Global

New! The crown jewel of the 2010 U.S.S.S.A. season is the Global World Series, held in the Charleston area last week. Over 120 teams, ages 9U-14U, marched into Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park in Charleston last Wednesday. When play concluded on Sunday, two South Carolina teams (one pictured right) had won championships in the top level of their respective age groups. JrDP was on hand and brings back extensive coverage in the 10U and 11U divisions in our Junior Diamond Recap. For more, click here.

Gville Municipal

New! The former Greenville Braves stadium will be renovated into the centerpiece of a $4 million investment to bring more baseball fields to the site just minutes from Mauldin. Nathaniel Clary of the Tribune-Times writes on how new life will come to the former home of the Atlanta Braves AA minor league team. To view, click here.

Ray

The Grand Strand of South Carolina has long been known as one of the top vacation spots on the East Coast. Not only is the area famous for being a popular get-a-way but it also annually produces some of the top baseball talent in the Palmetto State. Lukas Ray attends North Myrtle Beach High and will soon be making a major impact on the varsity level. The Junior Diamond Spotlight caught up with him recently and his feature interview is next. To view, click here.

Sizzler

The U.S.S.S.A. Summer Sizzler in Rock Hill was appropriately named and the play on the field was as hot as the July sun. Two current 11U teams played up into the 12U division to prepare for the 2010-11 season and the upcoming change in age divisions in August. There were also several 13U teams playing the regulation 60/90 dimensions and that made for some great games this past weekend. Craig Shipman will recap it in our Junior Diamond Recap. For more, click here.

Eubanks

New! The Junior Diamond Spotlight returns, landing in the Piedmont area of South Carolina. Matt Eubanks has already collected middle and high school awards for his baseball ability. He is currently wearing the uniform of the South Carolina Crushers and is looking to make an even bigger impact on his high school's program next spring. We caught up with the RHP/IF recently for a JrDP Q and A. We'll let you in on all the things he shared with us in the Junior Diamond Spotlight. To view, click here.

StripBattle

Baseball was back at Heritage Park last weekend as Nations Baseball and GameOn presented Hungry Howie's Battle on the Strip. The 12U division came down to the last game of the day and Junior Diamond Prospects sweated it out to find out who would be crowned champion. As if it weren't hot enough, one team quite fittingly turned up the "Heat" to dominate the finale. Find out who they were in our Junior Diamond Recap. For more, click here.

DMSD-York

New! A winner-take-all championship game to see who would advance to the Dixie Majors District Playoffs was played in York, SC. The thunderstorms separated just before Junior Diamond Prospects arrived and it was time for Rock Hill and Union to rumble on the field. Distant cracks of lightning were outperformed by the cracking of aluminum bats meeting baseball. One team had players go back-to-back on their way to advancing. See which team is moving on in our Junior Diamond Recap. To view, click here.

Appreciation

It was "free" baseball in Easley recently as Gameday Sports and U.S.S.S.A. held their Team Appreciation tournament. Free, not as in extra inning baseball, but as in no fee required to enter this tournament. Several teams took advantage of the opportunity to play on the house. Junior Diamond Prospects dropped in for the title game in the 12U division. Our reward was a well pitched game and the discovery of two fine catching prospects. Read about it in our Junior Diamond Recap. To view, click here.

USSSA

The SC Cyclones (pictured left) followed up their championship run in the Spring Classic Global Qualifier in Easley with another title in the Spring Spectacular NIT in Lexington. See where those victories took them in the 9U AA U.S.S.S.A. rankings in South Carolina. To view all the rankings by age division, click here.

Parents

After ten years of teaching, coaching and giving lessons DP's David List felt like it was time to share what he had noticed and analyzed during that time frame. Some of what he is about to share with you comes from his experience in the classroom and other parts comes from his experience as a coach and now parent. He gives each parent some practical advice of how they should approach their son's baseball career. This is a timely must-read for all coaches and parents of kids who play this great game. To view, click here.

Scouts

Watch baseball, earn ca$h! JrDP Scouts needed: Do you consider your baseball background good enough to cover USSSA, AAU, Little League or Dixie Youth games? If so, we could use your help to write up contests in the 9-14 age groups across South Carolina. We have current needs in the Columbia, Aiken/North Augusta and Myrtle Beach areas. What better way to earn some extra spending money than watching Americas pasttime played by the stars of tomorrow. Anyone interested in being an area scout for Junior Diamond Prospects - and being compensated - should contact Richard Edwards at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Lessons

Baseball Lessons: Are you looking for individual baseball lessons during the fall and winter? There are qualified instructors in every part of the Palmetto state. To view a list of options statewide, click here.

