HOUSTON, TX — The 23rd annual Shriners Children’s College Classic concluded over the weekend at Minute Maid Park with Louisville being named the Tournament Champions after going 3-0 with impressive wins over ranked opponents in Texas A&M and TCU, which both went 2-1 over the weekend. Texas Tech and Rice both finished 1-2, with Michigan going 0-3.

Minute Maid Park hosted a total attendance of 34,243 over the weekend, which topped out on Saturday at 14,005. Louisville was the most impressive club over the weekend, finishing with a plus-20 run differential, which included a 10-0 run rule victory over Michigan on Sunday. Rice pulled off the upset of the weekend, as they opened the tournament on Friday with a 3-2 victory over Texas Tech. The thriller of the weekend came in the final contest, which ended as a 4-2 Texas A&M win over Texas Tech in 16 innings on Sunday night.

Listed below is the 2023 Shriners Children’s College Classic All-Tournament Team, which was highlighted by the Classic’s Most Outstanding Player C Jack Payton from Louisville. Payton led the tournament in hits (7), while hitting .467 (7x15) with a double, homer and four RBI. He had multi-hit games in all three of Louisville’s games over the weekend, which were all wins for the Cardinals.

The 2023 All-Tournament Team:

            C          Jack Payton, Louisville                      .467 (7x15), 4 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 SB

            1B       Jack Van Remortel, Michigan           .600 (3x5), 1 2B, 3 BB

            2B       Austin Bost, Texas A&M                   .500 (5x10), 4 R, 2 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 1 SB

            3B       Logan Beard, Louisville                    .571 (4x7), 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 3 BB

            SS        Christian Knapczyk, Louisville         .357 (5x14), 4 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 BB

            OF       Dillon Carter, Texas Tech                 .364 (4x11), 1 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 1 HBP

            OF       Austin Davis, TCU                             .333 (3x9), 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SB

            OF       Eddie King Jr., Louisville                   .625 (5x8), 3 R, 1 2B, 3 RBI

            DH       Cole Fontenelle, TCU                         .333 (3x9), 4 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB

            P          Cam Brown, TCU                               1-0, 0.00 ERA (0ER/7IP), 3 H, 3 BB, 8 K

            P          Carson Liggett, Louisville                 1-0, 0.00 ERA (0ER/7IP), 1 H, 2 BB, 7 K

            P          Parker Smith, Rice                            0-0, 0.00 ERA (0ER/6IP), 3 H, 1 BB, 8 K

            P          Ryan Vanderhei, TCU                        1-0, 0.00 ERA (0ER/6IP), 3 H, 1 BB, 8 K

Shriners Children’s College Classic Most Outstanding Player: C Jack Payton, Louisville

The 24th annual tournament will return next season for another nine games at Minute Maid Park from March 1-3, 2024. The tournament field will be announced at a later date.