Fans will be talking about the 2024 POWER SHOWCASE 15U Finals for a long time to come.

Following a rare, triple-overtime showdown, it was Utah’s Austin Brown who hit a walk-off home run in the third round of a swing-off to win the 15U World Championship. Brown defeated Connecticut’s Liam Zeller, after the two finalists tied with six home runs to force the extra swings.

Austin Brown is now the champion, something he has waited the last three years to hear. The past two years, the freshman from Heber City, Utah, also reached the finals, only to finish in second place each time.

“This feels great. It took a while, though. The past two years, finishing second, and finally being able to come out here and win it, it felt good,” Brown said. “To finally be able to get a championship under the belt, it feels good.”

Zeller set the bar by leading off the championship round, and he had two consecutive that included a 463-foot shot that was his farthest of the event to help pace his half-dozen. Mississippi’s Drake Cox then managed just three home runs, after earning his title shot by hitting the longest home run of the 15U Preliminaries at 482 feet.

That left it down to either Zeller or Brown, who had the advantage of hitting last after selecting that spot in the batting order by leading the preliminary round with 13 total home runs.

Austin made an immediate statement by crushing his first pitch for a 362-foot homer that had him right on the board. But he then went cold to burn through 11 outs, before getting back on track with four more blasts that had him down 6-5. With just one out remaining, Brown sent a longball deep to right field for a 438-foot swing that tied it up and forced the swing-off.

Things were far from over there.

Zeller rose up to club two straight in the first swing-off, shots of 456 and 334 feet, respectively, that had him back in the driver’s seat. But Brown responded by again connecting on his first swing of the round, a 461-foot drive that was his longest of the final. Two outs later, he sent a homer 374 feet to tie things back up.

Neither finalist managed to hit a home run with the two outs allotted in the second swing-off. The third round then featured a high-stakes, one-out scenario.

“Just being able to watch them hit, they are setting the bar so you can raise the bar and get over it,” Brown said. “The first round, seeing the other guy’s home runs, you just want to compete to that, and be able to get there, and then eventually pass them. I wasn’t able to pass him in the first round. Then, the swing-off is different, because if you don’t hit one, you’re out. Him being able to go first still gives me time to focus and get ready, and we just kept going back-and-forth. Finally, he didn’t.”

Brown got his pitch and he put his best swing on it, sending the ball 386 feet for a home run that clinched his crown and earned him the title of 15U World Champion.

“Walking off and watching it go, it went over and it felt great,” Brown said.

Even had he not achieved the ultimate goal, Austin Brown’s POWER SHOWCASE career has been memorable. To reach the finals three straight years is a testament to his ability and his commitment. But to finally be able to bring the championship back home to Utah is a moment he can forever be proud of.

“Utah’s not that big for baseball, but being able to come out here as one person and kind of put it on the map feels good,” Brown said.