Photos

Junior Diamond Prospects subscribers can access our "Photo Gallery" (look under "Players" on home page). View photos of some of the top young prospects from around the state in game uniforms. We have over 300 players in our gallery now. During the 2009-10 season, we will be adding more and more of the better players that we see. Plus, we'll add more photos of the players already featured here. To view, click here.

Velocity

Ever wonder what the average velocity is for a particular age? Check out the peak velocity of some of the pitchers we have seen perform in person. You can find it on the tool bar under Players/Player Evaluations/Pitcher Velocity or to view it now, click here. We have over 300 players currently in our data base. Check back often as we will be updating this information as it comes in from our area scouts.

Tournaments

JrDP will continue to be your #1 source for baseball tournaments in the state. Check out Tournament Central for upcoming events...

Union Home Run Bash, Union, Gameday Sports, July 23-25... Global Sports World Series, Charleston, Gameday Sports, July 21-25... AA Summer National Invitational, Charleston, Gameday Sports, July 23-25... Mid-Atlantic AA/AAA Championships, Lexington, Gameday Sports, July 24-25... Summer Flame, Surfside Beach/Murrells Inlet, Baseball Dreams, July 24-25... Ocean Breeze, Myrtle Beach, Ripken Experience, July 25-30

Subscribe!

Junior Diamond Prospects is a subscription-based site. In order to bring you top-flight coverage across South Carolina, JrDP is offering you a membership on a monthly or on an annual basis. Get all the insider information for just "pocket change" a day. Try a monthly subscription for only about 30 cents a day. Or better yet, take out an annual subscription for only about 15 cents a day. If you wish to subscribe, set up an account with Paypal first if you don't have one already, then return to JrDP, register (click on register under "Login Form" on left of home page) and connect the dots! For detailed instructions on how to subscribe, go to our FAQ page or click here.

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JrDP Headlines

July 30-August 1 tournaments: The 2009-10 season comes to a close this weekend. U.S.S.S.A. and Gameday Sports will play host to the "Electric City Showcase" in Anderson. To register for that event, click here. U.S.S.S.A. and Gameday Sports will play host to the "End of Summer Showdown" in Lexington. To register for that event, click here. U.S.S.S.A. and Myrtle Beach Sports will play host to the "Tomahawk Challenge" in Cheraw. To register for that event, click here. Triple Crown Sports will play host to the "Triple Crown Summer Nationals" in Myrtle Beach. To register for that event, click here. And the Ripken Experience will play host to the "Wave Rider" tournament in Myrtle Beach. To register for that event, click here.

Facebook: JrDP is now on Facebook! Login to your account and search "Junior Diamond Prospects" and add us as a friend (now 500+ strong) to receive notifications of site updates. To login, click here.

Blue Chip Bulls Tryout: Blue Chip Baseball in Anderson, SC will be holding tryouts for their 2010 18U, 16U and 15U Fall travel teams on August 7th. For more information, go to www.bluechipbaseball.net

JrDP Quote of the Week: "I didn't play this game with this goal in mind, but I'm living proof that if you love this game, the game will love you back." Andre Dawson (Baseball Hall of Fame induction speech)

Nations Baseball in the Upstate: The Upper State website for Nations Baseball has now been updated with their tournament schedule for 2010. To play a Nations tournament in Easley, Simpsonville or Union this year, contact Phil Evatt at (864) 907-7360. Checkout the schedule by clicking here.

Play Nations Baseball at Heritage: Heritage Park in Simpsonville, one of the most popular places to play in the Southeast, announces their 2010 tournament schedule. Heritage has once again partnered with Nations Baseball as their exclusive tournament host. Get hooked up now with an event at Heritage by clicking here.

Top Gun Sports offers "free" tournaments in '10: Top Gun Sports will offer a unique way for your team to save money in 2010. Play in 3 Top Gun events and the 4th tournament entrance fee is "free". The tournament director for Top Gun Sports in South Carolina is Baseball Dreams, set to hold events in Aiken, Lexington, Murrells Inlet, Myrtle Beach, Rock Hill, Surfside Beach, and West Columbia. To view the 2010 Baseball Dreams tournament schedule, click here.

