THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,805 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,805 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Sign in Create Account
Sign in Create Account
High School  | Rankings | 2/2/2018

Panthers to begin '18 at No. 2

Jeff Dahn
Photo: Parkview HS Baseball




2018 High School Baseball Preview Content

No. 2 Parkview Panthers (Lilburn, Ga.)

State Association/League: Georgia High School Association (GHSA) Class 7A Region 7
Head Coach: Chan Brown (14th season as head coach)
2017 Results: 31-6 overall; 11-1 7A Region 7 champion; GHSA Class 7A state quarterfinals

Key Losses: SS/OF Joey Demasi (North Georgia); C Jacob O’Neil (North Georgia); LHP/1B Cody Collett (North Georgia); OF/2B Melvin Teague (Georgia Highlands CC); LHP/OF Caleb Mitchell (Mercer); OF Will Boles (Gordon State College); RHP/1B Mason Bernard (Chattahoochee CC)

Top Returning Players: Sr. LHP Braden Hays (Georgia Southern); Sr. SS Isaiah Byars (Alabama); Sr. C Logan Cerny (Troy); Sr. 1B/LHP Robert Bennett (Chipola College); Sr. RHP Jarrett Embry (Columbus State); Sr. OF Michael Bryant (Georgia Southern), Jr. C/OF/RHP Jonathan French (Clemson); So. RHP Miles Garrett (Vanderbilt)

Notable Matchups: Feb. 24 at Buford; March 2-3 vs. Georgia Peach Tournament (at Parkview & Loganville); March 8-10 vs. Perfect Game High School Showdown (at PG Park South-LakePoint, Emerson, Ga.); vs. Spring Break Florida Trip (at Venice, Sarasota & Tampa); April 18 at Brookwood; April 20 vs. Brookwood

                                                                                                 … … …

THE LIST OF GHSA REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS IS A LENGTHY ONE, dating back to 1983. There are 21 in total, counting three in the 1980s, five in the 1990s and 13 since 2001. The success the Parkview High School baseball program has enjoyed over the last three-plus decades is legendary and, of course, involves much more than regional titles.

There are also plenty of Georgia state championship trophies crowding the school’s display cases, six of them in all, earned in 1996, 2001, 2002, 2011, 2012 and 2015. And there’s more. Parkview was also named national champion in 2012 and 2015 with the one in ’15 coming from Perfect Game.

The calendar has now flipped into February, which means the start of the 2018 baseball season isn’t that far off for the baseball-crazy high schools that populate the northeast Atlanta suburbs. It’s what the folks in this little patch of Gwinnett County live for, especially those who have a special attachment to Parkview.

And nothing really changes at the school from year to year, at least not in the 13 years that head coach Chan Brown has been overseeing the baseball program. He was the man in charge when the Panthers won those state championships in 2011, 2012 and 2015 and both national championships.

Every year, it seems, the program graduates top-tier prospects into either the college or professional ranks, and every year a new parade of prospects comes in to replace them. This is what Brown told Perfect Game in the spring of 2016, following that national championship season:

“I think the confidence from a player’s standpoint carries over and they want to keep the tradition, per se, going for Parkview. They want to stay high in the national rankings and win a state championship and ultimately try to put themselves in position to try to win another national championship.”

So it goes, year after year. When the Panthers open the new season on Feb. 19 as the visitors at North Gwinnett HS, they’ll do so holding down the No. 2 position in the PG High School Preseason Top 50 Rankings. And that’s just one indication that there is a lot to be excited about on the Parkview campus this spring.

Nine starters return from the team that won 31 games and the program’s seventh regional championship in eight years last spring; seven of them are seniors, two are juniors.

Brown expects that senior leadership to be evident out on the field from the get-go, but he and his staff are still waiting for those leadership qualities to come to the forefront in the dugout and other places off the field. He’s confident everything will come together nicely in due time.

“It’s a very talented group and obviously if they go, then we’re going to go,” Brown told PG last week. “If they play like they’re capable and do the things that they’ve done last spring and this past summer, then we’ve got a good shot to be there at the end.”

Six of the returning position players appeared in at least 32 of the Panthers’ 37 games in 2017, including four seniors: catcher/outfielder Logan Cerny (.415-8-31), first baseman Robert Bennett (.307-0-19), outfielder Michael Bryant (.368-0-14) and shortstop Isaiah Byars (.212-2-13); PG ranks Byars as the No. 161 national prospect in the class of 2018 and Cerny is at No. 270.

Outfielder Jonathan French (.325-8-33) and infielder Allan Del Castillo (.263-0-13) are among the top junior position players returning after playing in 35 and 32 games, respectively, as sophomores.

The pitching staff will be fronted by 6-foot-3, 190-pound senior left-hander Braden Hays, a Georgia Southern signee and top-500 national prospect who was 10-1 with a 0.97 ERA and 66 strikeouts in 64 2/3 innings last season.

