Manila: National junior standout Aiden Lazaro is embarking on a long-term elite baseball development pathway with the renowned IMG Academy. The Grade 8 student at Ateneo de Manila University serves as captain of the team in the Pony Division.
According to Philippines News Agency, together with his hands-on and devoted mom Shelly, Lazaro recently spent considerable time at IMG's 600-acre campus and sports facilities, where he undertook the first phase of his long-term holistic athletic development plans under former Major League and other professional league baseball coaches, players, and scouts. The 13-year-old was also granted access to IMG's Performance and Sports Science Center, which oversees his strength and conditioning, speed and agility, mobility, injury prevention, recovery, sports science, as well as nutrition and mental performance.
"I'm excited to immerse myself in a new training environment and learn from everyone at IMG Academy who helped develop some of the top athletes and professional players. I look forward to bringing home everything I gain from this so I could contribute more to my teams in the Philippines," Lazaro said in a news release Monday. "I'm very thankful to IMG Academy for welcoming me into its baseball and holistic athletic training program and for working closely with my mom over the past few months to help create exciting opportunities for my future. I'm humbled by this privilege and I'm ready to work hard to make the most of it," the gold medalist in primary baseball with the National Capital Region at the 2025 Palarong Pambansa added.
Lazaro is the first Filipino baseball talent to become part of the IMG Academy, marking a historic breakthrough not only in his own journey but also for Philippine baseball. A member of the Ateneo de Manila baseball varsity since kindergarten at the age of five, Lazaro has served as team captain multiple times across different age divisions.
Last school year, he earned a place on Ateneo's UAAP Juniors roster, becoming the only Grade 7 student and the youngest student ever to play in the UAAP. As a member of the Philippine U12 National Team in 2024, Lazaro captured the coveted Most RBI (runs batted in) Award at the Asian Baseball Championship in Japan.
Based in Bradenton, Florida, IMG Academy is one of the world's leading sports training institutions, known for developing young athletes into elite competitors in their respective sports. Major League Baseball (MLB) standouts James Wood and Chris Perez, this year's sixth overall pick Zion Rose, and tennis greats Serena and Venus Williams, Andre Agassi, and Maria Sharapova are among IMG's notable alumni. Interestingly, IMG Academy's sister brand, IMG Tennis Management, represents Filipino tennis ace Alexandra Eala, a graduate of the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain.
