Post 554 reaches fourth straight American Legion World Series with comeback in Western Regional.
When League City (Tex.) Post 554 began its 2025 American Legion Baseball season, the goal was to advance to a fourth straight American Legion World Series.
After completing a run through the loser’s bracket of the Western Regional in Fairfield, Calif., Post 554 has done just that.
“We talked about it because it’s a big accomplishment,” League City coach Ronnie Oliver said. “If you think about it: Only two teams in 100 years have been able to accomplish it.”
League City’s current stretch is matched only by Brooklawn (N.J.) Post 72, which advanced four straight times from 1998 to 2001 and five straight years from 2011 to 2015.
In its previous ALWS appearances, Post 554 finished fifth in 2022, won the ALWS in 2023 and lost in the semifinals last season.
With only two returning players in Jackson Higgins and Asa Sampson, League City (36-1) won its state-record 18th state title (and fifth in a row) to qualify for the Western Regional.
Adversity struck in the first regional game as Honolulu Team Central (Haw.) knocked Post 554 into the loser’s bracket with an 11-7 victory, League City’s first loss of the season.
Oliver said his team’s strategy to bounce back wasn’t complicated.
“Our attitude was ‘one game at a time, one batter at a time and one play at a time,’” Oliver said. “Fortunately, we’ve got some pretty good arms and everybody that was put up to the challenge got far enough into the game to give it to the next guy. It was basically a ‘next man up’ mentality.
“We also had a lot of timely hits and we hit the ball really good and made things happen to win the games.”
League City would win five straight games including back-to-back victories on Aug. 10 against previously unbeaten Petaluma, Calif.
“I knew the regionals would be tough,” Oliver said. “We faced Hawaii right off the bat and I knew that would be a challenge because they always have a really great team.
“We played with them but we came out on the losing end. I knew we were facing some good competition. When I talked to the team after the first game, I told them, ‘We need to jump out and never look back.’ And we came out hitting and won the first game and then worried about the next game.”
Regional co-most valuable players Sampson and Trenton Flores led the way.
Sampson had 10 hits and nine RBIs at the plate and picked up the pitching victory in the first game against Petaluma. And Flores had 11 hits and five RBIs at the plate and was the winning pitcher against Las Vegas.
“I was thrilled when we got the team together,” Oliver said. “With the makeup of the team that we had, I was confident that we could get back here and do what we’re doing. We’re looking forward to being in the World Series again.”
ALWS Schedule
Aug. 15: Game 3, vs. Portland (Ore.) Post 158, 4 p.m. ET
Aug. 16: Game 8, vs. Lincoln (Neb.) Post 500, 7 p.m. ET
Aug. 17: Game 10, vs. Rockport (Ind.) Post 254, 1 p.m. ET
Roster*
No. Name Pos. Ht./Wt. B/T Graduates / School
5 Collier, Parker C / RF 5’11”/180 S/R 2025 / Clear Falls HS
9 Flores, Trenton C / P 5’10”/170 R/R 2025 / Clear Brooks HS
18 Halter, Matthew P / RF 6’4”/165 R/R 2025 / Clear Brooks HS
12 Higgins, Jackson 3B / P 6’0”/183 R/R 2025 / Santa Fe HS
21 Johnson, Nathan C / 1B 5’11”/190 R/R 2026 / Clear Creek HS
2 Keys, Conner RF / P 6’0”/160 R/R 2025 / Clear Creek HS
4 Lewis, JT P / 2B 5’11”/180 R/R 2025 / Santa Fe HS
17 Loeffler, Will P / RF 6’1”/210 R/R 2025 / Clear Creek HS
11 Paulson, Noah LF / P 6’0”/175 R/R 2024 / Clear Falls HS
3 Rouse, Ronnie P / 1B 6’2”/200 L/L 2025 / Santa Fe HS
8 Sampson, Asa P / CF 5’11”/159 S/R 2025 / Clear Creek HS
16 Sanchez, Evan P / 1B 6’3”/220 R/R 2025 / Clear Creek HS
6 Sauers, Tyler SS / 2B 5’11”/170 R/R 2026 / Clear Creek HS
7 Schindler, Caden 2B / SS 5’6”/165 R/R 2025 / Clear Creek HS
20 Williams, Jarret P / CF 6’0”/175 L/L 2025 / Santa Fe HS
Manager: Ronnie Oliver
Assistants: Randall Williams, William Kemp
*Players will receive camo jerseys for Military Appreciation Day during team orientation which may be different numbers than listed here.
Regional results
Aug. 6: Honolulu (Haw.) d. League City (Tex.) Post 554, 11-7.
Aug. 7: League City (Tex.) Post 554 d. Fairfield (Calif.) Expos, 10-0 (5 innings).
Aug. 8: League City (Tex.) Post 554 d. Las Vegas (Nev.) Post 149, 11-1 (5 innings).
Aug. 9: League City (Tex.) Post 554 d. Honolulu (Haw.), 16-12.
Aug. 10: League City (Tex.) Post 554 d. Petaluma (Calif.) Post 28, 11-1.
Aug. 10: League City (Tex.) Post 554 d. Petaluma (Calif.) Post 28, 9-1.
- Baseball