Academy Notebook: Miranda Castaneda named Youth of the Year; Texas Rangers Youth Academy 12U Wood Bat Classic; Fall programming registration now open
Miranda Castaneda signs with Coahoma College, selected Youth of the Year
On Wednesday, Aug. 9, long-time Academy softball star Miranda Castaneda signed her National Letter of Intent to continue her education and playing career at Coahoma Community College in Clarksdale, Miss.
The Cedar Hill High School graduate and repeat Academy All-Star signed her letter surrounded by family, friends and teammates at the Academy’s Beltré Field.
What Castaneda thought would be a special day became even better when she was surprised with the news that she had been named the Texas Rangers Youth Academy’s 2023 Youth of the Year.
After she put pen to paper, making her collegiate playing dreams official, Academy Senior Director Juan Leonel Gárciga took the podium to offer some kind words about an athlete he has watched grow into an incredible player and human being.
He then revealed to Castaneda and her family that she had been named the winner of the Academy’s most prestigious annual award and, as part of the honors, is receiving a $10,000 college scholarship presented by Coca-Cola.
“We have known Miranda for over three years, and she has been one of the most consistent athletes during her time here,” said Gárciga. “She’s proven to be a great teammate and someone all the pitchers enjoy throwing to behind the plate.
“Since starting with the program in 2020, she has put in the work to become one of the best softball catchers at the Rangers Youth Academy, really turning the corner in 2022 when she represented the Rangers at the Cat Osterman Tournament, showed off her increased power at the plate during Academy training programs, and went on to receive selections for the Jennie Finch Classic team, the Nike RBI Regional All-Star team and the Breakthrough Series.
“This year, she closed out her softball career with us as a key player on the 2023 Nike RBI Regional All-Star team, and we are so proud of the player and person she has become.”
Castaneda will be recognized by Major League Baseball during pregame ceremonies at the 2023 MLB World Series alongside the nine other MLB Youth Academy Youth of the Year award winners.
Rangers Youth Academy 12U Wood Bat Classic
The Texas Rangers Youth Academy will host its 12U Wood Bat Classic baseball tournament today, Friday, Aug. 11, and Saturday, Aug. 12.
Four teams comprised of the Academy’s top 12U ball players, the Crawdads, Down East, RoughRiders and Wood Ducks, will compete against one another to become 12U Wood Bat Classic champions.
The tournament began early this morning with round-robin games and will continue at 9 a.m. CT Saturday when the Express faces Down East and the Crawdads take on the RoughRiders.
The top two seeds will then compete in Saturday’s championship game at 11 a.m. CT.
Games throughout the weekend will take place on Kershaw and Hamilton Fields.
Registration Open for Fall Programming Session
Registration for fall baseball and softball programming is open now at rangers.com/academy. Beginning on Tuesday, Sept. 12, athletes 7-18 years old will get the opportunity to train with Youth Academy coaches to improve their baseball and softball skills at no cost.
Athletes in the 18U and 15U age groups will train on Tuesday evenings, 9U athletes will train on Wednesday evenings and 12U athletes will train on Thursday evenings.
Trainees will divide into novice, intermediate and advanced skills groups as decided by Rangers staff for hands-on coaching in a variety of areas, including the fundamentals of offense and defense on the diamond.
Registration will remain open throughout the session, which concludes on Nov. 9.