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Tournaments  | Story | 6/29/2019

Bruno flashes prowess at 17u WWBA

Photo: Ryan Bruno (Perfect Game)
Some baseball players can get past the competition on pure skills alone. Others rely on a high baseball IQ to yield the best results.

This week at the 2019 WWBA 17u National Championship, pitcher Ryan Bruno is the rare player who excels at both.

“It feels great playing with 300 some teams,” Bruno said. “Playing some of the best competition. I’m just trying to go out there and compete. We’re playing with the best in front of a lot of scouts. We have to put out and show our best.”

The East Coast Sox 17u Select southpaw continually leaves scouts and spectators with their mouths agape. That was the case once again on Saturday afternoon when Bruno fired three no-hit innings, walking just one and striking out six batters en route to the 11-1 victory over MGBA 17u. Using a fastball in the low-to-mid 90’s that touched as high as 96 mph, coupled with a plus slider and changeup, Bruno exhibited why he’s the No. 25 overall prospect in the 2020 class.

With a rangy 6-foot-3, 185-pound frame that screams projection, Bruno is so much more than the tools he demonstrates on the bump. He’s as cerebral as they come, studying the intricacies of Justin Verlander’s mechanics in his free time to apply to his own game.

And off the field? Him and his twin brother, Jaden Bruno, are exceptional students at American Heritage High School in Plantation, Florida. The competition between the duo doesn’t just stop on a baseball field.

“Me and him always battle it out whether it’s on the mound or personally in school,” Bruno said. “It’s great to have that kid next to you who is very similar to you and you guys can compete together.” 

It’s why both decided to commit to Stanford University all the way across the country in California. The historic baseball program combined with the academic rigor for Bruno, who plans to study Finance, was the right decision.

“We considered a balance between the academics and baseball,” Bruno said. “Stanford is a really good academic and baseball school. Ranked very highly in both, so we thought it would be a great fit for both of us. We decided to risk the travel out there for the benefits of it."

While the trek to Palo Alto certainly seems intriguing to Bruno, he may never find a home there if MLB suitors aggressively come calling in the 2020 MLB Draft. At the recent Perfect Game National Showcase, Bruno was given his chance to impress a bevy of professional scouts in Phoenix.

“It was an absolutely awesome experience at Chase Field,” Bruno said. “You feel like you’re a big leaguer standing on the mound there. You look down and see all the scouts behind home plate. It’s just awesome being there.”

Whether his time as a big leaguer comes sooner rather than later, Bruno is now attempting to bring the 17u WWBA title to the East Coast Sox who fell just short last year in the semifinals with players like Bobby Witt Jr. and Rece Hinds on that team. The Sox have jumped out to a 2-0 start in pool play. There’s undoubtedly high expectations that exist, but it’s all about how those expectations are managed.

“We had a little meeting last night and we said, ‘Hey, there’s high expectations.’ There’s no doubt,” head coach Thomas Wilson said. “But with our players, it’s no more expectations than what they put on themselves. They all put high expectations on themselves. Just go out and play the game. Relax and play the game. Play hard. We’re going to be aggressive and just play the game.”

In the opening game of the tournament, those expectations may have lingered a little too long before some late energy that allowed East Coast Sox to sneak by Home Plate Chilidogs 17u West. Aaron Downs blasted a go-ahead home run in the bottom of the sixth and Kyle Chastine collected the save to win 2-1.

“It was pretty crazy,” said Downs, a Louisville pledge. “I love the energy. The energy is unreal. It’s just awesome playing with all these guys. We all get along really well.”

In the second game of pool play, Bruno’s brief but brilliant outing elevated the rest of the team as Wilson predicted. Slade Wilks, the No. 64 player in the 2020 class and a Southern Mississippi commit, led the offensive charge by going 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs.

“A lot of the guys haven’t seen him so far, but with the reputation that [Bruno] has, everybody is excited,” Wilson said of Bruno’s impact before Saturday’s game. “When you have somebody with his caliber who goes out on the mound, everybody else raises their game up too. We’re very excited about having him.”

Wilson and Co. know that they have a target on their back with the reputation that the East Coast Sox carries, but that doesn’t impact the team. Opponents may throw their best pitchers against them, but the Sox build their game on an intensity and old-school style that has stayed true to form over the years.

“We have some blue collar players who will get dirty and like to play the game,” Wilson said. “They’re always into the game. Everybody is into it, focused, and locked in.”

Win or lose, the East Coast Sox are relishing the time at the 17u WWBA knowing that it’s baseball in its finest form. Baseball, the sport that brings an unexplainable peace to so many, including Bruno.

“I feel for me [baseball is] just an obvious passion,” Bruno said. “I love the game. Coming out here is just something I want to do and I want to continue to do. I can’t really imagine it not in my life. It’s just that thing that’s a part of my life that needs to be there.”

