THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,569 MLB PLAYERS | 16,329 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,569 MLB PLAYERS | 16,329 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Sign in Create Account
Sign in Create Account
All American Game  | Story | 8/3/2018

Priester set to cap super summer

Jeff Dahn
Photo: Quinn Priester (Perfect Game)

See also: Classic supports Rady Children's Hospital

The excitement and exuberance expressed in his voice was unmistakable, and Quinn Priester didn’t waste his words. When asked last week how his final summer as a high school student was moving along now that there were only a couple of weeks remaining, he got right on top of it.

“Overall, this summer has been awesome and August just can’t come soon enough,” he told Perfect Game, speaking over the phone from his home in Cary, Ill., in the far northwest Chicago suburbs.

The summer right ahead of a teenager’s senior year in high school can often be a season of awesomeness, especially for a young man like the gifted Priester.

An all-state caliber performer in both baseball and football at Cary-Grove Community High School, he spent the summer pitching from big-league quality mounds sprinkled across the country, including the ones at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., the home of the Rays, and Wrigley Field in Chicago, the Cubs venerable old home.

And, as a finale on Aug. 12, he’ll step out on the mound at Petco Park in downtown San Diego – the home of the Padres – and put in an inning of work for the West team at the 16th annual Perfect Game All-American Classic.

Priester is a 6-foot-3, 190-pound right-hander and a Texas Christian University commit who used a strong performance at the PG National Showcase at The Trop in June to rise to No. 9 overall in the class of 2019 national prospect rankings; it also earned him the invite to the PGAAC.

He is the only prospect from Illinois to be invited this year, but he will enter the game as the No. 3-ranked right-handed pitcher in the 2019 class, behind only Georgia’s Daniel Espino and North Carolina’s Brennan Malone.

“It has been the most incredible summer so far,” Priester said. “Mostly it’s the places I’ve been and how great The Trop and Wrigley are – the opportunity to play in those big-league ballparks is second to none. And then, the competition (level) has taken almost two steps up.

“The best of the best from their class, competing head-to-head, and I just love that atmosphere. I think that has made me a lot better, and it’s gotten me to throw better pitches and work on a little more movement and that kind of stuff.”

At the PG National, Priester watched with an added appreciation the athleticism exhibited by the class of 2019’s top prospects. It was most evident in the 60-yard dash where 27 athletes covered the distance in 6.59 seconds or faster, 13 ran 6.48 or better and an elite eight got it done in under 6.33 seconds.

The fastest of the fast was Carthage, Miss., outfielder Jerrion Ealy, who set an event record when he crossed the line in a sizzling 6.13 seconds. Ealy, like Priester, is a prep baseball/football standout who plans to pursue both sports at Ole Miss.

“I have a lot of respect for a lot of the guys in the class just because there’s been a lot of multi-sport guys,” Priester said. “Some guys have kind of dropped it for their senior year but to see all these multi-sport guys and see them compete … and I think it’s awesome.

“It’s really fun that maybe it’s starting to go back to more multiple sports guys instead of just focusing on baseball. I truly believe doing multiple sports has been a big part of my success.”

Priester took over as the starting quarterback for the Cary-Grove football team last fall and helped guide the Trojans to a 7-4 mark; he has been playing with the varsity in both baseball and football since his sophomore year. He pitched just 14 innings for the baseball team this spring – he was limited by forearm tendinitis and is 100 percent now – but was among the team’s best hitters slashing .367/.467/.422 in 31 games and 106 plate appearances.

Priester said the two sports are definitely more different than they are alike, but he was quick to add that he feels those differences have also made him better at each sport. They’re both competitive, of course, and what he called the “weight room grind” that comes more with football than baseball has helped build his endurance and his work ethic.

“Football is more physical but you still need to have the mental side and I think that’s where baseball helps my football game,” Priester said. “The mental side of baseball has gotten me to a point where I honestly feel like I’m a couple of steps ahead of some of the other guys in football just because of the way that baseball is structured; the two really complement each other in that sense.”

Unlike Ealy, Priester has no plans of furthering his football career in college. He did say that he told TCU head baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle of his plans to play football this fall, and Schlossnagle completely endorsed the plan.

“It’s definitely reassuring,” Priester told the Northwest Herald online newspaper in June. “(It’s) like someone’s got my back in this, because there’s been a lot more people pushing me not to play football than there are to play football. It’s kind of reassuring to have support from somebody who really cares about me and my future.”

When a young, elite two-sport athlete and student (Priester carries a 3.9 GPA at Cary-Grove) is faced with balancing the demands put on him from schoolwork, homework, film-work, workouts, practices, games, family and friends, time management becomes another fulltime job.

