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High School  | General | 5/8/2015

Nolan Williams moves up a class

Photo: Nolan Williams

Shortstop Nolan "Nonie" Williams, the No. 4 ranked player in the Perfect Game 2017 rankings, has decided to re-classify into the 2016 class. His addition means that the 2016 high school class, which is already looking to be extremely strong in pitching, just added another very athletic middle-of-the-field position prospect.

Williams is currently home-schooled but plays on the Turner High School baseball team on the near southwest side of Kansas City. Kansas participation rules allow a home-schooled student to take one class per year at a chosen in-district high school to be eligible to play interscholastic sports. Williams will also be 18 years old prior to the 2016 draft, meaning the 2016 class is his natural age peer group.

Williams' father, Marty, said that the family has been in contact with the Major League Baseball office about the re-classification and anticipate no problems in moving forward.

With picture-perfect swing mechanics Nolan Williams has five-tool upside and first round potential for the 2016 MLB Draft.

"What I really wanted was to challenge myself against a higher level of competition sooner,” Nolan Williams told PG in a recent phone interview. “I think I can compete at that next level, whether it be in college or in professional baseball and want that to get going sooner. I'm 50/50 right now on college versus pro ball; it's really whatever works out best over the next year."

Williams added that, consistent with the increasingly early recruiting cycles in college baseball, that he's pretty much narrowed down his college choices to two or three schools and would be making that decision at the end of the summer.

Part of the Williams family's rationale for making the re-classification now was to enable scouts to get a full year's cycle to fully evaluate him. Three prominent players who have re-classified the past three years – Oklahoma's Drew Ward (2013), Virginia's Jacob Bukauskas (2014) and Texas' Garrett Wolforth (2015) – each waited until after the summer to announce their intentions, costing themselves valuable opportunities with the national scouting community.

Williams already has a full summer schedule set up, with the Perfect Game National and the Tournament of Stars leading things off in June, followed by a July playing for the Marucci Elite at numerous WWBA and PG Super 25 tournaments.

A dynamic athlete, which prompted PG President Jerry Ford to comment "he could be a Justin Upton type of athlete" after watching him at the 2014 Midwest Top Prospect Showcase, Williams is a solidly built 6-foot-1, 190-pound righthanded hitter with the strength and bat speed to drive the ball. He ran a 6.5 60-yard dash at that showcase last year and says he's been working with a track coach on a weekly basis to improve his overall speed and make it a truly elite level tool. Williams also has a plus arm and threw 90 mph across the infield at the same event.

"I think I'm an aggressive player, I like to battle at the plate and play hard defensively and run the bases hard,” Williams said when asked what his strengths were. “And my speed certainly helps a whole lot both on offense and defense."

Williams is currently hitting .500-2-17 in 16 games this spring, with seven walks and only three strike outs. He has also stolen nine bases.

An interesting scenario for scouts next spring will be that Turner High School and St. Thomas Aquinas High School, where top overall 2016 prospect, righthander Riley Pint, goes to school, are less than a dozen miles apart, although the two schools don't play each other in 2015. Williams says that he and Pint have played on the same teams before and are friends who talk a couple of times a week. That will make a great double-up opportunity when cross-checkers are in town next spring.


 


High School | General | 8/17/2026

Scott Wins MVP Two Ways

Jim Salisbury
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PHILADELPHIA – When the folks at Perfect Game reached out to invite him to pitch in the 2026 PG All-Star Game for rising sophomores and juniors, Cullen Scott had one request. “You mind if I get a couple of at-bats, too?” Along with his dad, Scott traveled from the family’s home in Texas to Citizens Bank Park. The trip proved to be a huge success as he starred on the mound and at the plate and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. Scott, 16, pitched a scoreless first inning and struck out two. In the fourth inning, he belted a grand slam six rows up into the left-field seats to lead the National team’s 6-1 win over the American team. “He showed us why he’s here as a pitcher and a hitter,” said Greg Sabers, PG’s vice president of scouting and showcases. "He’s one of the top pitchers here, but he’s too good a...
General | General | 9/3/2026

Class of 2029 Rankings Update

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Softball | Softball Tournament | 9/3/2026

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Dave Durbala
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Softball | Softball Tournament | 9/3/2026

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Ashley Mears
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Perfect Game Iowa City Scouting Showcase August 29-30 Ashley Mears It was a great weekend to kick off the Fall 2026 tournament campaign in Iowa City. The fields were packed with college coaches from across the Midwest, providing a great opportunity for players to showcase their talents. Both hitters and pitchers put on quite a show, and there were plenty of standout performances to take note of. We are excited to continue following these players and see what the rest of the fall has in store! Gillian Hansen (2028 New Brighton, MN) of the 18u MN Force Impact Standering was an absolute force to be reckoned with at the plate this weekend. Hansen possesses a strong, athletic build that translates into impressive power. Standing parallel to the plate, she utilizes her lower half effectively and does an excellent job of staying through the ball and extending through the zone. Hansen led the...
Press Release | Press Release | 9/3/2026

