Paseo Verde LL has developed into a giant in baseball
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It was not the talent which Cory Edwards first noticed when watching Paseo Verde Little Leaguers play upon moving eight years ago. It was the joy those athletes displayed. It was the way the league made all the kids feel like stars.
Since then, a lot has changed for Paseo Verde and yet the Henderson, Nevada league remains the same. Paseo Verde has developed into a giant and is competing at the Little League World Series for a second time in three years after capturing the Mountain Region eight days ago. Still, whether it's at Lamade Stadium where Paseo Verde played Ohio Thursday or back home at the local field, the enthusiasm Edwards, the team's manager, saw that first time continues bursting out when anyone plays there.
"When I first met all the people from Paseo Verde when I moved from California, I loved how passionate they were about making it special for the kids," Edwards said. "That's from the kids getting the uniforms, to opening day and the vibe on the fields. I love how they go all out to make it great for all the kids and it's such a great experience for the families. They make the kids feel special and that makes people wanting to continue to sign up and creates word of mouth."
And all those attributes are what this league has built it tremendous success upon. Paseo Verde captured its third state championship since 2022 earlier this month before going undefeated at regionals and securing its second Series appearance. The 2022 team reached the Mountain final and helped accelerate the growth.
From the experiences so many at all levels enjoyed, to the 2022 team showing what was possible, everything came together. Numbers which were below 300 following COVID have nearly tripled since. The 2024 team raised the bar even further and Paseo Verde has continued gaining strength since. This latest run, in which the team entered the Series undefeated, likely will only strengthen a league which is built upon enjoyable experiences as much as winning.
It's just that Paseo Verde's 2024 and 2026 teams have enjoyed some of the best experiences imaginable.
"We do everything we can to help the kids have fun and for the families to have good times there," Paseo Verde Little League president Mike Fairweather said. "We were up over 600 kids this year. It's awesome to see, and it has a lot to do with the exposure the kids are getting, playing at regionals on ESPN and now at the Little League World Series."
Paseo Verde coach Bill Senne has been affiliated with the league for 25 years and managed the 2022 team. Adam Johnson managed the 2024 team and still coaches in the league, working with the younger divisions. He and three of those 2024 players talked to this current team before states, and then a few other 2024 players attended the first regional game against Wyoming, throwing out the first pitch to current players.
Those were motivational lessons, but also spoke to the league's closeness. Past, present or future, those affiliated with the league are eager to help; eager to make it even stronger. Teams before them paved the way and now this 2026 team is carrying the baton forward, fueling those collective fires in all the younger players watching them become one of the world's top squads.
"Give Adam Johnson credit. He was always saying 12 as 1. I watch this group play and it's 12 kids playing for their brothers and sister (Carsynn Meyer)," Fairweather said. "Cory and Bill and Lynn Coley do a great job coaching this team and have built on that. They've created that culture where nobody is better than anybody else. They play for each other and that's great for everyone to see."
At the all-star practice, Edwards looked at his players, and told them one by one, 'It's not about you.' He said the same thing about himself and the coaches. The point being that they were all in this for each other. It was embracing that Paseo Verde mantra which enabled this group to become the Mountain Region's best team.
And that says even more considering this group had not achieved big-time success before 2026. It had never won a state championship. The past, however, does not have to dictate the future and Edwards, after coaching in the Junior Division last year, quickly had the players buying into playing selfless baseball.
That has shined through all summer and enabled this team to live the Little Leauge dream. It has never been one or two players carrying the weight, but all 12 evenly distributing it. Players have no problems bunting; no one cares where they are in the lineup or what position they are at.
Equally important, this team has excelled when the heat is turned up. It literally was that way when Paseo Verde started practicing this summer in 113-degree heat. But all the players kept grinding; kept believing and all have delivered in big moments.
That was especially true in a regional game against Utah, when Paseo Verde scored late, forced extra innings and when 4-3. Logan Edwards ended that game with a strikeout, leaving the bases loaded.
"I coached with my father who coached for 40 years and have become my father in a lot of ways, saying the same things he taught me," Cory Edwards said. "I wanted to challenge these kids to be comfortable not being comfortable. It was not so much not accepting losing as much as being comfortable giving their best no matter the situation."
Players embracing those mentalities has been as crucial to Paseo Verde's success as their strong defense, hitting and pitching. And it's not just that Paseo Verde has won, but how it has done so which has drawn such excitement back home.
So caught up is Henderson, that mayor Michelle Romero was sending Fairweather texts during the regional final against Montana telling him how everyone there was pulling for them. Before Fairweather had made it to the media room moments after Paseo Verde won the championship, Romero texted again, saying how proud all of Henderson was.
Really, that extends now to Las Vegas and throughout Nevada. Paseo Verde has shined a bright light upon those cities, that state and the Mountain Region once again. And yet it was never about making the Series.
It was all about giving kids opportunities to play a game they love and have fun times while doing so. From that belief has grown the best teams in league history; and the best five-year run in state history.
What a ride it has been.
"I hope they just grow from this experience," Edwards said. "I think there's a drop off from baseball players form 12-13, but when you get to do this, this can inspire players for the next 4-5 years, and then your goal is to keep playing from there as long as you can."
"I hope they remember their time together. You only get to do this one time," Fairweather said. "I hope they remember their coaches; I hope they appreciate everything their parents did to get them here and all the good times they had."