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Tournaments  | Story | 10/21/2018

Freshman Final 4 set for battle

Photo: Parker Byrd (Perfect Game)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – After three days of competition, 64 teams have been whittled down to the final four at the WWBA Freshman World Championship in West Palm Beach after a grind of a day of playoff matchups. On one side of the bracket, the South Charlotte Panthers will take on Canes National 2022 while US Elite 15u National will battle 5 Star National Black 15u, with the paths for all four being very different with how they reached Championship Monday.

The Panthers were the team that punched their ticket in the most dramatic fashion. They needed a rally from three runs down in the final three innings of their quarterfinal matchup against Cangelosi Sparks Black to eventually walk off with a 5-4 victory as Braylen Hayes (2022, Sophia, N.C.) scampered home on a 3-2 pitch in the dirt with two outs.

After outscoring their pool play opponents 26-3 to earn the No. 3 overall seed in the playoff bracket, the Panthers made short work of the FTB Rockets with an 8-3 victory in their second round matchup thanks in large part to a 3-for-3, four RBI performance from Xavier Issac (2022, Kernersville, N.C.).

Going into their meeting with the Sparks running on all cylinders, the Panthers committed a critical error on a sacrifice bunt which led to a one-all tie becoming a 4-1 Sparks’ lead entering the fifth inning. The Panthers chipped away with a pair of runs in the fifth to get to within a run, while reliever Nathan Chrismon (2022, China Grove, N.C.) kept his team in the game with two scoreless frames after entering in the fifth.

In the bottom of the sixth Parker Byrd (2022, Laurinburg, N.C.) drove in the game-tying run with a single to center to score Aiden Evans (2022, Cornelius, N.C.) from second to send the game to the seventh even at four.

Chrismon put up another zero in the seventh and the Panthers quickly worked a threat for free as Hayes worked a four-pitch walk to lead off their half of the inning. After a bunt moved him up to second, a walk made it first and third for Evans who used his speed to beat out a potential double-play ball to leave it up to Chrismon. On a 3-2 pitch, a breaking ball bounded away from the Sparks catcher and Hayes slid in safely to send the Panthers to Monday’s semifinal.

They will match up with Canes National 2022, who earned the No. 2 overall seed in the playoff bracket but needed to overcome a stiff test from the No. 7-seed Elite Squad in their quarterfinal matchup. With the game tied at two in the fifth inning, Adam Shepard (2022, Manassas, Va.) gave the Canes the lead for good with an RBI double to left as they finished off a 5-3 victory to remain unbeaten in the tournament.

With three of the top bats throughout the tournament in David Mershon (2022, Taylors, S.C. – 10-for-15, five RBI), Virginia commit Nathan Fink (2022, No. 8, Charlottesville, Va. – 9-for-18, four stolen bases) and Shepard (7-for-12, nine RBI), the Canes will be a formidable lineup for all challengers to contend with on Monday.

On the opposite side of the bracket, US Elite 15u National forged their way to the semifinals with a tense 4-3 victory over Team Elite Prime 15u in a game that went down to the last pitch. After US Elite jumped ahead with a 3-1 lead after the first inning, Team Elite kept the game manageable and mounted a sixth-inning rally trailing 4-2 with their first three batters reaching to load the bases against US Elite starter Jesus Gonzalez (2022, Hialeah, Fla.). Reliever Gavin Woodland (2022, Vailer, Ill.) was called upon to put out the fire and after a strikeout and fielder’s choice allowed Team Elite to close to within 4-3, Woodland got a groundout to shortstop to wrap up US Elite’s semifinal spot.

Gonzalez struck out eight in his five innings of work and offensively Mason Morris (2022, Felton, Del.) went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Morris, Sal Stewart (2022, No. 9, Miami, Fla.) and Drew Wyers (2022, Columbus, N.J.) led US Elite in the tournament with six hits apiece.

Their semifinal opponent is the lone club that needed to come all the way from the first round of the playoffs and win three games on Sunday to have a shot for a championship.

