield Canes teams, are decentralized and are located at various locations through the state. Additionally, just like the Evoshield Canes, they too field some of the best teams in the country at older ages (14u+), and in the state across multiple youth age groups including 8u #3 Dirtbags Black (Princeton), 9u #2 Dirtbags Black (Princeton), 10u #15 Dirtbags Black (Reidsville), 13u #11 Dirtbags – Smith (Greensboro), and 13u #17 Dirtbags Black (Princeton). With the recent additions of the 10u #3 Clayton Fusion (now Dirtbags – Platinum) and 10u #6 Stix (now Dirtbags – East), the Dirtbags have continued to get stronger.
Evoshield Canes. The Canes represent perhaps the model youth program in the Southeastern US. They are decentralized in that there is no “home” facility for the organization, but rather they are a collection of independent teams located throughout the state (and US, for that matter). The benefit of that type of system is that each team can operate how it wishes and still maintain the “brand” recognition the name Evoshield provides. At the older levels (14u+) Evoshield puts together some of the top teams in the country and has an unrivaled track record for putting kids into college and beyond. Within NC, the Evoshield teams are some of the best in the state including 10u #1 Canes NC – Gilchrist (Raleigh/Garner), 11u #2 Canes NC – Hood (Raleigh/Norlina) and #3 Canes NC – Simpson (Tabor City), one of the best 12u teams in the state in Canes NC – Harland (Raleigh), and 13u #1 Canes NC – Gallaher (Raleigh/Cary) and #3 Canes NC – Haire (Hudson). These teams are based in different locations, but routinely attract some of the top talent within their respective age groups to wear the Canes logo.
Five Star Carolina. Five Star Carolina is a branch of the Five Star National program which is based out of Warner Robbins, GA. This is the first full year of play for the Five Star Carolina teams, who are primarily located in the Winston-Salem area. Their program is led by 9u #6 Five Star Carolina – Hilton, 11u #5 Five Star Carolina – Neyra and 12u #5 Five Star Carolina – Shelton but have teams across multiple age groups. The affiliation with the Five Star National carries significant weight for this program and their teams have done an excellent job for such a young program. I would expect to see this group continue to grow over the next several years. Recently, the Carolina Vipers affiliated with Five Star National to become the Five Star Vipers. Additionally, Mission Baseball 9u, 10u, and 11u affiliated with the Vipers to become the Mission Vipers. These moves have solidified what was already an outstanding organization in the Carolina Vipers. As noted above, Five Start National now has a large footprint in the state and we suspect will continue to field some of the best teams in the state.
NCDB. Founded by Dean Jordan and located in Raleigh, North Carolina Developmental Baseball teams go by the Rivercats moniker and have their training facility located in Raleigh. Their facility consists of an outdoor field, cages, and bullpen. Their program has teams from 8u through high school showcase teams, and NCDB focuses on individual skill development at young ages and college placement as the players age through the program. They have professional coaches lead many of their training sessions and have produced some of the best teams in the state at multiple age groups including 9u #8 NCDB Rivercats, 10u #18 NCDB Rivercats, and 13u #5 NCDB Rivercats.
Norman Showcase Academy. NSA is located in St. Paul’s and is similar in structure to several other academies around the state in that there travel teams are centered around an indoor instructional facility. They have a combination of parent and professional coaches and are focused on skill development of the individual players. They field teams across a range of age groups from 8u through high school. They have several teams in the top 20 including 11u #19 NSA Thunder and 12u #16 NSA Snipers. Situated between Fayetteville and Lumberton, NSA offers a top level program to an area of the state that doesn’t have much else at this level.
Park Sharon Nationals. Located in Charlotte, Park Sharon is a recreation athletic association whose baseball teams play Cal Ripken. In addition to their recreation league, they offer “Tournament Teams” known as the Nationals from ages 9-15. These teams play regional travel baseball and are led by parents. They have produced some excellent teams including the #1 team in our 9u rankings, our #4 team in the 12u rankings.
Rock Solid. The Rock Solid program is located in Wilmington, NC, and function as the travel baseball program of Coastal Athletics. Coastal Athletics was founded in 2003 by Fletcher Bates. With both indoor and outdoor training facilities as well as several nearby fields, Coastal Athletics provides and ideal training environment for the Rock Solid teams. Uniquely, teams are led solely by professional coaches (no daddy ball here) and they too have produced some of the top teams in the state at different age groups including 11u #20 Rock Solid Red and 12u #20 Rock Solid Red.
SBA. Showcase Baseball Academy, located in Matthews, NC, was founded by Jon Owens in 2002 as the Charlotte Hurricanes Baseball Organization. In 2010, Showcase Baseball Academy was opened. They also have a second Lake Norman facility (LKN) in Mooresville with both indoor facilities as well as fields. Having their own indoor and outdoor facilities and professional coaches allows for some distinct advantages for the teams within their program. They have some outstanding teams in several age groups including 10u #2 SBA Canes – Marconi, 11u #1 SBA Canes – Ross, 11u #9 SBA Canes – Erwin, 12u #8 SBA LKN Carolina Cobras, and 12u #18 SBA Canes. Many of these teams are home-grown, progressing together from youth teams to high school showcase teams.
West Raleigh. West Raleigh baseball serves as perhaps the model recreation baseball league in the state of North Carolina. Playing Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth league, these players are required to tryout for the recreation league (some do not make it), and are drilled on fundamentals at a very early age and beginning generally at the 7u level are selected for all-star teams to play travel ball. The Blue team is the top team in each age group, followed by Red, and sometimes White. These players are required to play recreation ball during the Spring season in order to make the all-star squads, which then play a combination of travel ball and all-stars in the Summer, and travel ball and recreation ball in the fall. These teams are particularly strong at the youngest age groups, including 8u #1 West Raleigh Blue, 9u #3 West Raleigh Blue, and 10u #19 West Raleigh Blue. Notably, their 10u team (currently 11u’s in the 2017-2018 seasons) won the Cal Ripken World Series in the Summer of 2017.