PG Launches Global Country Partner Program

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  667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923 www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   PERFECT GAME LAUNCHES NEW GLOBAL COUNTRY PARTNER PROGRAM TO EXPAND INTERNATIONAL BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL PATHWAYS   Sanford, Florida (Thursday, September 3, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced the launch of its new Country Partner Program, an initiative designed to expand Perfect Game’s international presence while creating new opportunities for aspiring athletes around the world.  Through the Country Partner Program, select organizations will become the exclusive Perfect Game partner within their respective countries through annual licensing agreements. Each Country Partner will be responsible for managing local...
Press Release | Press Release | 9/1/2026

PG Hires Nuovo-Golden in South Carolina

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Draft | Rankings | 8/28/2026

2027 MLB Draft Board

Tyler Henninger
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The 2026 MLB Draft is official in the books as those players have been signed and have begun their pro career. That means it is time to turn the page and dive into the 2027 class. This class features an intriguing mix of arms both from the prep and college ranks, along with an enticing position player pool. Today, we unveil our first 2027 MLB Draft Board, ranking the Top-100 prospects in the class. There is still plenty of time for new names to emerge and established ones to rise or fall, but here is where things stand as we begin this cycle.  Rk. Name Level Pos. B-T School Hometown State Commitment 1 Dylan Seward H SS S-R Norco Eastvale CA Tennessee 2 Brendan Lawson C SS L-R Florida Toronto ON 3 Dax Whitney C RHP R-R Oregon State Blackfoot ID 4 Gavin Kelly C C/UTL R-R West Virginia Presto PA 5 Tomas Valincius C LHP L-L Mississippi State Lockport IL 6 Malachi Butler H SS L-R...
Tournaments | Story | 8/26/2026

Underclass Area Codes: Standout Arms

Joey Cohen
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Year in and year out when the best young talent from across the country is packed into one national-level event the arms tend to win the week. That feels especially true in today’s amateur game where velocity, pitch design and high-level training in general are being introduced earlier than ever, allowing young pitchers to develop impactful stuff at a faster rate than younger hitters can consistently catch up to it. The Underclass Area Code Games are no exception and this year there was no shortage of arms that made you stop and take notice. Narrowing it down to 10 was difficult, but I focused on the pitchers who either displayed starter-type traits, brought something genuinely different from a delivery standpoint whether it was slot, height, crossfire or deception or simply possessed an outlier element of stuff that separated them from the pack. These are the 10 arms that stood...
Draft | Story | 8/23/2026

2026 MLB Draft Report Cards: NL East

Tyler Henninger
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With the 2026 MLB Draft officially in the books, it’s time to evaluate how each team performed. Every draft class was graded using the standard 20-80 scouting scale with risk factor assigned. While these grades won’t be proven right or wrong for years, they reflect the overall talent, value, and upside each organization added to its system. NL East Atlanta Braves  Grade: 55 Risk: High Notable Selections: OF AJ Gracia (1st rd) | OF Carter Beck (PPI) | RHP Kaiden McCarthy (2nd rd) | RHP Jensen Hirschkorn (3rd rd)   OF AJ Gracia (@UVABaseball) is seeing the ball really well & picked up a couple of hits, including a 2B into RCF. Smooth LH stroke & easy impact. Showed + pwr in BP, 46 BB: 36 K. Jr./'26 elig. @PG_Draft pic.twitter.com/C4rSc0ZNIc — PG College Baseball (@PGCollegeBall) May 30, 2026 Atlanta had $15,870,800 to spend in this year’s draft,...
Draft | Story | 8/22/2026

2026 MLB Draft Report Cards: AL East

Tyler Henninger
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With the 2026 MLB Draft officially in the books, it’s time to evaluate how each team performed. Every draft class was graded using the standard 20-80 scouting scale with risk factor assigned. While these grades won’t be proven right or wrong for years, they reflect the overall talent, value, and upside each organization added to its system. AL East Baltimore Orioles Grade: 50 Risk: High Notable Selections: OF Eric Booth Jr. (1st rd) | OF Ty Head (2nd rd) | OF Kevin Roberts Jr (4th rd)  Eric Booth Jr. (26 MS) goes big fly 💣 that carried out oppo. Explosive athlete w/ huge LH juice & tools. Big time in several facets. #NatElite #Vandy commit. @PG_DeepSouth pic.twitter.com/kXl7ZVyD9G — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) July 12, 2025 Baltimore was about middle of the pack in terms of money available this year, having $13.1m to spend on their class. Booth Jr. is a...
Draft | Story | 8/24/2026

Area Code Gams: Prospect Recap

Steve Fiorindo
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Pitchers George Ferguson, RHP, Abilene HS  Ferguson toed the slab for the Rangers squad in game one of the Codes, setting the tone early with some loud stuff.  Ferguson attacked hitters with a verty fastball up to 96 that played well up in the zone with up to 24 inches of induced vertical break.  He showed more than just a power arsenal, going to the changeup often, using the pitch to put away hitters.  Kills the spin to the 1600’s, regularly getting 13-15 inches of horizontal break.  The slider rounded out the arsenal, working 82/83.  Struck out four over his three innings of work, two on the fastball, two on the change.  2026 PG All American committed to Texas.  Quinn Fitzpatrick, RHP, Stratford HS  Another 2026 PG All American out of Texas, the LSU commit punched out three over his two innings of work, allowing just one hit. ...
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