Academy Notebook: Youth Academy athletes compete in USA Softball High Performance Program National Selection event

Six Rangers Youth Academy Athletes participate in USA Softball High Performance Program National Selection event

Academy athletes recount their experience at exclusive USA Softball competition

Last month, six softball players from the Texas Rangers Youth Academy competed in USA Softball’s 2024 High Performance Program (HPP) National Selection event hosted in Vero Beach, Fla.

Juliet Amparan, Destan Burks, Amira Forbit, Joleigh Richards, Meagan Robles and Alyssa Summers represented the Rangers Youth Academy in a series of on-field evaluations and scrimmages in hopes of being selected to the U18 United States Junior Women’s National Team roster.

The athletes were instructed and observed by the U.S. Junior Women’s National Team Selection Committee – which includes U.S. Olympians, professional softball athletes and HPP evaluators. The top performers from the National Selection event will potentially receive an invitation to a National Team trial.

“All the tips and talks from the Olympians showed me that I can do this,” said Amparan, a sophomore at Dallas HSAA in Plano. “Putting on the USA jersey and competing for the National Team have been some of my goals.”

For Summers, a junior at Hebron High School in Carrollton, the opportunity to measure her abilities against some of the top softball players in the United States was one she did not take for granted.

“Being invited to showcase my talents in front of the best of the best and to play alongside some of the best players in the country meant the world to me,” she said. “Very few people get to this point and have the chance to put in the work while wearing their country’s name on their chest. It’s the most fulfilling feeling in the world.”

Burks, a senior at Red Oak High School and New Mexico State commit, cherished the chance to compete at the highest level alongside fellow Rangers Youth Academy athletes.

“It was great to be around the girls and represent the Texas Rangers RBI Academy,” she said. “Not many people get this opportunity, so I am very grateful to have been around some of the best players in the U.S."

Quick Hits

Mansfield Timberview’s Nicholas Smith named to MLB DREAM Series roster for second straight year

• What it is: Major League Baseball earlier this week announced that Rangers Youth Academy athlete and Arlington native Nicholas Smith has been selected to the 2025 DREAM Series roster. This marks the second consecutive year for Smith to participate in the event, which will be held in Tempe, Ariz., from Jan. 17-20.
• Why it matters: Now in its eighth year, the MLB DREAM Series is a premiere amateur baseball development camp created to diversify the talent pool of minority pitchers and catchers. This year’s event will feature nearly 80 of the top high school athletes from across the country receiving elite-level instruction from former Major and Minor League players, managers and coaches.
• Go deeper: The MLB DREAM Series, which is operated cost-free by Major League Baseball and USA Baseball, has seen 58 of its alumni go on to be selected in the MLB Draft. That group includes Rangers right-handed pitcher Kumar Rocker, who was selected by the club in the first round (third overall) of the 2022 MLB Draft and made his Major League debut last September.

2025 winter programming at Rangers Youth Academy begins Monday, Jan. 13

• Baseball and softball programming at the Rangers Youth Academy for the winter season is set to begin on Monday, Jan. 13, and run through Feb. 20. Those interested in registering can do so here.