AAU TEAMS TAPPED TO PARTICIPATE IN NEW ERA NATIONAL YOUTH BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS PRESENTED BY HOTWIRE.COM IN MEMPHIS 

12 Teams Vie for Title Among Elite 12-Year-Olds

Lake Buena Vista, FL  -- Two AAU Baseball teams are headed to Memphis, Tennessee  after qualifying for the most elite of the elite tournaments: the sixth annual New Era National Youth Baseball Championships (NYBC) presented by Hotwire.com. 

Twelve of the very best 12U teams from around the nation will converge in Memphis beginning August 22 to answer one question: Who is the best of the best?

Representing AAU are the Connecticut Diamond Sports Stealth (New Haven, CT) and the Connecticut Capitals (Hartford, CT). The Stealth seized the title of the AAU Baseball Grand Nationals at ESPN Wide World of Sports after besting such elite teams as Team MVP National from Miami and the runner-up Stingrays from Daytona. The Capitals earned their berth in the east coast play-in tournament in Rhode Island to determine AAU’s second team. 

The NYBC, founded in 2008 by Chicago White Sox co-owner and sports pioneer Eddie Einhorn, was created to give the 12-year-olds who play high school and major league rules an opportunity to compete for a National Championship. Unlike Little League and some other local league-based programs these young players compete on bigger fields where base stealing is permitted. The NYBC more closely conforms to the rules of college and pro baseball.

Some differences between most home town league baseball and select (travel) baseball are that the select baseball players participate regularly in high-end tournaments where they face intense competition from some of the best, most distinguished, young players in the country. 

The teams in this tournament train rigorously together all year and typically play 75-120 games a season, an intense program that really develops fundamentals.  Although the players may be five or six years away from college, area recruiters and even some pro scouts are generally on hand to see the coming generation of elite talent. 

The NYBC championship will be decided on August 26 at 7 PM EDT, and televised live by CBS Sports Network. It will also be streamed by MLB.com. 

This year will debut the New Era NYBC all-star game sponsored by mlb.com at 3p preceding the championship game. In addition to the championship game and all-star game, two quarter-finals on Aug. 24, and both semi-finals on Aug. 25 will be televised and streamed.  Announcers are Dave Raymond, former general manager Jim Duquette, and former players Jeff Nelson and C.J. Nitkowski.

The 12 teams that qualified for this year’s New Era NYBC either won their organization’s World Series or one of seven regional play-in tournaments. One at-large berth was awarded by the NYBC executive committee.  The teams represent the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), the National Amateur Baseball Federation (NABF), Super Series Baseball of America, and the United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA). 

This year’s field includes teams from California, Texas, Ohio, Florida, Connecticut, Indiana and Arkansas. 

The field:

Connecticut Stealth                Connecticut     AAU Diamond Grand Nationals Connecticut Capitals                                   Connecticut     AAU East Coast Play-In

Team MVP                             Florida            Travel Ball Select Play-In

Banditos                                  Texas              NABF Play-In

LIDS Indiana Bulls                  Indiana            NABF World Series

Lamorinda Spartans               California         Super Series Play-In

EM Majors                              Arkansas         USSSA World Series

Oakland Diamond Stingrays  California         USSSA  World Series

TC Nationals Force                 Texas              Super Series World Series

SY Titans                                California         Gameday Play-In

BPA DeMarini                        California         At Large Berth

Ohio Prospects                      Ohio                Baseball Youth Play-In

For more information, schedules, stories, and streaming, go to http://www.mlb.com/youthmajors/.