2021 College World Series Filled with Little League® Graduates

College World Series Logo

More than 120 former Little Leaguers® will be heading to Omaha, Nebraska, to represent their schools at the 2021 NCAA Division I College World Series at TD Ameritrade Ballpark on June 19-29/30.

For every Little League Baseball® player growing up, making it to the next level of the game is the ultimate dream, and at the collegiate level, no stage shines brighter than the College World Series. Among the 122 collegiate athletes competing in Omaha in 2021 will be the University of Tennessee’s Jake Rucker, who helped lead his Goodlettsville (Tenn.) Baseball Little League team to a United States Championship title at the 2012 Little League Baseball World Series. Jake finished the World Series with a .375 batting average (6-for-16) through five games, including five RBI while leading his team with a 1.57 ERA and eight strikeouts on the mound through 7.2 innings of work.

Jake Rucker LLWS
Jake Rucker

In addition, Mississippi State University’s Davis Meche represented his South Lake Charles (La.) Little League team at the 2014 Little League Baseball Southwest Region Tournament while the University of Arizona’s German Fajardo helped lead his Nogales (Ariz.) National Little League team to the 2014 Little League Intermediate (50/70) Baseball Championship.

Davis Meche and German Fajardo
German Fajardo (left) and Davis Meche (right)

Below is the full list of the 122 College World Series players who got their start at their local Little League® field and are set to compete for the National Championship:

University of Arizona

  • George Arias Jr. – Western LL (Tucson, Ariz.)
  • Mac Bingham – Del Mar LL (San Diego, Calif.)
  • Branden Boissiere – Magnolia Center LL (Riverside, Calif.)
  • Kyle Casper – Rancho San Diego LL (El Cajon, Calif.)
  • Ian Churchill – Goleta Valley South LL (Santa Barbara, Calif.)
  • TJ Curd – Southwestern Port St. Lucie (Fla.) LL
  • German Fajardo – Nogales (Ariz.) National LL – 2014 LLB Intermediate (50/7) WS Champion
  • Quinn Flanagan – Chandler (Ariz.) American LL
  • Jack Grant – Danville (Calif.) LL
  • Ryan Holgate – Davis (Calif.) LL
  • Kaden Hopson – Highlands LL (San Bernardino, Calif.)
  • Kobe Kato – Aiea (Hawaii) LL
  • Ryan Kysar – Santa Clarita LL (Castail, Calif.)
  • Trevor Long – McCormick Ranch LL (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
  • Gil Luna – Casa Grande (Ariz.) LL
  • Nik McClaughry – Rocklin (Calif.) LL
  • Mason Millett – High Desert LL (Anthem, Ariz.)
  • Chandler Murphy – Arrowhead LL (Glendale, Ariz.)
  • Dawson Netz – Sierra Madre (Calif.) LL
  • Blake Paugh – McCormick Ranch LL (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
  • Blake Peyton – Fletcher Hills LL (El Cajon, Calif.)
  • Javyn Pimental – Kane’ohe (Hawaii) LL
  • Daniel Susac – Woodcreek LL (Roseville, Calif.)
  • Donta Williams – Central LL (Las Vegas, Nev.)

Mississippi State University

  • Scotty Dubrule – Bloomingdale American LL (Brandon, Fla.)
  • Lane Forsythe – Madison Central LL (Jackson, Tenn.)
  • Christian MacLeod – Huntsville (Ala.) Eastern LL
  • Davis Meche – South Lake Charles (La.) LL – 2014 LLB Southwest Region Tournament
  • Stone Simmons – West University LL (Houston, Texas)

NC State University

  • Bryce Behmer – Manheim Township (Pa.) LL
  • Devonte Brown – Grantville (Ga.) LL
  • DeAngelo Giles – High Point (N.C.) National LL
  • Evan Justice – Tuckahoe (Va.) LL
  • Cooper King – Weddington (N.C.) LL
  • Baker Nelson – Fuquay Varina (N.C.) LL
  • Andrew Tillery – Columbus (Ga.) American LL
  • Luca Tresh – Safety Harbor (Fla.) LL
  • Chris Villaman – High Point (N.C.) National LL

Stanford University

  • Brett Barrera – Vineyard LL (Etiwanda, Calif.)
  • Drew Bowser – Encino (Calif.) LL
  • Jaden Bruno – Wellington (Fla.) Recreation LL
  • Ryan Bruno – Wellington (Fla.) Recreation LL
  • Owen Cobb – Seattle (Wash.) Central LL
  • Adam Crampton – North Oakland (Calif.) LL
  • Drew Dowd – Belmont-Redwood Shores (Calif.) LL
  • Nathan Fleischli – Hillsborough (Calif.) LL
  • Henry Gargus – East Valley LL (Yakima, Wash.)
  • Cole Hinkelman – Sammamish (Wash.) LL
  • Cody Jensen – Roseville (Calif.) LL
  • Brock Jones – River Park LL (Fresno, Calif.)
  • Austin Kretzschmar – Rolando LL (La Mesa, Calif.)
  • Nicolas Lopez – Belmont-Redwood Shores (Calif.) LL
  • Quinn Mathews – Aliso Viejo (Calif.) LL
  • Tommy O’Rourke – Morristown Area (N.J.) American LL
  • Christian Robinson – South Beaches LL (Melbourne, Fla.)
  • Matt Swartz – Costa Mesa (Calif.) LL
  • Tommy Troy – Los Gatos (Calif.) LL
  • Alex Williams – Castro Valley (Calif.) LL
  • Jonathan Worley – Mid-City LL (San Diego, Calif.)

