Richmond Baseball Academy West, Rockville

By now, it’s no secret that Richmond Baseball Academy West has a knack for developing top baseball talent. More than 30 players who have been drafted by Major League teams have also either trained at facilities or played on one of the Academy’s traveling teams, including 2011 Cy Young winner Justin Verlander. And that’s in addition to hundreds of athletes who emerged from the program to play at the collegiate level.

Co-owned by former Major League reliever Cla Meredith, the Academy shapes future masters of the diamond with coaches who bring genuine field experience as they have all played the game at either the professional or college level. Pupils learn how to run down ground balls and put together solid at bats inside the Academy’s year-round facility in Richmond. It features batting cages, pitching machines, radar guns, and more of the latest teaching devices to help streamline training sessions.

Meanwhile, former softball standouts Synthia Reader and Sara Lassiter—a four-year player at Averett University—lead the softball program, which offers lessons for players of all ages and boasts its own competitive travel team. Richmond Baseball Academy also teaches youngsters aged 5–12 how to hit, field, and sniff out any sunflower seeds within the city limits in four-day baseball summer camps. It hosts more than 16 travel teams which accommodate ball players from age 8 to 17.