The PRO-DAY "Best of the Best" Showcase was
first held in December, 2001 in Orange Beach, Alabama for
mostly the top talented high school players in a 100-mile
radius.
Two years later, this event attracted players
from 10-Southern
States and now is open to players from all over the
United States with one past showcase player coming all
the way from Puerto Rico.
This is an "INVITATIONAL SHOWCASE" where players participate
in one of our state showcases during the course of the year.
Their performance in this showcase decides if they receive
an invite to the "Best of the Best".
In our State Showcases, players are evaluated
in all areas from arm strength, accuracy, hands, footwork,
hitting, pitching and running the 60-yard dash. These evaluations
come from the PRO-DAY Staff, which is made up of current/former
professional scouts, professional players and collegiate
coaches.
The "Top 100" players from these State Showcases come to
Orange Beach each fall for the "Best of the Best" weekend which
kicks off on Friday night with the "Dinner Banquet of Champions" with
a featured guest speaker.
Past speakers have included: Dennis Lewallyn,
pitching coordinator with the Arizona Diamondbacks (2001),
Chip Baker, Director of Baseball Operations at Florida State
University (2002 & 2005),
Karl Jernigan, professional player with the San Francisco
Giants (2003), Bill Hamilton, Head Baseball Coach/Athletic
Director at Pensacola Junior College (2004), Paul Witt,
professional player with the Florida Marlins (2006), Billy Sadler, professional player with the San Francisco Giants and Bill Earnhart, scout with the Arizona Diamondbacks (2007).
The “Best of the Best” showcase has drawn professional
scouts from over half of the major league organizations and
college coaches from the SEC, ACC, Sun Belt, Gulf Coast, and
NJCAA Regions 2, 8, 16, 17, 22 and 23. The top junior
college programs in the country have been in attendance too.