THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,801 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,801 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Create Account
Sign in Create Account
Tournaments  | Story | 10/22/2018

Jupiter feels the Burn

Photo: Florida Burn Platinum (Perfect Game)



JUPITER, Fla. – The Canes National came into Monday’s championship game at the 20th annual Perfect Game WWBA World Championship looking for their outstanding organization’s fifth title in the last six years. The Florida Burn Platinum, representing another prideful and respected organization, were looking for their first.

And, as everyone knows, there is a first time for everything.

The Sarasota-based Burn Platinum pushed across single runs in each of the first and sixth innings, counted on a trio of pitchers to do their part, and held off the mighty Fredericksburg, Va.-based Canes National, 2-0, in the title game played at Roger Dean Stadium on yet another beautiful day along Florida’s Atlantic Coast.

The Florida Burn organization, under the direction of founder Mark Guthrie with a lot of help from Craig Faulkner, last advanced to the Jupiter championship game in 2013, where it was beaten by a team called the EvoShield Canes. That was the Canes’ first of three straight WWBA World championships; the program added another one last year.

“You just always come here and do the best you can,” Guthrie told PG not long after his players had doused him with a cooler full of ice water. “Every year you get a tough draw, and some years you come here and it doesn’t work out if you’re not on your game; that’s just the way baseball is.”

The No. 3-seeded Burn Platinum (8-0-0) were on their game Monday and, for that matter, so were the No. 5 Canes National (7-1-0). It’s just that the Canes had a tough time getting anything going with the bats, managing just two hits, but in all fairness, the Burn had only four themselves.

The key for the Platinum was their ability to effectively bunch their safeties. In the first inning, Austin Brinling hit a one-out, groundball single to the left-side and soon after was standing on second with a stolen base. One out later, William Bartlett hit a groundball single into right field, good enough to chase Brinling home.

That was the extent of the scoring until the bottom of the sixth when the Burn’s Danny Rodriguez received a two-out walk, stole second and scored on a pop-fly single into center off the bat of Mac Guscette.

In between the two runs, 2019 right-handers Braden Halladay and Cameron Wademan, and the 2020 righty Guscette combined to shut-down the powerful Canes; the trio forced them to put the ball in play while relying on their defense to do the rest.

Halladay worked 1 1/3 hitless, shutout innings (he walked four), Wademan 3 1/3 two-hit shutout innings and Guscette 2 1/3 hitless, shutout frames; they recorded only one strikeout between them.

The Canes’ used Casey Green and Will Smith – a pair of2019 right-handers – and both worked three very effective innings. Green allowed an earned run on three hits, striking out three and Smith an earned run on one hit, striking out four. The entire 6½-inning game took only about 90 minutes to complete.

“Every tournament we’ve played in we’re usually the underdog,” the Burn’s standout shortstop Joshua Rivera said postgame. “Coming up big in a tournament like this kind of showed everybody that Florida Burn is a good organization and we do have a good enough team to play with the best of the best like Canes National. We come out here and do what we’ve got to do and the cards fall in our favor.”

Rivera, a senior (2019)  at IMG Academy and a Florida commit ranked No. 83 in his class, went 7-for-16 with a home run, six RBI, three runs and two stolen bases, and was named the co-Most Valuable Player. He shared the award with 2020 catcher Kevin Parada from GBG Marucci who enjoyed a tournament for the ages: 11-for-23 (.478) with four doubles, two home runs and 13 RBI.

Guthrie pointed to the play of his top-of-the-order guys like Guscette, Rivera, Kyle Machado and Kevin Conway as difference makers and he also mentioned the addition of Bartlett as pivotal.

A 2019 first baseman, Bartlett is from California but got hooked up with the Burn because he is now attending IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. “Adding Will Bartlett, he blended in right away and really provided some great energy for us,” Guthrie said. He also called his three catchers – Guscette, Aaron Martins and Matthew Powell “amazing.”

“This has been amazing, experiencing this as a team,” Rivera said. “We’ve always played together since we were about 13, and with a couple new additions every guy stepped up. We all played as a team in the biggest tournament in the fall, we all took everything serious, everybody played a big role every game, so this whole experience has been amazing for us.”

