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Jul. 21—Two baseball programs that were once rivals have combined to do something no team from the state of Washington has done before.
The NW 509 Stars Baseball Club, made up of players from the Spokane and Tri-City areas, qualified for the 2026 Connie Mack World Series in Farmington, New Mexico, one of the nation's premier 18-and-under amateur baseball tournaments with a rich 60-plus year tradition.
The tournament starts Thursday and runs through Aug. 1.
The Stars roster is a representation of baseball across the Inland Northwest, featuring standout players from multiple communities and schools. Local players include: Caden Andreas and Braxxton Barker (Ridgeline), Jackson Mott and Jacob Wilson (Gonzaga Prep), Ben Wiser and Kyle Rayment (Mt. Spokane), Ryen McMillen (Chewelah), Beau Pearson (Lake City) and Marshall Tomlinson (Post Falls).
The team also includes players from Kamiakin, Hanford, and Richland, bringing together many of the region's top players to compete on a national stage. The team is coached by Tim Ayers (Spokane) and Nat Roe (Tri-Cities).
Only 12 teams in the country qualify for the Connie Mack World Series each year. The Stars played a rigorous schedule this summer and on Jun 21 they won a Connie Mack national qualifying tournament in Spokane. The Stars outscored their opponents 26-6 during the qualifier.
"Going down to New Mexico is going to be a totally different environment," Andreas said. "A lot more people (watching), a lot more excitement. This is something we've been dreaming about for a while now and when we had the opportunity we took it into our own hands."
The team most recently went 3-1-1 over the weekend in the Gonzaga Midsummer Team Camp. They are 31-4-2 overall this summer.
"It's a combination of two travel ball teams." Roe told the Tri-City Herald. "Over the last few years, we kept crossing paths with Inland Empire Elite out of Spokane. We'd always seem to meet in the championship game of whatever tournament we both played in."
"This is just a great group of kids that wanted to keep playing baseball," Ayers said, noting that most of the group played in the postseason with their high school teams, including Mott and Wilson, who reached the State 4A title game with the Bullpups this year.
"It's an honor to be the first team from Washington to go to this tournament," Mott said. "This team has so much chemistry. I've played with and against some of these guys since we were like nine years old, so I'm really excited to play with these guys."
The group also includes Ayers' son Brayten, the Greater Spokane League MVP in 2025. Ayers the younger recently concluded his first season at Northwest Nazarene University but still qualified for the age bracket.
"You see a lot of different pitching (in college) and baseball IQ," Ayers said. "It helps (the high school players) to be able to bring that kind of experience into this type of situation. I know all these guys, and I know they can compete at any level with me."
American Legion tourneys in Spokane: The Washington American Legion state tournaments are this weekend, with the Spokane area playing host to two of the three brackets. This event showcases many of the state's top baseball players and provides an excellent opportunity to highlight local athletes, coaches, and the Spokane community as host of one of Washington's premier summer baseball tournaments.
The AAA division will be contested at Gonzaga Prep and Gonzaga University Saturday through Wednesday, while the A division is at Medical Lake High School. The AA division tournament will be held in Kennewick.
The AAA and A brackets are made up of eight teams from across the state and includes three Spokane-area teams; the AA bracket has 16 teams with seven from the Spokane region.
Brackets and schedules can be found at the Washington American Legion Baseball website at: wastatealb.org/forms.
Continue reading...
The NW 509 Stars Baseball Club, made up of players from the Spokane and Tri-City areas, qualified for the 2026 Connie Mack World Series in Farmington, New Mexico, one of the nation's premier 18-and-under amateur baseball tournaments with a rich 60-plus year tradition.
The tournament starts Thursday and runs through Aug. 1.
The Stars roster is a representation of baseball across the Inland Northwest, featuring standout players from multiple communities and schools. Local players include: Caden Andreas and Braxxton Barker (Ridgeline), Jackson Mott and Jacob Wilson (Gonzaga Prep), Ben Wiser and Kyle Rayment (Mt. Spokane), Ryen McMillen (Chewelah), Beau Pearson (Lake City) and Marshall Tomlinson (Post Falls).
The team also includes players from Kamiakin, Hanford, and Richland, bringing together many of the region's top players to compete on a national stage. The team is coached by Tim Ayers (Spokane) and Nat Roe (Tri-Cities).
Only 12 teams in the country qualify for the Connie Mack World Series each year. The Stars played a rigorous schedule this summer and on Jun 21 they won a Connie Mack national qualifying tournament in Spokane. The Stars outscored their opponents 26-6 during the qualifier.
"Going down to New Mexico is going to be a totally different environment," Andreas said. "A lot more people (watching), a lot more excitement. This is something we've been dreaming about for a while now and when we had the opportunity we took it into our own hands."
The team most recently went 3-1-1 over the weekend in the Gonzaga Midsummer Team Camp. They are 31-4-2 overall this summer.
"It's a combination of two travel ball teams." Roe told the Tri-City Herald. "Over the last few years, we kept crossing paths with Inland Empire Elite out of Spokane. We'd always seem to meet in the championship game of whatever tournament we both played in."
"This is just a great group of kids that wanted to keep playing baseball," Ayers said, noting that most of the group played in the postseason with their high school teams, including Mott and Wilson, who reached the State 4A title game with the Bullpups this year.
"It's an honor to be the first team from Washington to go to this tournament," Mott said. "This team has so much chemistry. I've played with and against some of these guys since we were like nine years old, so I'm really excited to play with these guys."
The group also includes Ayers' son Brayten, the Greater Spokane League MVP in 2025. Ayers the younger recently concluded his first season at Northwest Nazarene University but still qualified for the age bracket.
"You see a lot of different pitching (in college) and baseball IQ," Ayers said. "It helps (the high school players) to be able to bring that kind of experience into this type of situation. I know all these guys, and I know they can compete at any level with me."
American Legion tourneys in Spokane: The Washington American Legion state tournaments are this weekend, with the Spokane area playing host to two of the three brackets. This event showcases many of the state's top baseball players and provides an excellent opportunity to highlight local athletes, coaches, and the Spokane community as host of one of Washington's premier summer baseball tournaments.
The AAA division will be contested at Gonzaga Prep and Gonzaga University Saturday through Wednesday, while the A division is at Medical Lake High School. The AA division tournament will be held in Kennewick.
The AAA and A brackets are made up of eight teams from across the state and includes three Spokane-area teams; the AA bracket has 16 teams with seven from the Spokane region.
Brackets and schedules can be found at the Washington American Legion Baseball website at: wastatealb.org/forms.
Continue reading...
