Freshwater Storm – Fall 2024

We are a nationally-ranked organization that has been providing opportunities for players since 2007. Our 2024 fall season will have teams in the following age groups: 2025-2028. Here are some highlights about us, followed by a detailed breakdown of what we’re all about.

    • Recruiting – Relationships with college coaches matter. See some here: https://freshwaterstorm.com/connections/
    • Strong Testimonies: You can read some testimonials from parents by clicking here: https://freshwaterstorm.com/testimonials/
    • Social Media– Follow us on Twitter, where 200+ college coaches follow us looking for players: https://twitter.com/PrspCntSports
    • Recruiting Video – Each of our players will have a recruiting video done that we can both use to get in front of college coaches.
    • Strong Schedule – We will play four of the best tournaments in the state of Florida and do not leave the state to play.
    • Small Rosters – Typical fall roster size: 12 position players and 3-4 POs.
    • Competitive Cost: Just $1,050 for position players and $500 for POs. There are no tryout fees and no uniform packages.
    • Former Players– Many of our former players have had a lot of success. See here: https://freshwaterstorm.com/players/

 

Read on to learn all about the Freshwater Storm.

If you’re interested in playing, please contact Mike Bakas (mikebakas81@gmail.com).

Talk a little about the Freshwater Storm history and background. We are a central Florida-based travel ball organization that started back in 2007. We have teams in various age groups, ranging from seniors (2025 grads) all the way down to incoming freshmen (2028 grads). We’ve had multiple nationally-ranked teams on Perfect Game in recent years and our primary goal is to provide a competitive opportunity for players who may want to play college baseball one day.

What’s it like playing for the Freshwater Storm? Click HERE to read through a large number of testimonials from parents of several of our players.

How much emphasis do you put on the recruiting process for your players? It’s as important as anything we do. It’s a major priority for us and always has been. We promote our players in the following ways:
1) We guarantee that all of our players will have a chance to get directly in front of college coaches from around the state.

2) Video: Good video is often the first step in getting the attention of a college coach. All our players will have a recruiting video they can use to show college coaches. All of our player recruiting videos will be posted on our Twitter so that college coaches can easily access them. and so that our players can show college coaches. Here’s an example of one (Jax now plays at Rollins College):

2) Getting the information on our players in front of college coaches: We send a spreadsheet of our players to every school east of the Mississippi River. It’s simply all the facts (and videos) on all of our players.
3) Helping players sort through which camps and showcases to attend. You’re probably getting invited to a lot of them. It can be overwhelming choosing which ones to attend. We will help our players navigate through this to help make sure they’re not going to the wrong events.
4) Social Media – see below.

How important is promotion of players on social media It’s huge. So much of the college baseball recruiting process is done virtually now. Every college baseball program in America has a coach on its staff that is active there and one of the biggest reasons is that it’s a great recruiting tool that can be done virtually. We promote our players and it’s a big reason why you’ll see close to 250 college coaches (from UF all the way down to Junior College programs in the Northeast) following us on there.

What are some schools you have connections with? We have sent players to schools at every level. Some of our former players were 1st and 2nd round draft picks. Some were 4-year college starters. Some were able to get degrees from big time academic institutions for next to nothing because of baseball. Some were able to stay in Florida. Some left the state to play and ended up becoming college coaches at the school they played at. Every player has a unique situation and we understand and respect that. What might be a good fit for one kid might not be for another.  You can see a sampling of our connections here: https://freshwaterstorm.com/connections/

How can someone try out for the 2024 fall season? We identify players in one of three ways.
1) Any returning player from the summer that is invited back does not need to tryout for fall.
2) For new players, private tryouts are happening all the time. We don’t believe in a single day/weekend tryout like a lot of other organizations. We feel like a lot of really good players get overlooked at those events with 100+ players. It’s very difficult to get a really good evaluation of every player in that setting.  Instead, we prefer doing more private workouts with a handful players at a time. It allows us a chance to get a really good evaluation of the player and for the player to see what it’s like being on the field with us. Plus, it allows us a chance to meet and spend time with the parents. These private workouts are no cost to the player.

