Juneau-Douglas High School junior Bryce Swofford, and sophomore’s Kasey Watts and Michael Cesar played for the Alaska Baseball Academy at the Arizona Senior Fall Classic in October. More than 400 college coaches and 100 MLB scouts attend the annual tournament.
According to ABA coach Tony Wylie the team played well and Swofford, South Anchorage’s Jonny Homza and Ketchikan’s Nathan Bonck received interest from prospective colleges.
Swofford performed well on the mound while Watts was noted for his defense and hitting. Cesar also had a good showing for the Alaska team. Cesar and classmate Donavin McCurley also participated in an earlier tournament.
Fundraising was integral in the trip and included firewood sales.
Watts even had a rallyme website called #WATTSUP. It featured video and still photos plus a brief biography. Fans discovered that Watt’s first word as a toddler was “ball” and his dream is to play baseball in college and hopefully for an MLB team someday.
In other baseball news a pair of Houston Astros baseball coaches will come to Alaska next month to provide instruction at clinics in Anchorage, Fairbanks and the Valley.
Brent Strom, the pitching coach for the Astros and a former Major Leaguer, is chief instructor for the Professional Baseball Clinic.
He and Ralph Dickenson, an assistant hitting coach for Houston, will work at three camps during a five-day span in Alaska.
The first clinic is Nov. 11 in Wasilla, followed by a Nov. 13-15 clinic in Anchorage and a Nov. 16 clinic in Fairbanks.
Players can register at alaskalegion.com.
