8-Year Old Baseball Star From Homewood On GameDay USA Team

HOMEWOOD, IL — A young baseball player from Homewood will be on the GameDay USA 9u baseball team in the Disney New Year's Baseball Classic next month. Jimmer Hayes, an 8-year-old, plays baseball full-time for this year's top-ranked 8u team the Upper Deck Cougars and will join some of the other best travel baseball players in the country at his age level in the tournament at the ESPN World Wide Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida from Dec. 28 until Jan. 1.

Last year GameDay USA took home a first place finish, two second place finishes and a third place finish for age groups 9u - 14u. Players for this year's teams were selected through their regions and a pool of all-star game MVPs.

Hayes' coach, Joe Schley, says the Hayes as "an unreal baseball IQ" for his age.

“He is a hard-working kid who gives 100% effort every time he steps out on the field," said Schley, a former baseball star at Providence Catholic High School and Southern Illinois University. "I wish I could have 9 Jimmers on the field. That’s all a coach could ask for.”

Hayes, a student at Winston Churchill Elementary School in Homewood, was selected to the national team after his performance locally at the New Lenox All-Star Weekend event. There he won the Home Run Derby with five home runs and will be part of the home run derby at the Disney classic as well.

He was dominant both on the mound and at the plate during his most recent season with the Cougars, batting .441 with 12 doubles and 44 RBI and striking out 43 with a 2.43 ERA in 23 games pitched.