FARMINGTON – The town of Shallowater, Texas is well represented in the 2026 Connie Mack World Series.
Trenton Medley, a late pickup player representing the Dulins Dodgers Prime team, made his on-field debut during pool play last weekend.
Prior to his arrival on the Dodgers, Medley played for a variety of teams this summer after finishing his junior year at Shallowater High, located in Lubbock County.
Medley’s parents, Billy and Heather Medley, have taken well to the city of Farmington and the work involved in putting together an event of this magnitude since arriving last week.
“I am so impressed by the grounds crew, and all the parks, and all the things to do,” said Heather Medley. “We’ve driven through a couple times, and you don’t see the town, right? And we certainly didn’t meet the people. But the people have been my favorite part. It’s just been really fun to get to know people.”
Trenton is coming off a strong spring campaign at Shallowater High, which included a selection to the District First Team roster. Following that, Medley earned a pitcher of the game nod for his work in a game during the Spokane, Washington qualifier.
Trenton was approached by a former coach speaking on behalf of Dulins Dodgers founder and CEO Tim Dulin.
“The coach we had last year was asked by Tim to help find some arms and so they called him on Tuesday,” Heather said. “They were on their way back from San Diego from another tournament when we got the call. He was home for 36 hours, and we just did laundry, re-repacked, and headed this way.”
Trenton has played in several tournaments across the western United States, including the CMWS qualifier in Spokane, Washington and a recent tournament in Carlsbad, California.
“When we finished Monday evening in Carlsbad, California, by way of Lubbock to here was 1,553 miles,” Billy said. “Trenton has been to Florida, Atlanta, and in Spokane. So, conservatively, we’ve driven about 6,000 miles.”
Shallowater, Texas, a town of nearly 3,000 people, has a bit of a sports history. The city is home to the 2004 boys and girls state-championship basketball teams. Notable people associated with Shallowater include Eric Morris, who grew up in the town and played football at Texas Tech before becoming head coach of the Oklahoma State Cowboys earlier this year.
“I was raised in a single-parent family,” Heather said. “We didn’t have time or money or any of that, but we knew that we wanted our kids to be able to participate. That’s one of the reasons why we live in our small town.”
Billy grew up and played sports in a small town near the stateline between Texas and New Mexico.
“Whiteface, Texas. I played a little both-way football, both-way basketball,” Billy said. “Now, it’s just to have the opportunity to meet people we don’t know and and learn something about them and maybe see if we can forge a connection.”
Trenton made his championship bracket debut on the mound in Monday’s first round game against the Albuquerque Baseball Academy. He struck out Crosby Carmichael, the first batter he faced before he ran into some trouble with a pair of walks and an error behind him at shortstop.
“That’s baseball with teenagers,” Billy said. “He was being rough on himself.”
Billy and Heather have been most impressed with the reception they’ve received from people across town.
“In other tournaments, they’re happy to see you, and they’re happier to see you pull your wallet out to pay to get in the game,” Billy said. “Trenton has gained his host family and host grandparent family, and then we’ve been adopted by some other folks up here. We’ve just have never experienced this level of warmth and generosity.”
Once the Medley family returns home, Trenton’s journey begins on choosing colleges during his upcoming senior year.
“He’ll probably play fall ball. He’s got a couple of options so we’ll drive to the Dallas area for most of the the tournaments,” said Heather. “And then probably early next year, he’ll make a a college decision.”