Teammates from Las Vegas celebrate Phillies NL East championship

There was a distinctive Las Vegas and UNLV presence Monday night as the Philadelphia Phillies celebrated their first National League East Division championship in 13 years.

Second baseman Bryson Stott wore a UNLV football helmet as the Phillies celebrated with champagne showers in the locker room. Maybe wearing it was part pride and part protection.

A photo from the celebration shows Stott pouring champagne on star first baseman and fellow Las Vegan Bryce Harper as Harper lets out a victory yell.

As a freshman at UNLV, Stott started all 54 games at shortstop. In 2019, his junior year, he hit .356 with 10 home runs and 36 RBIs in 58 games as his draft stock rose. The Phillies selected him in the first round, 14th overall, in that year’s draft. He made his big league debut in 2022 and, with a strong second half of the season, helped the Phillies reach the World Series. In 734 career at-bats, Stott is a .259 hitter with 17 home runs and 79 RBIs. He now plays second base for the Phillies.

The Desert Oasis High School graduate was drafted by the Phillies in the first round of the 2019 draft.

Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto hit home runs in the 6-2 win over the Chicago Cubs in Philadelphia. The Phillies had clinched a playoff spot last week.

Both of Stott’s parents attended UNLV and Stott’s father played quarterback for the football team.

Harper has been a MLB star for more than a decade after growing up in Las Vegas and playing for College of Southern Nevada. Making his MLB debut in 2012, he played seven years for the Washington Nationals before signing with the Phillies before the 2019 season.

Neither has won a World Series ring. Maybe this year.