2018 USSSA ‘AA’ World tournament preview!

2018 USSSA 'AA' World Tournament

September 15-16

Tournament Preview

2018 USSSA 'AA' World Bracket and Team list link

The 2018 USSSA 'AA' World Tournament will be played this coming Saturday and Sunday, September 15-16 for the first time at the Space Coast complex in Viera, Florida.  13 teams total will battle it out double elimination style to crown a deserving champion.  The tournament starts at 9 AM Eastern time on Saturday morning on the field called White Rawlings and the Stadium with the majority of the tournament played throughout the day and into the evening with 6 teams coming back on Sunday.  The Stadium will have a temp fence put at 325 feet, the same dimensions as the White Rawlings field.

The past 4 seasons the 'AA' champ has come from the #4 seed or lower with #5 Linedrive winning in 2014, Fence Brokers in 2015 who was even lower than #5, #4 seeded Precision in 2016, and Xtreme the #4 seed a year ago.  The favorite though is this years #1 seed Pure Sports/Monsta who won 3 tournaments during the regular Conference season and has a great combination of pitching, defense, hitting, and power led by pitcher Justin Mucciarelli, Conference Defensive MVP Ryan McClanahan, the .793 on base percentage of Bradley Carlsen, and the teams home run leader Justin Mackey (69).  They will be challenged by Rack's/Astros who was the #1 seed in 2016 and 2017, and Precision who has been in the 'AA' finals 4 straight years and won it in 2016.  There are other AA teams with their eye on the trophy as well with last years winner Xtreme, the TDB team that plays their best ball in Florida, and Riot Sports who won the Chattanooga Major back in early May.  There is also All Out from Texas, Nightmare from Missouri who has struggled mightily this season, and 4 'A' teams (Premier, La Famiglia, Primetime, and SNI) all of whom would like nothing better than to pull a few upsets!

The USSSA 'AA' World Tournament is played with Nationwide Conference rules – no floating rubber, foul on second strike is an out, and a 12 home run limit.  Fences are 325 feet and the Dudley ZN Classic M ball will be used and it is temperature sensitive and will affect scores in the heat of the day.

USSSALive.com will stream all of the games.  AA Worlds is on the Stadium all day Saturday and Sunday and all day Saturday on White Rawlings

USSSALive is looking for guest announcers for the 'AA' and Major World Series.  Let me know 440-715-3301

And of course the chat room here at SoftballCenter.com will be up as well to discuss the games live.

  13 Teams Overall
  13 Nationwide Conference USSSA Teams
   9 'AA' Teams
   4 'A' Teams

2018 'AA' World picks brought to you by ASPNation.com!

Shea Nation's picks

Last week Shea picked the correct winner of the USSSA 'A' World and last year picked the AA correctly.

This weekend the AA World Tournament will take place in Viera, FL while only 13 teams will be in attendance with all 13 from the Nationwide Conference USSSA and will include 9 AA teams and 4 A teams.  The #1 overall seed Pure Sports/ Monsta will try to win and gain momentum for next weekend's Major World Series.  The other teams looking to upset the favorite are: RACK'S/WORTH ASTROS/KLUTCH/TROUPE; Precision/3rd Street/Bull Dawg; TDB/FAI/Klutch/Miken, and Xtreme/Miken/ASP/Athlon.

Predictions:  The top seeds win in the first 2 rounds making the final 4 undefeated: Precision versus TDB and Pure versus Rack's.  Precision will find itself in a similar spot as the undefeated team.  Will they get double dipped like last year?  In the loser's bracket, All Out and Xtreme win 2 games to advance to the 5th place games before they run out of gas.

Shea's Final Picks for the AA World Tournament are:
1. Precision/3rd Street/Bull Dawg
2. TDB/FAI/Klutch/Miken
3. Rack's/Worth/Astros/Klutch/Troupe
4. Pure Sports/Monsta
5. Xtreme/Miken/ASP/Athlon
    All Out/A&A/Steel Sports/ASP/Miken

2018 'AA' World Poll Results:

The oldscout pollers went with Pure Sports over TDB and Precision

Space Coast Stadium

5800 Stadium Parkway
Melbourne, FL  32940

Fences are 325 feet

White Rawlings field

Weekend Weather

The weather looks like normal Florida hot with a chance of rain.

