THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,804 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,804 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Sign in Create Account
College  | Story | 4/5/2018

Weekend Preview: Week 8

Photo: Arizona Athletics




Midseason College HonorsCollege Top 25 | Player/Pitcher of the Week | College Player Database

The eighth weekend of the 2018 season has some interesting matchups as several teams will be looking to right the ship after tough losses last weekend. A few of those programs have been dealing with tough losses all season long and could be out of the Top 25 come Monday if they aren't on the winning side of things this weekend. TCU, Louisville and Texas A&M are among these programs, as none of the three have fared very well since conference play opened a few weeks ago.

How Oregon State rebounds from their first weekend series loss in nearly two years will also be interesting to follow. They travel to Tucson to take on the Arizona Wildcats, a team they swept last year, in Corvallis, in what at the time was a crucial matchup between two very highly ranked opponents. Arizona is 17-10 but they have lost some meaningful matchups as they were swept by Washington and by three Big Ten teams at the Dairy Queen Classic in Minneapolis in early March.

Another big series in the Pac-12 pits No. 2 Stanford against No. 21 UCLA, in Los Angeles. Mike Rooney breaks down both of those big Pac-12 series below along with a look at No. 16 Oklahoma at No. 23 TCU and how those two clubs appear to be going in opposite directions.

Stay tuned to Perfect Game over the weekend as Vinnie Cervino will be be in Los Angeles, Calif., to take in Stanford at UCLA, Greg Gerard will see Stetson play at Kennesaw State and Florida State play at Georgia Tech, Brian Sakowski will be on hand for Kent State at Central Michigan and Britt Smith will cover Oklahoma at TCU.


Top 25 in Action

Rk. Team Opponent Location
1 Florida at Tennessee Knoxville, TN
2 Stanford at No. 21 UCLA Los Angeles, CA
3 Ole Miss at Mississippi State Starkville, MS
4 Oregon State at Arizona Tucson, AZ
5 NC State at No. 22 Louisville Louisville, KY
6 Texas Tech at Kansas Lawrence, KS
7 Florida State at Georgia Tech Atlanta, GA
8 Arkansas home vs. No. 13 Auburn Fayetteville, AR
9 Clemson at Notre Dame South Bend, IN
10 Kentucky home vs. South Carolina Lexington, KY
11 Duke at Wake Forest Winston-Salem, NC
12 Indiana home vs. Purdue Bloomington, IN
13 Auburn at No. 8 Arkansas Fayetteville, AR
14 Southern Miss home vs. Western Kentucky Hattiesburg, MS
15 Vanderbilt home vs. No. 25 Georgia Nashville, TN
16 Oklahoma at No. 23 Texas Christian Fort Worth, TX
17 East Carolina at Washington Seattle, WA
18 Louisiana State at No. 19 Texas A&M College Station, TX
19 Texas A&M home vs. No. 18 Louisiana State College Station, TX
20 Missouri home vs. Alabama Columbia, MO
21 UCLA home vs. No. 2 Stanford Los Angeles, CA
22 Louisville home vs. No. 5 NC State Louisville, KY
23 Texas Christian home vs. No. 16 Oklahoma Forth Worth, TX
24 Sam Houston State at Nicholls Thibodaux, LA
25 Georgia at No. 15 Vanderbilt Nashville, TN


Frogs’ hop out of sync

As the 2018 season opened college baseball fans had to believe it could be a special one for TCU head coach Jim Schlossnagle. He had guided the Horned Frogs to Omaha the previous four seasons, seemingly getting a little bit closer to the CWS Finals with each trip. Last year TCU saw their season come to a close in an elimination game, losing to the eventual champion Florida Gators in the semifinals that saw Alex Faedo out-duel Jared Janczak.

This season started off on the right foot for TCU as they took their opening series against Grand Canyon, as the Lopes opened their brand-new ballpark in Phoenix, and they went on to beat a pair of Big West foes in Long Beach State and UC Irvine at home. Since then things haven’t been quite as right, as the Frogs are 5-8 since the beginning of the Dodger Stadium Classic in early March and they limp into their weekend series against No. 16 Oklahoma in the midst of a four-game losing streak.

In fairness to TCU two of their losses to Oklahoma State, the first and third games of the series, were of the walkoff variety, and one of those came in extra innings. In the second game of the series the Cowboys scored seven runs in the seventh and eighth innings to move ahead and secure the win.

The pitching hasn’t been its customary self, as the starting trio of Janczak, Nick Lodolo and Sean Wymer – believed to be one of the nation’s best entering the season – gave up 14 runs, all earned, in 16 1/3 combined innings over those three games. The bullpen didn’t fare much better.

