January 13, 2005

Jeff Spelman
TeamOneBaseball.com

Players from 28 different states will take the field in a combination of tournament play, pro style workouts and instruction. There will be 12 teams of approximately 15 players per squad. Each team will play one game and go through a workout Saturday. All teams will play twice on Sunday. Wood bats will be used throughout the weekend.

Many Major League scouts are expected to be on hand to see the talented group that was chosen by Team One and Baseball Factory scouting staffs. One of the highlights of the weekend will be a Saturday 12:30 p.m. matchup of pitching prospects Kyle Hancock (Rowlett HS-TX/Arkansas signee) and Jacob Rasner (Wooster HS-NV/Nevada-Reno signee).

Hancock is ranked among the top-five high school senior pitching prospects in the nation. Rasner is also considered a strong candidate to be drafted in the early rounds.

Some other prospects who will be attending this weekend include nationally-ranked players such as RHP Mark Willinsky (Santa Clara), RHP/1B Tyson Ross (California), SS Michael Brady (California), 1B/LHP Michael Bugary (California), 3B Chris Carter (Arizona-verbal) and SS Alex Peguero (Old Dominion). More than a dozen other players who signed early with Division I programs and and many others future D1 players will compete this weekend.

As of Thursday, the Tournament has 186 total players including 100 seniors, 63 juniors, 20 sophomores and three freshman. California has the most players with 49 followed by Florida (29), Pennsylvania (11), Virginia (9), Massachussetts (8) and Maryland, New York and Texas (7 each). North Carolina, New Jersey and Tennessee will be represented by six players each. There will be five players from both Ohio and Georgia and four players from Arizona and Nevada.

Colorado Rockies Manager Clint Hurdle, Tampa Bay Devil Rays National Crosschecker Mac Siebert, former Big Leaguer and AAA Manager Rick Sofield and Major League catcher Cody McKay will be among the speakers who will talk with the players and families Friday night in Tempe.

Here is a complete roster:
Puma All-American Roster

Event History
The Puma All-American weekend has been previously held at Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida and was called the Baseball Factory All-American since 1999. Current Major League rising stars David Wright (Mets), B.J. Upton (Devil Rays) and Gavin Floyd (Phillies), are among the many talented players who attended this event while in high school.

Puma, which is endorsed by Major League players such as Johnny Damon and Tim Hudson, signed on as title sponsor for this year's event.

"Puma's support of the 2005 Puma Pre-Season All-American Tournament continues to reinforce their commitment to the game of baseball at all levels," said Steve Sclafani, president of the Baseball Factory. "Through the sponsorship of the pre-season event, Puma is helping to ensure that these talented high school players have an opportunity to be seen by college coaches and Major League Baseball scouts early in the season which will enhance their prospects for college scholarships or their draft position."

You can see all of Puma's latest baseball products by clicking here.

Players participating in the three day Puma All-American Tournament will receive the following benefits:
? Each player will receive a Personal Player Web Page that will include a bio with contact info, video footage from the event; a scout's summary with tool grades and an overall player rating.
? To maximize the players' exposure, every college coach and Major League scouting director will be emailed, letting them know that video footage and scouts' summaries from the event are available online. They will be able to view the players' performance at the event simply by clicking on a link.
? Pro scouts will be covering and instructing players at the event.
? Scouts from every major league organization will be invited to attend the event.
? The 2005 Puma All-American Team rosters will be posted on the PUMA Baseball, Baseball Factory, and Team One Baseball web sites.
? Each player will receive a pair of PUMA Diamond Strategist Turfs, PUMA All-American team hat and jersey.
? The top 30 senior players from the event will be written up on the Team One Baseball web site, along with a look at the top underclassmen as well.

TeamOneBaseball.com will have plenty of coverage from Tempe over the next week...
Saturday Night - Day 1 Highlights
Sunday - "We're There" feature on the Hancock vs. Rasner pitching matchup
Monday Morning - Day 2 Highlights
Tuesday - Top-30 Seniors with comments on each player
Wednesday - Top Underclassmen with comments on each player
PLUS feature stories on top prospects