FARMINGTON – The roster for the Albuquerque Baseball Academy is set with a total of six players from the recently crowned Class 5A state champion Piedra Vista High baseball team making the team as they prepare for the Connie Mack World Series.
The ABA, winners for the second consecutive year of the AABC New Mexico Qualifying Tournament, will open pool play on Friday. The ABA will be the featured home team on Sunday night at 8:15 p.m. when bracket play begins at Ricketts Park.
Among the players from Piedra Vista who will compete for the ABA during the Connie Mack World Series are Zackary Zweschper, Mason Courtney, Tyler Swarts, Kyle Murphy, Cody Clugston and Kade Aragon.
“San Juan County prides themselves on baseball and I think there’s so many talented kids in the area,” according to ABA head coach Tim Campos. “I know from our organization standpoint, we want to give more kids opportunity to play in this event and it represents baseball very well.”
Campos verified the team roster, adding the finishing touches to the team by placing the roster on the CMWS official website.
“We added Murphy and Swarts from Piedra Vista and our 2027 ABA qualifier team,“ Campos confirmed. ”We also added left-handed pitcher Luke Stoerner and righty Christopher Moya who played with us in the Denver qualifier.“
Campos also confirmed that a pair of pitchers who helped the ABA win the New Mexico qualifier have opted to begin their collegiate careers.
Pitching was a dominant theme for the ABA squad this summer. La Cueva High’s Everett Burdett and Jack Byers threw quality innings for the ABA’s 2026 squad.
Burdett, a recent commit to Oregon State University, threw 105 pitches over 6 2-3 innings, striking out 12 batters and allowing only two hits and three walks in ABA’s win over HD 2026.
Byers, a commit to the University of Arizona, was stellar on the mound in a win over 4 Corners Blue. He finished with eight strikeouts, allowing just five hits and two walks before reaching 103 pitches in the contest.
“We had Byers and Burdett get shut down by their college teams and are currently on campus,” Campos said this week. “We added Luke Watkins, also from our 2027 ABA qualifier team for more pitching depth.”
Watkins, from La Cueva High School, struck out six batters and threw six shutout innings in a semifinal game of the New Mexico qualifier, walking three and allowing only three hits after 95 pitches.
During the summer, Watkins also batted .294 and drove in five runs, scoring six runs for the ABA 2027 squad.
In addition to the ABA squad, a total of nearly 30 players from the state of New Mexico make up spots on the active rosters for several teams competing in the Connie Mack World Series.
Anthony Del Angel, from Cleveland High School, returns with the defending champion Dulins Dodgers. Del Angel is committed to Oklahoma University and will be joined on the Dodgers roster by Brayden Bustillos from Rio Rancho High School.
Treven Polanco, also from Cleveland High School, will represent another of the teams from Dulins Dodgers. Polanco, a commit to Chandler Gilbert College in Arizona, finished last season with a record of 8-2 for the Storm.
The Midland Redbirds will have Carlsbad High’s Wade Cozart on their roster. Cozart, a sophomore, went 7-0 last season for the Cavemen including an impressive 10-strikeout effort in the Class 5A playoffs in a 10-2 victory over La Cueva.