However Hurricane Florence with its high winds hitting the east coast could affect the players travel into the tournament.

Everyone travel safe.

On the left is where the eye of Hurricane Florence will be on a given day.  On the right is when the earliest winds will hit.

The Teams!

#1 SC-AA – Pure Sports/Monsta – 16-9 vs 'AA' teams this year.  Pure Sports is the heavy favorite.  They have the best defensive infield with Granados, Messer, McClanahan, and Barnes.  They have depth at pitching with Mucciarelli and McClanahan.  And they have elite hitters like Carlsen, Branch, and Hammonds, to go with hitters having a great year like Zach Messer and Jared Hunt.  They round out the team with the power of Justin Mackey and veteran stars like Lee Payne and some role players like William Scott, Pat Price, Brian Dezern, and Heath Barnes.

#2 NC-AA – TDB/FAI/Klutch/Miken – 11-9 vs 'AA' teams this year.  TDB has struggled everywhere this season except when they play at Space Coast Complex where they are 13-6.  Kyle Pearson 2B, AJ Montano MI, and Tyler Wilson 3B have led TDB in hitting.  Some of the power is provided by Martel, Matusik, and Fulk.  And they have veterans like shortstop Orlando Castillo and center fielder Brian Zirle among others.  The pitching has been by committee this year with Faron Miller, Tom Bloom, and manager Brian Titus sharing the mound.

#3 IL-AA – Precision/3rd Street/Bull Dawg – 10-7 vs 'AA' teams this year.  Precision is looking to make the AA championship for the 5th straight year and most would not bet against them.  A veteran team that has all had USSSA success.  The pitching is shared between Dan Bean and Roger Drake.  The defense is led by middle infielder Jeff Keske, 2B Jeff Flood, and 2nd year shortstop Kyle Kannenberg.  The offense is led by David Kessler (.779) and the power by Jason Magnum, Travis Houseman, Brett McCollum, and Brad Tabler..

#4 IN-AA – Rack's/Worth Astros/Klutch/Troupe – 10-7 vs 'AA' teams this year.  The Astros side of this team has been the #1 seed in 'AA' each of the past two seasons and come up short.  This year they are the #4 which seems to be the sweet spot in recent years for producing a championship.  Racks has veteran pitcher Bill Pinkham back on the mound and the defense feeds off of his play up the middle.  The offense is deep with veteran hitters like Steve Edwards and Dan Kirkwood mixed in with power hitters like Chad Mullins and Jon Nelson.  This team will go as far as their infielders hit I think.

#5 WA-AA – Newbreed/Steel Sports/DeMarini – 9-5 vs 'AA' teams this year.  Newbreed won the Oklahoma Major and collected a nice record against fellow AA teams.  I am just not sure this team believes in itself enough to make a run.  But there is no reason they shouldn't make one.  Victor Cordova is the team leader.  The Steel Sports contingent of Everett Williams, Dustin Roberts, and shortstop Steven Malay have had big years.  And center fielder Donald Hollingsworth was big this year with an All Conference performance.  They also added outfielder Jon Gastineau, 1B Steven Lopez, and veteran Eli Aguilar to the team during the season.  Pitching may be the queston mark? 
 

#6 FL-AA – Riot Sports/Broughton/Beckham/Worth – 4-10 vs 'AA' teams this year.  Riot Sports started the year hot at the Hall of Fame Classic and then they won the Chattanooga Major after beating Smash It Sports.  But the second half of the season has been slowed by tournaments where they did not have their entire team present.  Manager Dal Beggs was 2nd Team All Conference manager and he has a big task ahead of him trying to get this team back to the early season success.  Dan "Dirty" Sanchez is the pitcher.  They had a rookie of the year candidate Taylor Nichols in right field.  And veteran hitters like Mike Ortiz leading off and infielder Scott Langford to go with catcher Keith Martin.

