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College  | Recruiting  | 1/25/2023

Recruiting Notebook: January 25

Isaiah Burrows      Tyler Russo      Jheremy Brown     
Photo: Mills Carrillo (Perfect Game)
Chase Fuller, SS, Class of 2027
National Rank: 1 | Commitment: Florida State

Fuller might not be entering high school for another year, but he’s already known on the national circuit and just last week made his commitment live to the Seminoles of Florida State. Fuller’s father, Corey, is a football icon at the school but make no mistake, the younger Fuller has the talent to make a name for himself when it’s his time to step on campus. Already physically built at 6-foot-1, 165 pounds, Fuller continues to build off of the tools we saw this summer which saw him take home 13u National Player of the Year honors. The combination of bat speed and impact strength offensively led to a barrage of extra-base hits while he continues to make refinements in the dirt, showing fluidity to his footwork and plenty of arm strength. That same arm has produced one of the best fastballs in the class, already ramping upwards of 90 mph with a pair of secondary pitches he can land in the zone. 



Matthew Kelley, SS, Class of 2027
National Rank: 24 | Commitment: Miami

Like Fuller, Kelley announced his commitment live on Perfect Game’s IG page though he’ll be traveling a little bit further as the young California native is making the cross-country trek down to Coral Gables. The newly minted Cane commit was a staple on the circuit last summer and despite logging over 300 plate appearances on the year, he still managed to hit .416 with 109 hits on the year, 28 of which were two baggers. The numbers speak for themselves, but it’s worth reiterating the bat-to-ball skills as they were on display throughout the summer, regardless the type of arm he was facing. Once on base he proved to be just as much as threat with 91 swipes, but it’s on defense he might make his biggest impact with fluid and agile actions in the dirt, showing legit lateral range as well as body control on the charge play. 

Lorenzo Laurel, OF, Class of 2026
National Rank: 10 | Commitment: Florida

It doesn’t take long for Laurel to make his impact felt, though given the variety of tools he has at his disposal, it’s almost impossible for him not to catch your attention in any given look. Physically built at 6-foot, 184 pounds, Laurel was a force on the summer circuit this summer as his shorter, yet powerful, right-handed stroke produced plenty of hard contact, from the 14u World Series to the 14u National Showcase, and ultimately the 14u Select Festival. He’s able impact the ball to the backside with as much authority as he does to his pull side, though when he's looking to lift few in the class can hit the ball as far. The combination of bat speed and strength are unmistakable, but so too is his arm strength from the outfield as his top throw of 95 mph at the National was best for the entirety of the 2026 class that we saw throughout the ’22 circuit. He joins fellow Select Festival picks in Brady Harris and Aiden Arnett in making a formidable outfield crop for Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan. 

Colton Christman, LHP, Class of 2027
National Rank: 54 | Commitment: LSU

Nevada was a honey hole for Jay Johnson during his days at Arizona and he dipped back into the state, pulling out his first arm for the 2027 class with left-hander Colton Christman. A long and athletic southpaw, Christman showed his stuff throughout the summer season as he routinely worked into the mid-80s with his heater, showing plenty of arm speed and life through the zone which helped him amass a pretty eye-opening strikeout total in 2022. Over his 70 tournament innings pitched last season Christman struck out a remarkable 112 batters en route to making 15 all tournament teams and part of the reason for his success is his ability to land a low-70s slider for strikes from a lower three-quarters slot. The first arm in 2027 for Johnson and his staff, Christman is the fourth commit overall and the Tigers look to be loading up early in this recruiting cycle. 

Lucas Ramirez, OF, Class of 2024
National Rank: 257 | Commitment: Tennessee

We’ve come to expect that Head Coach Tony Vitello and his crew will go wherever is necessary to land big time talent and such is the case with their latest commitment in Weston, Florida native Lucas Ramirez. The son of long-time MLB slugger Manny Ramirez, it only takes a swing or two to know that the younger Ramirez is certainly a name to know based on his own talents as the left-handed stroke is able to lose baseballs in a hurry. Still plenty long and projectable with a 6-foot-3, 194-pound frame, Ramirez showed well through a variety of events last summer, consistently showing a long, loose and leveraged swing with big time power to the pull side, an area of his game that’ll only continue to elevate with additional strength. The offense is the calling card though he also brings athleticism and versatility to the defensive side of things, moving well in the outfield with easy actions and routes to the ball. 