Priester struggled with that aspect of things during his freshman year but was fortunate to have a couple of his teachers step in and help: “Now, going into my senior year I think I’ve gotten pretty good at it – schoolwork first and then sports,” he said. “That’s how my parents have taught me and that’s usually how it works.”

Having never had a pitching coach with whom he’s worked with one-on-one, Priester has instead tried to digest as much information from as many different coaches and instructors as he can find.

He feels that has been beneficial simply because he knows there are many facets of pitching that he still needs to learn and there’s a lot he can still get better at. And, he’s already pretty good for a kid still two months shy of his 18th birthday.

“I think my development (as a pitcher) has come through taking bits and pieces (of information) and looking over each start and see what I did well and see what I didn’t do well,” Priester said. “I’ll work on it over the next couple of days and go back out having a plan for every start.

“That’s how I’ve gotten better and that’s how I’ve progressed, but there’s a lot more that I can learn,” he added. “I can still get a lot better than I am now.”

Priester credits one of his summer-ball coaches, Michael Phelps (not the swimmer), with helping him get more national exposure by getting him hooked up with the California-based Phenom Signature program early in the summer of 2017.

He won a championship with the Signature at the 2017 PG 16u WWBA West Memorial Day Classic and earned all-tournament recognition pitching for them at the 2017 PG 17u WWBA National Championship. Priester also threw a scoreless inning at the PG 17u WWBA National Championship in early July, pitching for the Blackhawks National.

“(Phelps) took me out of Illinois where nobody was really noticing me,” Priester said. “He kind of believed in me … and he’s definitely had a lot of faith in me. He’s always got my back and he always has my best interests in mind, and he’s just a real class guy. He’s definitely had the biggest impact on me baseball-wise.”

This won’t be the first time Priester has traveled to San Diego to take part in a high-profile PG event. He was at last year’s Underclass All-American Games, a showcase held annually on the Monday-Tuesday immediately after the Classic is played. Priester earned Top Prospect List recognition at the Underclass Games and he also attended last year’s Classic.

“I got to watch that in person, which is awesome,” he said. “Seeing some of the Midwest guys like Alek Thomas and Jarred Kelenic out there kind of gave me a little bit of motivation that I need to be there and represent the Midwest. And, also, just being at Petco Park – it’s so beautiful – it provided a little kick in the butt to get going and get to working a little bit harder.”

It may have been the first time he saw the Classic in person but it wasn’t the first time he had watched the game. He stumbled across the tape of the 2016 Classic on the Internet a while back and that was what first piqued his interest in being a part of the game; he was determined to make it happen.

Also while at last year’s Classic, he was also made aware of the event’s tie-in with Rady Children’s Hospital, and the fund-raising efforts and the visit to the hospital the All-Americans had been involved with leading up to the game. That, too, piqued his interest.

“I remember last year I saw Kumar Rocker and all these guys posting about it on Twitter, and I thought about being involved with it,” Priester said. “I want to raise the most (money) and I want meet these kids and I want to have a great time with these kids.”

At some point on the evening of Aug. 12, Quinn Priester will toe the rubber at Petco Park, marking the third time this summer he’s thrown from the mound at a big-league stadium. Family and friends, including parents Andrew and Christine Priester, are likely to be in attendance for one last fling, putting a capper on this “awesome” summer of 2018. And then, it will be football season.

“My main focus has been finishing off this summer baseball season strong and kind of wrap up a good summer for myself, but as soon as baseball is over I’m going to be 110 percent football out there,” Priester said. “I’m going to be missing about a week-and-a-half of (practice), which kind of stinks. I wish I could be there with the team but baseball is what I want to do with my future.”

That future is now, and that’s a good thing, even if it does means it’s time for Priester to bid farewell to the awesome summer of 2018.
Give us your feedback
All American Game | Story | 7/3/2026

Initial 2026 All Star Game Roster Reveal
Article Image
We are excited to announce the first selections for the 2026 PG All Star Game from both the Perfect Game Junior and Sophomore National Showcases. The PG All Star Game will be held on Friday, August 14th at Citizens Bank Ballpark, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies, and will feature roughly 40 of the top players, predominately from the 2028 class with a few of the very best 2029s also selected. A watchlist has been created from the Junior National Showcase and another group of players will be selected from that showcase towards the end of July as we continue to evaluate players at the major Perfect Game tournaments this summer. The final wave of selections we be made at the PG Underclass All American Games August 5-7 at the UCSD in San Diego, CA. PG Underclass All American Games   Junior National Selections Dexter McCleon Jr. OF Suwanee, GA USA Prime Cullen Scott RHP/3B Melissa,...
Read More
Tournaments | Championship | 7/14/2026