The right-hander Bennett (5-2, 1.63 ERA, 39 Ks, 34 1/3 IP) and senior righty Jarrett Embry (2-1, 2.88 ERA, 19 Ks, 17 IP) will contend for spots in the rotation; junior side-winding righty Brad Stanley is in position to anchor the bullpen.

Brown is also looking forward to having sophomore Miles Garrett at his disposal this spring. Garrett is a hard-throwing right-hander ranked No. 104 nationally in the class of 2020 who has committed to Vanderbilt.

By Brown’s own accounting, this is one of the most “laid-back” groups he has had come through his program in many years, and that’s OK with him. Different teams take on different personalities from season to season, and at a program like Parkview’s, they always figure out a way to be successful.

“It can kind of drive a coach crazy, but they don’t seem to let a whole lot bother them,” he said of this group’s personality. “I think maybe that’s going to be a strong attribute in some ways – a little bit laid-back but very talented. They got put through some tests last year that they’ve learned from and I think they understand what they’ve got to do.”

The Panthers will once again be tested by a rugged regular-season schedule which includes 12 games against 7A District 7 opponents. The last two games are home-and-away with arch-rival Brookwood from nearby Snellville, a team Brown considers one of the best in the state this season.

Parkview will also play some important out-of-league games at locations near and far this spring. It serves as co-host with Loganville for the three-game Georgia Peach Tournament and plays St. Thomas Aquinas out of Florida in the opener; it will be back at the PG High School Showdown for four games in nearby Emerson; and will take a spring break trip to Florida for games against Florida powers Venice HS, Sarasota HS and Tampa Jesuit HS.

“There’s some pretty lofty goals that have been set by this group about (the PG Showdown), about our tournament, about going down to Florida and doing well,” Brown said. “They’re kind of step-by-step goals that will get us to where we want to be.”

Early on this season, Brown and his staff will be working on making sure the players stay focused and attentive during practice, and then making sure that focus and attentiveness is carried out onto the field on game day. They have no doubt that it will, simply because not only are the players skilled, but they feel good about themselves and are determined to fill-up the school’s trophy cases with more hardware this spring.

“We as a program, and we as a coaching staff … we all know what’s there,” Brown said. “We all know we have the capability of doing some pretty special things this year. It’s just about putting it all together and making sure that we’re playing good baseball at the right time.”
Give us your feedback
High School | General | 3/18/2026

Class of 2026: Preseason HS All-Americans
Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
Read More
Draft | Rankings | 3/20/2026

2026 Draft Board: Top 300

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
The 2026 MLB Draft class is shaping up to be one of the better in recent memory and, potentially, the best class in the last decade. It’s led by UCLA superstar shortstop Roch Cholowsky, a true five-tool prospect who’s the early favorite for 1:1. One of the most popular pieces of industry feedback when constructing this list was some variation of “Roch is too low” or “go up on Roch” and he’s the best college prospect since 2019 when Adley Rutschman (Oregon State, Orioles) was the consensus No. 1 prospect. Similarly to 2019, there’s a superstar Texas prep shortstop at No. 2, in 2019 it was Bobby Witt Jr. (Colleyville Heritage, Royals) and this year it’s Grady Emerson. Both Emerson and Alabama’s Justin Lebron would have been solid 1:1 candidates in years where Roch Cholowsky is not eligible and both have All-Star potential....
Read More
Press Release | Press Release | 3/19/2026

PG Teams Up with OZ Ball Tournaments PTY

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
  667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923 www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   PERFECT GAME NAMES OZ BALL TOURNAMENTS PTY AS OFFICIAL AREA DIRECTOR IN AUSTRALIA, EXPANDING GLOBAL FOOTPRINT   Sanford, Florida (Thursday, March 19, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced that it has entered into a new international partnership with Oz Ball Tournaments Pty, naming the organization as an official Perfect Game Area Director in Australia. The agreement establishes Perfect Game-licensed tournaments and showcases across major Australian markets, including Sydney, Brisbane/Gold Coast, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.     Australian events will operate under the Perfect Game brand, delivering the same...
Read More
Press Release | Press Release | 3/18/2026

PG Introduces Individual Player Entry

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
  667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923 www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   PERFECT GAME INTRODUCES INDIVIDUAL PLAYER ENTRY, EXPANDING ACCESS TO ELITE NATIONAL EVENTS   Athletes Can Now Compete in Select National Tournaments Through Structured ‘Team PG’ Rosters   Sanford, Florida (Wednesday, March 18, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced the launch of Individual Player Entry, a new initiative designed to provide athletes the opportunity to compete in select national events even if their primary team is not attending.   Through the program, players can now register individually and be placed on a structured “Team PG” roster, allowing them to participate fully in...
Read More
Juco | Rankings | 3/18/2026

