We are counting down to the 2018 Hunlock Series Draft which will take place this Monday, 17 September at 8:00pm. This year the Draft will not be televised, but there will be coverage via Facebook. It will enable participants to interact more easily as the managers make their picks. For more details follow Herts Baseball Club on facebook.
Four teams enter this year’s competition and the managerial appointments have just been announced.
Will Blue Rockers manage to pick star player Conner Brown again and retain the Hunlock Series title
Last year’s winners, the Blue Rockers, are back with their manager Rich Brown who will be looking to retain the title.
The Black Barracudas also return with their manager, Duane Badenhorst, who this season has had the opportunity to evaluate a vast number of players at all league levels from the NBL and Double-A League to the Under-17 and Under-15 League, which is expected to give his team a considerable advantage.
The Red Roosters will be managed by Giuseppe Basilea (pictured above). Over the last two weeks he appeared in the NBL and U17 National Championships. He will now have to turn his attention to managing and drafting the players that can win the Series. As the youngest manager in the Hunlock Series, will his Draft picks target younger players or will he select players based on what they bring to the team regardless of age. Last season the Red team finished in last place but all teams start with a blank roster sheet ahead of the Draft.
2014 Hunlock Series-winning manager Colin Whitton is back
The fourth team is the White Lightning. They last appeared in the Series in 2014. This year they will be managed by Colin Whitton who is back after a 3-year absence. He last managed in the Hunlock Series back in 2014 when he clinched the Championship with the Black Widows. His son Dan Whitton is also back from the United States so a first opportunity to see him back at the ballpark since 2014 when he played for the Herts U17 team.
Fans will see some new faces in the Hunlock Series this year who have joined the club in the last few weeks, so there will be an element of surprise in Monday’s Draft. Some of them may be new to Herts fans but they are not new to the game. The Hunlock Series could be a glimpse at some of the new players who will be wearing the Herts uniform for the first time in 2019.
HOW TO REGISTER
Existing Herts players are currently registering ahead of the Draft by simply updating their availability in the online Clubhouse. New players and players from other clubs can also sign up by contacting Herts Baseball Club.
There has already been interest from non-Herts players located in other regions of the United Kingdom and overseas. They are all welcome to sign up and play in these games.
To be eligible for selection during the Draft, players must register and enter their availability details online by 7pm on Monday, 17 September. If you miss this Draft deadline, don’t worry. Players would still be eligible to play but would be added to teams as free agents. To be eligible to play in the Hunlock Series, players must be 14 years of age or above on 31 December 2018.