5 Star National Black was up early with an 8 a.m. matchup against Team Elite Nation 15u and broke out the bats to score an 11-2 victory to set up a rematch with Cannons Baseball Academy 2022, who came on top over 5 Star with a 3-1 victory to win Pool J. After falling behind 1-0 in the first inning, 5 Star scored two runs in the second and three in the third to take command. Tanner Zallem (2022, Fleming Island, Fla.) launched a two-run home run in the fifth and starter Sullivan Brackin (2022, Jacksonville, Fla.) racked up 11 strikeouts in his complete game victory as 5 Star won 8-2 to set up a quarterfinal matchup with the Top Tier Roos 2022.

5 Star jumped out in front of the Roos early with a four-spot in the first inning as Brackin, Tag Williams (2022, Monticello, Fla.) and Tanner Knowles (2022, Kathleen, Ga.) all produced run-scoring hits.

That gave their starter Hunter Russell (2022, Fleming Island, Fla) a four-run lead to work with before he stepped on the mound. The righthander made that lead stand as he pitched into the sixth inning, striking out seven in his 5 1/3 innings of work.

Zallem, who leads 5 Star with six hits and six RBI for the tournament, had a two-run single for 5 Star as they added three runs in the fifth on their way to sealing their spot in Monday’s semifinals.

Both semifinal matchups begin at 8 a.m., with the championship game to be played at 11 a.m. at the FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beach Stadium.




Tournaments | Story | 11/8/2026

14u National All State Scout Notes: Day 1

Tyler Russo
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2031 C/OF Jace Winston (Fuquay-Varina, N.C.) had a really nice day at the dish as he picked up a couple hits in his first game, both well-struck, and then launched a bomb in game 2. He’s one of the more physical players here who can really impact the baseball already, and the consistency in which he’s hitting this fall is a great sign going into 2027. 2031 SS/RHP Weston Stalls (Blackstock, S.C.) came in for a couple innings of relief on the day and showed off the arm talent running the fastball up to 87. It’s a fast arm and he generates real life to the fastball, while the breaking ball is a good pitch as well.   ‘31 SS Parker Smith (NC) went 3-for-3 to open the weekend, this a line drive single the other way. 6’2/140 & can accelerate the barrel already, intriguing projection. #NatAllState @PG_Coastal https://t.co/Z7C5kDGdIM — Perfect Game...
General | General | 11/6/2026

Class of 2028 Rankings Update

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Tournaments | Story | 11/6/2026

National All State Preview: Week 1

Hannah Jo Groves
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This weekend, teams from all around the country in the 10U, 12U and 14U divisions will converge on the Houston area for the 2026 PG National All-State Select Championships. The 10U division will have 22 teams, 12U will have 23 and 14U will have 22. All ages have many different states represented - from Hawaii, to the Pacific Northwest, to Arizona, to New England, to Carolina to Florida and many more. “National All-State brings together the best players in the country across Houston,” national crosschecker and northeast scouting director, John McAdams, said. “It’s a fun atmosphere for ultimate bragging rights amongst all the regions the PG platform reaches domestically while serving as a good litmus test for myself, Jheremy Brown and Tyler Russo to see the players. We get another glimpse at the end of the year as we start to formulate our initial thoughts on the...
Draft | Rankings | 11/6/2026

2027 MLB Draft Board Update: Top 200

Tyler Henninger
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PG Draft Content Hub With the fall season winding down and the winter months approaching, it is time for another draft board update.  After getting more live looks and gathering information from the fall action across the country, we have expanded the board to a Top-200. The class continues to feature an intriguing mix of arms from both the prep and college ranks, along with an enticing position player pool.  There is still plenty of time for new names to emerge and established prospects to continue to improve their draft stock, but here is where things stand as we head into the winter.  * denotes draft eligible sophomore 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 Tomas Valincius C LHP L-L Mississippi State...
College | Story | 11/6/2026