JUCO Top 25: March 18

Blaine Peterson
Article Image
This week brings a new top team to the rankings as Johnson County (KS), on the strength of 10 consecutive wins and a 26-2 record, claims the overall number 1 spot. The Cavaliers have made 3 consecutive trips to the JUCO World Series and have the talent to make it back there again this spring. Florida Southwestern and Chipola have seemingly separated themselves as the most consistent teams in Florida. Welcome to the top 5 to the Gaston Rhinos who will be one of the first teams to 30 wins this spring. Pearl River stays as the top NJCAA D2 team and Fresno City stays as the top Juco team in California; both are coming off undefeated 2 week stretches. Welcome back to the top 25 to John A. Logan who is now 20-7 overall and have played one of the toughest schedules of anyone. And for the first time in several years welcome to the top 25 to the College of Southern Idaho, the Golden Eagles have...
Read More
College | Rankings | 3/18/2026

DII/DIII/NAIA Rankings Update: March 18

Nick Herfordt
Article Image
In every major sport, the championship is decided in the postseason. You can lose games all year, get hot at the right time, and walk away with the hardware. The regular season is a rehearsal. The playoffs are the show.  The championship belt changes that. Borrowed from professional wrestling, boxing and ultimate fighting, the belt travels the moment the holder loses — no brackets, no seeding, no second chances. A random Tuesday non-conference game in Milledgeville, Georgia  becomes a title fight. A spring trip to Florida becomes a gauntlet. The defending national champion can lose the belt before February is over.  We’re tracking three belts this season — NCAA Division II, NAIA, and NCAA Division III — each starting with the defending national champion. The results have been exactly as chaotic as you’d expect.  Worth noting along the...
Read More
High School | Rankings | 3/17/2026

High School Top 50 Update: March 17

Tyler Russo
Article Image
We have another update to the National Top-50 after two weeks of even more games being played in the southern states along with seasons just starting to kick off across the country. We’re quickly approaching another stellar high school event, the NHSI in Cary, and with that will come even more movement in these rankings. St. John Bosco (CA) continues to hold firm at the No. 1 position after a 4-0 start to their season. Venice (FL) has been rolling throughout the early portion of the year and jumps up to No. 2 in the country. One of the biggest movers in this update is The Bennett School (TX) jumping from unranked to No. 8 in the country after beating a handful of top ranked programs to start the year. Some other big movers inside the top-10 are Barbe (LA), who jumps from No. 18 to No. 5 in this update as well as Aledo (TX) who jumps from No. 20 to No. 9. The rest of the top-10...
Read More
College | Story | 3/17/2026

College Players of the Week: March 17

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
March 17th Perfect Game/Player of the Week: Vahn Lackey, C, Georgia Tech The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (17-3) came into the season with the highest external expectations in decades based on the anticipation of their offensive potential. To this point they have not only met those lofty expectations, but twenty games in they may have exceeded them. While there are plenty of high-level prospects up and down the lineup, with all that star power Vahn Lackey has stood out. Sure to be one of the first catchers selected in this year’s MLB Draft with his comprehensive skillset, he projects well as an everyday backstop at the next level. However, his overall athleticism stands out as we saw this week when he had a game where he played every defensive position on the field except pitcher. At the plate over four games including a series victory at Clemson last week, he went 9 for 15, scoring...
Read More
College | Rankings | 3/16/2026

College Top 25: March 16

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
Collegiate Player Report Database As each week of the college baseball season passes, we continue to be entertained at an incredible level with high level drama at every turn.  Conference play is under way and the national landscape is starting to make a bit more sense.  The development and strength of individual players is on full-display and there continue to be upsets on occasion that sends the message no team can relax for one moment.  For the most part, the Top 10 remains unchanged with some reshuffling as No. 1 UCLA (17-2) holds on to the top spot with yet another perfect (4-0) week after sweeping Michigan.  The No. 2 Texas Longhorns (18-1) did drop their first game of the season in Game 1 of SEC play but won the series against Ole Miss and finished the week with a (3-1) record.  The Georgia Tech Yellowjackets (17-3) passed their first real road test of the...
Read More
Draft | Story | 3/13/2026

PG Draft: Under the Radar Preps

Tyler Henninger
Article Image
PG Draft: Under the Radar Preps As the spring season gets underway, the showcase circuit and early high-level tournaments have already provided our scouts with some intriguing first looks at this year’s crop of prospects. At the same time, we’ve been tracking the buzz among team evaluators, listening closely to the names that keep coming up in conversations and the players clubs are making sure they get eyes on this spring. Every year, a handful of prospects quietly slip beneath the radar during the fall and winter months, only to reemerge once the games start counting again. Sometimes it’s the result of a productive offseason in the weight room, a noticeable jump in velocity, or a step forward in skill development. Other times, it’s simply a player finally getting the opportunity and the stage to show what’s been building behind the scenes. The spring has a...
Read More
Loading more articles...
About Perfect Game :: Contact us :: Terms of Use :: Privacy Policy :: Testimonials :: Job Opportunities
Copyright 1994-2026 by Perfect Game. All rights reserved. No portion of this information may be reprinted or reproduced without the written consent of Perfect Game.