Baseball America has confirmed that third baseman Trey Williams has decommitted from Pepperdine and instead will play at JC of the Canyons (Calif.) this upcoming season.

Williams was selected by the Cardinals in the 11th round out of Valencia (Calif.) High School, which is a mile away from JC of the Canyons, a member of the California Community College Athletic Association. This past season, the Cougars were 20-16-1 under head coach Chris Cota.

At 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, Williams has above-average righthanded power potential with natural bat speed and quick-twitch athleticism. He was ranked No. 99 on Baseball America's predraft BA500 and was one of 12 players in the top 100 to go unsigned at the July 13 deadline. 

Williams will now be eligible for the 2013 draft. 

On May 26, the Junior College Division II World Series will commence in Enid, Okla., with four first-round matchups on Saturday. Defending national champion Western Oklahoma State, No. 1 ranked LSU Eunice, and Grand Rapids (Mich.) CC headlines the 10-team field. Western Oklahoma State carries a 44-15 record into the tournament. This is the fifth straight season the Pioneers have advanced to the World Series and multiple Western Oklahoma State pitchers could be late-round draft picks. LSU Eunice enters the World Series with a 52-4 record and the Bengals have won three of the last six national championships.

Grand Rapids is one of the most storied D-II programs in the country with five national championships. Seven of the 10 teams have advanced to a World Series in the past five years. Catawba Valley (N.C.) CC and Lackawanna (Pa.) College are making their first-ever World Series appearances. The 19-game tournament will run through June 2 and all games will feature live video broadcasts through the NJCAA website. [...] Continue Reading »

BA intern Kyle Dugan updates the national junior-college postseason picture:

San Joaquin Delta Wins COA Title

In a state title series matching the top two seeds from Northern California, San Joaquin Delta, based in Stockton, defeated defending state champion Ohlone twice to win its first state juco championship since 1959.

In the clincher at Bakersfield JC, lefthander Jeff McKenzie earned his first victory since his American Legion days in 2009. McKenzie was a .237 hitter as the Mustangs’ regular center fielder and had pitched five innings in four games over the last two seasons prior to the state championship game. Named the tournament MVP, McKenzie went the distance, striking out seven. While he allowed an unearned run and seven hits while walking three, he picked four runners off at first base. [...] Continue Reading »

By Bubba Brown

Division II

The Division II World Series bracket is set and the double-elimination tournament is ready to kick off Saturday at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. Here’s a look at the eight teams that will be competing for the title.

Atlantic Region Champion—Kutztown (Pa.): After losing the first game of the regional, the Golden Bears won four straight, including head coach Chris Blum’s 300th career win, to return to the D-II World Series for the first time since 2007. [...] Continue Reading »

Bryce Harper got most of the headlines from the first few weeks of the junior college season, but on the other side of the country, another top talent was making his collegiate debut. Outfielder LeVon Washington was a first-round pick (30th overall) by the Rays last season, but couldn't come to terms and is spending the year with Chipola (Fla.) JC. The team features several other 2009 draftees, including lefthander Jake Eliopoulos (second round, Blue Jays), third baseman Michael Revell (16th round, Rangers), righthander/first baseman Cody Martin (31st round, Twins) and outfielder Joey Rapp (41st round, Angels).

Washington went 5-for-14 with two walks, two doubles, two RBIs and two stolen bases in an opening-weekend tournament at Gulf Coast (Fla.) CC. But in his next game, he got his right hand stepped on while sliding into third base and missed Chipola's next six games.

Washington didn't look as fast as he has in the past, but that could be simply because it's early and the weather was unusually cold. His arm is still weak after having labrum surgery last year.

"Anytime a high school kid comes into college baseball, it's an adjustment—I don't care where you are," Chipola head coach Jeff Johnson said. "He's done fine. Like all of them, he just needs to see more live pitching. He hasn't played much center field, so it's a work in progress. He didn't get to play out there all fall because of his arm. So, he's getting all the balls daily in practice, getting as many jumps as he can, learning how to go get it and how to come get it. But the arm's coming along and it'll just take some time for it to come all the way back." [...] Continue Reading »

While the Division I brackets haven’t been set yet, the NCAA released the Division II and D-III tournament fields on Monday.