Guthrie called this team “very gritty” and pointed out that the nucleus of the roster has played together since their pre-high school years. Back in those youth days, they did constant battle with a program called the Iron Pigs, and once all those kids became freshmen they banded together.

“They’ve been together or playing against each for six years now, and I think that’s huge,” Guthrie said. “I always say that our guys may go a little under the radar but they are talented, but when they get on campus or they go to where ever they’re going to go, they get it done.”

The Most Valuable Pitcher Award went to the Canes’ 2019 right-hander Tyler Nesbitt, and he earned the honor on the strength of just one outing. Facing No. 4-seeded CBA Marucci in the quarterfinals, Nesbitt threw five scoreless, two-hit innings while striking out 10 of CBA’s formidable hitters. Monday afternoon, not long after the conclusion of the championship game, Nesbitt announced that he had committed to Florida.

Guthrie talked about how his players showed up ready to play from the first inning of the first game at this most demanding of all of PG’s national championship tournaments. They were, he said, outstanding from the first pitch on and somehow managed to figure out how these championships are won. Rivera seems to have figured out the secret, anyway,

“To put a Burn uniform on you’ve got play the game the right way (and) respect everybody on the team, respect everybody on the other team; you’ve got to play with a lot of class,” Rivera said. “You’ve got to go out there and give it all you’ve got – if you make an error, it’s the next play; if you strikeout, it’s the next at-bat. You’ve got to control what you can control.”

The Burn and the Canes National reached the championship game by winning their semifinal games Monday morning, played on practice fields in the Marlins quad.

Machado tripled, singled and drove in three runs, Conway doubled and drove in one and Bartlett scored three times to lead the Burn past the No. 18 East Coast Sox Select (5-1-1) in one of the semis. Burn 2019 right-hander Austen Kessler tossed six innings of one-hit ball, allowing one earned run and striking out six.

CJ Rodriguez lined a two-strike, two-out single to center field that scored Patrick Alvarez from second base and the Canes National slipped past No. 8 GBG Marucci (6-1-0), 2-1 in nine innings in the other semi. The single was Rodriguez’s second of the game; Andrew Compton doubled and drove in a run.

Canes starter Jack Jasiak, a 2019 right-hander, worked the first five scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out six. GBG starter Cole Kitchen, a 2019 righty, allowed one earned run on three hits in five innings, striking out seven. GBG scored its only run in the top of the seventh on an RBI single off the bat of Devan Ornelas.

But this championship belonged to the Burn, and not just this current group of players.

“I had some of our old players texting me on my phone during the game, and that’s really neat,” Guthrie said. “Guys that lost in the championship game (in 2013) and other guys who maybe didn’t make it to the championship game, and they take a lot of pride in this. Especially beating a great, great group like the (Canes) and, you know, you don’t really every beat them very often.

“This is good for all the guys that have come before them and have developed a reputation for what we call ‘Burn Baseball’ and these guys followed suit and bought in. … I’m just unbelievably happy for this group of guys; what a way to go out.”


2018 WWBA World Championship runner-up: Canes National



2018 WWBA World Championship co-MVP: Joshua Rivera



2018 WWBA World Championship co-MVP: Kevin Parada



2018 WWBA World Championship MV-Pitcher: Tyler Nesbitt






Tournaments | Story | 12/18/2025

14u Tourney All-American Team

Tyler Russo
Article Image
Player of the Year: Asher Williams It was an incredible year for Williams that was rewarded with a trip to the 14U Select Fest, before some more impressive play in the fall. He came to the plate almost 250 times in PG tournaments throughout 2025 and reached base in well over half of them, hitting to a .500 AVG while slugging a 14U circuit best 12 bombs and driving in 113 runs. The numbers on the surface are ridiculous, but when you look at the high-level events he put them up in, it makes it even more impressive. Pitcher of the Year: Tristan Blalock Blalock earns this honor after a dominant 2025 where he struck out 85 batters in just 48.2 innings of work with a minuscule 1.58 ERA. This included several strong performances at many national level tournaments and showcases where he was able to bully some of the best hitters in the country. It’s hard not to fall in love with...
Tournaments | Story | 12/17/2025