#7 MN-AA – Xtreme/Miken/ASP/Athlon – 9-9 vs 'AA' teams this year.  Xtreme won the prestigious Dudley and of course are the reigning USSSA 'AA' champions.  Yet they are considered an underdog yet again this year.  The offense is led by Curtis Stewart who they picked up during the season, big Shannon Smith, and left handed outfielders Colin Baartman and Pat Ellwanger.  They have depth at pitching with Dirk Updike, Danny Evans, and Austin Green.  We know if they can get to Sunday they can make a run.

#8 TX-AA – All Out/A&A/Steel Sports/ASP/Miken – 6-6 vs 'AA' teams.  All Out had two 2nd place finishes and three 3rd place finishes in the smaller Conference events this year.  They are led by All Conference performers Jason Ferguson, CF Matt Schrage, and veteran pitcher Jeff Graus.  They look to play spoiler this weekend..

#9 MO-AA – Nightmare/Miken – 3-15 vs 'AA' teams this year.  Nightmare has not had any success this year after finishing 8th in Conference points in 2017.  They have had huge years from middle infielder Tommy Melton and catcher Mike Brown.  Last year they came within a half inning of making a big splash in the AA Worlds.  This team has nothing to lose.

#10 OH-A – Premier/Easton/HDLNS – 6-4 vs 'AA' teams this year.  Premier won the GSL 'A' and finished 4th at the USSSA 'A'.  They won't lay down for the AA teams and have a shot at two wins.  Their defense revolves around pitcher Patrick Center and middle infielder Rocky Staton.  The offense is led by veteran Cory Boothe and the teams hitting leader Patrick Foster who can get hot.

#11 PA-A – La Famiglia/Easton/Elite Sports – 4-5 vs 'AA' teams this year.  La Famiglia is one of those old school energy teams that enjoy playing up and upsetting the higher competition.  La Famiglia is led by the hitting of outfielder Dave Durso (.730), the power of Clayton Farrar and Josh Fyffe, and the middle infield defense of Pedro Sanchez.  They finished 3rd at the 'A' World 2 weeks ago.

#12 GA-A – Primetime/Easton/Evolution – 1-4 vs 'AA' teams this year.  Primetime is missing players but has upset AA teams each of the past two years in this event.  If they make the trip, 1st baseman Chivas Clark and pitcher Roderick Armour are great talents to watch play.

#13 FL-A – SNI/Easton/SDA/Dynasty – 0-5 vs 'AA' teams this year.  SNI has had a tough first year in the Conference but they are from Florida and will take a couple of shots at a big upset.

Past USSSA 'AA' World Champs

(Note: this tournament changed from 'A' Worlds to 'AA' in 2016)

2017 Winner – Xtreme/Miken/ASP/Athlon

2017 USSSA 'AA' World tournament report link

2016 Winner – Precision

2016 USSSA 'AA' World tournament report link

2015 Winner – Fence Brokers Inc/Buzini/Worth

2015 USSSA 'A' World tournament report link

2014 Winner – Line Drive Sportz/R&M Metals/Easton

2014 USSSA 'A' World tournament report link

2013 Winner – Nordkap/Suncoast Reebok

2013 USSSA 'A' World tournament report link

2012 Winner – R&M Metals/Troupe/Pipac/S&R/Easton

2012 USSSA 'A' World tournament report link

2011 USSSA 'A' World tournament report link

2010 USSSA 'A' World tournament report link

Past tournament results

2017 Results
1 MN-AA Xtreme/Miken/Athlon/ASP
2 IL-AA Precision/3rd Street/G Brand/Easton
3 IN-AA Worth Astros/K&G/Klutch
4 CA-AA Classic Glass/Easton

