NorCal East Players getting recruited by the top DI schools in the country and getting recognized nationally by Perfect Game. 

One of the many advantages of being a NorCal East player is getting national exposure. The NorCal East program’s primary objective is to attract quality players (on and off the field) and then promote these worthy players to college and pro scouts. The NorCal East coaching staff is committed to helping each and every one of it's players find a place to play at the next level. As an example, since last fall NorCal East players have been on invited visits to the following schools:  

Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia, Miami (FL), Clemson, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Wake Forest, East Carolina, North Carolina State, Kent State, George Mason, Boston College, Hartford, Coastal Carolina, Stanford, Liberty, Radford and Vanderbilt. NorCal East players also have planned visits this sping and summer to Auburn, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Central Florida, Georgia, Louisville and Texas Christian. At least 8 NorCal East players have already been offered scholarships to play at one or more of the schools listed above. Many more will be offered scholarships this summer and fall after NorCal East plays on a national stage all summer and fall.  

Additionally, NorCal East players are getting recognized by the top national recruiting services. According to PGCrosschecker, NorCal East has some of the top rated players in Pennsylvania. Three NorCal East players are ranked nationally. Several NorCal East players have been invited to Perfect Game's Inivtation Only National Showcase at Tropicana Field in Florida.

NorCal East players are also drawing the attention of Pro Scouts. Several NorCal East players have already been invited to the East Coast Pro Showcase in June. At least 10 NorCal East players will recieve invites from Professional Scouts to attend the Area Code tryouts.

World Class Speed Coach, Ed Lovelace, spends the day with NorCal East players in Pittsburgh. 

NorCal East players got treated to a very rare training. They spent the entire day with one of the top speed coaches in the country, Ed Lovelace. Along with Ed, the Pitt coaching staff was there to watch, as well as Doug Strange, director of player development for the Pirates. Brent Ronan, San Diego Padres Associate scout was there, too. At the all day speed clinic at the Cost Center on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh, Ed did what Ed does, he talked about speed all day long, demonstrating and teaching things that most of us have never heard before. Speed training is virtually non existent, yet lack of speed is one of the first things to get a player  scratched off any scout's list. Go figure. Our NorCal East organization is working hard to make sure that never happens to one of our players. 

NorCal East pitcher, Tanner Wilt, commits to Coastal Carolina University

NorCal East pitcher, Tanner Wilt, has chosen to continue his baseball career at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina.

Coach Helsel also commented, "Tanner is a true competitor. Every time he's on the mound it looks the same. He's out to win and there is no backing down. He has the confidence and the ability to be a really good college pitcher. Coastal Carolina is a great school and has a strong baseball tradition. Their coaching staff did a fantastic job recruiting Tanner. He really feels at ease with them".

Tanner is the second NorCal East player to verbally commit to a Divisoin I school. In November former NorCal East player, Austin Urban, committed to Penn State. The Penn State Coaches had this to say about Austin. "Austin is very athletic and a guy we feel could play a few different places for us. He is another player we signed who we feel will help us on the mound and in the field. On the mound, he has a very good arm and a great feel for his secondary pitches. Defensively, he is an outstanding middle infielder. At the plate, he is a high contact guy that shows good gap power."

17U 2010 schedules released (subject to change)

The 2010 schedules for the two NorCal East 17U teams are finalized and they are more competitive than ever before. Head Coach, Mark Helsel explains, "We try to accomplish 3 things when we put our schedule together. The first consideration is we must play where there is a lot of exposure for our players. We are certain that if our guys play in front of college coaches they will get recruited. By playing a great schedule last fall, almost all of our players are already getting recruited by Diviison I schools. With our 2010 schedule that will continue to an even greater level. There will be games next summer with 30-40 college coaches watching us play. The second consideration is the competition must be national level type teams. At this stage we're not trying to win any trophies or stroke our egos. We're trying to put our guys in Division I-like atmoshpheres against DI-like opponents. Again, we did that last fall and competed against the top teams in the country toe to toe. College coaches could see that our kids were right there with the top level competition. That's big.The third consideration is venue. Let's be honest, its a lot more fun to play on nice fields. We'll be playing at some of the top college stadiums in the country next summer and fall. I couldn't be more pleased with our schedule. It's going to be so much fun.

