World Series XXI 2026
World Series XXI (21) is officially in the books. Big League Dreams did not disappoint with their promise to renovate the complex. The conditions were pristine, featuring both turf infield and outfield on all 6 fields. Outfielders in particular had to adjust to turf as balls seemed to skip to the outfield wall much quicker than past years when they were grass.
Our Opening Ceremony was held on Friday evening and it was well attended as always. The Las Vegas Metro Honor Guard presented colors, and unfortunately due to a scheduling conflict, the Canadian Honor Guard (members of the Northern Lawmen) were finishing up a game but were there in spirit. The player party was sponsored Angel Armor (body armor company) and the players appreciated the freebies courtesy of AA.
Season End Award Winners were presented with plaques courtesy of the Deputy Sheriff Association of Sacramento and their president, Nate Segar and event sponsor Mickey Jannis (on behalf of Brett Helmer) from Marucci Sports.
Dan Spinelli 52 Strong:
Eric Theiss, New York Empire
Del Pickney Lifetime Achievement Award:
Skip Stephenson, San Diego Gray
Sponsor of the Year:
Bonnie Lucas, Desert Connection
Shevy Wright Sportsman of the Year:
Jim Phillos, Midwest Heat
Walt Conry Manager of the Year:
Nick Cappiello, New York Express
Gold Defensive Player of the Year
Leo Vargas Jr., MoKan Guns
Majors Defensive Player of the Year:
TJ Montalbano, New York Empire
Gold Player of the Year
Devin Luckett, Bluegrass Lawmen
Majors Player of the Year
Jeremy Brown, Missouri Lawmen
Our Hall of Fame committee chairs Dennis Leonard and Tyson Becker/Anthony Costanzo were recognized for their efforts, and we invited every active Hall of Fame member onto the field to welcome this years inductees. Every new inductee was presented with a challenge coin by Dennis:
EAST
Travis Morgan, Chicago Metro
Don Painter, Metro Detroit
Billy Boyd, Suffolk Lawmen
Craig Singleton, Ohio/Kentucky Blue
WEST
Danny Torres, Lonestar
Milton Stewart, San Antonio Law
Dave Braun, LAPD Blue
Mike Snyder, SoCal Alliance/LAPD Blue
The Home Run Derby finals were very exciting as always. Once again, the stakes were raised with the winner walking away with $1,000 cash and $1,000 toward his favorite charity courtesy of Justin Witt and his private company, Police Security Services. Miami Dawgz slugger Ricky Claudio went into full beast mode in the final round to claim the title of Home Run King. Ricky will be hereby referred to as “King Ricky” and reign as the home run king for the next year until he will have to defend his crown.
Last year we planned a wooden bat all star game that got rained out. This year we made it happen. It was honestly the most exciting game of the tournament to many spectators. Why? Because it was like watching a chess match where every hit mattered, defense was prioritized, small ball was emphasized, and when a ball was hit for a home run, the hitter had to EARN it. PS.COM leaders Jeff “The Swami” Blair and Justin “Covid Clown” Witt had a mid-season debate as to who could build a better All Star team. That led to a snake draft where only one player from a team could be selected. 30 of the best players in the nation were divided between Team Swami vs. Team Clown. In the end of the 5 inning exhibition, Team Swami prevailed in a close game, 12-9.