And while the offense did their job when it came to collecting base hits as a team they’re batting .264 with only two players batting over .300: Michael Landestoy (.337) and Josh Watson (.330).

Oklahoma appears to be going in the opposite direction, as they swept each of their first two Big 12 opponents, West Virginia and Baylor, and have a few other statement wins this season over Indiana, Dallas Baptist and Alabama.

The Sooners have five regulars – Brady Lindsly, Steele Walker, Cade Harris, Kyle Mendenhall and Brandon Zaragoza – batting over .300, and two others, Brylie Ware and Kyler Murray, who aren’t far off. Five of those seven batters have at least 20 RBI, and while they don’t have a lot of power they do seem to have a knack for coming up with a big hit when it’s needed the most.

On the weekend staff Jake Irvin (5-0, 2.27 ERA) and Devon Perez (3-0, 2.27) are getting the job done, as expected, and once again their numbers are remarkably similar. Irvin has picked up where he left off a season ago when he was named a Perfect Game Midseason All-American, just as he was this year.

The bullpen is also doing its job, as the staff under the guidance of new head coach and pitching guru Skip Johnson has a cumulative 3.28 ERA with a 314-to-108 strike-to-walk ratio in 282 1/3 combined innings. They’re second in the Big 12 in ERA behind Texas Tech and as an offense they’re third in scoring runs, behind Texas Tech and Texas.

Janczak was also a Midseason All-American a year ago and the projected matchup between he and Irvin is going to be one of the best college baseball has to offer this weekend. While Irvin has pitched like a staff ace, Janczak, at 1-1 this season with a still-respectable 3.07 ERA, has not, and setting the tone early in this series could be key in Schlossnagle getting his Frogs back on track.

Keep in mind that TCU hit a rough patch last year as well, losing three of their final five Big 12 series before they re-grouped for their postseason march to Omaha. The last of those series losses came against – you guessed it – Oklahoma.

– Patrick Ebert


Elite pitching beats … elite pitching

No. 2 Stanford heads to Westwood to take on No. 21 UCLA this weekend in a series that will surely impact the Pac-12 championship race. Elite pitching will be on display all weekend as the Cardinal (2.21 ERA) and Bruins (2.37 ERA) are ranked second and fourth in the nation in team ERA.

The Stanford rotation of Tristan Beck, Kris Bubic and Erik Miller is arguably the best in the country and this group has not disappointed. Yet it is the Stanford bullpen that has shined the brightest thus far in 2018. The trio of Jack Little, Jacob Palisch and Zach Grech has combined for a robust 36 appearances and the group has yielded just four earned runs combined.

And for UCLA, despite a series loss to California last weekend, it is remarkable that John Savage has the Bruins in position for any type of championship with the injuries that UCLA has been forced to endure. On the bright side, leading hitter Jeremy Ydens (hand) is back now as well as five-tool freshman outfielder Garrett Mitchell (concussion). On the mound, Jon Olsen and Kyle Molnar are expected to return for the Utah series next weekend and that should boost an already strong pitching corps.

This matchup will have a Super Regional flavor to it as both of these teams are more than capable of hosting and winning a Regional. Look for Stanford shortstop Nico Hoerner to be a difference maker in a series that will surely come down to a few key pitches.

Looking for answers

Oregon State heads to Arizona in a series that could provide clarity for two teams with recently confusing results. The Beavers’ 23-4 record belies the fact that they are 3-3 in their last six games, including a series loss to 7-20 Utah. Arizona sports a healthy 17-10 overall record yet the Wildcats’ resume already includes two different 0-3 weekends (at Washington and at the Dairy Queen Classic).

For the Beavers, the rotation has become a question mark. Luke Heimlich has pitched well in 2018 but not nearly at the dominant level of a year ago. Heimlich mysteriously pitched in relief in the midweek this week versus Nevada and was touched up in that brief outing. Bryce Fehmel and Kevin Abel appear to be the two keys to this rotation. Fehmel is a proven performer despite his lack of a dominant out-pitch and his 6.23 ERA in Pac-12 play has been an issue. Abel is one of the more talented freshman arms nationally with both an out-pitch breaking ball and a changeup. Walks have plagued Abel as his 19 free passes in just 23 2/3 innings pitched have led to a ballooned ERA of 4.94.

The Wildcats’ are a mystery in that their statistics all pass the eye test and then some: .294 team batting average, 2.67 team ERA and a .977 fielding percentage. Additionally, infielder Cameron Cannon (.362) and closer Tylor Megill (1.59 ERA, five saves) are enjoying breakout seasons. That said, this rotation is also one to keep an eye on as lefthander Randy LaBaut is out for the season after undergoing a pair surgeries for compartment syndrome. LaBaut had paired nicely with ace Cody Deason to give Arizona a formidable front of the rotation.

