New Jersey Nationals Win Ripken Weeklong Myrtle Beach Tournament

New Jersey Nationals win Ripken weeklong Myrtle Beach Tournament.

The Sun Times-July 25, 2026

Myrtle Beach, SC- The New Jersey Nationals, an elite 13u travel baseball team with a roster filled with some of the best youth baseball talent in Essex County traveled to South Carolina the week of July 19-24 to compete against twenty of the top travel teams in the country. The Nationals over the course of the weeklong competition defeated elite teams from California, Georgia, Ohio, Nebraska, New York and Massachusetts compiling a 9-0 record for the week ultimately being crowned Ripken Baseball Champions.

The Nationals are a hard hitting ballclub as clearly evidenced by their weeklong performance in South Carolina. They outscored their opponents in the tournament by one hundred runs (135-35). The team’s combination of power and speed during the competition proved an overwhelming tandem for their opponents and produced impressive offensive stat lines as The Nationals combined for a tournament leading number of homeruns (14), hits (112) and stolen bases (90).

In the Championship game, against a powerhouse Massachusetts team drawing players from three New England states and possessed of a talented pitching staff that had surrendered little more than a run a game through eight contests, The Nationals lit up the scoreboard, plating more runs in one game than their opponents had surrendered all week, and winning convincingly 13-4.

Belleville residents and brothers Bobby Canon and J.P. Canon proved instrumental in the National’s Championship run in Myrtle Beach. In the tournament Final the brothers scored five runs on three hits with a pair of doubles, three bases on balls and three stolen bases. The brothers were retired only once in seven at bats.

As a result of his weeklong performance Bobby Canon was awarded The Ripken Tournament’s Most Valuable Player medal. The strength of his stat line was impressive as Canon collected ten hits in twenty at bats with 10 walks, 3 doubles, 5 Homeruns, 16 runs scored and 10 stolen bases. He was also the winning pitcher of record on the mound against tough New York and Nebraska teams compiling a 1.44 ERA for the week.

J.P. Canon, the team’s shortstop, led the team in batting average for the tournament with a blistering .667 pace including a pair of doubles, one triple and a solo homerun. He also scored ten runs to go along with ten stolen bases.

The New Jersey Nationals closed out their Summer season in Myrtle Beach with a final overall record of 29-8 with three tournament victories. Belleville was well represented on the National’s roster. The team’s starting catcher, Isaiah Ramirez, also a Belleville resident, had an outstanding season both behind plate and in the batter’s box hitting .413 on the season and being regarded as one of the best defensive catchers in the state.

The Belleville boys on The National’s roster are not new to playing on dominating championship teams as Bobby Canon, J.P. Canon and Isaiah Ramirez all played important roles on Belleville’s 2024 undefeated USABL Championship travel team that went an unprecedented 27-0 while surrendering the fewest runs in the state. To mark their accomplishment the entire roster received Mayoral Medals of Achievement recognizing the genuine rarity and difficulty of playing a perfect undefeated season of baseball.

Championship baseball in Belleville has a long and successful history and deep roots. The New Jersey National’s Head Coach, John Bravette has his own ties to the township’s programs having played Little League in Belleville for the FMBA team before going on to star at both Seton Hall Prep and Seton Hall University as a middle infielder. His father continues to call Belleville home and still finds time to scout out local talent for his son’s elite travel squads. Says Coach Bravette, “The boys in our program hailing from Belleville come well prepared in the fundamentals of the game and have proven that they can successfully compete on a national stage. That our catcher, shortstop and leading hitter are all from Belleville is a testament to the town’s youth programs that prepare these boys to compete at an elite level.”

Coach Bravette has not forgotten his own connection to the Township. “Belleville Little League was the place I fell in love with the game of baseball and that love for the game has never left me.”

His New Jersey Nationals may have wrapped up a Championship season in South Carolina but after a short break they will be back playing Fall baseball. Says Bravette, “Everyone who is a part of The New Jersey Nationals program has a deep connection to the game. Our players, parents and coaches truly love the game of baseball. We practice and play till there is snow on the ground, take a month off for the holiday season and then get inside in a bubble and start hitting till the snow clears. It’s that kind of dedication and passion that helps build teams that become champions.”