2024 Del Rio Babe Ruth 14u All Star Team headed to the Babe Ruth World Series

The 2024 Del Rio Babe Ruth 14u All Star Team is heading to the regional baseball tournament in Starkville, Mississippi from July 17 to July 21, 2024. Upon their return from regionals, they, along with teams from Eagle Pass, will be representing the Southwest Texas region in the Babe Ruth World Series hosted this year in the city of Eagle Pass beginning on August 8, 2024. 

The fifteen players headed to the tournament and World Series were selected from various Babe Ruth League teams and placed on the All Star Team to represent Del Rio and qualify for the World Series, playing against a variety of teams from all over the country. Because the World Series will be hosted in the Southwest Region, the Del Rio 14u All Star Team received an automatic bid, qualifying for and moving forward to the World Series.

Though they automatically qualify to play in the Series, Coaches Diego Almaraz Jr and Raul Barrera made it clear that they are still holding the team to a certain standard of expectation going into the tournament in Starkville. “For us, they still need to qualify even though we’ve automatically got a bid,” Coach Diego Almaraz Jr emphasized. “We have very high expectations of these guys, we’re expecting them to work 110% there in Starkville, and to be quite honest with you, I think these boys can definitely go long in that tournament and win it all,” he continued. “It’s a great group of young men.” 

Despite coming from different teams, all 15 players get along and play well together, which their coaches believe is a quality that sets them apart from other teams. “All these boys have played baseball together in some form over the last 2-3 years, whether it's on a travel team, Babe Ruth, or just a friendly game anywhere they can find a field,” Coach Almaraz shared. “Seeing the fruits of their labor is a win for Coach Barrera and I and we really enjoy it.” 

Being such a young group, primarily 13 and 14 years old, the players are motivated, excited, and ready to leave it all on the field at the upcoming tournament in Starkville. Diego Almaraz III, 14, told us he’s, “super excited to go to Mississippi and see different competition and different people.” His teammate, Alek Casillas, 14, told us he’s curious to see what other teams outside of Del Rio are like. “I wanna see if there’s better competition than, you know, the rest of these guys.”

It’s clear that the players on the All Star Team are excited about scoping out the competition and traveling to a new state to compete against new teams, but they are also looking forward to sharing this experience with their longtime friends and teammates. “It’s awesome to be able to play with everybody that made it to Allstars, because some of them I played with on travel teams and it's really fun to play with them again and travel with them,” Seth Falcon, 13 shared. Followed by Jaren Valadez, 13, who stated that he “can’t wait to see different states and travel with my friends.” Marco Salas, 14, added that he feels “very excited to be able to experience this with my teammates who are like my brothers.” “I am looking forward to playing some challenging teams while making memories on and off the field.” 

2024 Del Rio Babe Ruth 14u All Star Team: 

Aaden Aguirre #24

Ashton Casillas #23

Alek Casillas #17

Brandon Dominguez #7 

Diego Almaraz III #27 

Jaren Valadez #11

Marco Salas #6

Rylen Roberts #5

Santiago Talavera #15

Seth Falcon #2

EJ Galliete #10 

Grady Weston #4 

Isiah Harrington #22

Hunter Boots #18

Josiah Martinez #21

Coaches: 

Raul Barerra

Diego Almaraz Jr

Darrin Casillas 

Bobby Dominguez 

Family, friends, members of the community, and a number of local businesses have generously donated to and sponsored the team as they prepare for the trip to Mississippi in a little over a week, helping them raise the funds they need for travel, room and board, and meals for the 15 boys and their coaches. Those interested in getting involved can visit the “Del Rio Babe Ruth 14u All Star Team” Facebook page for information on their next fundraiser and access to their CashApp account where they are still currently accepting donations. “There’s been an overwhelming amount of support, it’s been awesome,” Coach Almaraz shared with us about the outpouring of support for the team during the fundraising process. 

If you missed them at the creek during the Fourth of July festivities, you will still be able to catch them at their Turkey Leg sale on July 13, in the Bel Furniture parking lot and on Wednesday, July 10, at HTeaO from 5-8pm for Spirit Night, where a portion of the proceeds from sales that night will be donated to the team. 

Best of luck to the entire 2024 14u All Star Team, from the team here at Connect Del Rio as we continue to follow this story. 

This Journalist can be reached at alondra.sanchez@connectdelrio.com