Louisiana 8-year-old eyes youngest umpire world record, MLB
BATON ROUGE, La. (BVM) – Lathan Williams, otherwise known as Lathan The Kid Umpire, is awaiting confirmation from Guinness World Records in order to be officially named as the world’s youngest-ever baseball umpire. The 8-year-old works real games and dreams about umpiring/refereeing in the pro leagues.
Back in early March 2023, Lathan recorded the evidence needed to set the Guinness World Record for the world’s youngest umpire (shown below). At the time, he was still 7 years old (Lathan was born on March 19, 2015).
“There are records of all kinds with officials and things of that sort, but there’s not an official record for the youngest umpire to umpire a sanctioned baseball game,” Wayne Grenfell, director of operations for Ascension Parish Little League, told BRProud News.
In June, Lathan’s dad noted, “We have completed the attempt for Guinness and sent in the evidence. We are waiting for their response.”
But Lathan – who will start the third grade this fall near the Baton Rouge, Louisiana area – is seeking more than just a world record. Ask him what he wants to be when he grows up, and he’ll respond with:
“[I want to umpire/referee] NBA and MLB and NFL games,” Lathan said.
Lathan will have the biggest resume that the pro leagues have ever seen. He began umpiring for local baseball games at 5 years old and already has a scholarship lined up for him at Wendelstedt Umpire School.
As of today, Lathan has gotten the chance to help officiate at 12U baseball games and basketball games. He’s even made a call to toss out a player during a Savannah Bananas baseball game (shown below).
@lathanthekidumpire99 Who’s ready to see Lathan The Kid Umpire back with the @thesavbananas ?!?! Tag them in the comments!!! #lathanthekidumpire #kidumpire #baseballseason #baseballtiktoks #baseballtikok #baseballboys #umpirelife #umpiresoftiktok #baseball #travelball #travelbaseball #balk #scrimmage #thesavannahbananas
This kid referee looks like a pro out there 👏 pic.twitter.com/4zdvSZ9hVQ
— Athlete Swag (@AthleteSwag) February 7, 2023
Lathan shadows professionals since he can’t read and comprehend rule books just yet. More recently, he worked alongside Little League umpire Anthony Ham Estrada. He also did some on-the-job training alongside an official during a basketball game.
The future looks bright for him as a three-sport official. The videos of him officiating basketball, football and baseball have garnered millions of views online. He has over 40,000 followers on his second TikTok account (he gathered half a million on his first account before it got banned) and he has over 75,000 followers on Instagram.
That following and the early head start to his career could make him one of the richest athletes in the country thanks to NIL one day. He’s already done a few partnerships, including with the Grill Masters Club, and he sells his own fan gear.