For Division II, the host sites are Grand Junction, Colo., for the Central Regional; Kutztown, Pa., for the Atlantic Regional; Chillicothe, Ohio, for the Midwest Regional; Rindge, N.H., for the East Regional; Magnolia, Ark., for the South Regional; Aiken, S.C., for the Southeast Regional; Warrensburg, Mo., for the South Central Regional; and Keizer, Ore., for the West Regional.

[...] Continue Reading »

Without a loss on its tournament resume, Grayson County (Texas) College won the NJCAA Division I World Series by defeating Shelton State (Ala.) CC 13-2 in the championship game. The title is the Vikings’ first since winning back-to-back titles in 1999 and 2000, and marks the eighth consecutive year that Grand Junction, Colo., has produced a different national champion from the year before.

The Vikings jumped on Shelton State early, scoring six runs in the first three innings to grab a 6-2 lead. Grayson County’s bats never cooled, however, tallying 16 total hits on the way to a romp. In five tournament games, Grayson County failed to score double-digit runs just once.

“We scored quite a few runs, so we were really clicking on offense,” Grayson County head coach Dusty Hart said.  “We had the opportunity to 10-run-rule a few teams, so that allowed us to have our No. 1 and No. 2 (starters) ready to go.  If we had to play Saturday, our No. 2 was right there.” [...] Continue Reading »

For the ninth consecutive year, a new Division I JUCO World Series champion will be crowned. With Hagerstown (Md.) CC taking care of defending champion Chipola (Fla.) JC 10-7 on Tuesday, the Hawks will spar with Shelton State (Ala.) CC, Grayson County (Texas) CC and Central Arizona JC for supremacy in Grand Junction, Colo.

Hagerstown will take on Shelton State in the afternoon matchup at Suplizio Field. Both schools suffered their only tournament losses to Grayson, so a loss for either would send them packing.

In their defeat of Chipola, Hagerstown used an offensive explosion in the fourth inning to bid the Indians an early farewell. Three Hawks homered in the inning, capped off by a three-run shot from Charles Johnson with two outs that gave Hagerstown a 10-5 lead that it would not relinquish. [...] Continue Reading »

With defending champion Chipola (Fla.) Junior College suffering a loss on Monday, the Indians face elimination from the JUCO Division I College World Series and a lengthy trip home from Grand Junction, Colo. Chipola’s potential fate would only fall in line with recent past champions, as the tournament has failed to produce a repeat winner since Grayson County (Texas) JC accomplished the feat in 1999 and 2000.

Looking forward to Day Four of the tournament, Chipola is slated to take on Hagerstown (Md.) CC at 11 a.m. in an elimination game for both schools. The game became a must-win for the Indians when they fell to Alvin (Texas) CC 11-8 on Monday.  Alvin jumped to a 5-1 lead through the first three frames before Chipola’s bats generated seven runs in the next three innings. In the sixth, the Indians scored two of those runs with two outs when Jordan Lucas stole home and Einar Atencio looped an RBI double to tie the score at 8-8. The Dolphins scored what proved to be the winning run in the eighth inning when Mark Hudson singled to right to drive in Clay Puckett from third and move Alvin to 2-0 in tournament play. [...] Continue Reading »

A year after finishing as the national runner-up, Joliet (Ill.) Junior College defeated Gloucester County (N.J.) College 9-0 in the final game of the NJCAA Division III World Series to claim its second national championship in the school’s history.  Joliet scored all nine of its runs in the sixth and seventh innings, with 10 of its 14 total hits coming in those two frames. Joliet righthander Dillon Roark pitched a complete-game shutout, striking out nine and allowing just hits to hold the Roadrunners in check and earn his second victory of the tournament.

The Wolves won their first national title since 1994 on the strength of their potent offense, outscoring their opposition 45-14 over the span of four games. They led all teams with a .369 batting average and tied for a tournament-best 14 extra-base hits.   The Joliet arms were equally dominant in posting a 2.90 ERA–more than a full run lower than the next closest team ERA–and giving up just 10 earned runs. [...] Continue Reading »

We’re still nearly a month away from the uniform start date for Division I baseball, but the year’s first college baseball games are underway in the junior college ranks. Friday’s schedule includes a heavy slate of games, highlighted by a matchup of two perennial JC powers in Florida, where Chipola JC will take on Broward CC. Other interesting matchups sure to attract scouts include Pensacola (Fla.) JC visiting Indian River (Fla.) CC, and Glendale (Ariz.) CC taking on Eastern Arizona JC.

