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
Create Account
Sign in Create Account
Tournaments  | Story | 10/22/2018

Jupiter feels the Burn

Jeff Dahn
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
Give us your feedback
Tournaments | Story | 1/27/2026

MLK East Scout Notes Recap
Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
‘28 OF Jakob Groeschel (OH) continues to impress with the bat on the circuit, picked up 2 2Bs in the first game today. Really athletic, went 4.4 on turn; easy to dream on all the traits. #MLKEast @PG_OhioValley pic.twitter.com/wOIwnGKnkg — Perfect Game Florida (@Florida_PG) January 17, 2026 2028 OF Jakob Groeschel (Springfield, Ohio) broke out at this event last year hitting a casual .909, and although he didn’t turn in quite the same performance, he hit a strong .462 with 4 extra-base hits, 5 walks, 5 bags and only struck out once. He’s a pretty dynamic athlete who can do a lot of things well, but the bat is the calling card as he just lives on the barrel and has no problem handling all kinds of pitching. It’s a simple swing, but he’s got fast hands and he can really impact the ball without being overly physical yet.  2030 RHP Michael Vazquez...
Read More
High School | General | 2/9/2026

Deep South Region Top Teams

Tyler Russo
Article Image
Deep South All Region & Top Tools Rk Deep South  Record 1 Magnolia Heights (MS) 39-5 2 Barbe (LA) 35-7 3 Catholic (LA) 37-5 4 The Baylor School (TN) 22-8 5 Nolensville (TN) 20-14 6 Hoover (AL) 22-20 7 Sam Houston (LA) 36-8 8 Christian Brothers (TN) 26-13 9 Hartselle (AL) 35-8 10 Lipscomb Academy (TN) 28-9-1 11 Lewisburg (MS) 21-10 12 Farragut (TN) 32-11 13 Tuerlings Catholic (LA) 36-5 14 Tuscaloosa County (AL) 33-13 15 Petal (MS) 18-10 16 West Monroe (LA) 26-9-1 17 Brandon (MS) 24-14 18 Auburn (AL) 21-18 19 Oak Ridge (TN) 36-9 20 Bob Jones (AL) 37-12 21 Thompson (AL) 30-15 22 University Lab (LA) 29-12 23 Knoxville Catholic (TN) 23-16-1 24 Sumrall (MS) 25-9 25 Benton (LA) 35-6
Read More
High School | General | 2/9/2026

Deep South All Region & Top Tools

David Rawnsley
Article Image
DEEP SOUTH REGION (AL, LA, MS, TN) The Deep South Region is absolutely loaded with position talent and would certainly have a chance to outscore any of the other Regions in a straight offensive battle.  And this trend doesn’t look like it’s going to change soon looking at the 2027 and 2028 classes for the Region. All the starting lineup, for instance, is made up of Perfect Game All-Americans if you excuse the recently re-classified Will Brick.  That leaves a pair of Louisiana All-Americans, Miller Sheets and Braylon Montgomery, out of the starting lineup.  Also missing is another re-classified player, Alabama shortstop Rocco Maniscalco, who has been talked about as a potential Day One draft in 2026. A strange twist in the Region is that it is abnormally well supplied with catchers, more so than any other region in the country really.  Nowhere does that...
Read More
College | Story | 2/9/2026

Conference Preview: Ivy League

Jason Phillips
Article Image
2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order* Team W L W L Brown 7 14 11 28 Columbia 16 5 30 19 Cornell 7 14 12 22 Dartmouth 8 13 11 25 Harvard 9 12 14 28 Penn 13 8 21 20 Princeton 8 13 12 31 Yale 16 5 31 14 Preseason All Conference Team Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Owen Estabrook Columbia 9 HRs in 109 ABs, Buster Posey Award Midseason Watchlist 1B Giovanni Colasante Harvard .314-10-33, 7 2Bs/ 31.2 IP, 36 SO, 2025 1st Team Ivy League UTL/P INF Jack Kail Columbia .312-7-45, 14 2Bs, 2025 1st Team Ivy League INF Davis Baker...
Read More
High School | General | 2/8/2026

California Region Top Teams

Tyler Russo
Article Image
California All Region & Top Tools Rk California 2025 Record 1 St. John Bosco 30-4 2 Orange Lutheran 23-7 3 De La Salle 29-4 4 Corona 28-3 5 Huntington Beach 24-5 6 Harvard-Westlake 19-10 7 Mater Dei 19-15 8 Aquinas 25-3 9 Norco 22-9 10 Cathedral Catholic 19-12 11 Sierra Canyon 16-13 12 St. Mary's 26-9 13 Santa Margaraita Catholic 20-14 14 La Mirada 21-7 15 Notre Dame 15-14 16 Gahr 17-13 17 JSerra Catholic 17-10 18 Eastlake 21-11-1 19 Patrick Henry 23-11-2 20 Ganesha 23-3 21 St. Ignatius College Prep 17-10-2 22 Mira Costa 28-3 23 Cypress 18-11 24 Redondo Union 16-13 25 Oaks Christian 20-9
Read More
College | Story | 2/6/2026