Tell us about your tournament schedule: All of our teams will play a very competitive schedule. Below are the tournaments our teams will play in fall of 2024:
Perfect Game – The king of travel ball events, our teams play more PG events than anything else.
Prospect Wire – We’re the only travel ball organization that has been playing in PW events since they started hosting tournaments over a dozen years ago. They do an outstanding job promoting their teams and players.
IBC Baseball – Also known as World Amateur Baseball Association, they’re the king when it comes to hosting Junior College events in front of NCAA and MLB scouts. They do a great job with their high school division and we’ve been playing in their events since we started in 2007.
Our teams played at 9 (NINE) different Major League Baseball Complexes at various tournaments around the state of Florida in 2023 and we think that provided a really cool and unique experience for our players and their families.

What is the Freshwater Storm Fall Kickoff Event? That’s a one-day event when each of our teams will play two games against another Freshwater Storm team. It will provide our players a chance to meet their teammates and coaches and form some team chemistry before starting tournament play.

Have your teams had a lot of success? Yes. In fact, we’ve been a nationally-ranked organization on Perfect Game in each of the last 4 summers with no plans of slowing down anytime soon. We win a lot of games and events but far more important to us is creating a culture that our players will enjoy and helping create opportunities for them to play baseball in college for those who choose to do so. Our summer teams won 5 tournament championships and played for 3 others.

How are pitcher onlys treated in your organization? There are a few very important things to know here: 1) our pitching rotations are set as soon as the schedule for each event is released. As soon as we get it from the tournament directors, our coaches work on it and send it out to players. That’s very important for pitchers who have a routine or would like to get the information out to college coaches well in advance. 2) Our POs are only required to be at the games they’re scheduled to pitch in. If a PO throws the first game of a tournament, he does not need to be at the remaining games of the event. Although all of our players are absolutely invited to be at every game, this helps cut down on travel costs for our pitchers.

What’s a typical roster size for a Freshwater Storm team? Our fall teams will have no more than 12 position players and that includes a lot of 2-way players. Each team will also have a few pitcher onlys. Feel free to look at the photos that Perfect Game and Prospect Wire post of our championship teams and count the players you see in those.

Do your teams practice? We do not have any mandatory practices. We trust our players will be getting work in on their own or with their high school teams during the fall season but we often provide extra opportunities for those looking to get in some extra work.

Tell us about your coaches. Mike Bakas, a New Smyrna Beach resident, runs the organization and has since he started it 17 years ago. All of our coaches played in the organization when they were in high school and went on to play in college. It’s common to see travel ball coaches bounce around from organization to organization but we take a lot of pride in the fact that our coaches have been loyal to us since their playing days in high school. Our coaches provide an excellent mix of experience – from pitchers to position players and from guys who played at different levels in college to guys who played professionally. Our coaching staff is filled with good people with excellent baseball resumes.

How do you guys communicate with players and parents during the fall? Each coach will have a group chat with the players. That will allow him to send out weather updates, field changes, or any other important information. Mike Bakas will send out all emails to parents, keeping them updated on everything they need to know about each event. We are always a call, text, or email away from answering any questions you may have.

Who are some of your former players? There’s a long list of them and we are super proud of every single one of them who helped make our organization what it is today. Here’s a partial list of them: https://freshwaterstorm.com/players/

What about uniforms? We do not charge for unneccesary “uniform packages” that a lot of other organizations do. We are a bit old school in this regard – we will provide two jerseys (one of each color- blue and red – which are included in the overall fall fee) and a practice shirt. Our players are asked to wear white pants and their high school hats.

What’s the cost to play and what all is included? The cost for position players is just $1,050 and the cost for POs is just $500. Payment plans are available.  That cost includes a jersey, a recruiting video, our Fall Kickoff Event, four of the best tournaments you can play in the state of Florida, and being actively promoted to college coaches from all over for as long as you’re with us. We will absolutely put the combination of all of these things and our cost up against anyone.

If you’re interested in playing with the Freshwater Storm this fall, please contact Mike Bakas (mikebakas81@gmail.com).