Tournaments | Story | 6/14/2026

UBC West Scout Notes: Days 1-2

Steve Fiorindo
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Nash McCarthy (2030, Camas, WA) was outstanding in his start on day two of the UBC West for NW Baum Bat, working six-innings allowing four-hits, no walks and struck out seven.  Standing at 6-foot, 170-pounds with athleticism and room to add.  Effortless mover down the bump with a low effort, up-tempo operation that produced a fastball that was up to 84.  He showed feel for the secondary offerings mixing in a firm breaking ball at 71-74 with 11-5 shape with depth.  Controlled the zone and the tempo throughout the outing, moving the ball around to all four-quadrants.  Projectable arm speed with advanced feel for the spin and strike zone.  Dylan D'Oyen (2030, Cerritos, CA) got the start for 5 Star 2030 in their opening game of the tournament and impressed over six innings of work.  Athletic mover down the mound with balance and repeats the delivery. ...
Softball | Softball Tournament | 6/14/2026

PG Softball Super Regionals

Erica Beach
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PG Super Regionals Dripping Springs, Texas June 6-7, 2026     DRIPPING SPRINGS, TX- The weather was nice, the Longhorns JUST won a national championship, and Perfect Game brought it’s first softball event to Dripping Springs. It was a weekend packed with college coaches, quality softball, and a great softball atmosphere. Over the course of the six-game guarantee event, our scout saw some amazing athletes. Below she highlights some of the athletes who caught her eye.   Destiny Sidiropoulos (2028, Houston, TX) of the Impact Gold HTX 16U was an incredible spark plug at the top of their lineup all weekend. She is a true triple threat who has great speed on the basepaths. She can soft and power slap, drop a sneaky bunt, and hit away with pop. Her barrel control is next level, and she is fun to watch pick apart defenses. On defense, she is versatile and athletic. She gets...
Tournaments | Story | 6/13/2026

West Coast Summer Breakout Hopefuls

Joey Cohen
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With summer ball ramping up, the priority follow lists from our scouting staff start to take shape and every year a handful of intriguing names outside the national spotlight begin to separate. Digging deeper into the West region, there’s a group of prospects currently buried outside the Top 200 who carry real breakout and helium potential over the next few months. All 10 players featured here are coming off strong high school seasons and bring traits that evaluators tend to bet on whether it’s projectable/athletic bodies, strong secondary stuff, or flashes of impact tools. They may not be household names just yet, but the ingredients are there for significant jumps by the end of the summer circuit. Don’t be surprised if several of these names are firmly in the mix and climbing up early boards in a hurry before the fall rolls around. Two innings of work here from Jonah...
Tournaments | Story | 6/13/2026

UBC South Scout Notes: Days 1-2

Perfect Game Staff
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Quintin Blackwell (2030, Hercules, California) has, literally, been unstoppable this weekend for Premier Banditos Deleon. In six plate appearances, he has a walk and five hits. Doing it all with a double and two triples, while stealing three bags. Plenty of coil on the front side. Hands work through zone and the barrel stays on plane for a long time. High upside bat that makes an already deep Banditos lineup even deeper. Kenson Buth (2027, Trophy Club, Texas) has been an absolute weapon on both ends for Stix 2027 Scout. At the plate, he’s 6-9 with two doubles, a triple, and a home run. Linear approach with a ton of bat speed. Plenty of impact at the bottom of the zone and showing some ability to do serious damage in the middle of the field. On the mound, he went four quality innings, punching out three. The fastball lived 86-90 with carry. Good feel for the slider in the mid 70s....
Tournaments | Story | 6/13/2026

WWBA East Scout Notes: Days 1-2

Perfect Game Staff
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Sawyer Pettit (‘27 MS) Has shown extremely well to start the summer of 2026. Its a physical left-handed hitting corner profile with big muscle mass. Will pass the eye test off the bus at the next level. The swing is clean with controlled violence and big in-air power that has shown up frequently. Good mover for the size and plays the game hard. Candidate for a big frosh season at LSU-Eunice in 2028. Keviyun McQueen (‘27 MS) Pair of barrels tied together here. Innate feel to hit with fast hands. Line drive approach that gets to pull side power in the air. Excellent athlete that will stick at a premium spot. #LaTech commit.#WWBAEast pic.twitter.com/xeintVTMil — PG Deep South (@PG_DeepSouth) June 12, 2026 Keviyun McQueen (‘27 MS) The Louisiana Tech commit just does not stop hitting. Left the yard to the pull side yesterday and followed it up with a 3-4 day with a...
Tournaments | Story | 6/12/2026

