THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,602 MLB PLAYERS | 16,395 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,602 MLB PLAYERS | 16,395 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Sign in Create Account
Sign in Create Account
College  | Story | 5/2/2019

Weekend Preview: Week 12

Patrick Ebert
Photo: TJ Sikkema (Mizzou Athletics)

College Top 25 | Player/Pitcher of the Week
College Player Rankings | College Player Database

Only three weekends remain until the regular season comes to a close, at least for most teams across the country. The SEC West, again, will draw a lot of the focus when it comes to rankings and the postseason hosting picture as No. 6 Mississippi State at No. 16 Texas A&M and No. 15 Ole Miss at No. 9 LSU have significant implications.

After spending three weeks at home, No. 1 UCLA has a stiff road test against Arizona State in Phoenix. While ASU hasn’t been as tough in recent weeks, losing three of their last four weekend series, they still pose a difficult matchup as a ranked road opponent. Pitcher of the Week Ryan Garcia has been light’s out recently meaning Sun Devils ace Alec Marsh will need to be at his best to open the series as runs are likely to be at a premium.

There’s a handful of intriguing out-of-conference series taking place this weekend, none bigger than Oklahoma State at Oregon State. UC Irvine also travels to play Iowa in Iowa City for a meaningful Big West/Big Ten matchup.

Below we identify several teams that have been right on the cusp of rankings consideration in recent weeks. All of the teams listed are in need of statement wins, and several of them have that opportunity this weekend. Indiana at Illinois, Missouri at Tennessee, Indiana State at Illinois State, FAU at Southern Miss, Dallas Baptist at Missouri State and BYU at Loyola Marymount are among the more notable series from this group.


Top 25 in Action
Rk. Team Opponent Location
1 UCLA at No. 21 Arizona State Phoenix, AZ
2 Oregon State home vs. Oklahoma State Corvallis, OR
3 Stanford at Southern California Los Angeles, CA
4 Vanderbilt at South Carolina Columbia, SC
5 Arkansas at Kentucky Lexington, KY
6 Mississippi State at No. 16 Texas A&M College Station, TX
7 Louisville at Notre Dame South Bend, IN
8 East Carolina at Cincinnati Cincinnati, OH
9 Louisiana State home vs. No. 15 Ole Miss Baton Rouge, LA
10 UC Santa Barbara at CSUN Northridge, CA
11 Georgia Tech home vs. Western Carolina Atlanta, GA
12 Georgia home vs. Florida Athens, GA
13 Texas Tech at Oklahoma Norman, OK
14 North Carolina no games scheduled NA
15 Mississippi at No. 9 LSU Baton Rouge, LA
16 Texas A&M home vs. No. 6 Mississippi State College Station, TX
17 UC Irvine at Iowa Iowa City, IA
18 West Virginia home vs. TCU Morgantown, WV
19 Indiana at Illinois Champaign, IL
20 Baylor home vs. Kansas State Waco, TX
21 Arizona State home vs. No. 1 UCLA Phoenix, AZ
22 NC State home vs. Radford Raleigh, NC
23 Miami home vs. Bethune-Cookman Coral Gables, FL
24 Michigan at Maryland College Park, MD
25 Tennessee home vs. Missouri Knoxville, TN


On the cusp

Every week as part of the updated PG College Top 25 we listed a small handful of teams that were also considered for the rankings. Some weeks that consideration may simply be that we’re following their results with interest. Other weeks it may mean we actually had a difficult decision to make, depending of course on the overall body of work.

This week only two teams were listed as “considered,” Illinois and Missouri, but there were a total of nine teams that Mike Rooney and myself discussed as realistic possibilities to come in (outside of the three that actually did enter the Top 25). Illinois and Mizzou just happened to be the last two we whittled down that list of nine teams down to.

Here’s a look at those nine teams, how they stack up and what they have in front of them between now and the end of the season for both the Top 25 and postseason pictures.

