The Season Finale came in to close out the Summer in Kansas City and with it brought some talented players, as well as some great matchups across the three days of baseball. A select number of teams from the central region came in with hopes to secure one of the three titles up for grabs between the 15, 16, and 17/18u divisions, with all the action taking place across KC's two premier complexes in Creekside and Homefield. Down below I'll be sharing my picks for the standouts from the Season Finale as well as some detailed player notes from the weekend, followed by breaking down all three division winners and their championship game opponents. 

2029 INF Titus Tracy (Blue Valley West, KS): Tracy has been terrorizing the arms in Kansas City as the Summer came to a close and delivered some consistent production in the Finale to cement himself as one of the more intriguing athletes in KS's 2029 class. The young infielder logged at least one hit in all but one game on the slate for the APD Rookies, showing off an advanced ability to drive the baseball to all fields with exit velocities in the upper 80s to low 90s with consistency. At the plate, Tracy creates some lag in the hands before a tighter turn delivers the barrel on a flat path through the zone with some adv. speed for the age group.  The impact bat becomes more intriguing when the speed tool comes into play, as Tracy streches extra bases with ease on the base paths. The Blue Valley West product is no doubt a name to jot down and keep track of over the course of the next couple of years. 

2027 UTL Ryan Fenton (Brandon Valley, SD): Fenton has consistently impressed in each trip down to KC this Summer, flashing some impact tools on both sides of the ball in each look. The 6'2, 170 pound athlete reached in multiple trips in 5 of the 6 games on the weekend including a pair of multi hit games when it mattered most in the semi final and championship rounds, while providing sure handed defense in the middle infield and showing off a quick first step and strong arm in the outfield. At the plate, Fenton slots the hands and creates leverage well before some controlled aggression in the box working the barrel on a slight uphill path looking to do pull side damage. The still uncommitted rising senior is one worth a look for a variety of programs. 

2029 RHP/OF Gage Mourot (Staley, MO): Mourot continues to flash some high upside potential in Kansas City after delivering another impressive look at Creekside in a semi final matchup. The 6'5, 210 pound right handed arm got the call on short notice to start the 3rd inning and delivered 5 and 2/3rds innings of 1 run ball, punching out 6 to a lone walk to earn a big win for the Ducks. On the mound, Mourot is as simple as it gets mechanically, working consistently out of the stretch with a constant tempo. The arm action is deceptive on delivery, unraveling out into a high 3/4 slot with a fluid motion while hiding the baseball well prior to release. Mourot's fastball finds itself in the low to mid 8's running it up to 85 on this day with some occasional run to the arm side, commanded it well with the ability to pitch on both halves of the plate. The breaking ball provides a good change of pace in the low 7's with some feel for the zone, with a seldom thrown changeup with consistent fade to finish off the arsenal. As Mourot continues to learn movement patterns the premium frame he is an arm that could very easily be garnering some big attention in the next couple of years.

2030 RHP/1B Max Roenfanz (Dallas Center-Grimes): Roenfanz has impressed in each trip to Kansas City on both sides of the ball this summer and the Season Finale was no different. The 6'2, 195 pound two-way delivered some impressive numbers at the plate, finishing the 5 game set 7/12 with 5BBs and 0 strikeouts to his name. The RHH shows off a simple trigger and some obvious strength in the bat. Roenfanz's hit tool is one that will continue to trend upward as he starts to lift the baseball with more consistency.  On the mound Roenfanz got the nod for a semi final start and was masterful through 5 innings of baseball without an earned run, racking up 5 strikeouts in the process. The right handed arm ran it up to 85 on this day while featuring a pair of impressive breaking balls with the slider spinning as high as 2400 RPM with some late downward bite. The Junior Future Games alumni will no doubt continue to find himself on the national stage as he continues to develop on both sides of the ball. 

Tournament Champions 

17/18u

Champion

The KC Crowns were playing with a Homefield advantage this weekend and it showed. The Kansas City locals delivered a 5-0 weekend and a title to finish out their year 19-4 in the PBKC circuit. The Crowns found themselves as the only undefeated team In the division coming out of pool play boasting an offense that plated over 10 runs per game across their 3 game pool play slate. In the bracket, the Crowns battened down the hatches defensively allowing just 2 runs per game to leave themselves a successful opportunity to walk off the summer in the bottom half of the 7th in the title game. Neosho commit Brody Garland stole the show in the championship game, racking up 10 strikeouts across 6 innings of work before coming up in the bottom of the 7th to drive home the winning run. Outside of Garland, Omaha commit Brody Epke made his presence known early with a 3HR game to kick off the weekend, before a stellar overall weekend at the plate finishing with 8Hs and 4XBH to cement himself as one of the most feared hitters in the event. 

Finalist 

Sanford Sports delivered another quality weekend of baseball in their 3rd trip of the Summer to KC, who's talented lineup took them all the way to a run shy of claiming a banner in the Season Finale. Sanford claimed the #3 OVR seed after a 2-1 showing in pool play behind strong team play, before shutting out the #2 OVR seed in a 7-0 finish to punch their ticket to the title game. Uncommitted 2027 two-way Brekken Biteler led the charge on both sides of the ball for Sanford logging one or more hits in all 4 games he was in the lineup this weekend, going for extra bases in three of the four games, before stepping on the mound in the semi final game and delivering a 6 inning CGSHO behind 9 strikeouts to a lone walk. Behind Biteler was a strong supporting cast of right handed bats in Noah Kunezi, Opland Sonnichsen, and Ryan Fenton. 

16u

Champion

Old School Ducks 15u - White delivered a borderline dominant performance in their 6-0 weekend to bring home a title. Through three pool play games, the Ducks ran up a run differential of +27 to claim the #1 OVR seed, before running the bracket in an impressive manner to finish with a +49 run differential on the weekend, claim a title and move to an outstanding 37-6 final record in the PBKC circuit this summer. Offense told the story for the Ducks this weekend, scoring at a rate of close to 12 runs per game on average across the Finale. It was clear again this weekend that the Ducks ability as a team to manufacture runs and play clean defense is a receipe for winning a lot of baseball games.

Finalist 

Prime 27:17 16u delivered another strong showing in Kansas City, with their 4-1-1 weekend cementing them firmly over .500 on the Summer in the PBKC circuit. Prime played to their strengths and scored runs in bunches to get themselves a shot at a title, scoring just under 10 runs per game on the weekend. Leading the charge offensively for Prime was Oliver Hudson, racking up multi hit games in 4 of the 6 matchups on the weekend, followed closely by Deuce Enright and Collin Haag who also put together some outstanding weekends at the plate. 

15u

Champion 

PPA Prime's 15u group showed off some resilience after falling to the #4 seed coming out of pool play, rallying to upset the #1 OVR seed on the weekend to punch their ticket to the title game and build some momentum before a dominant championship showing to claim the title. Offense was the name of the game this weekend and PPA Prime played it well, averaging close to 9 runs per game across their 6 game slate, bumping it up to 11 runs per game in the semi and championship rounds. Key contributors in the offense could be found from top to bottom, but their top of the order 1-2 punch in Aiden Farnen and Mason Eames played a huge role in Prime's success. 

Finalist

ABA Scout's 2029 group delivered an impressive weekend in their own right before falling just short in the championship round. The Paola, KS squad delivered a pair of quality wins in the bracket, upsetting the #2 and #3 seeds prior to the title behind some solid run production and sound defense across the diamond. The engine room for the offense found itself in the 3-4-5 seats in the lineup, with Channing Piper, Tahchuhsee Brewer, and Bryson Yeater all producing at a high level throughout the weekend.