15u Tourney All-American Team

Jason Phillips
Article Image
Hitter of the Year: Landon Bonner The 2028 class saw many players from across the country take the next step in their development as they entered the High School ranks. There were huge performances from highly ranked players on the PG circuit as well as some under-the-radar guys who burst onto the scene. Landon Bonner came into Sophomore National as a Top 500 ranked player and after an impressive showing, left with all eyes on him as a rankings riser in the class. The left-handed hitting shortstop from The Colony, Texas, had a summer to remember with All-Tournament Team selections in three of his next four events culminating with a historic performance at the 2025 PG 15U WWBA National Championship. The Hebron High School prep went 20-for-24 in nine games for 5 Star Mafia 15U Black with four homeruns and 12 runs batted in. He also scored 17 runs and finished with a mind-boggling 2.500...
Tournaments | Story | 12/16/2025

16u Tourney All-American Team

AJ Denny
Article Image
Hitter of the Year: Koa Romero is the Hitter of the Year for the 16u group, as he would come to every premier event of the summer and earn All-Tournament honors (Beast of the East, 16/17u WWBA, Jupiter) in every single one. Over 82 plate appearances, Romero would pump ten homeruns with forty two RBI and sixteen walks, good for a .378 average and 1.339 OPS. The performance on volume at the best events of the year pushed Romero over the edge here, as he’d hit a pair of homeruns in Jupiter (one of them at 112 EV) as an underclassmen and collect double digit hits in BOTH WWBA events with a combined six jacks over the two tournaments. It was a summer that combined performance and winning on the biggest stages for Romero. It’s a quiet left-handed swing that packs a punch. He would reap the benefits of his performances, earning a commitment to LSU and jumping to the #74 prospect in...
College | Recruiting | 12/15/2025

Recruiting Notebook: December 15

John McAdams
Article Image
Tucker Rice (27 MS) bumping up to 91; living hi-80s from real fast arm. Good SL @ 77-79 w/ depth & sold w/ intent. Loads of traits & strikes. #WWBA @PG_Uncommitted @PG_DeepSouth pic.twitter.com/DEjFqRcsIY — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) July 6, 2025 Tucker Rice, RHP, Class of 2027 Commitment: Alabama Alabama has continued to stay red hot in the recruiting trail ever since August 1st rolled around on the calendar and have continued to stack major pieces in their ’27 class. They dip into Mississippi to land one of the premier arms and one that’s stood out on the circuit for quite some time. It’s a fast arm and the athleticism certainly shines working down the slope. The velocity has continued to tick up over the last calendar year and reached into the low-90s towards the end of the summer. He’s confident in his changeup and the breaking ball is...
Tournaments | Story | 12/15/2025

17u Tourney All-American Team

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
There’s a lot of talent throughout this 2026 class, filled with the big-name stars, to talent that spreads across the nation. It’s been a lot of fun seeing these prospects grow and develop over the years, from the days of watching some of these guys at the 13/14u days at events on the circuit, to now where they are all graduating seniors in 2026. There’s been new faces who have popped along the way over the years, even in 2026, where some players who were relatively undiscovered, have come out and made a name for themselves with a statement performance. Between the familiar and the new, there’s a lot of names on this list that are going to be quite regularly talked about on the circuit, and for good reason.  Whether it’s PG All-Americans or not, there’s a lot of names with superstar potential at the next level. We’ve got 14 PG All-Americans...
Tournaments | Story | 12/13/2025

Finest in the Field: Class of 2029

Tyler Russo
Article Image
Finest in the Field: Class of 2026 | Class of 2027 | Class of 2028 These guys might just be entering high school, but they've certainly already made a name for themselves on the national circuit, especially with their abilities on the defensive side of things.  C: Xavier Rodriguez (Logansville, GA) Rodriguez is a polished defender with real arm strength behind the dish, while showcasing the ability to impact the baseball with authority to all fields evident by thirty of his sixty-five hits going for extra-bases including seven bombs. He handles high-level pitching extremely well, commands his staff and his offensive prowess makes him a true two-way asset. 1B: Cooper Knight (Buda, TX) Knight is a smooth operator at first base with plenty of range, fluidity and agility in his footwork around the bag. Add-in a rocket for an arm, the ability to change slots and to...
Tournaments | Story | 12/12/2025

