National junior team standout Aiden Lazaro has reached another milestone after embarking on a long-term elite baseball development pathway with the renowned IMG Academy.

The 13-year-old Lazaro, a junior high school standout at Ateneo de Manila University, said he is grateful for the trust and support given to him by the IMG Academy, which welcomed him in its 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.

Lazaro was also granted access to IMG's Performance & 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 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," said Lazaro, the first-ever homegrown 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.

He was also a member of the Ateneo varsity squad since he was five years old. Last school year, Lazaro became the youngest student to play in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines after landing a spot in the Blue Eagles juniors roster.

“I'm humbled by this privilege and I'm ready to work hard to make the most of it.”

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 standouts James Wood and Chris Perez and this year's sixth overall pick Zion Rose as well as 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 Alex Eala whose sporting journey mirrors that of Lazaro.

Both athletes began playing their respective sports at a young age before committing to elite international training at 13 — Eala at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain, and Lazaro at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.