Illinois
Coming off of a weekend series win at Nebraska, Illinois had the highest RPI rating (20) of any unranked team (Auburn, with an RPI rating of 14, fell out of the Top 25 this week). The Illini have been in the mix most of the season, with an offense that may not have a lot of power but knows how to get on base, a strong team defense and a pitching staff with a cumulative ERA of 3.51. Garrett Acton has quietly accumulated 15 saves and the middle infield duo of Michael Massey and Ben Troike is one of the best in the business.

From a national perspective they have season sweeps over FAU, Grand Canyon and Illinois State, as well as a midweek sweep in a pair of games against Coastal Carolina. They also have Big Ten Conference series wins over Nebraska and Minnesota. However, they also have series losses against Iowa (they were swept in Iowa City) and Maryland, and overall their conference record sits at a very mediocre 8-7. This is a team in need of a statement series win and they have the perfect opportunity ahead of them with No. 19 Indiana coming to town.

Missouri
The Tigers are strong up the middle thanks to star center fielder Kameron Misner, shortstop Chris Cornelius and catcher Chad McDaniel. The 1-2 weekend punch of Jacob Cantleberry and TJ Sikkema has also been very effective, as Sikkema is coming off of a 10-strikeout performance that led to him being named SEC Pitcher of the Week. Hard-throwing sophomore closer Ian Bedell is enjoying a breakout season and the team overall has a sub-3.00 ERA (2.96).

Mizzou is coming off of a sweep of South Carolina, one week after they were swept by Georgia. They also have series wins over LSU and Ole Miss as well as a series split against Texas A&M, so they have more than held their own against some of the SEC’s best. They close the year at Tennessee and Vanderbilt and home against Florida, and they currently have an even conference record at 10-10. A series win over Tennessee would lead to a flip-flop between the two teams in the Top 25, and a loud overall regular season finish could lead to a promising postseason.

Florida State
After being removed from the Top 25 at the very beginning of the month of April, Florida State has gone 10-6 with series wins over Clemson, Virginia and Wake Forest. Not surprisingly Preseason All-American lefthander Drew Parrish is 3-0 in the three series-opening starts against those teams, including his most recent, a 10-strikeout performance over seven innings against Wake Forest that led to him being named ACC Pitcher of the Week. FSU regularly starts four freshmen – Nander De Sedas, Elijah Cabell, Robby Martin and Matheu Nelson – in their everyday lineup, at key positions to boot, so not surprisingly their productivity has been inconsistent.

CJ Van Eyk and Conor Grady have helped create some stability to the starting staff while JC Flowers is enjoying a breakout season in a two-way capacity. Series losses to NC State, Boston College and Miami hurt their standing in the middle of the season but they have since rebounded to a 14-10 conference mark, which has them tied for second with NC State in the ACC Atlantic Division. Their biggest test of the season remains ahead of them as they wrap up the regular season by playing Louisville on the road.

Indiana State
When talking about Indiana State the conversation starts with their weekend starting trio, particularly their Friday and Saturday starters Triston Polley and Collin Liberatore. Each recorded double-digit strikeouts over the weekend in ISU’s weekend sweep of Southern Illinois, and those two, along with Sunday starter Tyler Whitbread, are a combined 19-1 this season. Throw closer Tyler Grauer and setup man Tyler Ward into the conversation and you have one of the stingiest pitching staffs in the nation.

At 9-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference, Indiana State has a huge matchup against Illinois State (a team that is also 9-3 in the MVC) this weekend before traveling further south to face Dallas Baptist (8-4 in conference). They wrap up the season at home against Bradley, which is no walk in the park, as they finish the year with their roughest stretch to their schedule, a stretch for the Sycamores that could determine if the MVC is more than a one-bid league.

