WILDWOOD, Fla. — After months of training, teamwork, and triumphs, the Wildwood 12U All-Star baseball team was disqualified from the Babe Ruth District Tournament last week, not for misconduct on the field, but due to a residency technicality that many say was enforced unfairly and too late while others are saying it was justified.

The disqualification came just after Wildwood defeated a rival South Sumter Wolfpack B team. Shortly after the loss, officials ruled that several Wildwood players lived outside of enforced geographical boundaries, despite their addresses being previously approved and documented in the team’s tournament binder.

“Imagine playing your hardest to win against elite athletes, only to have it all ripped away for something out of your control,” said Brandon Hall, President of Wildwood Babe Ruth Baseball in a statement on social media. “These boys did nothing wrong. We weren’t hiding anything. The District Tournament began this past Monday, and the 12U Wildwood team started their week off by going 2-0, putting themselves in a great position to play for a District Championship and a chance to advance to the State Tournament. Unfortunately, I received a phone call Thursday evening telling me that our team had been disqualified because of players playing outside boundary lines. To say I was at a loss for words is an understatement.”

(The Wildwood 12U team which was disqualified due to address issues with their players. Photo Credit Brandon Hall.)

According to Babe Ruth District 10 Commissioner Kevin Davenport, “I checked the Wildwood book at the beginning of the tournament and noticed that 11 out of the 13 players were not represented where they were supposed to be. I asked Brandon Hall to figure this out, to which he said he was going to look into it. A similar situation happened with the Wildwood 10U team, with five of the players’ addresses wrong, including one from Rhode Island, but that was fixed the next game and all players were in compliance and that team continued. The 12U A team for Wildwood did not fix this issue,” says Davenport.

Despite the issues, and having brought the situation up to State Commissioner Tom Ready, the team was allowed to play in the second game of the tournament. All the while, Babe Ruth National in New Jersey got wind of what was going on. “The decision was made to let Wildwood A team continue to play despite the address errors, with many of the team members from Leesburg and Lady Lake, which is out of the boundary. After winning their first two games, Wildwood was going to be sent to a bottom bracket so that they could continue to play, but Babe Ruth National informed the team that they would not, and they would be disqualified from any further participation,” says Davenport. “It was not my decision to disqualify them, but the state commissioner Tom Ready and Babe Ruth National in New Jersey. I did what I could to try and get the team to play like the Wildwood 10U team,” said Davenport. (Note the Wildwood 10U team would be eliminated after going 1-2 in the district tournament.)

Wildwood 12U head coach Dale Delpit said, “Regardless of Tom Ready’s decision, I was notified that despite the one extra game they were willing to let us play in the losers bracket, we would not be advancing, and even if we won, it would have been a forfeit. Wildwood would not get that opportunity as Babe Ruth National pulled the plug on the season anyway,” says Coach Delpit. “I am gutted for these players who have worked so hard. Babe Ruth’s Page 7 subsection B says geographical boundaries must be abided by, however, I have been playing Babe Ruth baseball since I was a child, and this has never been an issue until now. I can’t remember a team being disqualified for issues like this in the past.”

(Not to be lost in all of this was South Sumter’s 12U A Team which won the district 10 championship against Sorrento. Photo Credit – Sumter Baseball League.)

President of Wildwood Babe Ruth Baseball Brandon Hall explained in a social media post that Wildwood’s baseball program has long welcomed players from neighboring communities such as Lady Lake, Leesburg, and Fruitland Park, cities that sit just across the county line from Wildwood. He added that many of the boys had bonded through fall ball and joined Wildwood’s spring season specifically to take part in the COBRA (Coalition of Babe Ruth Athletes) elite development program, which wasn’t offered to Leesburg players.

“I never even got the chance to explain or defend our players,” Hall said of the call he received Thursday night. “I was simply asked, ‘How do I know this isn’t a travel ball team or the boys were not recruited?’ What’s odd is I know for a fact many kids throughout our district play outside of boundary lines, and most leagues actually use their fall travel ball teams as their All-Star teams in the spring rec ball season. I immediately emailed the Southeast Regional Commissioner of Babe Ruth and the Florida State Commissioner of Babe Ruth. I will continue to search for answers and won’t give up until I get them,” says Hall.

District 10 Commissioner Kevin Davenport reiterated that he did give time for the address situation to be corrected for Wildwood 12U, but when it was not and Babe Ruth National in New Jersey got involved, there was nothing that could be done. We also spoke with Florida Babe Ruth State Commissioner Tom Ready, who reiterated, “Eleven of the Wildwood players were deemed to be out of their boundaries, which was deemed a rule violation, so they were disqualified,” said Ready.

Shawn Smith, a Wildwood parent, said of the decision, “I’m heartbroken for my boys,” Smith said. “After we beat the Sumter B team, someone unnamed invoked a boundary rule, after our books were signed and approved. Every player lives in the district, just not in the now-determined county. It’s a shame and heartbreaking to do this to these young men.”

(The Wildwood 12U Baseball team was regarded as one of the best in the region and likely would have made a run at a state championship but their season is now over.)

With Wildwood eliminated, the South Sumter Wolfpack B team, which had been beaten by Wildwood A Team, was put back into the winners’ tournament, where they were then defeated by the South Sumter A team and eliminated from districts. South Sumter A would go on to win the district championship, and Sorrento finished as district runner-up. Both will advance to the state tournament, while Wildwood has been disqualified from any further tournament action for this season.

The ruling has sparked outrage across the community and raised larger questions about consistency, transparency, and the spirit of youth sports.

“This experience has lit a fire in me, not just as president, but as someone who deeply believes in what youth baseball should be about: fairness and opportunity. I promise to keep fighting for our players, our program, and the values that make Wildwood youth baseball a true family. We will move forward with purpose, and we will not be silenced when standing up for what’s right. This will only make us stronger!” says Brandon Hall.

“I just hope that District 10 makes things clearer. We, as adults, cannot fail our youth. There is too much behind-the-scenes stuff going on, and we need more transparency for the future of the Babe Ruth organization. In my opinion, they are leaving too much power in the hands of local district commissioners, and we need more written rules so that situations like these don’t arise again,” says Wildwood coach Delpit.

There are still answers that need to come to light. We did not get a chance to talk at length with Florida State Commissioner Tom Ready, as he said he had more availability later in the week, and we hope to provide those details when he becomes available.

What are your thoughts on this situation? Let us know in the comments below.