The Las Vegas youth baseball landscape looks different today.
Top Tier Las Vegas and Vegas Valor Baseball have announced a merger, bringing two of the region’s premier player development programs together under one brand. Vegas Valor will come under the Top Tier Las Vegas umbrella, and the Valor coaching staff — Edarian Williams, Jason Sharman, Peyton Fuller, and Jesse Fonteboa — will join the Top Tier Las Vegas Player Development staff effective immediately.
It is, by any measure, the most significant addition to the Top Tier Las Vegas program since its founding.
“Edarian, Jay, Peyton, and Jesse are joining a best-in-class player development staff and elevating it to heights no other program in this market can match. We’re always pursuing the best coaches — and in one convergence of minds and talent, we landed four who will play a large role in creating something truly special for everyone involved.”
The Top Tier Las Vegas x Vegas Valor Merger: Creating A Premier Player Development Staff
The combined staff now includes Williams, Sharman, Fuller, and Fonteboa alongside the rest of the existing Top Tier Las Vegas Player Development team. The result is one of the deepest concentrations of playing and coaching experience in youth baseball in the Las Vegas Valley.
Top Tier Las Vegas Fielding Coordinator Brandon Kotake, who has helped Top Tier Las Vegas set a standard for how infielders should be trained and developed didn’t mince words on his feelings about the merger:
“Vegas Valor and Top Tier Las Vegas — player development personified,” Kotake said. “Top Tier’s standard is to expect greatness, from 8U to 18U, on and off the field. We are adding world-class coaches to a world-class organization. I’ve never been more excited for what’s ahead.”
Who’s Coming In
Edarian Williams grew up in Las Vegas and lettered all four years at Rancho High School before earning All-State honors and arriving at UNLV in 2018. What followed was a five-year career that put him among the best players in the Mountain West. Williams earned Mountain West Co-Freshman of the Year and Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American honors as a first-year player, was ranked No. 19 on D1Baseball’s second baseman power rankings, and was a two-time All-Mountain West selection. He ranked inside the top 100 of multiple national statistical categories during his career, including 67 RBI and a .554 slugging percentage in his junior season. He also helped the Las Vegas Aces reach the American Legion World Series.
“The sky is the limit with this move to Top Tier,” Williams said. “A blend of elite talent, advanced resources, and high-level coaching is going to be a breeding ground for competitiveness and development. I’m pumped to get going and start putting action to words.”
Jason Sharman is another Las Vegas product, a four-year letterman at UNLV who played outfield for the Rebels after a standout career at Desert Oasis High School. Sharman earned Second Team All-State and First Team All-Sunset Region honors as a senior, served as his school’s valedictorian, and was a member of the Las Vegas Aces program that reached the 2018 American Legion World Series alongside Williams.
His focus coming in is clear.
“My goal is to make a lasting impact on these young athletes — helping them master the mental game and the baseball smarts needed to take their talents to the next level,” Sharman said. “Let’s get to work.”
Peyton Fuller arrives with one of the more decorated playing résumés on the staff. The right-hander was ranked the No. 1 RHP in Oregon coming out of high school, received an offer from the Chicago White Sox, and participated in the 2016 Area Code Games. At the University of Oregon, he posted a sub-3.00 ERA in three of four seasons before finishing his collegiate career at UNLV. He brings six years of Division I pitching experience to a program that has long prioritized elite pitching development.
Fuller’s approach to coaching reflects the same standard he held himself to as a player.
“I’ve always believed you get out of it what you put into it,” Fuller said. “Show up, be where your feet are, learn, grind, and compete. That’s the standard I’ve held myself to, and it’s what I bring to every athlete I work with. Pitching is my passion, and I’m fired up to pour everything I know into competitive athletes who are hungry and ready to elevate their game. The merger between Top Tier and Vegas Valor creates an incredible opportunity — not just for me, but for every athlete who’s serious about reaching their full potential.”
Jesse Fonteboa is a Las Vegas native whose path through the game took him from Golden West College to UT Rio Grande Valley to Oklahoma City University — three levels of college baseball — before two seasons of professional baseball in the MLB Draft League with the State College Spikes and Trenton Thunder. He holds a degree in kinesiology. He is 26 years old, grew up in the same city where he’ll now develop the next generation, and brings a perspective on the game that is rare at any level.
“Being able to be around quality, hardworking young men who love the game and have a real drive to get better is truly a blessing,” Fonteboa said. “I’m looking forward to sharing the lessons I’ve learned through my experiences with the next generation — to give them the best opportunity to succeed both on and off the field.”
What It Means for Valor Families
For families who have been part of the Vegas Valor program, the merger represents something beyond a brand transition. It is an entry point into one of the most established youth baseball organizations in the country.
Top Tier Baseball was founded in Chicago in 2004. Over 22 years, it has built a culture and a national footprint that has produced more than 5,500 college commits. Valor families are joining a program that takes their exceptional coaches and places them inside a proven infrastructure — one with the resources, the technology, and the national relationships to take player development to a level a regional program operating on its own simply cannot reach.
That includes access to Top Tier Select national teams, which provide elite players with exposure opportunities that extend well beyond the Las Vegas market. It also includes Top Tier’s relationship with Prep Baseball, which gives Top Tier players discounted pricing and priority consideration for some of the most prestigious recruiting events in the country — the Future Games, Junior Future Games, Super Sophomores Games, and West Coast Games — events that put players directly in front of college coaches and professional scouts.
The coaches Valor families know and trust are not going anywhere. They are now backed by something that matches their talent.
What It Means for Top Tier Las Vegas Families
For our existing Top Tier Las Vegas families, we’re brining in four more coaches with high-level playing experiences to our Player Development staff.
Combined our existing Player Development staff, your players now have access to one of the deepest player development staffs in the Las Vegas Valley (and beyond). No other program in this market is putting this kind of coaching in front of their athletes.
We’re always striving help every player prepare for and reach the next level of this game, and adding four like-minded, talented coaches to the Player Development staff in one move is something we’re all very excited about and proud of.
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