Southern Miss
Southern Miss opened the year ranked 33rd in our expanded Preseason rankings, returning a legitimate Player of the Year candidate in outfielder Matt Wallner, who was expected to pull significant double duty as one of the team’s weekend starters. That didn’t pan out, but he is once again leading the team in home runs (14) for an offense that’s hitting .291 as a unit. Hunter Slater, Bryant Bowen and Matthew Guidry are also among the team’s more notable run producers while Walker Powell has been a steadying presence as the team’s staff ace, coming off of an impressive complete game, 10-strikeout victory over Middle Tennessee.

This year’s team has been streakier than last year’s, not surprising considering the pieces they lost. After last weekend they lead Conference USA with a 17-4 mark, two games up on Florida Atlantic, a team they play at home this weekend in Hattiesburg. After their series with FAU they hit the road to play Rice, who at 12-9 in C-USA is tied for third and offers yet another stiff test for the Eagles who look to close out the season strong.

Dallas Baptist
DBU lost some big pieces from last year’s high-powered club, but not surprisingly head coach Dan Heefner and his staff have the Patriots playing competitive baseball at a high level again this year. The Patriots have a deep and well-balanced lineup with a little bit of everything from power to speed and are especially strong up the middle given the presence of sophomore star shortstop Jimmy Glowenke. The pitching staff is more deep than it is top heavy, although Friday and Saturday starters Jordan Martinson and MD Johnson are enjoying fine, albeit inconsistent, seasons.

While MVC rival Indiana State is heading into a weekend series against Illinois State, Dallas Baptist is coming off of one, a series they won after losing the first game on Friday. They’ve been in the mix for Top 25 inclusion for quite some time now, but just when you think they’re poised to come in they have a bad week. The two notable times that occurred this season came in mid-March, when they lost a weekend series to Houston after an eight-game winning streak that included midweek wins over Oklahoma and Texas A&M, and again in early April when they started the month 0-3.

As for Illinois State, despite their lofty RPI rating (29) after last weekend’s play, their overall 27-17 record is nice but a little short when it comes to Top 25 consideration for a mid-major.

Texas State
Don’t look now but Texas State currently leads the Sun Belt standings with a 15-6 mark in conference play. After last weekend’s play they stood 31-13 overall and owned the nation’s 33rd-best RPI rating. They went 2-1 at the Shriners Classic in early March and have midweek wins over Rice, Texas A&M and Texas. The offense has no problems scoring runs with a cumulative .281/.391/.432 slash line led by dynamic infield duo of Jaxon Williams and Jaylen Hubbard. The pitching staff is more in the bend-don’t-break mold, but each member of their weekend trio – Nicholas Fraze, Hunter McMahon and Connor Reich – has made 11 starts this year with at least 66 innings of work.

And while Texas State doesn’t play Sun Belt power Coastal Carolina this year (although Coastal hasn’t been looking very powerful lately), they close out the year playing the current third- and second-place teams in the West Division, Little Rock and UT Arlington. Before then they have the opportunity to pad their already impressive record against 4-17 Georgia State.

BYU
The West Coast Conference has the eighth-best conference RPI, just behind the Big Ten, and the WCC is led by BYU with the nation’s 32nd-best mark. That number didn’t happen by accident as they have a very well balanced team with an offense that’s hitting .285 as a unit and a pitching staff with a cumulative 3.34 ERA. Brock Hale, Jackson Cluff and Mitch McIntyre are doing most of the heavy lifting in the middle of the lineup while weekend starters Easton Walker, Justin Sterner and Jordan Wood are a combined 18-4. Bullpen ace Reid McLaughlin is one of the nation’s unsung relievers.

While the overall record (29-10) after last weekend was strong, BYU is lacking signature wins, losing series to both Gonzaga and San Diego, although they have beaten Saint Mary’s, Pepperdine and Washington. Arguably their biggest tests come this weekend and next as they travel to Los Angeles to take on Loyola Marymount and then return home to play San Francisco, a pair of opportunities that could force them into the rankings with positive results.

