Ramstein's Conor McGinty crosses home plate as Wiesbaden catcher Owen Smith watches his teammates try to get the ball back to the infield during the second game of a doubleheader on April 12, 2025, at Southside Fitness Center on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Since the return of sports following the COVID-19 pandemic, three teams have dominated the DODEA European baseball scene.
In Division I, Ramstein and Stuttgart consistently have navigated the fields to make finals, trading the crown back and forth. In Division II/III, the mighty Naples Wildcats have romped to three consecutive titles.
When the DODEA baseball scene converges onto the Kaiserslautern Military Community Wednesday through Friday for the 2025 European championships, Ramstein and Naples once again will be in the mix to repeat.
This year’s championships could be a bit different, though. Other teams hope to crash the party and seem to have a legitimate opportunity to end both of those teams’ runs.
“I’m confident that we can win it all,” said Vicenza coach Kelly Stacy, whose Cougars enter the Division II field as the third seed. “We have the talent. We definitely have a core that can get it done for us.”
In Division I, the top three seeds – Ramstein, Kaiserslautern and Vilseck – went 1-1 against each other in the regular season. And all three teams will say they can’t sleep on Wiesbaden, Lakenheath and Stuttgart, either.
“I’m looking forward to a lot of competitive baseball,” Vilseck coach Michael Valenzuela said. “It will be more competitive than the records show.”
Kaiserslautern’s Lucas Sullivan holds onto his helmet as he comes to stop along the third base line while Stuttgart third baseman Cooper Graham heads toward the bag during the first game of a doubleheader on March 22, 2025, at Pulaski Park in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Division I
Kaiserslautern fell in the semifinals the past two seasons, including a close loss to runner-up Stuttgart last spring.
Those experiences weigh on the Raiders (12-2, 10-2), whose core group has been together for three seasons. They enter this year’s tournament as the No. 2 seed, and they are using those results as motivation to take the next step.
“Our main goal is to get it to Friday, get to that championship game,” Kaiserslautern senior Rueben Todman said. “So, even at practice and at the games last week at Spangdahlem, we try to treat every game like a championship game.”
Kaiserslautern has a balanced, experienced roster that has outscored opponents 145-41 this spring. Only one opponent – Vilseck – has managed to top 10 runs over a doubleheader, and the Falcons (11-2, 6-2) also have posted the most runs in a single game during a 9-5 win on April 19.
The goal for the Raiders is to save the top of their rotation – Todman, senior Logan Bell and junior Bryant Lokey – for the latter stages of the tournament. The team expressed confidence in being able to do so.
“We have me, Logan and Rueben, probably some of the best pitchers we have out here,” Lokey said. “Pitching is very crucial and just having people that are good so that the hitters have a hard time hitting the ball, it’s just a really good thing.”
Kaiserslautern isn’t the only squad boasting pitching depth. The Royals (12-2, 10-2) have an array of arms, including Ottawa University commit Christian Roy and Conor McGinty.
The Falcons, meanwhile, have tossed eight players on the mound. Among them is senior Isaac Greene, whose coach described him as intuitive from his experience behind the plate.
“This is the deepest pitching staff I’ve had since I’ve been here,” Valenzuela said. “I’m confident in putting anybody up on the mound against any team. Not only are our pitchers good pitchers, but they make good choices with their pitches.”
Valenzuela pointed to his four seniors – Greene, Rohail Jan, Ethan Worby and Americo Contreras, all of whom have played at Vilseck for at least three seasons – as key to the team’s success during the tournament.
Parker Wayland, second baseman Brett Edelman and sophomores Jacob Boyle and Carlos Aleman also are names to watch.
“If we play our game the way we’ve practiced and the way we’ve played and if we don’t get ahead of ourselves, then I think we have a good shot of making a run for it and bringing home the trophy,” Valenzuela said.
Division II/III
The Wildcats once again enter the Division II/III competition as the No. 1 seed, but the regular season hasn’t been a cakewalk, with three losses.
One of those teams to pick up a victory on the Wildcats (11-3, 11-3) was Rota, which split an April 26 doubleheader in Naples.
That result helped propel the Admirals to a 5-3 record, as well as the second seed at Euros. Coach Luis Dominguez called it the program’s best season in some time.
“We’re going into the championships with the mentality we can beat anybody that we come across,” Dominguez said. “It was good to be able to go to Naples and beat them on their home turf, and it just gives them that boost of confidence going into Euros.”
Another squad to defeat the longtime league powerhouse this season is Vicenza, even if the Cougars (6-8, 6-5) were on the wrong end of the scoreboard more often. Vicenza went 1-3 against Naples.
Stacy, who won a Division I title while coach at Lakenheath in 2018, doesn’t seem concerned by that record. He described how his teams spend the regular season preparing for the tournament, not focusing on wins and losses.
“We’re in better position going into Euros just from a record (standpoint),” he said. “To have six wins and five losses in Division II/III when your goal isn’t just to win games, it’s pretty good.”
What could decide whether a team usurps Naples is pitching. Players can’t exceed 125 pitches over all three days, meaning teams must dig deep into their staffs.
Vicenza has what Stacy dubbed the division’s most talented player in Max Thrash. His coach said he hasn’t seen anybody better than the freshman, who is moving back to the States after the season, in his time coaching in either Division I or Division II/III.
Stacy also said Zach Anderson is one of the league’s top hurlers when he’s on point, but consistency has been an issue. If Anderson can produce on the mound, the Cougars could go far.
“It all comes down to the number of pitches that I can throw and get through the games,” Stacy said. “And I don’t mean pitchers – pitches. As long as we can manage that well, there shouldn’t be much to stop us, unless for some reason the bats go completely cold.”
The Admirals can turn to freshman Johnathan Valenzuela, who, according to his coach, “throws fire.” Senior Mikey Borchansky, who transferred from Aviano, and Thomas Brantley, who normally plays catcher, can go on the other side of the battery and have good location, Dominguez said.
The Rota coach mentioned no matter who’s pitching – the defensive effort behind them will dictate the Admirals’ tournament run.
“We have to stick with what’s working for us, which is playing clean baseball and when we’re at bat, playing small ball, doing what we have to do move the runners around the bases to score runs,” Dominguez said. “If we can do that, we’re going to be very successful.”
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