Ridge Morgan, RHP, Class of 2024
National Rank: 192 | Commitment: Texas

A member of the 2020 14u Select Festival, Morgan has been a picture of projection over the last couple of seasons and while he’s shown well throughout, he’s starting to come into some of the velocity we thought he would alongside the pitchability he’d long shown. Morgan, listed at a long 6-foot-3, still has plenty of room to go in terms of hitting his physical ceiling, but the velocity jumped into the low-90s this summer and maintained upper-80s into the fall, showing a lower effort operation and big extension out front. The combination of feel, command and velocity allows the young right-hander to pick up strikeouts by the handful in any given outing, though his 12-6 curveball has some real life of its own and looks to be a true out pitch in the making. 

-Jheremy Brown
Braxton Beaty, LHP, Class of 2026
National Rank: 149 | Commitment: LSU

Jay Johnson has quite simply had his way with recruiting of late and it’s no surprise that he beat out some tough competition for another talented young prospect. Beaty is one of the more fun young arms to watch each time out and he’s only gotten better rapidly. He’s a under-sized left-hander who was low-80s last spring, but is now up to 87 with some of the best pure pitchability in the class. He can command a full mix, with a sharp wipeout breaking ball he can bury and a changeup he’s got all kinds of feel for, and the ability to challenge hitters with any of his pitches in any count to any part of the zone is impressive; he’s got a chance to throw on Fridays at LSU.
 

Mills Carrillo, RHP, Class of 2026
National Rank: 15 | Commitment: Texas

Carrillo had a big year in 2022 as things trended up across the board in terms of strikes thrown, velocity, secondary quality and just the overall feel to pitch. After a big close to the summer, he was selected to the PG Select Festival and started the game for the East squad. It’s a huge mix of offerings already and a non-traditional look this young. He’s already into the low-90s with a fastball that has special traits in the significant turbo-running life he gets on it, getting on to the hands of hitters often. The feel for spin jumps out as well as he’s got both a slider and cutter in the mix right now, both thrown around the 78-82 range and can really miss bats already. He’s now the top-ranked right-hander in the country for ‘26s and the upside is quite vast long-term.

Niko Benestad, 1B/C, Class of 2024
National Rank: 375 | Commitment: South Florida

It’s been some time coming now as we’ve waited to find out where Benestad would call home at the next level given there’s an undoubted level of talent there offensively that plays at the next level. USF is getting a good one in the regard that he’s a physical bat who has gotten a bit more athletic with time and any time you can get power to campus it’s a plus, but what he has done for four-plus years on the PG circuit is just rake. He’s a .439 career hitter in our events, with numerous MVPs and a Tournament Player of the Year honor to his name. It’s a testament to just how good the overall bat to ball is; pair that with the strength and you’ve got real early impact potential on campus.
 

Max Hemenway, SS, Class of 2027
National Rank: 47 | Commitment: Tennessee

It’s obviously very hard to project certain things with prospects this young, but what’s certain is that there’s a level of talent to the profile that comes naturally and his athleticism/feel for the game are huge early components to build on. It’s a really pretty left-handed stroke that he now possesses with tons of looseness to the wrists, whip of the barrel and overall projectable bat speed and he’s shown that the approach is refined, hitting .450 over the last two years, and to add to it, he’s only struck out five times in over 40 games in his young PG career, a great plus. There’s plenty of ways to go to see where he impacts the game from defensively, but he’s a good athlete with natural feel, something that bodes well for his upside to stay in the middle.

Gerardo "Jerry" Medina, RHP, Class of 2024
National Rank: 500 | Commitment: Houston

There’s not many profiles that are more interesting than that of Medina’s; he’s every bit of 5-foot-9, 155-pounds with unreal arm talent, producing low-90s bolts from the right side with a significant amount of late explosive arm side life. It’s a longer arm stroke but the arm speed is huge as he’s more explosive than most in how hard he generates down the mound. There’s a little bit to do with the secondaries as he can soften up some on the spin, but given the huge arm talent, it wouldn’t be surprising to see that drastically change as he plays with some grips and gets some more work/innings under his belt through the spring; Houston got a good one.


Spencer Krasner, LHP, Class of 2026
National Rank: HF | Commitment: Virginia

UVA sticks with their tendencies here in committing young left-handed Krasner as he’s a guy that can just really pitch and performs without the tradition “big stuff.” He’s got some polish mechanically and looks athletic on the mound with excellent body control and how well he repeats, not to mention he’s 6-foot-3, 164-pounds with all kinds of big projection traits. He’ll work in the low-80s in looks right now, sinking the fastball for strikes with ease and the sharp hook is the bread-and-butter in the mix, snapping it off with excellent intent and getting real nasty bite/ugly empty swings. He was a Tourney All-American in 2021 & 2022 and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him do that once again this year, especially if his stuff keeps trending up.