SBA Bolts National Raise Trophy at 16u

Will Dembo
Article Image
After an action-packed week at the 16u WWBA Championships, the tournament came down to two of the nation’s top teams battling for one of travel baseball’s most prestigious titles. No. 5 ranked SBA Bolts National faced No. 60 Alpha Prime 2028 after both teams reached the championship undefeated, but the SBA Bolts were the sole team to exit without a loss, defeating Alpha Prime 10-2 in mercy rule fashion and capture the national title behind dominant pitching and explosive offensive performances. The SBA Bolts were perfect throughout their week, running the table and going 11-0 while outscoring their opponents by an impressive margin of 108-25. “It was awesome,” SBA Head Coach Travis Thompson said on the mercy rule victory. “It just kind of culminated our week. It's been a long week. I can't even remember our first game, which felt like three weeks ago. The...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 7/14/2026

Coastal Region Scout Notes

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
Ridge Whitfield (2029, Charlotte, NC) stands at 6-foot, 158 pounds with an athletic build that should allow him to maintain his mobility and quick-twitch actions as he continues to develop. He bats and throws left-handed. Whitfield locates his fastball to both sides of the plate, mixes his pitches effectively, and keeps hitters off balance. He competes on every pitch and doesn’t back down in big situations. Whitfield threw 5.1 innings, allowing three hits, one earned run, and no walks while striking out three on 75 pitches (58% strikes). He attacked the zone with a fastball that sat 73 mph and topped out at 78 mph, mixing in a 67 mph breaking ball and a 68-70 mph changeup to keep hitters off balance. Sam Jobe (2029, Charlotte, NC) stands at 6-foot-1, 175 pounds, with a lean, athletic frame and plenty of projection. He bats and throws right-handed. Jobe shows good feel for the...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 7/14/2026

14u & 17u West Scout Notes: Days 3-5

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
14u & 17u WWBA West Scout Notes: Days 1-2 Adryan Zaragoza (‘30 | CA) turns on this one, sending it down RF line for a 2B. Finished 2-for-3 w/ 2RBI, 2R, BB. PS approach, bat speed, raw strength #WWBAWest @California_PG pic.twitter.com/V6Ctus4CX1 — Perfect Game Four Corners (@PG_FourCorners) July 13, 2026 Adryan Zaragoza (2030, Lake Elsinore, CA) The 5-foot-9, 150-pound left-handed hitter and infielder had a great weekend for ZT Select Prospects, finishing with five hits, eight runs scored, one double, one triple, six RBI, one stolen base, and two walks during the 14U WWBA West National Championships. Zaragoza consistently ignited the offense from the top of the lineup, with a disciplined approach and the ability to create scoring opportunities. He can drive the baseball into the gaps while producing in big situations, combining quality contact with aggressive baserunning....
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 7/14/2026

14u BCS Scout Note Recap

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
Jake Karpell (2030, Holmdel, NJ) got on the barrel a couple times in game five and totaled three rbis. Started his production with a single then later on hammered a heater down the right field and flew around the bases for a three run inside the park home run. Keeps the hands inside at contact really well and got the head around on the homer. Runs well and can hit it around the yard in the approach.  Luke Sauer (2030 C, FL)  put his hit tool on display with a well-struck double, continuing to show why he is regarded as one of the top catchers in the class. Owns a big frame with present physicality and does a good job keeping the hands connected throughout the swing. The barrel works efficiently through the zone and there is a solid offensive foundation present. Currently ranked as the No. 66 catcher nationally.  Gavin Politz (2030 OF, FL) continued a strong tournament...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 7/14/2026

15u World Series Scout Notes: Days 1-3

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
Connor Ashley (‘29, FL) has struck out six over six no hit innings thus far. Got the FB up to 87 w/ feel for a sharp two-plane slider. #PGWS @Florida_PG pic.twitter.com/M7mEmTH8pk — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) July 12, 2026 Connor Ashley (’29, Minneola, FL) was stellar on Sunday, striking out seven in a seven inning no hitter. He operates from a medium-to-large right-handed frame with length, room to fill, and lower half strength. Ashley works exclusively from the stretch, starting at the belt before working into a higher compact leg lift, firing down the mound via a long arm action. He releases from a high three-quarters slot, with the fastball jumping from the hand up to 87. Ashley mixed in a sharp 11-5 breaking ball with depth and late bite, a true swing-and-miss offering.  Matthew Hernandez (’29, Miami Lakes, FL) has posted strong numbers on both...
Read More
College | Story | 7/14/2026

