About
NHBA Mariners Select is a youth baseball program that includes Select league play, local and regional baseball tournaments, open tryouts, and participation in the Cooperstown youth baseball tournament for its 12U team. The program is a non-profit PONY youth baseball organization that offers seven teams from 8U–12U, including two 9U teams, with approximately 90 kids across those teams.
• Ages: 8–12 years old
NHBA Mariners Select was created by Newport Harbor Baseball Association (NHBA) in the fall of 2020 and is entering its fifth year in the fall, under the governance of NHBA’s Board of Directors. The program’s name and nautical theme were chosen because of connections to Newport Harbor, Mariner’s Mile, and the local high school. NHBA was founded in 1983, and Newport Harbor High School was founded in 1930.
Each team is coached by a minimum of two paid independent, professional coaches who have either coached and/or played at the MLB, minor league, collegiate, or high school levels, and the program currently has 15 coaches from diverse backgrounds, races, and ethnicities. Professional coaches select rosters and set lineups, and all Mariners coaches from every age level attend open tryouts each July to evaluate participants from 8U–12U. The entire coaching roster collectively selects all Mariners teams each year, rosters are set for the entire year, current players must earn a new roster spot annually, and prospective players are evaluated for a fair opportunity to make a team. Coaches advance each year with their team, and starting at 11U there are no geographic requirements or boundary limits for participation, with individuals from any community welcomed to try out.
The program states that it is focused on player development in a fun, yet highly competitive and challenging environment, and identifies wholistic (mind, body, character) player development as its benchmark, with the end goal of playing high school baseball and potentially beyond. It states that its aim is to hand off athletes who have learned to play the game fundamentally and “the right way,” and who are described as well-rounded individuals ready to compete and excel both on and off the field. The program emphasizes the mental side of the game, including mental toughness and resilience, and lists character, commitment, work ethic, sportsmanship, respect for coaches, teammates, opponents, and umpires, perseverance and heart, teamwork, inclusiveness, and community involvement as its core values.
Mariners Select serves the Newport Beach and Costa Mesa communities and is comprised primarily of local residents, while also welcoming broader participation starting at 11U. The program describes itself as a non-profit “hybrid” that combines high-level travel baseball coaching and competition experiences with a local community setting, and it states that Mariners Select teams compete and succeed against top youth baseball players across Orange County and Southern California. It notes that Mariners Select baseball is expected to be prioritized each season, while also encouraging and accommodating participation in multiple sports to help combat baseball “burnout” and potential arm injuries. The organization lists TCS Gold Champions - 9u Pender, TCS Silver Champions - 10u Fahey, and TCS Gold Champions - 11u Cresse among its achievements. Evan Williams is listed as President, and Marilyn Horsley is listed as the NHBA website contact.
Last updated March 25, 2026.
• Ages: 8–12 years old
NHBA Mariners Select was created by Newport Harbor Baseball Association (NHBA) in the fall of 2020 and is entering its fifth year in the fall, under the governance of NHBA’s Board of Directors. The program’s name and nautical theme were chosen because of connections to Newport Harbor, Mariner’s Mile, and the local high school. NHBA was founded in 1983, and Newport Harbor High School was founded in 1930.
Each team is coached by a minimum of two paid independent, professional coaches who have either coached and/or played at the MLB, minor league, collegiate, or high school levels, and the program currently has 15 coaches from diverse backgrounds, races, and ethnicities. Professional coaches select rosters and set lineups, and all Mariners coaches from every age level attend open tryouts each July to evaluate participants from 8U–12U. The entire coaching roster collectively selects all Mariners teams each year, rosters are set for the entire year, current players must earn a new roster spot annually, and prospective players are evaluated for a fair opportunity to make a team. Coaches advance each year with their team, and starting at 11U there are no geographic requirements or boundary limits for participation, with individuals from any community welcomed to try out.
The program states that it is focused on player development in a fun, yet highly competitive and challenging environment, and identifies wholistic (mind, body, character) player development as its benchmark, with the end goal of playing high school baseball and potentially beyond. It states that its aim is to hand off athletes who have learned to play the game fundamentally and “the right way,” and who are described as well-rounded individuals ready to compete and excel both on and off the field. The program emphasizes the mental side of the game, including mental toughness and resilience, and lists character, commitment, work ethic, sportsmanship, respect for coaches, teammates, opponents, and umpires, perseverance and heart, teamwork, inclusiveness, and community involvement as its core values.
Mariners Select serves the Newport Beach and Costa Mesa communities and is comprised primarily of local residents, while also welcoming broader participation starting at 11U. The program describes itself as a non-profit “hybrid” that combines high-level travel baseball coaching and competition experiences with a local community setting, and it states that Mariners Select teams compete and succeed against top youth baseball players across Orange County and Southern California. It notes that Mariners Select baseball is expected to be prioritized each season, while also encouraging and accommodating participation in multiple sports to help combat baseball “burnout” and potential arm injuries. The organization lists TCS Gold Champions - 9u Pender, TCS Silver Champions - 10u Fahey, and TCS Gold Champions - 11u Cresse among its achievements. Evan Williams is listed as President, and Marilyn Horsley is listed as the NHBA website contact.
Last updated March 25, 2026.
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