TEAM COVID CLOWN All Stars
Steve Abina — DEA Connection
Joshua Ninno — Houston Heat
Danny Timmons — North Florida
Julio Fernandez — Miami Dawgz
Desean Estep — TBL Outlaws
Alex Genoa — Center Mass
Travis Perkola — Great Lakes
Kyle Greene — NY Empire
Adrian Gonzalez — Miami 50
Dave Masi — Max Blues
Brennan Garr — Angel Armor
Tyler Eppel — NY Express
Brett Huber — Connecticut Lawmen
Devin Luckett — Bluegrass Lawmen
Managed by: Justin Witt, PoliceSoftball.com
Player Coach: John Zintak- Great Lakes
Hall of Fame Coach: Brandon West-South Florida
TEAM SWAMI All Stars
Danny Higa — LAPD Blue
Mike English — Kentucky Blue
Jeremy Brown — Missouri Lawmen
Brandon Vicens — South Florida
Issac Galloway — LA Empire
Justin Higley — Sac Razorbacks
Tyler Clawson — Brotherhood
Jeremy Whaley — Minnesota Lawmen
Alex Porcillo — Suffolk Lawmen
Marshall Schuler — 172 Combo
Leo Vargas — KC Guns
Dustin McLoughlin — Northern Lawmen
Issac Ortiz — West Coast Lawmen
Jordan Franks — NorCal Reloaded
Managed by: Jeff Blair, PoliceSoftball.com
Player Coach: Ryan Coe- San Antonio Law
Hall of Fame Coach: Joe Monahan- Missouri Lawmen
Gold Division:
Forty-two (42) teams battled it out with 2 pool play games for playoff seeding and then a double elimination playoff. This year was projected to be the most competitive due to several Majors teams requesting voluntary demotion to Gold. That meant, in addition to the Gold powerhouse teams, there was also a handful of teams that had been competing at the Majors level for several years.
It was obvious to those who have followed our sport for decades, that the Gold Division has moved from the “recreational” level to the highly competitive level we see today. Many of the Gold teams today would have been top Majors teams when we first started separating the divisions around 2010.
Several teams were mentioned as being contenders for the title including the usual suspects; Chicago Metro, 305 Elite, Northern Lawmen, North Florida, Houston Heat, South Texas Gunslingers and I-80 Cartel to name a few. One team name that was not mentioned was Nitro2Go. A few years ago, Nitro2Go was in the discussion, but the team was aging and consistently losing their top players to other teams via the transfer portal. Team leader, Lyle Reyes who has been running the team for over 2 decades never gave up hope and after 20 years in the making he earned his first world championship. Nitro2Go fielded a young, hungry, motivated team that was like a buzzsaw all weekend. They played inspired ball and even after suffering a loss at the hands of the veteran Chicago Metro, they came back to double dip them in the ship. This younger, faster, more athletic version of Nitro2Go certainly looks like they will be a top contender in Mid Majors next year. We have a challenge for them. Every year, Lyle gets verbal commitments from the players to travel but then has to pull out due to lack of commitment. We are challenging Nitro2Go to be FIGHTING CHAMPIONS and take their belts on the road to defend them just like Reloaded did 2 years ago. We look forward to seeing Nitro2Go at the entire Triple Crown Series next year and would love to see them take their belts to New York, St. Louis or Florida and defend them with pride just as 17 time world champion Ric Flair did in his prime.
Gold Division Results
1. Nitro2Go
2. Chicago Metro
3. Team Louisiana
4. 305 Elite
T5. Northern Lawmen
T5. Norsemen PSC
T7. North Florida Showdown
T7. Garden State
T9. Marylands Finest
T9. South Texas Gunslingers
T9. Stan County Boys
T9. Frontline
T13. Mokan Guns
T13. Slaps
T13. Honolulu's Finest
T13. Desert Connection
T17. NY Boldest
T17. Gotham City
T17. NY Express
T17. NYPD Finest
T17. PAPD Twins
T17. I80 Cartel
T17. Riverside Sheriff
T17. Utah Metro
T25. Aftermath
T25. Darkside
T25. Mass Casualty
T25. Omerta
T25. Port Runners
T25. MDF-Dayton
T25. Midwest Heat
T25. Houston Hustle
T33. Bluegrass
T33. Misfits
T33. Toronto Takedown
T33. Lock and Load
T33. Razorbacks Gold
T33. Texas Fugitives
T33. Houston Heat
T33. SB Hit Squad
T33. Lonestar
T33. BP Arsenal
Nitro2Go Award winners:
Del Pickney MVP- Shane Coleman
All World- Timmy Colon, Daniel Eguiza, Shawn Michaels
Defensive MVP- Mario Morales
Pat Hill Inspirational- Danny Wells
Chicago Metro Award winners:
All World- Anthony Valera, Travis Morgan, Shawn White
Team Louisiana Award winners:
All World- Brad Cadiere, Ed Scott
Silver Division
15 teams participated in the single elimination Silver Division with one forfeit. For these teams, it was a fresh start after exiting early from the Gold bracket. One team nobody expected to see in Gold was former Gold Champions, Lonestar but they went 0-2 and finished tied for last. That ultimately gave them a gut check, and the team rallied by posting wins over other Silver teams such as: Razorbacks Gold, Lock N Load, Bluegrass and the Port Runners. One new team that was very impressive regardless of the results was Mass Casualty out of Massachusetts and another was the SoCal based Port Runners who typically compete in public safety tourneys, not the circuit.