Florida Gulf Coast
Although Liberty initially stood out this season among the teams in the Atlantic Sun, it has been Florida Gulf Coast that has charged forward recently. Similar to Texas State, FGCU has plenty of firepower, with five regulars batting over .300 on the year, and another, Eric Gonzalez, who’s hitting .283-4-28 as the team’s shortstop. Staff ace Mason Studstill is now 5-0 with a 1.44 ERA and 84 strikeouts spanning 68 2/3 innings while closer Hunter McGarry is 5-1 with a 2.36 ERA and eight saves.

The RPI after last weekend’s play wasn’t pretty (109), the fourth-best mark in the ASUN, but the overall play has been. In sweeping North Alabama they swept their fifth straight weekend opponent and sit in first place in conference play with a 12-3 record (30-14 overall). They play at Stetson this weekend and close out the year two weeks from now at home against second-place Liberty. Without having a strong RPI number in their favor they’re going to need to continue to pile up wins to stay in rankings conversation from a national perspective.

Creighton was in this mix a week ago, but a series loss to Big East-leading Xavier – a team with a sub-.500 overall record – pushed the Bluejays out of consideration. Making headway will be difficult between now and the end of the regular season considering they play Nebraska-Omaha, Georgetown, St. John’s and Villanova. The highest RPI of those three teams is St. John’s at 112.

Nebraska at 23-16 is in a similar situation coming off of back-to-back series losses to Iowa and Illinois. However, they have more ground to gain as they close the regular season at home against Arizona State and then Michigan. With a 12-6 conference record, good for third in the Big Ten, they do have some room to gain ground in conference and in the RPI ratings (38 after last weekend’s play).
Give us your feedback
College | Story | 8/7/2026

Cape Cod League Notebook: August 7
Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
RHP Jason Flores (@BaseballUGA) Showed some electric stuff, up to 98 several times CT, SL, CH to round out the arsenal in his 5IP 9K performance. @HarwichMariners So./‘27 elig pic.twitter.com/p2nTvkFnWh — PG College Baseball (@PGCollegeBall) August 5, 2026 Jason Flores | RHP | University of Georgia | Harwich Mariners  Flores heads to Georgia this fall looking to reestablish himself as one of the premier arms in the 2027 draft class after showing significant promise during his freshman season at Texas. Flores posted a 2.78 ERA over 32.1 innings as a freshman before a limited sophomore campaign in which he logged just 12 innings. The stuff was on full display this summer, highlighted by a dominant five-inning, nine-strikeout playoff performance in which he touched 98 mph five different times. His fastball averaged nearly 96 mph throughout his time on the Cape, pairing the...
Read More
Draft | Story | 8/17/2026

2026 MLB Draft Report Cards: NL Central

Tyler Henninger
Article Image
2026 MLB Draft Report Cards: AL West | NL West | AL Central With the 2026 MLB Draft officially in the books, it’s time to evaluate how each team performed. Every draft class was graded using the standard 20-80 scouting scale with risk factor assigned. While these grades won’t be proven right or wrong for years, they reflect the overall talent, value, and upside each organization added to its system. NL Central Chicago Cubs  Grade: 40 Risk: Medium Notable Selections: RHP Cade Townsend (1st rd) | OF Caden Sorrell (2nd rd) | 1B Myles Bailey (2C)   RHP Cade Townsend (@OleMissBSB) sat 95-96 T97 w/ riding FB from fast arm. Nasty cutter at 88-91 is the go-to, showed biting 2 pln SL. Low-80s top to bottom CB & CH ~ 1300 RPM to round out mix. Has had a great spring & risen up boards. Soph./'26 elig. @PG_Draft pic.twitter.com/TAFbM37f5j — PG College...
Read More
Draft | Story | 8/17/2026

