The LI Royals 10U travel baseball team is eagerly looking forward to kicking off its 2026 season next month after winning the Fall Division Championship at Thomas Whelan Memorial Park in Wantagh on Oct. 26.
The team, consisting of 8, 9, and 10-year-olds from Baldwin, Oceanside and Queens, competes in the LI Hot Stove Baseball league, based all over Long Island. The 2025 season consisted of five regular-season games and two playoff contests.
For the first time, the Royals 10U team won the championship in the fall division against the Williston Park Patriots. The Royals beat the Patriots 12-8.
The win meant a great deal to the team members, as well as the coaches. Assistant coach, Jim Morris, said, “This season was pivotal for us because victory meant something bigger. It meant our boys reclaiming their love for baseball and fueling it beyond this season in a town where other sports are highlighted more.” Coming off of several losing seasons, Morris feared the team would lose their love for baseball. “We often teach our boys that the numbers are usually against you in baseball. You are going to strike out. But things finally stuck for our boys and their resilience shined through,” he said. “The new confidence has been contagious.”
Reflecting on the championship season, Royals’ head coach, Kevin Smith, similarly said, “It was so satisfying to see all of their hard work pay off at the end.”
“To see them grow and develop into what they are and how hard they work is so rewarding, as not only the coach, but as a parent,” he added.
To celebrate the win, the Royals held its end-of-the-year celebration at Sonny’s Canal House in Baldwin Harbor, where the players received their championship rings on Nov. 5. “It was amazing to see our boys enjoying time with each other off the (field). We haven’t had many opportunities yet to spend time with each other’s families, especially for the coaches who are always in the dugout and not in the bleachers,” Morris said.
The Royals play three different seasons per year: spring, summer, and fall. The athletes will begin the next season with winter workouts four times a week at an indoor facility in early January, and then return to the baseball field at Baldwin Park in the spring for the first of its three seasons.
The 10U Royals will kick-start their 2026 season on Jan. 5, and Smith said they are “ready to compete” and “defend their championship” when the games begin for real in the spring. Morris shared with the Herald that the Royals are planning to start going outside of Long Island and play in more tournaments out of state. “It’s going to require more funding and more commitments,” he said. “The Royals need the support of the community as we prepare for bigger tournaments, like Ripken and Cooperstown, which will require us to leave the island and see more national competition.”
“We always hear that something is brewing in Baldwin,” Morris said. “Great baseball is brewing here again.”
