The Iowa Premier continues to strengthen its reputation as one of the top travel ball organizations in the country as Club Director Greg Dickel announced this week the pickup of the Lady Tomahawks, considered by many as the top 12U team in Iowa.
Dickel said the new team, to be called Iowa Premier 12U Black, will be the program’s representative team on the national scene.
“The Iowa Premier 12U Black team will compete in national level events for us, at high-level events including PGF, Triple Crown, USAES and USA Softball,” he told Extra Inning Softball.
The Tomahawk team has had an impressive run the past four years, dating back to 2015-16, when the young, but talented 8U team began an impressive run, laying claim to several USSSA Qualifier titles and State Championships in Iowa and the Midwest Region.
This past summer and fall, the Tomahawks went a combined 40-11 winning 10 tournaments and finishing Top 5 at USSSA Nationals.
The new Iowa Premier 12U Black team is led by Carlos James, a former professional football player in the Arena League and MLB draftee. James, who is also is a varsity high school baseball and football coach for a 5A big school in Des Moines, Iowa, feels now is the right time to integrate into the Premier organization.
“As one of the top young teams in the entire Midwest,” James began, “it only make sense for us to join Iowa Premier. Coach Dickel has a reputation of getting girls to the next level and Iowa Premier Fastpitch is where it is for us. If we want to be the best, we have to be a part of the best program, so I think it’s a natural fit for the Lady Tomahawks to make this move. We look forward to the challenge of playing against some of the other best teams in the country with our motto, ‘All Gas No Brakes!’”
Dickel says he has been courting James and his group for the past two years, recognizing how talented the group was.
“I’ve been following Carlos and his team since they were age 9,” Dickel, who is also the head coach of the 18U Gold team, says. “You could see early on the raw talent in the group. I’ve always felt they would be a great fit here at Iowa Premier with our culture and our success at the national level, plus our proven record nationally of building and developing young players from Iowa and the Midwest.”
The club director says the move happened recently and was a seamless move for both sides.
“I approached Carlos again once their fall season was over and convinced him it was time to take the next step with this really good young group.”
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Here are four noteworthy players on the team to watch for in 2020:
- P/IF Carly Brewer
Brewer led the team in innings pitched this past fall with 76 and had a record of 13-2 with one save and had 91 Ks. She led the Tomahawks to a 27-4-1 overall record in the fall and was named MVP Pitcher in two different tournaments Perfect Game tournaments. Her velocity has been clocked from 54-56 MPH and she has good movement on her pitches. - 3B/OF Ava Brady
Over the last three years, Brady has led the team in batting average home runs, steals, slugging percentage, RBIs and fielding percentage (.960). This past fall season, she had a batting average of .632 and was named Offensive MVP at a Perfect Game tournament. - 1B/P/OF Kiya James
James has led the team on-base percentage the past three years and been second in batting average and slugging percentage. She hit .540 this past fall and had a fielding percentage of .974. James was also was named Offensive MVP at one of the Perfect Game tournaments this fall. - P/IF/OF Evelyn Huegel
Huegel batted .522 this fall and led the team in home runs with five in just 30 games. She also had a 5-0 pitching record with two saves. Last summer Huegel pitched 136.2 innings with a 23-8 record with 3 saves and also compiled 158 Ks.