With just a couple of choice youth events left on the docket, we find ourselves knocking on the door of KC Bash weekend. the KC Bash will include over 150 teams spanning across 14 divisions all hungry to bring home a banner as the Spring continues to wind down to a close. The KC Bash will be played across 6 different venues including PBKC's Creekside and Homefield complexes as well as The University of Saint Mary, Mid America Sports Complex, Macken Park, and Bonner Springs High School. The Bash is set to include 16 teams from outside of the MOKAN area representing their respective state of Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota. Before we break into the teams making their way into the PBKC circuit to take on the Bash, let's take a peak into last year's champions as well as the players who will be joining us this weekend with a history of success here in Kansas City. 

Last year's champions: 

14u D1: Knights 14u bested the Bash with a run differential of +19 including a 9 run championship win. 

14u D2: Team KC - Jenson took home a title on the weekend with a run differential of +30. 

14u D3: YBC - Mendenhall claimed their Bash title with a tight 9-8 championship finish. 

13u D1: Old School Ducks - Williams completed the second rung of a BTB title run with their win of the KC Bash last year. 

13u D2: Cavaliers - Maroon claimed a title in the Bash last year behind a 50 run weekend from the offense in a 5 game slate. 

13u D3: Competitive Edge - Black won the Bash in the divison boasting a +28 run differential after a +1 finish in the pool. 

12u D1: KC Reign delivered a 4-0 performance on their way to a title in the KC Bash. 

12u D2: 316 Driving Force - Hoag brought home a title in the division following a 44 run Sunday in their 3 bracket play games. 

12u D3: Knights Gold won their division after dethroning the number 1 overall seed in the title game. 

11u Open: The Berserk Brigade crawled all the way back from the 7 seed to claim their championship in last years Bash. 

10u D1/D2: JEM Baseball - Alexander's offense came alive on Sunday plating 33 runs in two bracket play games to claim their title in the Bash. 

10u D3: JEM Baseball - Hatch claimed the title in their divison to sweep the 10u division for JEM. 

Before we dive into the teams to watch as the Bash kicks off, let's take a look at the standouts making their way back out to the fields this weekend: 

Catchers:

2030 Leo Guastello (Old School Ducks - Williams)

2030 Jarrett Schroeger (Team KC - Major)

Infielders:

2030 Casey Beck (Engaged Athletics - Black)

2030 Landon Hundley (YBC - Blackcats)

2030 Jesse Linderer (Cavs - Maroon)

2030 Rawley Mihlfeld (Old School Ducks - Williams) 

Outfielders:

2030 Chaseton Brown (Prime 27:17 Black)

2030 Landon Dean (Engaged Athletics - Black)

2030 Vince Fuhrken (Building Champions - Pena)

2030 Couper Gear (Patriots Sports Club)

2030 Jude Johnson (Engaged Athletics)

2030 Anderson Klekacz (Cavs - Maroon) 

2030 Creighton Lutt (Prime 27:17 Black) 

2030 Mateo Lopez (Team KC - Major)

2030 Paxton Pluid (Building Champions - Pena)

2030 Bo Wilkens (Prodigy Express)

2030 Brady Willis (Patriots Sports Club)

Utility:

2030 Avery Box (Inside Edge - Elliott)

2030 Jayce Howell (Inside Edge - Elliott) 

2030 Cade Lighthill (Prodigy Express)

2030 JJ Lundell (Prime 27:17)

2030 Fabien Palomarez (Staley Sluggers)

Arms:

2030 Bryce Baker (Prodigy Express)

2030 Weston Comfort (Building Champions - Hisky)

2030 Brayson Cox (Old School Ducks - Williams)

2030 William Davis (Cavs - Maroon)

2030 Drake Miner (Engaged Athletics)

2030 Easton Weishaar (Building Champions - Pena) 

Two-Ways: 

2030 Cam Agness (Old School Ducks - Williams)

2030 Drake Bush (Prime 27:17 Black)

2030 Carter Duvall (Building Champions - Hisky)

2030 Jackson Lankford (YBC - Blackcats)

2030 Kolt Neilson (Patriots Sports Club)

2030 Izer Scott (Patriots Sports Club)

2030 Brody Thomas (Building Champions - Hisky)

2030 Henry Windberg (Building Champions - Pena)

Now for the teams to watch coming into this weekend: 

14u 

Old School Ducks - Williams are right on par with last year taking home the Evolution Series as both a 13 and 14u squad and now look to repeat their back to back title performance from last year in the Bash. With a loaded roster from top to bottome, look for players like Cam Agness, Leo Guastello, and Rawley Mihlfeld to make another splash this weekend as they look to fight for a title. 

Prime 27:17 Black is after their 4th title of the year again this weekend and with players like Greyson Wilson and JJ Lundell continuing to trend upward expect them to be right back in the mix on Sunday in the bash. 

Patriots Sport Club is back after a weekend off to celebrate their championship win in the Arrowhead Shootout, look for the dynamic two way pairing of Izer Scott and Kolt Neilson to propel them into strong standing in the bracket come Sunday. 

Rounding out the 14u Major clubs to keep an eye on, the Minnesota Renegade are making the trek from Chanhassen, MN to come and claim some glory in the Bash this weekend and will be keen on representing their state with pride while doing so. 

In the D2 ranks, Cavs - Maroon is fresh off of a championship apperance in the Evolution Series and primed to prove they have what it takes to bring home a title, Look for players like Anderson Klekacz and Jesse Linderer to lead the charge on the way to another title run. 

Engaged Athletics - Black boasts a 13-3 record in the PBKC circuit so far this year and after a weekend off find themselves ready to battle for another championship win. Look for players like Casey Beck and Erik Johnson to spark the team early en route to a title push. 

Breaking down the out of towners are as follows: Canes GP Oma - Black, Millard United Legends - Red are representing Nebraska, while the lone squad representing the state of South Dakota in the MAG U14 squad round out the 14u D2 squads to watch. 

The Illinois Patriots are making the long haul to come fight for a title in the Bash in their first PBKC event of the year in 14u D3 as the lone out of state squad in the division. 

13u and under (By State): 

Arkansas: Driving Force Baseball - Matthess (12u D2)

Illinois: Chicago White Sox ACE (13u D1, 12u D1)

Iowa: Canes Iowa - Julius (13u D2), Iowa Sticks - Red (12u D1)

Nebraska: Lincoln Sox (13u D1, 10u D1/D2), Nebraska Braves - Navy (13u D2), Gretna Thunder - White (12u D3), Omaha Tigers - Red (12u D3), Pacesetter (11u D2)