2016 Results
1 IL-AA Precision
2 WA-AA Newbreed/GTS/Beus Excavation/Dirtysportswear/Worth
3 MI-AA Line Drive Sportz/Easton
4 MN-AA Xtreme/Miken

2015 Results
1 AR-A Fence Brokers Inc/Buzini/Worth
2 IL-A Precision/Easton/DO
3 NY-A Albicocco/The Scene/Easton
4 WA-A Combat/Northwest Athletics

2014 Results
1 MI-A Line Drive Sportz/R&M Metals/Easton
2 IL-B Precision/Easton
3 IN-A Red's Astros/Louisville Slugger
4 AL-A Baugh Doerflinger National-Pawn/Easton

2013 Results
1 MN-A Nordkap/Suncoast Reebok
2 IN-A Red's Astros/Slugger/Stucco/Dirty
3 NY-A Albicocco/The Scene/Easton
4 MI-A Line Drive Sportz/SSS/Miken

2012 Results
1 IA-A R&M Metals/troupe/pipac/s&r/easton
2 VA-A Taylormade/tm sports/mizuno
3 MI-B Line Drive sportz/sss softball
4 NY-A TYJA – Suncoast Reebok

2011 Results
1 VA-A Team 454 Emerald/Worth
2 IA-A R&M Metals/troupe/tcp/easton
3 TX-A Wood law/mizuno/famous/easton
4 IL-A EWS/shirtsandlogos/drgraphx/easton 

2010 Results
1 WA-A GTL CARTEL/WORTH
2 WA-A Team Combat / laser vision
3 VA-A Aubrey's/taylormade/mizuno
4 FL-A Suncoast / Reebok 

2009 Results
1 WA-A GTL Cartel/stucco/worth/elite
2 TN-A JeanShoppe/chaneys/easton/sports55
3 FL-A T&R Stucco/Worth
4 WA-A Combat USA/Elite 

2008 Results
1 TN-A Jean Shoppe/Easton
2 WA-A GTL/Creative Stucco/Worth
3 FL-A Suncoast/RBK
4 WI-A Combat USA/elite/pytch blakk 

2007 Results
1 TN-A JEAN SHOPPE / WORTH
2 CA-A KME/CHANEY'S/EASTON
3 AR-A Wood Law/quick roofing/worth
4 GA-A Aubrey's/elite sports/phone masters  

2006 Results
1 MI-A Northwest Pipe/bud light/3n2/easton
2 TN-A Jean Shoppe/team mayhem/worth
3 OH-A Watanabe/katt/ttp/b&a/sup/tps
4 GA-A Aubrey's/MIT/Worth 

2005 Results
1 OH-A Team Stucco/TPS
2 VA-A AMLasVegas/benfield/reece/belcher
3 AR-A Barnes Logging/Worth
4 KY-A BERARDI'S/TEAM LTP/TPS 

2004 Results
1 OH-A Creative Stucco/TPS
2 GA-A AUBREY'S/TPS
3 MN-A O & S /Matheson/ Mizuno
4 MI-A MOUNTAIN TOP/WORTH 

2003 Results
1 MI-A MOUNTAIN TOP/USA CASH/TPS
2 MI-A Northwest Pipe/bud light/3n2/easton
3 GA-A Aubreys/TPS
4 AL-A C&M Sporting Goods/TPS 

2002 Results
1 FL-A FL Heat/nave plbg/joe blach/worth
2 MI-A Mountain Top/Advanced/TPS
3 OH-A Creative Stucco/Easton
4 MI-A NW Pipe/ldj/varsity/bud/easton

2001 Results
1 MI-A MOUNTAIN TOP/TPS
2 MI-A Wartrom / Worth
3 FL-A Team Mizuno
4 KS-A Hooters/B&B/Rew/Easton

2000 Results
1 PA-A Maroadi/frank-n-stein/nike
2 MI-A MOUNTAIN TOP
3 MN-A Kevitt/J&H/Easton
4 KS-A HOOTERS/B&B/EASTON