Baseball + the Beach = Double the Fun: You probably don't want to go through the 2010 season without a tournament trip to the Beach. Myrtle Beach Sports is the U.S.S.S.A. host on the Grand Strand. Schedule your team to play in the most popular vacation site in the Palmetto state. They also host tournaments in the PeeDee in Florence, Hartsville and Cheraw. To view the 2010 MBS tournament calendar, click here.

Baseball in the Lowcountry: Looking to play a U.S.S.S.A. event in the lowcountry? Check out the 2010 Lowcountry Baseball tournament schedule, hosting events in Charleston and Summerville. To view, click here.

Gameday Sports readies for 2010 season: U.S.S.S.A. Baseball and Gameday Sports will offer an extensive tournament schedule in 2010. A full slate of events begins on February 13-14 with the Early Bird Classic in Lexington. Gameday will host events in Anderson, Charleston, Easley, Greenville, Greenwood, Lexington, Rock Hill, Spartanburg, Sumter and Union. To view the 2010 Gameday tournament schedule, click here or look under tournaments on the tool bar.

Atomic City Sports releases 2010 tournament schedule: U.S.S.S.A. Baseball and Atomic City Sports have released their spring/summer schedule for 2010. It kicks off with the Battle of Aiken at Citizens Park in Aiken on February 20-21. To view the complete schedule of events, click here or look under tournaments on the tool bar.

Fletcher Baseball discontinues operation: Scott Fletcher, president of Fletcher Baseball has taken a position with the Colorado Rockies organization. Through prayer and a great amount of consideration Scott has decided to discontinue the Fletcher Baseball program. He feels very strongly that it would be hard to maintain the quality and attention to detail experienced in past seasons without his daily participation. For more, click here.

Who is looking for players? New! 8U Carolina Scream (Upstate), New! 9U Carolina Devil Rays (Fort Mill/Indian Land), 10U Laurens Lightning (Laurens/Clinton), New! 11U Alley Cats (Anderson/Belton), New! 12U Carolina Scorpions (Simpsonville), 12U Anderson Bombers (Anderson), & more. To view all, click here.

Who is looking for a team? New! 9U 1B/OF Greenville area, 12U SS/P Gaffney area, 13U 3B/OF/P Greenville/Spartanburg, 13U 1B/2B/OF Greenville area. To view all, click here.

Watch baseball, earn ca$h! JrDP Scouts needed: Do you consider your baseball background good enough to cover USSSA, AAU, Little League or Dixie Youth games? If so, we could use your help to write up contests in the 9-14 age groups across South Carolina, especially in the Florence, Myrtle Beach, and Charleston areas. The spring season is upon us with tournaments in every part of the state. What better way to earn some extra spending money than watching Americas pasttime played by the stars of tomorrow. Anyone interested in being an area scout for Junior Diamond Prospects - and being compensated - should contact Richard Edwards at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

JrDP Scoreboard: In our continual efforts to improve the visibility of youth baseball in South Carolina, Junior Diamond Prospects is very excited to introduce the website's newest feature! Subscribers now have the ability to post game information on JrDP's Scoreboard for everyone to view...For more, click here. Or, to go to the scoreboard, click here.

Polls: Tournament brackets are now up. Chime in on who you think will take home the top honors each weekend in our JrDP Polls. These can be found under the advertisement on the right side of each page.

Advertise on JrDP: Looking for widespread visibility? Want to sponsor an upcoming Junior Diamond Prospects event? Your business could possibly prosper from our rapidly growing exposure. For more information, click here.

Does your team/organization have a web site? Email your link to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and we will put it on our team page. To view "Team Links", look under Teams on the front page or click here.

Looking for players or a team in 2010? Are you looking for a player for the 2010 season? Are you looking for a team to play with? Maybe Junior DP can help. Send us what you are looking for and we will publish it. Please include city team is based out of or area that you live in, age group of the team or player for the 2009 spring season, and contact information (email address and/or phone number). Also, if your local league is having registrations, send us that information and we will publish it as well. Email Richard Edwards at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

JrDP Spotlights: We've featured many talented players over the past several months, and we plan to bring you more and more spotlights as we move through the 2009-10 season. In this Junior Diamond Prospects feature, our subscribers will learn more about who the better players are, what they like about the game, what they like to do off the playing field, and more. Stay tuned!