When PROGRAM 15 were looking to hold their next New Balance Baseball Futures Stars Series event in the New England area, it seemed only logical that they’d look to partner with a group that’s been at the forefront of player development in that area.
The Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) and Brockton Rox will host the New Balance Baseball Future Stars Series invite-only tournament with testing for enhanced college and professional exposure during the first week of October 2019.
Given PROGRAM 15 Founder, CEO and President of Baseball Operations for The New Balance Baseball Future Stars Series Jeremy Booth’s long relationship with FCBL Commissioner Chris Hall, as well as Rox GM Todd Marlin, the partnership was seemingly inevitable.
“I’ve known Chris and Todd for a long time since we were all involved in the Can-Am league,” Booth said. “They’ve done an excellent job with the Futures League in building it from the ground up. They’ve seen their endeavor grow to a national level as a proving ground for collegiate players as they grind to move forward. Their reach stretches deep into the college ranks, and we’re excited to partner up with a group who’s professionally and progressively minded to being a full exposure and development product to the northeast regions.”
The Future Stars Series has seen a meteoric rise over the past few years since its inception, with partner programs joining at an increasingly rapid rate and the quality of events continuing to improve to previously unseen levels Many in the industry are still buzzing about International Week at Camelback Ranch despite now being more than two months removed from the wildly successful three-game series.
Led by PROGRAM 15’s National Staff of former Major League and professional players, scouts, and coaches, Future Stars Series Regional Training and Evaluation Events have garnered a reputation as the most comprehensive amateur baseball player identification and development experience available.
The Futures League was co-developed by Drew Weber and long-time force in independent baseball Chris Carminucci back in 2010 and has a lengthy list of alumni who’ve gone on to be drafted, including 2015 first-rounder Chris Shaw as well as 28 players in 2018.
“The Futures League has just continued to grow,” said Marlin, whose Rox are hosting the event. “It’s gotten better every year; the quality of play has gotten better. Some people may look from the outside looking in and say we’ve lost teams, but sometimes you get stronger by making changes and growing in the right direction, and I think that’s what the league is set up to do now.
“Brockton itself, we’re really evolving. It was a tough few years there before we came in, and we had a couple tough ones ourselves. But, we’re trying to rebuild those alliances within the community that were lost over the years, and we’re starting to show signs of that. We’re growing – not as quickly as we want, but it’s getting there – and we’re starting to learn the market a whole lot better.”
Forging a logical partnership with PROGRAM 15 can only help both groups, especially given how like-minded they both are in regards to the importance of development.
“I’d known Jeremy through his days of playing when I was running Nashua or Worcester, we’d had dealings, and I knew Chris Hall has been friends with him for a long time as well,” Marlin said, continuing, “I just think this is a really natural fit for the two programs; New Balance being right in our backyard doesn’t hurt at all either…everything that we can do like this helps us. It’s a little bit different for the types of things that we do. This in particular is going to bring some credence to what we’re doing here in Brockton, and it’s also going to show us an opportunity to show off our facility, which we really like to do, especially to kids who might have hopes of hopefully being in the Futures League in a few years.”
On the future of the collaboration beyond October, Marlin said, “I would really hope so, I would hope that something like this continues to grow and can spread throughout New England. I know Jeremy’s got lots of big visions, and if we can be a part of that, we would be very happy with it.”
ABOUT FUTURES COLLEGIATE BASEBALL LEAGUE (FCBL)
The FCBL is summer collegiate baseball at its best! Regarded as one of the most talented and competitive leagues in the country, (FCBL) began its initial year of operations in 2011 founded by ownership groups from both the Brockton Rox (Can-Am League) and the Lowell Spinners (Single A affiliate Boston Red Sox). To learn more visit http://thefuturesleague.com/
For the latest Future Stars Series updates and announcements follow @ftrstarsseries on Twitter or visit https://futurestarsseries.com.
ABOUT PROGRAM 15
PROGRAM 15 boasts a faculty and staff that includes multiple Major League All-Stars and World Series veterans responsible for executing the New Balance Baseball Future Stars Series, an initiative between the two organizations to elevate the game of baseball by providing amateur players across all economic levels an opportunity to reach their full potential through the training, development, and guidance of former MLB players, scouts, and coaches. For more information on PROGRAM 15 and the Future Stars Series, visit www.futurestarsseries.com or @program15bb and @ftrstarsseries on twitter.
ABOUT NEW BALANCE
New Balance, headquartered in Boston, MA has the following mission: Demonstrating responsible leadership, we build global brands that athletes are proud to wear, associates are proud to create and communities are proud to host. New Balance is the only major company to make or assemble more than 4 million pairs of athletic footwear per year in the USA, which represents a limited portion of our US sales. Where the domestic value is at least 70%, we label our shoes Made in the USA. New Balance owns five factories in New England and one in Flimby, U.K. New Balance employs more than 5,000 associates around the globe, and in 2015 reported worldwide sales of $3.72 billion. To learn more about New Balance, please visit www.newbalance.com and for the latest press information please visit http://newbalance.newsmarket.com. Keep up-to-date with all of the latest New Balance news on Twitter @NewBalance and newbalance on Facebook.