Conference Preview: Ohio Valley

Kyler Peterson
Article Image
2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order Team  W  L  W  L  Eastern Illinois  17  77  31  22  Lindenwood  14  12  30  30  Little Rock  8  16  27  34  Morehead State  4  23  14  39  SIUE  18  8  26  28  Southeast Missouri  16  11  30  25  Southern Indiana  15  12  27  29  Tennessee Tech  18  9  37 ...
Read More
College | Story | 2/9/2026

Conference Preview: Summit

Jay Vossler
Article Image
2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order* Team W L W L Northern Colorado 18 33 9 21 North Dakota State 21 34 13 15 Omaha 20 30 12 16 Oral Roberts 37 22 21 9 South Dakota State 16 36 12 18 St. Thomas 29 21 21 9 Preseason All-Conference Team Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Wailele Kane-Yates Oral Roberts .341/.425/.576 12 HR, 50 RBI. Big time power bat with pro looks. 1B Jackson Trout Omaha .328/.404/.451 5 HR, 37 RBI. One of better athletes in the League. Versatile defender. 2B Tanner Recchio St. Thomas .324/.418/.415 30...
Read More
High School | General | 2/6/2026

California All Region & Top Tools

David Rawnsley
Article Image
The 2026 class is one of the best in recent memory for the state of California, with 18 players ranking among the top 100 in the Perfect Game national rankings.  Three PG All-Americans, IF Trey Ebel, OF Isaiah Hearn and RHP Logan Georges were all edged out of places on the California All-Region Team as a result.  And although the 2027 class doesn’t look as deep, it does feature three Top Six players in SS Dylan Seward, LHP Jared Grindlinger and SS Carter Hadnot. Not surprisingly, California high schools are very well represented in the Perfect Game Pre-Season Top 50 rankings, particularly with 2025 Trinity League champion St. John Bosco beginning the season as the top ranked team in the country.  A very deep Orange Lutheran squad holds down the third spot in the rankings, with 12th ranked De La Salle being the top team from Northern California.  Corona (17th),...
Read More
College | Story | 2/6/2026

Conference Preview: Atlantic 10

Marcus Thomas
Article Image
2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order Team W L W L Davidson  19  12  28  29  Dayton  14  16  27  31  Fordham  15  15  25  33  George Mason  20  10  40  21  George Washington  14  16  27  27  La Salle* - - - - Rhode Island  23  8  39  20  Richmond  14  16  33  19  St. Joseph’s  17  13  24  28  St. Louis ...
Read More
High School | General | 2/5/2026

Georgia Region Top Teams

Tyler Russo
Article Image
Georgia All Region Team & Top Tools Rk School Record 1 Etowah 34-4 2 Blessed Trinity 34-9 3 Parkview 26-11 4 Houston County 33-7 5 Lowndes 28-13 6 Walton 34-8 7 Buford 25-9 8 Pope 31-5 9 North Cobb Christian 24-11-1 10 Harrison 23-14 11 Newnan 32-5 12 North Paulding 28-10 13 Marist 30-7 14 Cartersville 32-10 15 Denmark 19-14 16 North Oconee 27-8 17 Loganville 29-8 18 Morgan County 32-10 19 North Gwinnett 35-5 20 Carrollton 23-12 21 Troup County 32-9 22 Hillgrove 21-13 23 River Ridge 25-15 24 Pickens 32-7 25 McEachern 24-8
Read More
Draft | Story | 2/6/2026

PG Draft: Mid-Major Picks to Click

Tyler Henninger
Article Image
While Power 4 prospects tend to soak up the bulk of the industry buzz, there’s plenty of legitimate talent lurking at the mid-major level. These are competitive programs that are loaded with players who have real tools, physicality, and performance track records that translate beyond their conference. Below are nine mid-major prospects we expect evaluators to be in early and often on this spring. Ethan Norby, LHP, East Carolina (Rank: 155) Norby is an undersized left-hander, but has produced strong numbers over two years at ECU. The left-hander has produced a 3.80 ERA with 182 strikeouts over 149 1/3 innings. While the velocity does not stand out, Norby can still miss bats with the heater. It works in the low-90’s and creeps towards 95 mph at times. Quality extension for his size and high spin allow that offering to get on hitters, resulting in weak contact as well as whiffs....
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.