Local stars join forces on the baseball diamond for summer league All-Star team

Some of the best Yuma talent to compete in California District tournament for 16u baseball

YUMA, Ariz., (KYMA, KECY) - For the first time, Yuma is putting out a 16u All-Star baseball squad made up of some of the best young local talent to compete in a restructured Senior Little League.

And it's a summer league journey that could take them all over the country by summer's end.

The YBBL team spent most of this week hitting up the Ray Kroc Sports Complex in preparation for their upcoming tournament all under the leadership of Yuma Criminals head baseball coach Nick Johnson.

"In Yuma, it's a baseball community, and I get to be a part of that and it's super special," said Johnson. "After playing here myself, it's awesome to be here now with these guys and give back and get out their to play some ball. It's really rewarding for me."

Johnson gets the pleasure of sporting a roster of some of the best young talent across Yuma as they prepare for the first round of the Section 7 District tournament in San Diego from June 28th through July 4th.

"After coaching in high school and playing against some of these other teams, you get to see who can really play. Now, when you get them all together, it's something that's really special," said Johnson. "There aren't any holes. You get the best 16-years-olds in the city rocking together out here. You don't look at Yuma High on their jersey or Kofa, or Cibola, or Gila Ridge, San Luis or Yuma Catholic. You don't look at any of that. You get to see them as individuals and coming together."

A win in that double-elimination bracket in San Diego would send them all the way to Oakland, California the following week for the state tournament - followed by more trips to the likes of Texas and potentially even South Carolina for nationals.

Win or lose, this group is excited to get out there and showcase the talent Yuma has to offer.

"My favorite part about it is we get a chance to show what Yuma can really do," said Gila Ridge incoming junior, Isaiah Villalobos. "You know, we have all these really good ball players and nobody really sees them. Right now we get a chance, we can show it." 

The All-Stars get back to work early next week before they head West to San Diego - as they try to mold into a well-oiled machine and make it as far as possible. In the meantime, enjoying the time together and getting better at their craft each day.

"I'm so grateful to be a part of this with these guys. It's a lot of fun and that's what we're trying to do, plus go out and win," added Johnson. "There's a lot of depth, and that's easy to kind of take a step back a little bit, and correct a few things. We're not trying to reinvent the wheel but we are trying to strengthen their foundations throughout baseball."

YBBL Senior All-Star Team Roster:

Eli Lujan
Deven Aguirrebarrena
Arnold Jimenez
Rigoberto Hernandez
Fabian Burgos
Jose Castro
Daniel Zazueta
Ethan Schmidgall
Truett Jaca
Luke Foppe
Isaiah Villalobos

Luis Molina
Rodrigo Orozco
Jason Garcia
Juan Ayala
Andres Ortiz