Super squad

U-16 travel team features some of the best incoming juniors in area




TODAY’S STARS OF TOMORROW—The Ventura County Baseball Academy U-16 team won the USA Premier Firecracker tournament in Irvine earlier this month. Pictured in the front row, from left, are Tanner Beltowski (Buena High), Brady Francisco (Thousand Oaks), Derek Turner (Newbury Park), Zach Mora (Grace Brethren), Matthew Ramirez (Moorpark), Grant Rodriguez (Thousand Oaks) and Brandon Contreras (Camarillo). Back row: Coaches Andy Beltowski and Dustin Tubb; players Trevor Hansen (Royal), Collin Adams (Thousand Oaks), Zack Serup (Moorpark), Will Kaczynski (Westlake), Evan Needham (Newbury Park), Nate Kaczynski (Westlake), Camden Walker (Buena) and Cole Blommer (Thousand Oaks); and head coach Steve Henson. Drew Turley of Newbury Park, Noah Onoye of Royal, and Cristian Brewster of Chaminade are not pictured. Courtesy of Matt Francisco

TODAY’S STARS OF TOMORROW—The Ventura County Baseball Academy U-16 team won the USA Premier Firecracker tournament in Irvine earlier this month. Pictured in the front row, from left, are Tanner Beltowski (Buena High), Brady Francisco (Thousand Oaks), Derek Turner (Newbury Park), Zach Mora (Grace Brethren), Matthew Ramirez (Moorpark), Grant Rodriguez (Thousand Oaks) and Brandon Contreras (Camarillo). Back row: Coaches Andy Beltowski and Dustin Tubb; players Trevor Hansen (Royal), Collin Adams (Thousand Oaks), Zack Serup (Moorpark), Will Kaczynski (Westlake), Evan Needham (Newbury Park), Nate Kaczynski (Westlake), Camden Walker (Buena) and Cole Blommer (Thousand Oaks); and head coach Steve Henson. Drew Turley of Newbury Park, Noah Onoye of Royal, and Cristian Brewster of Chaminade are not pictured. Courtesy of Matt Francisco

It’s an all-star team that isn’t technically an all-star team.

Three years ago, the Ventura County Baseball Academy held a tryout at Newbury Park High for a U-13 team. Dustin Tubb, VCBA’s founder, and Steve Henson, the head coach, wanted to form a squad that would help youngsters prepare for high school baseball.

The travel team has become a national powerhouse comprising the best incoming juniors in Acorn country.

“I feel like we’re the best team around,” said Brandon Contreras, a second baseman, outfielder and catcher for VCBA and Camarillo.

Zach Mora, a Grace Brethren infielder/outfielder, and Brady Francisco, a Thousand Oaks catcher, agreed with their teammate.

“It’s the best talent in Ventura County,” said Mora, who lives in Moorpark. “Having the best kids from Ventura County, and the nicest guys, we have that unique bond. We’re a winning team. We’re always competing no matter what the inning is and what the situation is.”

“On VCBA, we have great chemistry,” Francisco said. “Everyone on our team, we all love each other. It’s fun to play with close friends. They give you more confidence to play.”

Earlier this month, the team seized the USA Premier Firecracker tournament in Irvine with a 7-0 record. VCBA placed fifth among 100 teams at USA Baseball’s Arizona National Championships despite missing players from Thousand Oaks, Royal and Camarillo, who were preoccupied during the last week of the CIF-Southern Section postseason.

VCBA standouts Collin Adams, Cole Blommer, Grant Rodriguez and Francisco helped Thousand Oaks capture the CIFSS Division 2 title this spring.

Trevor Hansen earned the save in Royal’s Division 4 championship win, and he registered a win in the semifinals for the Highlanders, all work he accomplished as a sophomore. Hansen also twirled a no-hitter earlier in the spring.

Contreras and the Camarillo Scorpions reached the Division 2 semifinals.

Derek Turner, a Newbury Park pitcher, handed Thousand Oaks its only loss in the past two years. Turner tossed a complete game four-hitter at Thousand Oaks in the Panthers’ 2-1 win on May 21. Drew Turley and Evan Needham also suit up for Newbury Park.

Noah Onoye of Royal; Matthew Ramirez and Zack Serup of Moorpark; brothers Will and Nate Kaczynski of Westlake; Tanner Beltowski and Camden Walker of Buena; and Cristian Brewster of Chaminade fortify the VCBA U-16 roster. Will Kaczynski is the only player on the squad in the Class of 2024.

“By the time me and my assistant coaches got a hold of them for our VCBA program, the foundation was already there. They were already really good players,” said Henson, a Thousand Oaks resident and assistant sports editor at the Los Angeles Times. “They love the game. These kids would play every single day of the year if they could.”

