Personnel from both sides have had their reasons for leaving the two leagues. Those who have left the Academy's summer league say it's unorganized, and that they were never sure if umpires would show up to work their games. People who have left the Legion league say the competition isn't strong enough.

"I'd like to see more teams involved, but I don't know how to go about doing it," Wells said.

When those 18 teams formed the UABA in 2002, it was only the beginning of the landscape changing in Utah summer baseball.

Various all-star scout teams have popped up around the state, the most notable being the Utah Marshalls. They are a traveling all-star team sponsored by the Marshall Gates Foundation. There are also the Utah Bucks, which are sponsored by Kansas City Royals catcher John Buck, academy-sponsored teams such as the Highlanders and Stars, and others such as Utah Elite.

Shepherd, who won state Legion championships as a coach in back-to-back summers with St. George and Taylorsville, felt like something was missing in Utah summer ball and he acted on it. The foundation's purpose is to train young athletes for national and international competition, and Shepherd works with elite baseball players both in-state and out-of-state.

"The foundation started looking at all options of how we can help baseball locally and nationally," Shepherd said. "There were definitely things to do to get kids ready for college that they weren't doing around here."

Shepherd has had no trouble attracting elite talent in the state with the Marshalls and Bucks. The top player in the state — Pine View's Marcus Littlewood — suits up for the Marshalls, and the two rosters are made up of all-state players.

Other scout teams have also fared well in attracting top talent, as the Highlanders feature players from Spanish Fork such as 5A MVP Brock Duke, Greg Money and Braden Warren.

A player's perspective

Taylor Jones was a three-time all-state pick from Cyprus High. He played Legion ball the last three years, but decided he would play for the Utah Marshalls rather than Cyprus' Legion team this summer.

Jones, who will play collegiately at Southern Nevada, loved playing with his Cyprus teammates during the summer, but felt like he needed to face better competition to get better prepared for college ball and to progress as a player.

"We play every day," Jones said. "It's fun playing with different kids from different high schools. You get to know a lot of kids. There's a lot of good talent. You learn stuff every day from what the other kids do, and the coaches are really good."

Jones is one player you wouldn't expect to leave American Legion. His father, Brooks, coached Cyprus and was the Valley League president for a few years. Jones also watched his brother, Tyler, play Legion ball for Cyprus before playing a prominent role himself for the Pirates.