Leyland Henry showed out for the 18th annual POWER SHOWCASE. Taking part in the event for the very first time, the eighth-grader from Houston, Texas, left his mark on every stage he performed during the event at Chase Field, in Arizona. After earning a place in the esteemed and elite 500 Foot HR Club, and also earning MVP honors in the Babe Ruth All Star Game, Henry closed the competition with his best showing of all in the grand finale of the 14U home run derby.

Batting last out of the three finalists, Henry bested the mark to beat and cemented his championship as the new 14U Home Run King.

“It was hard, but I really put the work in,” Henry said. “I’m thankful that the POWER SHOWCASE allowed me to come out here and do this. I just started cranking them and I felt good, and the ball just came off of my hands and felt like nothing.”

With dimensions of 305 feet to left and right field, and 325 feet to center field, Henry showcased his prolific power by consistently launching baseballs to all fields and well beyond those group minimums. He advanced to the finals as the Wild Card, thanks to his 504-foot home run to deep left field that was the longest of his 14U Group. His 12 overall home runs in the preliminary round placed him fourth in the group, showing that he was capable of the consistency it takes to win it all.

“It’s really hard to do that. I really put the work in, for real,” Henry admitted. “I’m not really good at home run derbies, and I had to figure it out these last few days.”

Illinois’ Chase Mital and New Jersey’s Tyler Cerutti also swung their way to the finals. Mital led the group, while Cerutti secured his spot thanks to a double-criteria decision. Utah’s Justin Robertson also delivered an outstanding showing in the 14U Prelim, as his 14 home runs tied Cerutti for second place. Both sluggers hit three in-a-row, and therefore it was Cerutti who advanced with a 441-foot longest that outdistanced Robertson’s 423-foot best.

Cerutti stayed hot to achieve a worthy and challenging number to beat for the crown, as he led off the finale by hitting 12 home runs. He got going with a 415-foot shot, and slowly he began to add to his total. After posting an impressive 111.1 exit velocity in the prelims, that bat speed really began to show deeper into the round. Cerutti blasted three straight, the first of which went 432 feet. He cranked three in-a-row again when down to his final three outs, and got one last 350-foot bomb on his final out to set a tough mark to beat.

Mital mashed in the prelims to lead the group with 15 home runs. He displayed all the tools that got him to the finals, with a 106.4 highest exit velocity, a longest of 429 feet, a 47.5 launch angle and four consecutive homers that showcased his consistency.

Unfortunately, that same juice did not follow him to the finale. Mital struggled to find his groove and closed with three home runs. Tyler Cerutti was then just one batter away from winning the title.

But Leyland Henry still had some magic left in his bat. He got going with his fourth swing, and then hit two more straight. After a mammoth 439-foot bomb, he again went for three-in-a-row to inch closer, and another trio of blasts tied him at 12 home runs with seven outs remaining. Henry then went down the left field line for a 336-foot clincher, and added three more to close the finals with 16 total home runs and 28 overall in the showcase.

“During that whole thing, I felt locked in. I felt like I was seeing them over-and-over again, and I felt consistency in my swing,” Henry said. “I’m just really, really happy that I was able to do this today. This means a lot, and it means a lot to my family. They push me through the hard days when I don’t want to do stuff, and they help me get through the days when I feel bad.”

Each achievement warranted a subsequent interview from yours truly. Rewarded the task to chronicle each accomplishment throughout the day, this reporter hounded Leyland all throughout to receive his reaction for each task. In all my years covering the POWER SHOWCASE events, I never even interviewed Blaze Jordan three times in the same day. By the event's end we felt like longtime friends, rather than new acquaintances.

Well done, Leyland Henry! You certainly made your mark at the POWER SHOWCASE!