Coppy's Corner: July 14 Summer Edition

John Coppolella
Article Image
The amateur players in the Cape Cod Baseball League are the future stars of the 2027 MLB Draft. The league runs from June 13th through August 2nd. Games are played at historic stadiums in Old New England towns. It’s beautiful and charming. Hollywood even made a movie about the Cape Cod League ~25 years ago called Summer Catch. It scored an 8% (!) on Rotten Tomatoes, but, on the plus side, it featured 2001 Jessica Biel in a starring role.  It was so much fun writing Coppy’s Column this spring. My hope is to highlight a pitcher and position player each week from the Cape. And, who knows, maybe somewhere out there Jessica Biel is reading it.    Player of the Week: Carter White – Falmouth Commodores  Talk about making a great first impression! White introduced himself in a very loud and boisterous way this past week by going 9-17 (.529 AVG) with 6 RBI...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 7/13/2026

17u Elite Scout Notes: Days 1-2

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
High speed look at the FF-SL-CH from '27 RHP Liam McGeady (OH)... #NatElite @PG_OhioValley @Cincy_Legends https://t.co/hhoDL7DBbi pic.twitter.com/Ts79GLPGoU — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) July 12, 2026 Liam McGeady (2027, Liberty Township, Ohio) had the stuff working on Saturday morning, getting the start for Legends Scout 2027. The uncommitted right-hander ran it up to 91 and sat 88-90 with a full starter’s mix. All three of the secondaries played well and project moving forward. The curveball worked in the mid-70s with good depth and healthy shape. The slider operated in the 79-82 range with gyro spin and short break. McGeady rounded out the repertoire with a changeup that showed big fade and depth, proving effective versus lefties. He ended the outing going five ⅔ innings, allowing no earned runs on four hits, striking out six total. The tall and long 6-foot-5,...
Read More
Tournaments | Championship | 7/13/2026

ZT Select Takes 14u WWBA West Title

Emily Hicks
Article Image
After a week of competitive baseball, the ZT Select Prospects have been crowned the 14U WWBA National Champions, completing an impressive tournament run with a championship victory over Swarm Red Elite National 2030 with a final score of 3-1. The 14U division brought together 19 talented teams for a week of high-level competition, with players from California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Hawaii, and Pennsylvania battling for the opportunity to compete on one of the biggest stages in youth baseball. Throughout the tournament, ZT Select Prospects showed consistency, resilience, and the ability to compete in close games. From the opening rounds of pool play to the championship matchup, the team continued to find ways to win behind strong pitching, timely hitting, and a complete team effort. In the championship game, ZT Select Prospects was led by standout performances from Jeremy Jimenez, who...
Read More
Draft | Mock Draft | 7/13/2026

2027 Mock Draft: Way Too Early Ediition

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
With the 2026 MLB Draft officially complete, let's quickly turn our eyes to the 2027 group and do a way too early mock draft. Leading the way is shortstop Brendan Lawson out of the University of Florida, setting the trend as three of the top four names all call shortstop home with Dylan Seward and Carter Hadnot. If shortstops aren't your thing for any which reason, maybe hard throwing left-handers tickle your fancy whether it be prep Connor Salerno, Tomas Valincius from Mississippi State or Dylan Volantis, a dominant arm from the University of Texas.  Pick Team Name Pos. School 1 Los Angeles Angels Brendan Lawson SS Florida 2 Kansas City Royals Dylan Seward SS Norco (Calif.) 3 Colorado Rockies Landon Hairston OF Arizona State 4 New York Mets Carter Hadnot SS Aquinas (Calif.) 5 Athletics Connor Salerno LHP Sun Valley (N.C.) 6 Cincinnati Reds Tomas Valincius LHP Mississippi State 7...
Read More
Draft | Story | 7/12/2026

2027 MLB Draft: Initial Follow List

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
With the 2026 MLB Draft in the books, our focus now shifts to a new group of players ready to take center stage as the 2027 draft cycle begins. Our initial 2027 Follow List serves as an early snapshot of the players who should draw plenty of attention over the next year. This new crop of talent features collegiate players coming off loud spring seasons, alongside prep prospects who have already flashed big upside as underclassman.  As always, this list will evolve throughout the year. Some players will continue to elevate their stock, while others will jump onto the radar and force their way into the conversation. So, without further ado, let the fun begin.  The road to the 2027 MLB Draft starts now. Name Level Pos. B-T School Hometown State Commitment Adrian Rodriguez C 3B/OF S-R Texas Flower Mound TX Aidan King C RHP L-R Florida Bryceville FL Bino Watters C OF L-L LSU...
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.