2026 MLB Draft Report Cards: AL Central

Joey Cohen
Article Image
2026 MLB Draft Report Cards: AL West | NL West With the 2026 MLB Draft officially in the books, it’s time to evaluate how each team performed. Every draft class was graded using the standard 20-80 scouting scale with risk factor assigned. While these grades won’t be proven right or wrong for years, they reflect the overall talent, value, and upside each organization added to its system. AL Central Cleveland Guardians  Grade: 45 Risk: Moderate  Notable Selections: RHP Liam Peterson (1st rd) | Tre Broussard OF (3rd rd) | RHP Savion Sims (7th rd)  Liam Peterson (@GatorsBB) has been pure power stuff through the first 3.0 IP in his start vs Bama…imposing his will on hitters with a fastball that has grabbed 100 mph a few times, backed up by his power slider and curveball @PG_Draft pic.twitter.com/RVThNrdMTn — PG College Baseball (@PGCollegeBall) May 21,...
Read More
High School | General | 8/17/2026

Scott's Eye Popping Two-Way Earns MVP

Jim Salisbury
Article Image
PHILADELPHIA – When the folks at Perfect Game reached out to invite him to pitch in the 2026 PG All-Star Game for rising sophomores and juniors, Cullen Scott had one request. “You mind if I get a couple of at-bats, too?” Along with his dad, Scott traveled from the family’s home in Texas to Citizens Bank Park. The trip proved to be a huge success as he starred on the mound and at the plate and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. Scott, 16, pitched a scoreless first inning and struck out two. In the fourth inning, he belted a grand slam six rows up into the left-field seats to lead the National team’s 6-1 win over the American team. “He showed us why he’s here as a pitcher and a hitter,” said Greg Sabers, PG’s vice president of scouting and showcases. "He’s one of the top pitchers here, but he’s too good a...
Read More
All American Game | Story | 8/16/2026

Romero Slams His Way to Classic MVP

Jim Salisbury
Article Image
PHILADELPHIA – Sunday’s DICK’s Perfect Game All-American Classic was a pitching-dominated affair until the bottom of the eighth inning when the rain started to fall at Citizens Bank Park and Koa Romero stepped to the plate and did his best impression of Kyle Schwarber. Romero wears No. 12, just like Schwarber. He bats left-handed, just like Schwarber. He’s got big power, just like Schwarber. And at 5-10 and a rock-solid 225 pounds, he’s even built like Schwarber. Needless to say, Schwarber is Romero’s favorite player. So, it was all kind of storybook when Romero belted a grand slam to dead center to cap off the scoring in the West team’s 8-3 win over the East club in the 24th annual Classic. “This is a dream come true,” said Romero, who was named MVP of the game. “It’s amazing to be able to put a ball like that out of a...
Read More
All American Game | Story | 8/15/2026

A Philly Dream for Steingall

Jim Salisbury
Article Image
PHILADELPHIA – Carson Steingall had been to Citizens Bank Park many times over the years. After all, he hails from Nazareth, Pa., about 90 minutes up the road from the home of the Philadelphia Phillies and he counts himself as a big fan of the team. Zack Wheeler is his favorite. Steingall realized a dream when he pitched from the same mound that Wheeler does in Perfect Game’s fourth annual All-Star Game for rising sophomores and juniors on Friday. The dream got even better when Steingall, a 16-year-old right-hander, was named Most Valuable Pitcher after striking out the side in the third inning of the National team’s 6-1 victory over the American team. “It’s just an honor to be here,” Steingall said after receiving his trophy. “This event is the best of the best. It’s really cool to win something like this.” Steingall, who’ll...
Read More
Showcase | Story | 8/13/2026

