We find ourselves winding down into the final stretch of youth events this spring with this weekend's KC Evolution Series. the Evo Series will include almost 150 teams spanning across 12 divisions all of which looking to bring a banner back home with them. The Evo Series will be played across 5 different venues including PBKC's Creekside and Homefield complexes as well as Mid America Sports Complex, Macken Park, and Bonner Springs High School. After last weekend being more of a local tournament, the Evo Series is set to host 25 teams from outside of the MOKAN area from Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and Oklahoma. Before we get into the upcoming weekend, let's get a peak into last years champions as well as the players in the PBKC circuit finding themselves in the spotlight from weekend to weekend. 

Taking a peak at last year's champions: 

14u D1: US Nationals Midwestern KS delivered three straight wins on Sunday in order to claim their title from the #3 seed entering bracket play. 

14u D2: Competitive Edge White took home a title in dominant fashion after a 10 run championship game win.

13u D1: Old School Ducks - Williams finished with a +28 run differential over their 4 game slate to take home an Evo Series title. 

13u D2: Precision Baseball - Toloza finished with a big +48 in the run differential column to take home a well earned banner. 

12u D1/D2: Nebraska Prospects - Stahlecker finished their championship run in style with a 9 run victory in shutout fashion for their Evo Series title. 

12u D3: KC Grit Black upset the number 1 overall seed in the bracket in a statement 12 run championship game win. 

11u D1/D2: Olathe Maniacs - Barr won three straight games on Sunday out of the #5 slot in the bracket in order to secure their banner. 

11u D3: Engaged Athletics 2032 went a perfect 5-0 on their way to a Evo Series championship win.

10u D1/D2: KC Heat came all the way back from the bottom bracket slot to earn their Evo Series banner. 

10u D3: The Topeka Flyers generated 25 runs between their semi and finals games to complete their championship weekend. 

9u Open: Iowa Sticks - Red finished with a +23 in the run differential column on their way to an Evo Series title. 

Before we get into this weekends teams to watch, let's take a peak at my past standouts back in the PBKC ciruit looking to earn another spot back in this weekend's Evolution Series Standouts: 

Catchers:

2030 C Dean Payne (Kansas Crew)

2030 C/INF Blake Samson (Inside Edge - Asher)

2030 C Jarrett Schroeger (Team KC - Major)

2030 C/INF Chase Thomas (36 Highway Aces)

Infielders:

2029 MIF Kingston Calhoun (SPY-Wolfpack)

2030 INF Landon Hundley (YBC-Blackcats)

2030 INF/C Eli McDaniel (Inside Edge - Asher)

2030 INF Hudson Smith (Kansas Crew)

2030 INF Greyson Wilson (Prime 27:17 Black)

Outfielders:

2030 OF Braedyn Brown (Kansas Crew)

2030 OF/INF Hudson Findlay (Inside Edge - Asher)

2030 OF Anderson Klekacz (Cavs - Maroon)

2030 OF Creighton Lutt (Prime 27:17 Black)

2030 OF Mateo Lopez (Team KC - Major)

Utility:

2030 UTL JJ Lundell (Prime 27:17 Black)

2030 UTL Kaden Wollenberg (Kansas Crew)

Two-Ways:

2030 RHP/INF Kaysen Barber (Inside Edge - Asher)

2030 RHP/MIF AJ Gutierrez (Prime 27:17 Black)

2030 1B/LHP Jackson Lankford (YBC-Blackcats)

2030 RHP/UTL Eli Miller (Eagles Baseball)

2030 LHP/1B Jace Twombley (Kansas Crew)

Pitchers:

2030 RHP Drake Bush (Prime 27:17 Black)

Now for the teams to watch coming into the weekend:

14u 

Inside Edge - Asher seems to get better every weekend and after a finalist finish in last weekends Arrowhead Shootout, look for Coach Asher's guys to come out with something to prove this weekend. Their 3-4 combo of Hudson Findlay and Eli McDaniel are as good of a 1-2 punch in the KC area as one could find and I have no doubt Inside Edge will be making their way deep into Sunday this weekend. 

Prime 27:17 Black is still after their 4th PBKC title of the year after a red hot start to the Spring. The lineup 1-9 is as balanced as you'll find for a 14u roster accompanied by some arms primed to deliver some quality innings. Look for Prime to get back into the winner's circle this weekend. 

Old School Ducks - Williams makes their way back to PBKC for the Evo Series looking to bring home a title for the second straight year. Look for names like Bo Williams and Leo Guastello to lead the way for a high powered offense primed to make a deep run. 

BNBA Renegades - Red are the lone squad on the weekend representing the state of Illinois, while not specifically known for their baseball prowess, the state has consistenly produced top end talent and we look forward to watching them rep their state in the Evo Series. 

The Iowa Gremlins are back for their second apperance in the PBKC circuit. After a respectable 1-1-1 showing in the KC Clash, look for Devin Hernandez and the Gremlins to come back with something to prove this weekend. 

Rounding out the 14u Major teams to watch are the pair from Nebraska in the Lincoln Sox and the Waverly Riptide both making their first apperance in the PBKC circuit this Spring. 

In the D2 realm, Iowa Sticks 14u Black represents one of the most storied travel organizations in the central region and there is no doubt that they'll be gunning for a title in their first trip of the Spring to Kansas City. 

Another team to keep an eye on in this division would be the YBC-Blackcats. Boasting a 13-5 record across their first 4 events in PBKC this Spring, this team is hungry to make that final push into the winner's circle and if the Blackcats can put together a full weekend effort it would be a shock to not see them playing deep into the Sunday slate. 

13u and Under 

Driving Force Baseball is the lone program representing Arkansas as they look to improve on their prior showing in the PBKC circuit. 

Iowa is represented by The Iowa Curve and Iowa Sticks who are both bringing two squads in the 13u pools. 

Minnesota Icemen Sutterer are the lone team representing the North Star state as they look to bring home their first banner of the year. 

Nebraska is being represented by 12 squads across the 10 sub 14u divisons most notably the 2031 NE Prospects are present within those ranks. 

lastly, the BBA Titans - Cox hailing from Owasso, Oklahoma find themselves fighting for a title in the 13u Major bracket as the lone squad representing the Sooner state.