NorCal East 17U (White)

June  6^th Scout Day, Mount Aloysius College, Loretto, PA

June 11-13 James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

June 17-20 University of Georgia, Athens, GA

June 25-27 Allegheny Tigers tournament, Pittsburgh, PA

July 2-4 University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC

July 5 Team practice at Coastal Carolina University

July 6-12 WWBA at East Cobb, Marietta, GA (17U)

July 31-1 East Carolina University, Greenville, NC

NorCal East 17U (Black)

June 6^th Scout Day, Mount Aloysius College, Loretto, PA

June 11-13 James Madison University, Harrisonburg, PA

June 18-20 Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, VA

June 25-27 Allegheny Tigers tournament, Pittsburgh, PA

July 2-4 University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC

July 5 Team practice at Coastal Carolina University

July 13-19 WWBA at East Cobb, Marietta, GA (16U)

July 31-1 East Carolina University, Greenville, NC

13U Schedule Set to Go!

The NorCal East 13U team will play at great complexes against top flight competition in 2010. NCE Founder, Mark Helsel, explains. “We’ve had great experiences at all of these places in the past couple of years. The fields are nice and the tournaments are well organized. Our kids just love playing at these places and I’m really excited for our young guys to experience each place”.

The coaches and scouts who choose the NorCal teams are just about through the process and will be announcing the teams sometime in early January.  

NorCal East 17U Finishes strong at WWBA in Ft. Myers, Florida

It was a fitting end to a fantastic fall baseball season for NorCal East’s 17U team.  The team played in 3 tournaments  at Universities in the south (Liberty, UVA, UNC) against some of the best 18U teams in the country. Then, they traveled to Ft. Myers, Florida on Oct. 9-12 to play against the top 17U teams in the country.  NCE got a tough draw in pool play, being matched against one of the top organizations from the Midwest, Hitters Baseball and the nationally ranked East Cobb Astros. In the first game NCE lost 3-1 to Hitters Baseball.  Over 30 college coaches were there to watch two teams loaded with Division I talent battle it out. In the second game of the first day NCE got on track with a solid 7-1 win over Hendry County Crush.

The biggest game of the tournament was on Saturday in a showdown with the East Cobb Astros. The winner would advance to the playoffs, and the loser would be thrown in the consolation bracket.  Again, college coaches from the top SEC, ACC, Big 10, Big East and Conference USA were there to watch two outstanding teams play. They were not disappointed. Both teams played exceptionally well with outstanding defense, tremendous pitching and timely hitting. The difference in the game came down to one clutch single in the 6^th inning for East Cobb and they squeaked out a 1-0 victory.  In their final game of the tournament NCE finished strong with a convincing win over Ostingers Baseball Academy, 10-3.

Overall, the trip to Florida was a huge success. 16 NCE players played in front of nearly 100 scouts and have since received a ton of recruitment letters and college visits. Everybody is anxiously awaiting the start of the 2010 season. NCE will play in CA, NJ, PA, VA, KY, GA and NC next year and compete against the top programs in the country. It is expected that no less than 12 NCE players will sign with Division I programs in the next 12 months.

NorCal East expands its teams to include a 13U and a second 17U team for 2010

NCE recently announced that they will add two more teams to their program, giving them a total of 3 teams. They will form a 13U team that will be comprised of some of the top 13 year olds in the state of Pennsylvania. The team will be coached by former Major Leaguer and Pittsburgh Pirate, Doug Strange. Matt LaNeve will assist. They will begin tournament play in April and play through July. The roster for the team will be announced sometime in early 2010. Players wishing to tryout for this team should contact NCE Founder, Mark Helsel (814) 931 2185

A second 17U team has also been added and will be coached by Dave Brisbin and Joe Faretta.  This team will be comprised of 17U players who are projected as future college players. The 17U team will compete in NJ, PA, NC and SC in the summer of 2010. Players wishing to tryout for this team should contact NCE Founder, Mark Helsel (814) 931 2185

17U 2009 Fall Schedule

The 17U fall schedule for NorCal East is going to be extremely competitive. Coach Helsel had this to say about it, "Most of the teams we will be playing against will be loaded with Division I talent. There is so much great baseball being played at great venues and we're really excited to compete against that level of competition". 

Sept. 12-13 Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA

Sept. 19-20 Dynamic Team Tournament, Univ. of VA, Charlottesville, VA

Sept 26-27 Atlantic Coast Prep Baseball, North Carolina University, Chapel Hill, NC

Oct. 3-4 Florida Warm Up Showcase at Shaner Complex, State College, PA

Oct 9-10 Perfect Game Underclassman Showcase, Jupiter, FL NorCal East

NorCal East Baseball originated from our sister organization located in northern California. Please visit their website at www.norcalbaseball.org/