Team manager Kyle Hocog discusses the game plan with the U15 Boys National Baseball Team.
The U15 Boys National Baseball Team members pose for a group photo.
(SBL) — The Saipan Baseball League has named its U15 national squad to represent the Northern Mariana Islands at the WBSC Oceania U15 Qualifier in Guam this Thanksgiving weekend. The regional tournament will feature Guam, Australia, New Zealand, and the NMI battling for a single coveted berth to the WBSC U15 Baseball World Cup.
The roster was finalized after a two-week tryout that brought together the islands’ top 25 U15 prospects — players born in 2011, 2012, and 2013 — for a demanding evaluation designed to mirror international tournament tempo. Coaches weighed measurable skill and game understanding in equal parts to identify the final team.
Under team manager Austin Kyle Hocog, head coach Anthony Salas, and assistants Ian Norita and Eric Palacios, the squad has already settled into a multi-day weekly training rhythm. Practices emphasize repetition, live-scenario problem-solving, and unit cohesion, blending high-volume defensive work with controlled scrimmages, mound sequences tailored to likely Oceania opponents, and leadership development.
A recent scrimmage against the SBL Major League Phillies offered the teenagers a blunt lesson in pace and precision.
“Facing older arms and tighter defenses forced our boys to speed up their minds without rushing their mechanics,” Hocog said, adding, “Scrimmages like that give us honest film and clear to-do lists.”
Hocog, who oversees the program’s day-to-day standards, praised the team’s intangibles as much as its evolving skills.
“These boys have tons to work on — every day reveals details we can sharpen,” he said. “But the one thing that already separates them is heart. When practice gets hard, they pick up their brothers. Each player finds a way to lead and to assist so the whole group moves as one team. That’s the culture we’re taking to Guam.”
The challenge ahead is steep but clear: the Oceania Qualifier crowns the region’s lone representative to the U15 Baseball World Cup, the global stage for this age group. In Guam, the NMI will face familiar neighbors and seasoned baseball nations whose youth pipelines regularly produce high-level talent.
For the Saipan Baseball League, the U15 campaign is also part of a broader commitment to build pathways from local diamonds to international opportunities. The league’s youth-to-adult ecosystem — clinics, national teams, and major division mentors — creates a feedback loop where older players model professional habits and younger athletes absorb them. The Phillies’ willingness to stage a competitive scrimmage with the U15s reflects that approach: community teams lifting national squads, and national squads raising the standard for the next wave.
Event schedules and team features will be released as the qualifier nears. The Saipan Baseball League will provide updates through its official channels. For now, the message from the dugout is simple: the NMI U15s are preparing with urgency and pride for a shot at the World Cup — one rep, one read, one pitch at a time.
Saipan Baseball League President Jay Santos underscored the importance of the WBSC platform.
“The Saipan Baseball League is a proud member of the World Baseball & Softball Confederation,” Santos said. “This membership affords us opportunities to participate in tournaments we would normally not qualify for. In 2024, we sent a U12 team to the WBSC tournament in Guam, and we look forward to sending U18 and U23 teams to future events. We take great pride in finding ways to further develop the baseball skills of our youth.”