AZ All-State Ready to Take Place

Emily Hicks
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This weekend, eight teams will head to Goodyear Ballpark for the 2026 PG Arizona All-State tournament, setting the stage for what should be an exciting few days of baseball. With teams traveling from across the city, the field will be packed with talent and plenty of championship contenders. Among the teams competing in 16U are AZ Select, Marucci Athletics 2028 Grannis, Overfly 2028, Phoenix Phillies, Team Dinger 2028, T-Rex East Valley, USA Scout Team AZ 16U, and West Coast Ghost AZ 16U. Each team enters the weekend with its own strengths and goals, creating several intriguing storylines to follow throughout pool play and bracket action. One of the biggest teams to watch this weekend will be 10-10, T-Rex East Valley. Whether it's dominant pitching, high-powered offenses, or strong defensive play, T-Rex East Valley has already shown they can compete at a high level this season. A few...
Tournaments | Story | 6/12/2026

13/14u PG Elite Scout Notes: Days 3-5

Perfect Game Staff
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13u & 14u PG Elite Scout Notes: Days 1-2 Tucker Richardson (2030, Mobile, Ala.) has already made a name for himself and he continued to play at the expected high level during his time in Hoover, finishing the tournament with a robust .700 average, collecting at least one base hit in each of his team’s games. Now the No. 10 ranked prospect in the country, Richardson more than once showed the ability to read and react to spin out of the pitcher’s hand, barreling up baseballs for a couple of his hits on the tournament. As much as the bat stands out, the defensive actions in the dirt are even better as he’s arguably the best defender in the class, making the most difficult plays look routing, including one where he charged hard on a slow roller with momentum taking him towards the third base dugout but thanks to the big arm, he was able to make the play look second...
College | Story | 6/11/2026

Collegiate Freshman All-Americans

Vincent Cervino
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Collegiate Postseason Awards | Collegiate All Americans First Team Hitters Pos. Name School Class AVG OBP SLG R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB C Alonzo Alvarez Miami FR 0.341 0.439 0.551 40 57 13 2 6 32 3 1B Ethin Bingaman Auburn FR 0.330 0.415 0.581 60 71 9 0 15 50 4 2B Ethan Ball Virginia Tech FR 0.310 0.420 0.660 43 63 18 1 17 52 3 3B Nico Partida Texas A&M FR 0.306 0.408 0.550 45 55 8 0 12 43 4 SS Jett Kenady California FR 0.320 0.350 0.573 36 66 17 1 11 34 1 IF Linkin Garcia Texas Tech FR 0.338 0.387 0.489 53 78 21 1 4 59 1 OF Angel Laya Oregon FR 0.296 0.396 0.538 49 66 10 1 14 47 5 OF Anthony Pack Jr. Texas FR 0.359 0.485 0.597 58 74 16 0 11 52 20 OF Jacob Parker* Mississippi State FR 0.339 0.449 0.732 51 57 10 1 18 62 7 OF Teddy Tokheim Stanford FR 0.352 0.414 0.704 40 70 19 0 17 47 0 UT Drew Grego Nebraska FR 0.326 0.417 0.531 33 57 13 1 7 44 5 DH Enzo Infelise Cincinnati FR 0.374...
Tournaments | Story | 6/11/2026

PG East WWBA to Get Underway

Kinley Kitchens
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One of the summer’s premier events returns to the Hoover area this week as the 2026 Perfect Game East WWBA Championship gets underway. Now in its seventh year, the event has become a staple on the summer travel baseball calendar, bringing together some of the top organizations and prospects from across the country. A total of 132 teams will compete across three age divisions, including 38 teams in the 15U division, 48 teams in the 16U division, and 46 teams in the 17U division. Past champions include organizations such as Top Gun Team Alabama, EBC, USA Prime Alabama, and defending champion USA Prime Southeast 15U. As always, the tournament field features some of the nation’s top-ranked players. In the 15U division, all eyes will be on Alabama right-hander Tristan Blalock, the No. 23 ranked player nationally in the 2029 class and the top ranked player in Alabama. Blalock...
Tournaments | Championship | 6/11/2026

Team Elite Takes Another PG Elite

Kinley Kitchens
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After capturing last year’s championship, Team Elite Scout 14U returned to Hoover looking to prove their success was no fluke. Four days later, they accomplished exactly that. Behind strong pitching, timely hitting, and the confidence that has defined the team throughout the tournament, Team Elite Scout 14U defeated SBA Bolts National 14U to claim the 2026 PG 14U National Elite Championship and secure back-to-back titles. “It’s awesome,” Team Elite Coach Blankenship said. “This is our first event of the year, so it’s good to get it to start with them, and they won it last year, so I know they are excited to do that back-to-back, so it’s pretty awesome.” The championship game showcased many of the same qualities that carried Team Elite through the tournament. Ryan Johnson delivered 4.1 scoreless innings on the mound, allowing just two hits...
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