Henson, 64, has coached 1,300 youth baseball games in Ventura County since 1975, and he’s also an umpire. His first job out of high school was typing Little League scores and writing feature stories for the Thousand Oaks News Chronicle.

The Conejo Valley man worked at the Los Angeles Times from 1985 to 2007. He was the Major League Baseball editor at Yahoo Sports from 2007 to 2012, and he was a senior editor at USA Today from 2012 until March 2019. Henson returned to the L.A. Times in 2019.

VCBA coaches want to get their players ready for college.

“The purpose of the program has evolved from initially helping these guys become high school baseball players and make that transition,” Henson said. “Now, the primary purpose is to help them be able to play at the next level, if that’s what they want to do. And they all want to play college baseball.”

Tubb, who founded VCBA five years ago, has deep roots in the community.

He pitched at Newbury Park, Ventura College and Sacramento State. He briefly threw in the pros, with the Springfield Capitals in the Frontier League, before a lingering injury from college forced him to hang up his spikes for good.

Tubb, who coaches three VCBA travel squads, spoke highly of his U-16 outfit.

“Whenever they show up together, the chemistry is ridiculous,” the Newbury Park resident said. “All these kids are athletes, and they have fun playing with each other.”

The staff wants to put the stars in positions to succeed.

“We’re trying to do it the right way and get them exposure,” the 43-year-old Tubb said. “Whatever I can do to help them get to the next level, that’s my goal. I want to try to make them better kids and betters students, on top of being better baseball players.”

VCBA U-16 will play in the Five Tool World Series tournament Aug. 6-8 in Irvine. The players will exhibit their skills during a showcase at Fresno State in September.

Mora, an honors student with a 4.4 GPA, wants to play Ivy League baseball. He’s gleaned interest from Harvard and Yale.

“It’s really important for me to get a good education and come out of college with a degree,” Mora said.

He protected the woodwork as a goalkeeper for Grace Brethren’s soccer team for two years. His brother, Andre, plays lacrosse at Grace Brethren.

At Thousand Oaks, Francisco earned a CIF ring while playing behind starting catcher Charlie Saum, who will suit up for Stanford in the fall. Francisco, a 3.7 GPA student in the ETHOS program at Thousand Oaks, learned good habits at T.O. playing alongside recent graduates Max Muncy, an Oakland Athletics firstround signee, and Roc Riggio, a Milwaukee Brewers draft pick who decided to play baseball on scholarship at Oklahoma State.

“It was awesome to be a part of that. It’s something I’ll never forget,” Francisco said of the 2021 Lancers. “I tried to ask as many questions as I could. I tried to be a student of the game.”

Francisco also plays for the SoCal Giants scout team, which is based in the Conejo Valley. Henson and Tubb have close relationships with the Giants coaches, including brothers Chuckie and Christian Fick.

Contreras is a multisport standout at Camarillo. He’s a twoway starter in football, at safety and slot receiver. Contreras is the rare football player to suit up on varsity as a freshman.

This spring, the honors student with a 3.88 GPA helped the Scorpion baseball crew secure a Coastal Canyon League banner. His twin brother, Micah, is a Camarillo sprinter. Their sister, Christa, is an incoming Camarillo freshman basketball standout. Their father, Mark Contreras, is the principal at Rio Mesa High.

Brandon Contreras joined VCBA earlier this summer. The union has proven to be a proverbial grand slam.

“They welcomed me in with open arms,” Contreras said.

Follow sports editor Eliav Appelbaum on Twitter @EliavAppelbaum.

IN A NUTSHELL

The Ventura County Baseball Academy U-16 team is comprised of some of the best incoming junior players in the entire Acorn region, including CIF-Southern Section champions from Thousand Oaks (Division 2) and Royal (Division 4).

Meet the VCBA squad:
Head coach
• Steve Henson
Coaches
• Dustin Tubb
• Andy Beltowski
Players
• Brady Francisco
(Thousand Oaks)
• Grant Rodriguez (T.O.)
• Collin Adams (T.O.)
• Cole Blommer (T.O.)
• Derek Turner (Newbury Park)
• Evan Needham
(Newbury Park)
• Drew Turley (Newbury Park)
• Will Kaczynski (Westlake)
• Nate Kaczynski (Westlake)
• Trevor Hansen (Royal)
• Noah Onoye (Royal)
• Matthew Ramirez (Moorpark)
• Zack Serup (Moorpark)
• Brandon Contreras
(Camarillo)
• Zach Mora (Grace Brethren)
• Tanner Beltowski (Buena)
• Camden Walker (Buena)
• Cristian Brewster
(Chaminade)