Recruiting rules and regulations are changing as often as the recruits themselves. It’s been a year since Major League Baseball eliminated the draft-and-follow process, and within this year the NCAA has also made significant changes regarding transfers, roster sizes, and scholarship limits.

Those changes affected the way junior colleges are going about their recruiting, and most juco coaches have turned the changes into a positive for their programs.

[...] Continue Reading »

For the first time since 1988, a Florida team has won the NJCAA Division I World Series. Chipola College defeated top-ranked New Mexico Junior College 7-3 in front of 9,593 at Suplizio Field in the national championship in Grand Junction, Colo. The win gives the school its first baseball championship.

Chipola’s Ryan Chaffee pitched a complete game five-hitter while striking out eight against a New Mexico team that was averaging nearly 10 runs a game in tournament play. Chipola’s Logan Pierce, Paul Gatchel and Tom Hatcher led the Indians’ offensive attack as they each collected three hits in the championship game. Trey Manz added a home run in the fourth. [...] Continue Reading »

BA intern Ben Badler wraps up the JC action outside of Grand Junction, Colo., as California and the Pacific Northwest–which do NOT send their teams to the NJCAA event in Colorado–settled their championships.

In the Golden State, freshman Bryant Hollingsworth allowed one run in a complete-game victory for Riverside Community College, which defeated Cypress 6-1 to win the California Community Colleges championship on May 28.

Hollingsworth (7-1) did not allow a run until the ninth inning, recording six strikeouts, one walk and allowing six hits in the process. The complete game was the fifth of Hollingsworth’s 14 starts this season. [...] Continue Reading »

Only four teams remain at the 50th Annual NJCAA Division I World Series in Grand Junction, Colo.

Chipola (Fla.) (39-17) advanced to the championship game after holding off a late rally by San Jacinto (Texas) (46-15) to win 7-6. The Indians are the only team in the world series field that is undefeated at 3-0.

The other three teams joining the Indians in the field of four are Spartanburg Methodist (S.C.), New Mexico and San Jacinto (Texas). [...] Continue Reading »

Tyler (Texas) Junior College defeated Joliet (Ill.) JC 13-5 in the final game of the NJCAA Division III World Series to claim the school’s first-ever national championship. After splitting the first two games between the two teams, the top-ranked Apaches pounded out 15 hits and took advantage of Joliet’s inaccuracy on the mound, as the Wolves walked 10 Apache batters in the game. [...] Continue Reading »

The 10-team field is now set for the 50th annual NJCAA Division I World Series. The championships will run from May 26-June 2 and will be played at Sam Suplizio Field in Grand Junction, Colo. It’s the 49th year in a row the Series has been held in Grand Junction.

No. 1 New Mexico JC (51-6-1) seems to be the tournament favorite as it advanced to the Series by knocking off North Central Texas College 3-0 in the Southwestern district. The top-ranked Thunderbirds will face East Central district champ Young Harris (Ga.) College (45-20) in game three Saturday at Sam Suplizio Field. Young Harris clinched a spot in the series by upsetting third-ranked Chattanooga State (Tenn.) Tech CC, winning 5-4 in the East Central district finals. [...] Continue Reading »

The NJCAA Division III World Series gets underway this Saturday at Mike Carter Field in Tyler, Texas. This year’s series features five of the same teams from a season ago. Top-ranked Tyler (Texas) Junior College seems to be the front-runner to take the title after defeating Richland (Texas) College 3-0 in district tournament action, advancing to its first ever World Series. The Apaches (42-11) are led by sophomore middle infielder Brock Lemire (.439/.522/.743 with 10 home runs and 60 RBIs). On the mound the Apaches are led by 6-foot-6 righthander Michael Wilson (12-1, 1.35) and fellow righty Michael LaCourse (8-0, 2.54). [...] Continue Reading »