This is a critical series for both clubs as the West Coast struggled mightily in the non-conference season. It will be difficult to make up RPI ground without excelling in Pac-12 play and this series would provide both an RPI boost and a signature series win over a brand name program. Now is the time to get the Beavers as they await the return of arguably the best player in the country in Nick Madrigal.

– Mike Rooney




College | Recruiting | 2/25/2026

DII/DIII/NAIA Rankings Update: Feb. 25

Nick Herfordt
Article Image
A few weeks into the season and the shape of the national picture is starting to emerge (slightly, let’s get too silly about early results). Some preseason favorites are humming exactly as advertised, a few dark horses are pawing at the gate, and a handful of early contenders are discovering that February optimism and March reality are not always the same thing. Across DII, DIII and the NAIA, pitching staffs are setting the tone, offenses are either detonating or recalibrating, and the Top 25 is already beginning to feel less theoretical and more earned.   DII UT Tyler is performing as predicted with a 12-2 start that includes a series win at Angelo State. The Patriots’ offense has not exactly been knocking the cover off the ball, but the pitching staff has been stingy, holding opponents to a .228 batting average.  They have not faced a ranked opponent yet, but...
Juco | Rankings | 2/25/2026

JUCO Top 25: February 25

Blaine Peterson
Article Image
Another strong week for many of the top teams in junior college baseball. Walters State put together another undefeated weak and sticks in the top spot for the 3rd consecutive ranking. Chipola on the strength of a 20-1 start has established themselves early as one of top teams in the country. Johnson County put together a 2nd consecutive undefeated week and moves into the top 5 with a 15-1 overall record. They will play 4 games against #22 Iowa Western this week who is also coming off an undefeated week. Fresno City (15-0) and Midland (13-0) are two undefeated programs to begin 2026. They have gone from not in the preseason top 25 to the top 15 in our rankings in less than a month. And welcome to the PG Juco Top 25 Cloud County (KS) who debuts at #23 and is coming off a huge 3 game sweep on the road in Texas of a previous top 10 program in our rankings. Plenty of good matchups ahead this...
Softball | Softball Tournament | 2/24/2026

Perfect Game Softball February Frenzy

Dave Durbala
Article Image
BURLINGTON, IA - Perfect Game February Frenzy, February 20-22, 2026.  Twenty-two teams, representing five states, rolled into town for the opportunity to compete in this pool play, then into bracket play, with four games guaranteed,  in both a 14u and 18u division. Taking home top honors in the 14u division was Midwest Sluggers 11, who held off a late charge by the Black Dragons , winning 7-5. In the 18u division, it was Nebraska Gold 319 Berning topping Iowa Gold Prospects 4-0, avenging a pool play opening, 1-0 loss. Below are some of the players that played their way onto our Top Performers list, including the MVP and MV-Pitcher from the championship bracket in each age division. 14U Division Earning the 14u division MVP award was Presley Perkins (2030 Taylor Ridge, IL) who although is listed as a switch hitting OF, was only observed hitting from the left side for tournament...
High School | General | 2/25/2026

High School Showdown Preview

Cam McElwaney
Article Image
We’re only about 24 hours away from the 14th PG High School Showdown and as we get closer to one of the premier events on the high school schedule, we look ahead to what we’ll see in Hoover. The teams and players are what make this event special along with the environment with scouts packing the stands for this event. As with every year we’ve run this event, there are sure to be names called in the upcoming MLB Draft along with big time contributors at the college level. This year’s field is loaded with five teams ranked inside the Preseason High School Top-50, headlined by a trio of top-10 teams in No. 8 South Walton (FL), No. 9 Blessed Trinity (GA), and No. 10 IMG Academy (FL). Rounding out the list of top-50 teams are No. 34 Parkview (GA) and No. 43 Hoover (AL), along with plenty of other teams that will challenge for state championships in their respective...
College | Story | 2/24/2026

College Players of the Week: Feb. 24

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
February 24 Perfect Game/Player of the Week: Will Gasparino, OF, UCLA After playing 117 games, launching 27 doubles and 25 home runs in Austin, TX for the University of Texas, Will Gasparino decided it was time to head back to his hometown of Los Angeles, CA. Based on his performance in the first two weeks of the season for the Bruins, he looks very comfortable and ready to push his name up the Draft Board. UCLA (6-1) enters 2026 with incredibly high expectations, jumped to No. 3 in our Top 25 poll with their 3-game sweep of previously ranked TCU and Gasparino provided much of the offensive firepower. For the week, the 6-6/220 outfielder went 7 for 13 good for a .538 BA, with a double, 5 home runs and 13 RBI. That brings his slash line through 7-games to .391/1.304/.548 with a double, a triple, 6 home runs and he has driven in a total of 15 runs. The scary thing is that Gasparino is just...
High School | General | 2/23/2026