University of Tennessee

  • Colin Ahearn – Lakeville (Mass.) LL
  • Jared Dickey – Mount Juliet (Tenn.) National LL
  • Hunter Ensley – Huntingdon (Tenn.) LL
  • Hollis Fanning – Tullahoma (Tenn.) LL
  • Jake Fitzgibbons – Mount Juliet (Tenn.) National LL
  • Cortland Lawson – Lower Loudoun American LL (Sterling, Va.)
  • Will Mabrey – Smith County (Tenn.) LL
  • Jake Rucker – Goodlettsville (Tenn.) Baseball LL – 2012 LLBWS U.S. Champion
  • Evan Russell – Lexington (Tenn.) LL
  • Christian Scott – Saint Bethlehem LL (Clarksville, Tenn.)
  • Shawn Scott – Saint Bethlehem LL (Clarksville, Tenn.)
  • Charlie Taylor – Murphey Candler LL (Brookhaven, Ga.)

University of Texas

  • Mason Bryant – Northwest National LL (Austin, Texas)
  • Justin Eckhardt – Greater Sealy (Texas) LL
  • Lance Ford – Kerrville (Texas) LL
  • Peter Geib – West University LL (Houston, Texas)
  • Lucas Gordon – North Venice (Calif.) LL
  • Pete Hansen – El Dorado Hills (Calif.) LL
  • Lebarron Johnson Jr. – Highlands LL & San Mateo LL (Jacksonville, Fla.)
  • Kolby Kubichek – Bryan (Texas) Harvey LL
  • Ivan Melendez – Frank Manning LL (El Paso, Texas)
  • Dawson Merryman – Greenwood (Texas) LL
  • Aaron Nixon – City of Edinburg (Texas) LL
  • Peyton Powell – Robinson (Texas) LL
  • Travis Sthele – McAllister Park LL (San Antonio, Texas)
  • Sam Walbridge – Alamo Heights (Texas) LL
  • Zach Zubia – Lamar LL (Richmond, Texas)

Vanderbilt University

  • Nelson Berkwich – Boca Raton (Fla.) LL
  • Enrique Bradfield Jr. – Miami Springs (Fla.) LL
  • Gage Bradley – Saint Bethlehem LL (Clarksville, Tenn.)
  • Donye Evans – Midway Heights LL (Decatur, Ga.)
  • Brett Hansen – Mission San Jose LL (Fremont, Calif.)
  • Calvin Hewett – Portsmouth (N.H.) LL
  • Matt Hogan – Half Hollow Hills LL (Dix Hills, N.Y.)
  • Spencer Jones – Encinitas (Calif.) LL
  • Dominic Keegan – Methuen (Mass.) East LL
  • Ryan Keenan – Deerfield Beach (Fla.) LL
  • Chris McElvain – Nolensville (Tenn.) LL
  • Hunter Owen – South Portland (Maine) LL
  • J. Pittaro – Nottingham LL (Hamilton, N.J.)
  • Thomas Schultz – Shamokin-Mount Carmel (Pa.) LL
  • Ethan Smith – Mount Juliet (Tenn.) National LL
  • Javier Vaz – Huntsville (Ala.) American LL
  • Carter Young – Selah (Wash.) LL

University of Virginia

  • Blake Bales – Schoolcraft (Mich.) LL
  • Tate Ballestero – Morristown Area (N.J.) American LL
  • Jake Berry – Great Falls (Va.) LL
  • David Coppedge – Chesterfield (Va.) LL
  • Jake Gelof – Rehoboth Beach (Del.) LL
  • Zack Gelof – Rehoboth Beach (Del.) LL
  • Alex Greene – South Maryland LL (Davidsonville, Md.)
  • Connor Hincks – Western Springs (Ill.) LL
  • Nic Kent – McIntire LL (Charlottesville, Va.)
  • Griff McGarry – Alpine/West Menlo LL (Portola Valley, Calif.)
  • Chris Newell – Newtown Edgmont (Pa.) LL
  • Devin Ortiz – Manchester-Lakehurst (N.J.) LL
  • Billy Price – Chester-Mendham (N.J.) LL
  • Rece Ritchey – Huntingdon (Pa.) LL
  • Nate Savino – Lower Loudoun National LL (Sterling, Va.)
  • Luke Schauer – Capitol City LL (Washington, D.C.)
  • Stephen Schoch – Laurel (Md.) LL
  • Jimmy Sullivan – Wethersfield (Conn.) LL
  • Alex Tappen – Lower Gwynedd (Pa.) LL

NOTE: If you know of a player that we have missed, please share with us their information by using the Little League Alumni Submission Form.