PG Honors Pat Gillick With Philly Showcase

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
Perfect Game to honor Pat Gillick in new Philadelphia Showcase  By Maya Heyman Perfect Game is bringing its elite showcase experience to Philadelphia’s FDR Park for the inaugural Philly Stars/Pat Gillick Showcase this weekend, honoring one of the greatest executives in MLB history in the city where he constructed his final of three World Series winners. The event will take place on Sunday, the same day as the DICK’S All-American Classic, taking place just across the street at Citizens Bank Park.  The showcase will allow Philadelphia-area players to gain exposure and will also honor Gillick, who has been a tremendous influence in both professional and amateur baseball.   Jered Goodwin, Vice President of Scouting Operations for Perfect Game, said the idea came naturally.  “Going to Philly made a lot of sense to honor Pat Gillick, who's been a...
Read More
General | General | 8/13/2026

PG All-Star Game Heads to Philly

Jheremy Brown
Article Image
For the fourth time since its inception in 2023, two rosters comprised of the best rising juniors (and a handful of rising sophomores) will step out onto the field Friday afternoon, kicking off the All-American weekend. While the Perfect Game All-American Classic is slated for a 1:35 first pitch at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday, 36 future hopefuls of the Classic will go up against one another in an American vs National clash at 11 AM Eastern, Friday morning.  With 36 players from across the country descending on Philadelphia, there will be plenty of familiar names in attendance as 24 of the 36 played in at least one PG Select Festival and all 36 attended either the he Sophomore National, Junior National, or the PG Underclass All-American Games this summer. Leading the charge are a pair of No. 1s in 2028 dynamic talent Dexter McCleon Jr and 2029 Macgraw VanWormer, a do-it-all...
Read More
Tournaments | Championship | 8/12/2026

Pokers Rally to Capture 16U BCS Title

Alyssa Golden
Article Image
Pokers Rally to Capture 16U BCS Title A hot afternoon at JetBlue Stadium in Fort Myers, Florida ended in a 9-1 victory for the Original Florida Pokers 2028 National, defeating SBA Bolts Florida 2028 National on Monday to capture the 16U BCS National Championship. A pitchers’ duel kept the game scoreless through four innings before the Pokers broke it open with a five-run fifth inning. The title marked the Pokers’ second 16U BCS Championship, adding to the championship they won in 2022. Despite a slow start to the summer, the Pokers found their stride at the right time. “We struggled a lot early in the summer, but the past few tournaments we really started turning it on,” Pokers head coach Will McCrimon said. “I’m just so proud of these kids.” Max Maynes started the game on the mound for the Pokers. The left-hander allowed three hits and two walks...
Read More
Draft | Story | 8/11/2026

Realistic Expectations of a 1:1 Pick

Tyler Henninger
Article Image
Over the 2026 draft cycle, UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky was the projected No. 1 pick throughout the entire cycle. White Sox fans began #RochWatch and were already talking about when he will make it to Chicago. Now that he has been selected, Cholowsky has immediately become a Top-10 prospect in all of baseball. There is no denying the hype, and the pressure, for Chowlosky to get to the big leagues and produce at a high level.  But how realistic is that? Let’s take a look back at past 1:1 selections and see what you can expect from a No. 1 overall selection.  For this exercise, we’ll look at No. 1 overall picks from the bonus pool era, excluding Eli Willits from 2025 since this is his first full year of pro ball. That gives us 13 players selected from 2012 through 2024.  Almost All Become Big Leaguers The first thing that stands out is how successful No. 1 picks...
Read More
Press Release | Press Release | 8/11/2026

Perfect Game & Goat'd Come Together

Article Image
  667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923 www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   PERFECT GAME AND GOAT'D PARTNER TO BRING PREMIUM PROTECTIVE GEAR TO THE NATION'S TOP AMATEUR BASEBALL PLAYERS   Sanford, Florida (Tuesday, August 11, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced a new partnership with Goat'd, a premium protective gear brand focused on developing innovative products for athletes. The partnership will bring Goat'd's premium protective equipment to some of the nation's top amateur baseball players and families across Perfect Game's premier national events. The partnership will debut at several of Perfect Game's marquee events, including the 13U Select Fest, 14U Select Fest, Perfect Game All-Star Game and...
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.