-Tyler Russo

Tait Reynolds, OF, Class of 2026
National Rank: 88 | Commitment: Arizona State

The Sun Devils grabbed a huge in-state talent to its 2026 class in Reynolds. Reynolds is a two-sport athlete full of quick-twitch muscle that impacts the game in a multitude of ways. He is a 6.4 runner and has advanced hand speed at the plate with loud impact off the barrel. It’s a well defined frame and the strength he possesses immediately stands out. He’s beginning to calm his hands down in his pre-pitch load while incorporating bits of his lower half more and rotating a bit cleaner through contact. He showed more feel the other way in our latest look, but the hands remain electric and whip through the zone. Defensively, Reynolds projects in center field with advanced routes and carry to his throws. He’s physically advanced in many facets and a premium athlete up the middle. The tools are loud, and he can be a special product if everything clicks. ASU got one of the most enticing players in the entire class.

Sammy Kane, RHP/INF, Class of 2026
National Rank: 173 | Commitment: Louisiana State

LSU has been on a tear in its recruiting classes recently, and it traveled to California for an enticing arm and two-way product in Kane. The upside is immense on the bump, and he put together a loud summer on the circuit. It’s a potent three-pitch mix from a loose, whippy low three-quarter slot. His fastball has been up to high-80s with heavy run and bore that eats up right-handed hitters. He pairs it with a late tailing mid-70s slider and quality changeup with arm-side fade and looser shape. Kane makes for a difficult at-bat with his slot and louder stuff for the age, and there’s plenty more in the tank. He also shows up with the bat and has the ability to stick at third base and handle the left side of the dirt. It’s good bat speed with all-fields contact and some budding strength to the profile. Kane’s arm talent should only develop and he brings a considerable amount of upside with his athleticism. LSU got in early on a real enticing talent.

Troy Ueltzen, INF/RHP, Class of 2025
National Rank: Top 1000 | Commitment: Arizona

The Wildcats have put together a solid 2025 class to this point, and they grabbed a good NorCal talent in Ueltzen. Ueltzen sports a lean, athletic build that really fits at the next level. He’s added size this summer and it shows with good definition to his upper half. There is good upside in his left-handed stick with solid bat-to-ball skills and budding strength that plays to the pull side. It comes off well at contact and there’s more in store. He can also hop on the bump and work up to the mid/high-80s with solid arm-side run and good shape to an 11-5 breaking ball, landing both for strikes. The arm strength plays well at a corner defensively, and there’s good traits to work with both ways. Arizona nabbed another quality 2025 difference maker.

Tyson Lewis, SS/2B, Class of 2024
National Rank: 500 | Commitment: Arkansas

Arkansas got another good addition to what is becoming a depth-filled 2024 class in Lewis. Lewis really opened eyes in 2021 and battled a bit of injury last year but is all but poised to bounce back in 2023. The Yutan, Neb. native has real hitterish traits from a smooth left-handed stroke. He works the barrel to all fields with good hand speed that matches plane well. The actions play up the middle from either spot on the dirt with notable arm strength at short. Lewis also has some serious upside on the bump, working up to 90 mph with some feel to spin from a shorter arm slot. The traits and feel both ways gives Lewis’ profile a lot to work with long term. He found a good home in Fayetteville with the Razorbacks.

Graham Schlicht, RHP, Class of 2026
National Rank: NR | Commitment: Stanford

Stanford continues to hit the NorCal trial hard, evident with its latest commit in Schlicht. Schlicht really made strides this fall on the mound, working into the high-80s from an athletic three-quarter slot and showing real feel for a fading changeup that mimics armspeed well. There’s big upside and projection remaining in the frame, as well. Schlicht is bound to pop on the circuit this year, adding yet another high-end arm to Stanford’s 2026 class.

Rylan Lujo, SS/3B, Class of 2024
National Rank: 362 | Commitment: Dayton

The Flyers ventured into South Florida and grabbed a solid product on both sides for its latest commitment. Lujo is a well-rounded player with good tools. He has fast hands at the plate with impact strength that plays to both gaps. He’s added size last summer and it was coming off the barrel much louder. A primary shortstop, Lujo’s length and frame has moved him to the hot corner at points, and that can ultimately be where he fits long term. He still has shortstop-esque actions with above-average arm strength and is able to manipulate slots on the move. He can stick on the left side of the dirt alongside consistent offensive production in PG tournaments. Dayton has some sneaky good talent coming up in its 2023 and 2024 classes, and Lujo has the makings of an impact D-1 level player.

-Isaiah Burrows
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