Last week, Lubanski, a senior-to-be at Malvern Prep, participated in SelectFest Baseball's invitation-only showcase for the top high school players in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.

In the skills-day portion of the event, held at Jack Cust Baseball Academy in Flemington, N.J., Lubanski made the most of the eight whacks he took at the plate.

Using an aluminum bat, the righthanded-hitting backstop lined a pair of shots to left field, ripped a ball deep down the left-field line, and smacked one over HealthQuest Park's right-center field fence.

The prestigious three-day showcase concluded over the weekend, with back-to-back game days at Rutgers. Many standouts from Southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey took part, trying to impress a horde of professional scouts and college recruiters.

For Lubanski, it was his fifth event in two weeks. His first two stops were at the Perfect Game National Showcase in Minneapolis and the USA Baseball Tournament of Stars in Raleigh, N.C. From there, it was on to the Area Code Baseball Team tryouts, in Allentown, and the Top 100 Mid-Atlantic Showcase in Plymouth Meeting.

"He's a little tired," said Wally Lubanski, his father. "We've traveled about 3,000 miles. But he's held his own. He's done nicely."

This week, Mike Lubanski is competing in a tournament at the University of South Carolina. His next destination will be Marietta, Ga., for the Perfect Game World Wood Bat Association National Championships.

"I love playing baseball," the 5-foot-11, 190-pounder said. "It's a blast. I just come out and try to have as much fun as possible."

There is the chance that Lubanski could be selected in next year's first-year-player draft. "It's in the back of my mind," he said, "but I love Wake Forest and the opportunity that I have there."

Wally Lubanski knows all about the showcase, recruitment and draft process. His eldest son, Chris, starred at Kennedy-Kenrick High, in Norristown, and was selected fifth overall by the Kansas City Royals in the 2003 amateur draft. The 23-year-old is a leftfielder for Omaha, Kansas City's triple-A affiliate in the Pacific Coast League. He is hitting .242 with eight homers and 32 RBIs.

At the SelectFest Baseball showcase, the skills session in Flemington was watched by professional scouts and coaches from about 150 colleges, from the Division I, II and III levels.

Kyle Mullen, a senior-to-be pitcher from St. Joseph's Prep, was one of the 150 or so invitees. Behind the home-plate fence, radar guns popped up everywhere when Mullen and fellow hurlers approached the mound.

Like the others, the 6-foot, 160-pound Mullen threw eight pitches: three fastballs from the wind-up, two breaking balls, and two fastballs from the stretch.

"You try to block out that everybody has a radar gun on you," Mullen said. "But it is a little nerve-racking."

Mullen's fastball topped out at 89 m.p.h. "That surprised me," said the 17-year-old from Berwyn. "People tell me I usually throw around 86."

Mullen, also at last week's Top 100 Mid-Atlantic Showcase, is hearing from Penn, St. Joseph's, Rider and Richmond, among others.

Other area pitchers showing their wares at SelectFest were Malvern Prep's Tim Cooney (a fastball of 91 m.p.h.), Hill School's Jim Stokes (88), Shawnee's Anthony Montefusco (87), and Bishop Eustace's Chris Branigan (85).

Like Mike Lubanski, Penn Charter's Rob Amaro can look to someone else in the family for knowledgeable baseball advice.

Amaro's uncle, Ruben, is the Phillies assistant general manager and a former pro player. His father, David, was an outfielder at Penn Charter, Duke, and played in the minor leagues for the Chicago Cubs.

For Penn Charter, Rob Amaro is primarily a third baseman. "My uncle suggested I try this position," he said. "He said pro teams are always looking for good third basemen and catchers."

At SelectFest, Amaro was on the Royal squad with Lubanski, Mullen and Branigan. The Green team included Kennedy-Kenrick third baseman Christian Walker; Germantown Academy brothers Tommy and Sean Coyle, both middle infielders; Penn Charter shortstop Mark Rhine, and Chestnut Hill Academy outfielder Jon McAllister.

"I feel like I did pretty well in the fielding and running [6.99 seconds for 60 yards]," the 6-3, 210-pound Amaro said. "The key at these events is to relax, to not put too much pressure on yourself."

Amaro said he has scholarship offers from Boston College and Delaware. Duke (his personal favorite) and William and Mary have also expressed interest.

Having already secured the services of Lubanski, Wake Forest recruiting coordinator Jon Palmieri was at the SelectFest showcase evaluating other possible future Demon Deacons.

Palmieri, 31, grew up on Long Island, played first base for Wake Forest in the late 1990s, and had a brief stay in the minor leagues.

One of his top criteria for recruits is consistency. "We play five or six days a week," he said. "If you don't know what you're going to get day in and day out from a player, that's a problem."

Anything else? "You want to see a kid go hard, have a little bounce in his step, show that he's a hustler," Palmieri said. "It's not just how he hits the ball or how he fields. Sometimes you can see things in his preparation, his stance, his set-up."

At HealthQuest Park, directly in front of scouts and college coaches, Lubanski threw to second base about 10 times. The Collegeville resident's best "pop time" was an impressive 1.84 seconds. His 60-yard laser clocking was 6.9 seconds.

"He plays hard, plays the game the right way," Palmieri said. "He goes 100 percent all the time. Every time I see him, he seems to get better and better."

or robrien@phillynews.com.