Softball America and plenty of others head to Colorado for summer tournaments
The busiest two weeks of the summer is upon us and Softball America will be there for the first pitch. Consistent with our mission to cover the sport on “Every Field at Every Level,” the Softball America team is heading out to Colorado for the next ten days to highlight multiple elite athletes showcasing their skills in front of countless college coaches with the hopes of elevating their placement on the recruiting board.
The week starts off with Prospect Wire Softball and tournament director, Scott Smith of the Texas Bombers, hosting the Patriot Games at The Future Legends Complex June 27-29 in Windsor, Colorado.
The event boasts a unique format by using Yakkertech and Softballcloud to collect data during workouts in the morning, hosting pool play games in the afternoons, and culminating with single elimination play on Saturday. The 2024 field is loaded with young talent from the 14u-18u division. The invitation only tourney provides one of the first looks at the top teams from around the country colliding from both the PGF and Alliance leagues in what is sure to create some epic matchups.
Just down the road in Ft. Collins, Colorado, Triple Crown is hosting their inaugural P5 event held at the TCS campus, former site of the NISC postseason softball championship. The event is also an invite-only tournament geared toward clubs laden with top Power 5/ Division 1 talent. Analytics will be provided and utilized by College Sports Evaluation (CSE) and games will be livestreamed.
Interesting to note: Just released last week that both the Patriot Games and P5 tournaments will merge to host one tournament June 26-28, 2025 to create a more consolidated in game data driven invitation only tournament. As we look forward to the 2028 Olympics, we are encouraged by mergers of high-quality tournament fields such as this to continue elevating our sport and be consistent with Softball America’s mission to showcase highlights regardless of affiliation or league division.
Triple Crown will also kick off the International Challenge June 28-30 at the Christopher Fields Complex in Westminster, CO. According to the Triple Crown website, the event will allow US-born athletes to play for teams representing their heritage, potentially to be seen and evaluated for their respective national team pool. The event has grown exponentially over the years and fosters unity through sport around the globe.
The 2023 winners were:
18U Division
Gold medal: Canada
Silver medal: Italy
Bronze medal: Cuba
16U Division
Gold medal: Polynesia
Silver medal: USA
Bronze medal: Canada
Following a plethora of organizational workouts, recruiting evaluation camps, and college hosted camps, the two oldest Colorado tournaments will commence.
Based in Boulder, CO, the 27th Louisville Slugger Independence Day Tournament (IDT) will be held July 3-7, 2024 across the 14u-18u age divisions. Dan Burns, owner and founder of the tournament had a vision to create an elite tournament that would bring the sport to Colorado and allow the Colorado Stars organization to host talent from around the country. This year’s field is yet another example of “if you build it, they will come.” The who’s who of travel softball will battle it out in pool play to play for seeding in the single elimination tournament. The results from the 2023 tournament served as a precursor to the national tournament in late July. We expect this tournament to do this same this year.
2023 Results:
18U Boulder Champion: OC Batbusters Stith def. TX Impact Gold KC
18U Lousiville Champion: MN Magic Gold def. OH Hawks
16U Longmont Champion: TX Sudden Impact def. AL Birmingham Thunderbolts
14U Broomfield Champion: IN Beverly Bandits Premier Hardin/ Chow def. GA Atlanta Vipers
Across the Denver metro area, Triple Crown will host the largest softball tournament in the Sparkler and the Fireworks tourneys. Another talent laden event provides several unique formats and opportunities for athletes to play in Power Pools, Supplemental Pools, Open division and bracket play. There will be a 6 game guarantee pool play to elimination bracket. The Colorado Sparkler Juniors (12u & 14u divisions) will be held July 1-7, 2024 in Colorado Springs, CO and Northern Colorado. This is the 22nd year of the 12u/14u event showcasing over 1100 teams from around the country. The Colorado Sparkler/ Fireworks (16u & 18u divsions) will be played in the greater Denver metro area. Like its younger divisions, there will be a 6 game guarantee pool to elimination play, but will also use CSE for data collection and provide opportunities for televised games.
2023 Results:
18 Power Pool Winner: Athletics- Mercado/ Smith
18 Supplemental Power Pool Winner: Illusions Premier Lampl-Sessum-Bowen
18 Fireworks Winner: LV Blast 18u
16 Power Pool Winner: VA Unity Johnson/ Ross
16 Supplemental Power Pool Winner: TN Mojo 2025- Gregory
16 Fireworks Bracket A: OC Batbusters-Knapp
16 Fireworks Bracket B: SoCal Athletics 07 National- Jaquish
16 Fireworks Bracket C: Intensity National KOD/ Bodell
16 Fireworks Bracket D: Utah Heat 06/07
16 Fireworks Bracket E: BSC Bengals Gurule
16 Fireworks Bracket F: Mississippi Bombers 16 Gold/ Knight
14 Power Pool Winner: OC Batbusters White (Hudson)
14 Supplemental Power Pool Winner: VA Glory Ladia
14 Open Gold: High Tide-Cullivan
14 Open Silver: Bombers Gold American 14u
14 Open Bronze: St. Louis Chaos 08 Timpe
12 Gold: Bengals CKM 2010
12 Silver: Athletics Mercado Walker 12u
12 Bronze: Aces Fastpitch 12u Black
Be sure to stop by the Softball America tent and get your gear! Good luck to all participants!