Northwest Region Top Teams

Tyler Russo
Article Image
Northwest All Region & Top Tools Rk Pacific NW (+ Hawaii) 2025 Record 1 Puyallup (WA) 28-1 2 Kamehameha Kapalama (HI) 19-5 3 South Salem (OR) 30-2 4 Lake Washington (WA) 21-11 5 Bainbridge (WA) 24-4 6 St. Louis (HI) 15-6 7 Iolani (HI) 11-11-1. 8 Eastlake (WA) 23-9 9 Summit (OR) 24-6 10 Sumner (WA) 18-8 11 Sunset (OR) 23-9 12 Punahou (HI) 7-10-1. 13 Mount Vernon (WA) 28-4 14 Jesuit (OR) 26-8 15 Tahoma Senior (WA) 13-9-1 16 Blanchet Catholic (OR) 31-2 17 West Linn (OR) 22-8 18 Woodinville (WA) 13-12 19 Eagle (ID) 15-13 20 Central Catholic (OR) 23-6-1 21 Service (AK) 20-6 22 Meadowdale (WA) 10-4 23 Waiakea (HI) 10-4-1. 24 Liberty Christian (WA) 24-3 25 Madison Senior (ID) 19-11
Press Release | Press Release | 2/23/2026

PG Salutes Chet Brewer, a Youth Baseball Pillar

Jim Salisbury
Article Image
PG Salutes Chet Brewer, a Youth Baseball Pillar A few weeks ago, Perfect Game and its Believe in Baseball foundation held a fundraising event in Los Angeles. The “In the Spirit of the Game” dinner and auction brought in thousands of dollars, all of which will go toward providing deserving youngsters an opportunity to play and grow in the game. Chet Brewer was not at the event – the former Negro Leagues star died at age 83 in 1990 – but his spirit was. Big time. “That night was all about Chet,” PG commissioner Dennis Gilbert said. “He was all about giving kids chances to play the game, especially kids from underprivileged backgrounds. “When you’re 15, 16, 17 years old – those years are the basis of your life. Chet helped put a lot of kids on the right path through the game of baseball.” Brewer’s impactful life has...
College | Rankings | 2/23/2026

College Top 25: February 23

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
College Player Report Database In Week 1, the Top 15 teams in the poll remained unchanged but the college baseball landscape had a different narrative in mind for Week 2. With plenty of upsets and teams at the top establishing their dominance, there was quite a bit of upheaval across the country. While there were some special performances on the mound, runs continue to be scored in bunches and high drama extra-inning games seem to be the norm. There is no time to relax or take the foot off the gas in the college game today; we are in for another wild season it appears. The LSU Tigers (8-0) made the trip across the panhandle to Jacksonville, FL, swept through the Live Like Lou Jax Classic by outscoring their opponents 33-11 and remain No. 1 this week. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (8-0) secure their spot at No. 2 and are off to a program record breaking run scoring spree, averaging...
General | Blog | 2/20/2026

Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 63

Ron Wolforth
Article Image
Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 62, Part 1 | Part 2 Demystifying the Curveball, Pitch Counts, and Weighted Balls - Part 3  We've made it to Part 3…the final installment of our series on baseball's most misunderstood and debated topics.   In Part 1, we tackled the curveball. The takeaway: the pitch itself isn't what’s dangerous. Decades of awful and ineffective coaching cues, ”snap your wrist," "turn the doorknob”…exacerbated and even in many causes caused some of the problems. Teach it correctly, when the athlete is ready, and it's no riskier than a fastball.  In Part 2, we examined pitch counts. The takeaway: they're a useful tool, but a limited one. Treating a single number as a universal measure of safety ignores everything...
Softball | Softball Tournament | 2/20/2026

18U PG Winter Elite Showcase Indoor

Dave Durbala
Article Image
SPRINGFIELD, IL - 2026 Perfect Game Softball Winter Elite Showcase, February 6 - 8, 2026.  Twenty teams rolled into Springfield to showcase their talents in this 18u, four-game guarantee, pool-into-bracket play,  at the newly opened 170,000-square-foot domed facility at Scheels Sports Park at Legacy Pointe. In the Silver Bracket, it was the 09 Midwest Sluggers taking home the championship over the CR Blue Devils 18u National. In the Gold Bracket, a championship game that featured the tournament's top two pitchers, it was the Iowa Dynamite 18u with the win over GTS 15u Elite-Herrick, by a score of  2-1. The tournament, with a mix of committed players, and those young ladies striving for the next level,  was loaded with talent.  Below are some of the players that excelled on the field and made their way onto the tournament’s Top Performers list. Earning...
Loading more articles...