FARMINGTON – The hype and fan-filled entrance of players and coaches representing teams in the 2026 Connie Mack World Series to the Farmington Civic Center offers a rebuke to the suggestion that “the journey is in the arrival.”
Thursday’s introduction to the city for many of the amateur baseball players can be a little overwhelming. A police escort meets the team bus, dropping them safely off for a gathering of fans, host families, members of the media and tournament executives.
Once inside the confines of the Civic Center, they’re buzzed along to have their photos taken and given a catered meal. Many of these strangers will be introduced to families who are willing to put their home life on hold for more than a week to feed them and drive them to and from games, practices and team meetings.
The following morning, hundreds of onlookers celebrate the teams with a parade down Main Street in downtown Farmington.
All of that before a single pitch is thrown in a game.
So it can easily be said that the arrival, which took place throughout the day Thursday in downtown Farmington, is merely another step in the journey.
“This definitely makes you appreciate the game and take away from the aspect of the pressure of it,” said TEST Baseball’s Connor Young, moments before Friday morning’s parade down Main Street. “I think it’s it’s awesome that we get to enjoy what it means like to play baseball.”
Fans and families have traveled, some at great lengths to be a part of the experience.
Christine Pearson, visiting from Washington to support the NW 509 Stars, is enjoying the opportunity to see her favorite team advance.
“We actually have learned a lot since qualifying for the World Series, cause it’s not something that’s well known in our area,” Pearson said before the start of the downtown parade. “So when we started learning about the tournament, it was very exciting. The boys are super excited and honored to be here.”
With more than 30 players from the state of New Mexico participating in the tournament, for teams across the country, the opportunity can be a defining moment.
Xavier Jacob Vasquez, a recent graduate of Cleveland High School, will be on the active roster for the Midland (Ohio) Redskins. Vasquez is a left-handed pitcher currently signed on to attend Eastern Arizona College.
“We’re all very close, and we love him a lot, obviously and we support him as much as we could,” said Vasquez’ sister Isabella. “We went to go visit him as much as we could. We’re very excited to see him play and see how good he’ll do, and just to watch him and support him as much as we can.”
For coaches like Ryan Bonesio, who will lead D-Bat United onto playing fields across town this week in search of a CMWS title, the arrival always holds special meaning.
“We look forward to this tournament every year. It’s one of the best experiences for these guys win or lose,” Bonesio said. “But when it comes to getting on the ballfield, we want to win the whole thing. We’ve been runner-up three times in recent years, and while it’s an amazing time to be here this entire time and get to that point to get to a championship game, it is sour getting that far and losing.”
D-Bat United will be playing for the organization’s second CMWS title. D-Bat Gallegos won the championship in 2014. Last year, the D-Bat United squad were eliminated after a pair of heartbreaking 2-1 losses in the championship bracket.
“We put an emphasis on, ‘every inning, every out matters,’” Bonesio said. “And a lot of times you see the teams that have a fast start in bracket play, they’re there in the end knocking on the door. So it starts in pool play. Your attitude to go win this tournament starts there. These aren’t just games to see the bracket, these are games to get your feet wet and to really put an emphasis on playing hard every second of every out.”
For coaches and players from the Brand of Athletes, from Oklahoma City, the journey is a unique experience.
The BOA squad captured the South Plains Qualifier, held in Norman, Oklahoma, earlier this month. The team is coached by Steve Hill, who has been busy expanding his roster from the 13 players who led the team to victory in the qualifier.
“We feel like this could be the greatest baseball experience they ever have, and we want to make sure that these guys that have paid the price to get us there are the ones that get to go and enjoy it,” Hill said. “We’re adding some pitchers so we can make a run. We went out and got guys we feel like are good people and good fits for kind of how we go about our business.”
Hill used a reference from the movie “Hoosiers” to explain the difference between a regional qualifier and the opening of the Connie Mack World Series.
“The scene where Gene Hackman shows up and he measures the goal? It’s the same game. I think that’s all I’m going to talk about with these guys,” Hill said. “If it comes down to how do you play winning baseball, these guys do a great job of playing winning baseball. And so I’ve just got to show ‘em that this is just baseball. Doesn’t matter about the crowd, doesn’t matter about the other team.”
Another team making their first appearance in the CMWS this week is the Performance Baseball team, out of Kilgore, Texas.
Performance Baseball advanced to the tournament following the final Texas qualifier, held last month in Melissa.
“I just want us to compete as hard as we can. It sounds like coach speak, but it’s the truth,” said head coach Curt Copeland. “We’re going to go out there and we’re going to compete our best we can and let the chips fall where they may at the end.”
In addition to the defending CMWS champion Dulins Dodgers National team, the organization will be represented by two additional squads. The Dulins Dodgers American team, coached by Tim Dulin, earned their way into this year’s event by winning a qualifying tournament in Springfield, Missouri.
The Dulins Dodgers Prime, winners of last year’s Don Mattingly World Series, are coached by Ryan Strausborger, automatically qualified for this year’s event by virtue of the Mattingly title.
The National team is coached by Chris Godwin, who is hoping his squad will be the first back-to-back CMWS champions since the Midland Redskins won three straight titles from 2017 through 2019.
“I don’t know if it was our goal from an importance standpoint to have three teams this year,” said Dulins American coach and founder of the Dulins Dodgers Tim Dulin. “Our goal has merely been toward just developing players. Obviously this event is a great opportunity and we won it last year with (Godwin’s) group. And then to have three teams, it’s very exciting for us as an organization.”
The National team will have several notable returning starters, including Ashten Ballew, who served as the team’s starting shortstop during their championship run.
Ballew was highly productive at the plate in last year’s World Series, along with Carson Sharp, who was named to last year’s All-Tournament team.
The Dulins Dodgers National squad will also have a pair of players from New Mexico. Returning starter Anthony Del Angel, the Gatorade baseball player of the year in 2025, is back on the roster for the Dodgers. The Cleveland High School graduate and commit to Oklahoma University reached the All-Tournament team for the Dodgers last year.
Joining Del Angel from New Mexico will be Brayden Bustillos, heading into his senior year at Rio Rancho High School.
In addition to the Midland Redskins, one of the most historically successful franchises in the CMWS and automatic qualifiers to the event, Midland Baseball will also be represented by the Midland Redbirds, winners of the California Qualifier.
The Redbirds are coached by Heath Autrey, who has won more than 400 games coaching at the high school level, including his current stop at Corsicana, Texas. Prior to that, he was an assistant coach at Texas Christian University and has coached numerous Major League players including Clayton Kershaw and Chris Davis, among other MLB All-Stars.
Autrey will be making his seventh appearance at the Connie Mack World Series.
“Arriving here, the way the community takes you in with the host families, is a really great thing,” he said. “All the hard work to get the players here, and then just to see the support is really humbling.”
The Midland Redbirds are also represented on their roster by Wade Cozart from Carlsbad High, one of nearly 30 players from the state of New Mexico who are scheduled to compete in this year’s World Series.
“I’m representing my hometown, so I just want to do the best I can, just representing New Mexico,” Cozart said after the team’s arrival Thursday afternoon. “You get to meet with the team that you’ve never met before, meet new people, and you just get to be you. So that’s going to be what makes it fun.”