Silver Division Results
1. Lonestar
2. Port Runners
T3. Midwest Heat
T3. Bluegrass
T5. Misfits
T5. Lock and Load
T5. Mass Casualty
T5. SB Hit Squad
T9. Aftermath
T9. Toronto Takedown
T9. Omerta
T9. Houston Hustle
T9. Razorbacks Gold
T9. Texas Fugitives
T9. Houston Heat
T9. BP Arsenal-forfeit
Lonestar Award Winners
Del Pickney MVP-Frank Mireles
Pat Hill Inspirational- Kevin Murphy
Defensive MVP- Brandon Keary
All World- Brad Johnson, Caleb Hemphill, Nate Skeen
Port Runners Award Winners
All World- Sergio Lopez, Jesse Meyers, Bernardo Bautista
Majors Division
Our Majors division has downsized into only 23 teams due to several teams requesting to be reclassified into the lower division. That said, the overall feel of the division was parity. Sure, the usual suspects did what they were supposed to do, but it literally felt like many games were a coin toss as to who would prevail. No team in Majors seemed, “out talented” by their opponents. Instead, it was simply a case of which team was hot at the right time. As the saying goes, it’s not always who you play…it is when you play them that matters.
As the tournament progressed one match up that everyone knew would have a huge impact on the eventual results was the Great Lakes vs. LAPD Blue game. In a see-saw battle Great Lakes prevailed and knocked LAPD Blue into the loser bracket which was something LAPD Blue did to Great Lakes 2 short years ago. That set up the undefeated game between Great Lakes who were fresh off a big tournament championship in St. Louis and the DEA Connection who was the hottest team in the nation after winning 2 of the 3 Triple Crown Series tournaments. First, DEA Connection traveled across the nation to Nashville to win the East Coast Championship (first time in memory that a WC team won the ECC), and then the returned home to claim the West Coast Championship in SoCal. The big story going into the series was, would the DEA Connection be the first time in history to win all three points of the Triple Crown Series? The game went into the 7th inning where Great Lakes jumped ahead in the top of the 7th and then managed to hold of the DEA Connection in the bottom half to secure the win. Meanwhile, in the wee hours of the night and into the early morning, the defending champions Missouri Lawmen were still alive and eliminated another heavyweight favorite New York Empire.
Due to weather concerns, the event went until 2 AM on Sunday morning and then re-started again at 9 AM on Sunday, but by this time only a handful of teams were alive. One of them was the vastly improved South Florida Lawmen, but they were eliminated after an amazing performance all weekend. Once Missouri was eliminated (finishing 4th) everyone knew there would be a new champion crowned that day. The perennial powerhouse LAPD Blue were eliminated by the DEA Connection who seemed to have their number this past year. That set up a rematch between DEA Connection and Great Lakes in the championship. On this day, Great Lakes could not be denied, and they celebrated in a champagne shower after winning their 2nd World Series championship and the first one in close to 15 years. In a show of mutual respect and brotherhood, the teams posed for a group photograph together.
Great Lakes Award Winners:
Del Pickney MVP- Travis Perkola
Pat Hill Inspirational- Dan Zintak
Defensive MVP-Jon Tibaudo
All World- Joe Saunders, Dustin Hoskins, Jeff Graus
DEA Connection Award Winners:
All World- Kevin Mort, Jorge Vina, Robert Mason
LAPD Blue Award Winners:
All World- Kiko Cavaco, Robert Lundy
Great Lakes received a kings ransom in prizes including the coveted stone obelisk, medals, hats, script from Elite along with bats and backpacks from Marucci Sports.