College Fall Notebook: November 6

Craig Cozart
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Virginia Cavaliers  2026 In Review:  Under the leadership of first year Head Coach Chris Pollard, the Cavaliers won 37 games which was the second most victories by a first-year coach in program history.  Virginia went (37-23) finishing tied for 8th in the ACC and earned an at-large bid to the Hattiesburg Regional.  They fielded a talented offense that averaged over 8-runs per game, highlighted by AJ Gracia and Eric Becker who were both selected on Day 1 of the 2026 MLB Draft.  While the defensive squad wasn’t quite as elite as usual, they were ultra-competitive on the mound with a strong rotation and lock down bullpen.  With plenty of talent returning for Pollard and his staff in ’27, they should be a force on a national level once again.  Impact Returners:    Senior Antonio Perrotta (.266/.459/.431, 5 HR, 6 2B, 24 RBI) experienced...
General | General | 11/5/2026

Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 70

Ron Wolforth
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That Off-Season Program Wasn't Built for Your Son. It Was Built for Nobody. The Harsh Reality of Skill Development · Part 2 of 5 Somewhere right now, a pitcher is starting a twelve-week off-season program. It came from his travel team. Or a trainer. Or a big leaguer's Instagram. It has phases and a logo, and every kid in the building got the same one. Here is the harsh reality. That program was written before anybody looked at your son. It doesn't know he exists. It was built for the average pitcher... and the average pitcher does not exist. A Template Fixes Somebody's Problem. Maybe Not His. Every pitcher who is stuck is stuck for a reason. We call that reason his constraint... the thing that is actually limiting him right now. For one kid it is strength. For the next it is mobility. For the next it is a mechanical inefficiency, or an arm that isn't recovering, or a body that...
General | General | 11/5/2026

Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 69

Ron Wolforth
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Your Son's April Arm Injury is Being Scheduled Right Now   The Harsh Reality of Skill Development - Part 1 of 5 Let me start this series with something most people in baseball won't say out loud. In my experience, a great many of the arm problems we will see next April are being set up right now... in October, November and December. Not necessarily because a young pitcher is throwing too much. Often it's because of what happens when he stops. Here is the pattern. I have watched it for more than thirty years. The fall season ends. The arm is tired, so the family does what seems like the responsible thing.  They shut it down. No throwing. For a lot of kids, no anything. Weeks go by. The holidays come and go. Then somebody looks at a calendar in January and realizes tryouts are three weeks away. Suddenly, an arm that has done nothing since October is asked to go from zero to game...
High School | Rankings | 11/4/2026

Class of 2027 Rankings Risers

Kyler Peterson
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Complete Class of 2027 Rankings With the end of the summer and fall seasons behind us, it was time for a quick refresh of the 2027 class rankings. Below you'll be able to read about some of the biggest risers up the board, led by North Carolina outfielder John Hucko who jumped more than 110 spots to now sit at No. 20 overall.  John Hucko, OF, Charlotte, N.C. Previous Rank: 132 | Current Rank: 20 Hucko makes a huge leap into the top-20 players in the class after a dominating showing in Jupiter. It’s as good of a left-handed swing as you’ll come across with pretty easy impact to all parts. He’s a supreme athlete with all the tools to play center long term and is a present plus runner. Hucko is a name that cemented his prospect status in Jupiter and will be a name to follow for next year’s MLB Draft. Elyjah Mason, SS, Lake Forest, Calif. Previous Rank: 71 |...
General | General | 11/3/2026

Class of 2027 Rankings Update

Perfect Game Staff
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Press Release | Press Release | 11/2/2026

PG Partners Up with Minority Prospects

Perfect Game Staff
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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 ANNOUNCES MEDIA RIGHTS PARTNERSHIP WITH MINORITY PROSPECTS   Sanford, Florida (Monday, November 2, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced a media rights partnership with Minority Prospects, the Atlanta-based organization that has become the largest platform in the world for minority baseball and softball prospects. The partnership kicked off last month at the WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Fla., Perfect Game's premier fall event, where Minority Prospects produced content featuring some of the nation's top amateur players in front of college coaches, professional scouts and MLB legends. Under the agreement, Minority...
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