Scout Stories: Part 5

AJ Denny
Article Image
Best Game I Saw: The Dream NTL 18U vs. MBA Scout Team Murphy Jupiter always brings out the best, and we got fireworks from the jump. Turner Marshall gave The Dream an outstanding 4+ innings of work on the mound, holding a lethal MBA team at bay with Chance Dixon, Derrick Carter, and Ellis Appling providing an offensive spark out of the gate for the Georgia based boys. However, it was only a matter of time before the talent on the other side got going, as MBA erased a 3-run deficit in the 5th to take a 4-3 lead led by a Parker Loew HR. The Dream then took command again in the Top of the 6th, before MBA punched right back with a huge 5-run inning in the bottom half capped off by a clutch RBI single from Matthew Kerrigan, ending a wild sequence with tons of notable performances from two very competitive rosters. Best Tournament Performance I Saw: Surely someone has already brought this...
College | Story | 12/12/2025

College Notebook: December 12

Craig Cozart
Article Image
Nebraska Cornhuskers 2025 Highlights: The Cornhuskers were a difficult team to figure in ’25 as they finished with 33 wins, played just .500 (15-15) in the Big Ten but had some big wins at various times during the season and got hot at the right time. They knocked off then #16 Vanderbilt in the second game of the year, beat #5 Oregon State 2-out-of-3 at home in late March and then got hot at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha to win the Big Ten Tournament. They beat Michigan State in a 10-inning thriller before taking care of #4 Oregon, knocking off Penn State and then shutout #13 UCLA to punch their ticket to the Chapel Hill Regional. Head coach Will Bolt has now led his alma mater to three conference titles and three NCAA Regional appearances during his six years in Lincoln. No different than when he was a player, Bolt’s teams play with passion and toughness, this was never more...
Tournaments | Story | 12/12/2025

Finest in the Field: Class of 2028

Troy Sutherland
Article Image
Finest in the Field: Class of 2026 | Class of 2027 You like athletes? You like defenders who can impact a game at any given point? Look not further than this class as it's loaded from coast-to-coast with elite defenders all over the diamond.  C: Brogan Witcher, Bakersfield, CA Our scouting staff got several strong looks at Witcher whether that was at the Summer Kickoff, Sophomore National or the Underclass All American Games where he showcased his strong overall skillset and especially his advanced ability behind the plate. His 6-foot-3,180 pound build looks like one that will fill in quite nicely and be that big and physical catcher’s frame. His arm talent is undeniable where he gets it out quick and runs it up to 79 mph on throwdowns to 2nd (1.84 pop). Besides the standout catch/throw ability, we’ve seen him frame/receive strong arms and block it well during...
Softball | Softball Tournament | 12/11/2025

PG Softball "Toys 4 Tots" Fundraiser 18U division

Dave Durbala
Article Image
BURLINGTON, IA - 2025 Perfect Game Softball Toys 4 Tots Fundraiser One Day, December 7, 2025. Kicking off the holiday season, six teams participated in this one day, 3 game guarantee tournament in the 18u Division. We would like to thank those that donated a toy, and know that they will be distributed to area underprivileged children through a local charity organization. Following are some of the top performers from the weekend. Earning Tournament MV-Pitcher was Jolee Strohmeyer (2026 Dubuque, IA), a RHP/UTIL with tournament champion Lady Expos Blue. Strohmeyer shows hitters a consistent and repeatable motion and delivery with good use of the legs in the drive phase, and a quick and aggressive arm whip. Working with a six pitch mix of fastball, change-up, rise, drop, curve and screw, Strohmeyer topped out at 60 mph, and showed good movement  as she worked her rise and curve just out...
Loading more articles...