Majors Results
1. Great Lakes
2. DEA Connection
3. LAPD Blue
4. Missouri Lawmen
T5. South Florida
T5. 172 Combo
T7. New York Empire
T7. San Antonio Law
T9. Angel Armor
T9. Center Mass
T9. Connecticut Lawmen
T9. Kentucky Blue
T13. TBL Outlaws
T13. Minnesota Lawmen
T13. Miami Dawgz
T13. Sac Razorbacks
T17. The Brotherhood
T17. Max Blues
T17. Miami 5.0.
T17. LA Empire
T17. West Coast Lawmen
T17. Reloaded
T17. Suffolk Lawmen
Mid Majors Division
Eight teams competed in the Mid Majors and some very good teams found themselves facing off in this single elimination event. Mid Majors is a way for the best teams in the nation to salvage what would have otherwise been a disappointing weekend by getting a fresh start and a chance to play up to 3 more competitive games against other top teams. Although the LA Empire was disappointed with their results in Majors they made lemonade out of lemons. Keep in mind, the team lost 3 games by 1 run including a come from behind walk off by New York Empire. As stated earlier, Majors was not about talent, it was about who had the hot hand and LA Empire was snake bitten on 3 occasions. They rallied on Sunday and posted 3 consecutive wins which culminated with an impressive victory over Reloaded in the championship game.
LA Empire Award Winners:
Del Pickney MVP-Bobby Correa
Pat Hill Inspirational- AJ Adrian Jimenez
Defensive MVP-Isaac Calloway
All World- Bo Cuthbertson, Kyle Heinen, Taylor Chapman
NorCal Reloaded Award Winners:
All World- Mateo Romero, Ruben Ramos, Jordan Halog
Mid Majors Results
1. LA Empire
2. NorCal Reloaded
T3. Miami 5.0.
T3. Suffolk Lawmen
T5. Miami Dawgz
T5. West Coast Lawmen
T5. Max Blues
T5. The Brotherhood
Special Recognition goes out to all those who make the event a success. As you all know, it takes a village to raise a child, and our collective child is this event. From the volunteers who helped us set up at 5:30 AM to those doing the important but mundane task of checking ID’s and issuing wristbands such as Kevin Schoch, Perry Moore, Jay Stewart, Dennis Leonard, Big Tone, and Lito Gaddis along with spouses. Announcers Mike O’Neill and Kevin Schoch did an amazing job spinning tunes between innings and giving us play by play updates throughout the weekend. Since we have to be at the complex by 5:30 AM and the games extend past midnight we need a graveyard shift to relieve our duties as tournament director and Big Tone and Lito Gaddis were a blessing.
Our sponsors are nothing short of amazing. Brett Helmer and Marucci Sports has been with us since day one and we will forever be loyal to him. His representative, Mickey Jannis was a perfect addition to the team along with long time supporters: Ronni Saucedo and Jason Kendrick of Rawlings, Carlos Vega of Elite Sports, the Sacramento Deputy Sheriff Association, Angel Armor and a huge shoutout to Robert Garland from FUND THE FIRST for sponsoring our umpires. Thanks to Robert, every bracket game in Majors, Mids and Gold had TWO umpires! Without Robert’s support this would not have been possible. Please support Fund The First when considering fundraisers for our law enforcement family. Instead of using GoFundMe which keeps a percentage of funds raised, Fund The First gives it ALL to the cause AND they cater specifically to law enforcement as they ARE law enforcement.
For World Series XXII (22, expect a double deuces theme) we will once again be hosting the event at the Big League Dreams facility on Oct. 7-10, 2027 (Thu-Sun) with Majors/Mid Majors playing Thu-Sat and Gold/Silver Fri/Sunday. We are doubling down on our TRIPLE CROWN SERIES including the ECC, WCC and WS next season and there will be significant incentives to those teams who attend all three. More to follow…. From JB, Witt and AMB, thanks to all who attended and we are excited to for another amazing PS circuit next year.