THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
|
1,490
MLB PLAYERS |
12,791
MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
1,490
MLB PLAYERS |
12,791
MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Sign in
Create Account
×
Sign in
User Email
Password
Forgot password?
Toggle navigation
Sign in
Events
EVENT TYPES
Full Event Schedule
Showcases
Tournaments
PG Series
Girls' FastPitch
Leagues
Youth Tournaments
PG in Your State
SPECIAL EVENTS
PG All-American Classic
14U PGSBF
|
13U PGSBF
|
12U PGSBF
FEATURED
2021 PG World Series
2021 PG Invitational National Championship
PG SOFTBALL
Rankings
PLAYER RANKINGS
HS Class of 2021
HS Class of 2022
HS Class of 2023
HS Class of 2024
HS Class of 2025
HS State Rankings
College Player Rankings
Draft Player Rankings
Rankings Portal
TEAM RANKINGS
High School Top 50
TRAVEL TEAM RANKINGS
18U
National
|
Regional
17U
National
|
Regional
16U
National
|
Regional
15U
National
|
Regional
14U
National
|
Regional
13U
National
|
Regional
12U
National
|
Regional
11U
National
|
Regional
10U
National
|
Regional
COLLEGE RANKINGS
2021 Preview Index
Division I Top 25
Division II Top 50
Division III Top 25
NAIA Top 25
JUCO Top 25
Recruiting Class Rankings
TOP RANKED PLAYERS
2021 - Jordan Lawlar
2022 - Elijah Green
2023 - Thomas White
2024 - Derek Curiel
PG Rawlings Preseason All American
Preseason All American
Preseason Underclass All American
TOP RANKED TEAMS
Division I - Florida
HS - Tampa Jesuit, FL
17U - Canes National 17
16U - Team Elite 16u Scout Team
RECRUITING
RECRUITING MENU
Advanced Search
College Commitments
College Interests
College Portal
Uncommitted Prospects
Recruiting Class Rankings
Recommend a Prospect
EVENT RESULTS
Showcase Results
Tournament Results
Top Event Performers
All-Time Event Records
Content
PG EVENT CONTENT
Showcase Articles
Tournament Articles
PG Player Features
All Articles
HIGH SCHOOL CONTENT
High School Portal
Top 50 HS Teams
2020 Preview Content
Scout Blogs
PG HS Showdown
Preseason All-Americans
Preseason Underclass All-Americans
All HS Content
MLB DRAFT CONTENT
Draft Portal
Draft Player Rankings
2019 MLB Draft Preview Content
PG Draft Pick Database
MLB Draft Order
All Draft Content
COLLEGE CONTENT
College Portal
2020 Preview Content
College Top 25
College Player Reports
All College Content
RECENT ARTICLES
MLK South Scout Notes: Day 3
Recruiting Notebook: January 18
Top 100: Most PG Wins in 2020
Conference Preview: SEC
ALUMNI
PG ALUMNI
MLB Players
Drafted Players
College Commitments
MLB Player of the Day
NOTABLE MLB PLAYERS
Bryce Harper
Christian Yelich
Javier Baez
Gerrit Cole
Manny Machado
Carlos Correa
Mike Trout
Nolan Arenado
Cody Bellinger
Francisco Lindor
Alex Bregman
Freddie Freeman
PG CARES
DEVELOPMENT
About
About Perfect Game
About PG
Testimonials
PG Athlete Safety Program
Job Opportunities
PG Facilities
Staff Directory
FAQ
Shop
Players
Teams
Events
×
PERFECT
GAME
.TV
High School
| General | 2/14/2020
Palo verde mines Vegas gold
Jeff Dahn
Photo: Paulshawn Pasqualotto (Perfect Game)
Trouble viewing this page?
Regional HS Preview: Southwest
|
High School Preview Index
It can be an informative and equally enjoyable exercise to pull up the 2020 roster for the Las Vegas Palo Verde High School Panthers while also scanning Perfect Game’s updated 2020, 2021 and 2022 prospect rankings for the state of Nevada.
Take a peak and then consider for a moment the names occupying the top spot in all three rankings while also taking note of the school they attend.
Leading the way among this year’s senior class (2020) is top two-way talent
Paulshawn Pasqualotto
, a U. of California signee ranked No. 115 nationally. The No. 1 name in the junior class is elite outfield prospect
Thomas Dilandri
, a TCU commit who is slotted at No. 27 nationally. The No. 1-ranked sophomore in the state? That would be outfielder
Mason Neville
, an Arizona commit ranked No. 34 nationwide.
That’s three Nevada No. 1's, each of whom will assume important roles for Palo Verde this spring when the Panthers attempt to win their second Nevada Class 4A (big-school) state championship in three years under the direction of head coach Joe Hallead.
And, according to the Perfect Game High School Preseason Top 50 National rankings, they are the favorites to do so. Palo Verde will open its season March 5 against Basic HS in Henderson as the No. 14-ranked team in the country and No. 1 in the PG HS Southwest Region (Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah).
That, of course, also makes the Panthers the highest ranked team in their own state, ahead of Las Vegas-area rivals Bishop Gorman (No. 4), Basic (No. 14) and Desert Oasis (No. 17), which also cracked the PG Southwest Region top 25 (Reno HS is No. 11). And, to Hallead’s way of thinking, there is no reason for Palo Verde to take a back seat to anyone after what it’s accomplished over the last four seasons.
“I do believe in my program and I know that we’ve built it the right way,” Hallead told PG during a recent telephone conversation. “Even though we’ve won a state championship it’s still in the building phase and there’s still phase four, five and six to go through before it’s a solid, every year, nationally ranked team.
“I let you guys make the decisions on how good teams are but I do believe in my squad,” he said. “They act the right way between the lines and they act the right way in the classroom, and I’m a teacher so that’s really important to me.”
Hallead is beginning his fifth year as the head coach at Palo Verde after previously heading the program at Camas High School in Camas, Wash, for 15 years.
He moved to Vegas after his son had graduated from high school in 2014 and landed an assistant coaching position at Sierra Vista HS his first year in town. (Joe’s son,
Tyler Hallead
, was a 24
th
-round draft pick by the Phillies in 2016 out of the College of Southern Nevada is Henderson.)
The Palo Verde program had experienced some down years and had gone through several coaches before Hallead arrived and he was determined to turn things around.
“I told them that I know I’m the new guy in town but I promise you I’ll put together a good program, and I told them that within three years we’ll be fighting for a state championship,” Hallead said. It was a statement that proved prophetic.
The Panthers finished 21-15 after a loss in the regional semifinals in Hallead’s first season in 2016 and 22-10-1 after a loss in the regional quarterfinals in 2017. In 2018, Hallead’s third season at the helm, Palo Verde finished went 31-9 after claiming the Nevada Class 4A state championship. The 2019 season ended with a loss in the regional championship game that left them with a 25-10 mark.
“That second year (2017) was the big year,” Hallead said. “The kids bought in 100 percent and really listened to the way we wanted to do it, the ‘Palo Way’ we call it … and then the third year is when it just blew up. We had some really good baseball players and everything fit together; it was just magical.”
Whether or not the 2020 season turns out being magical in its own right remains to be seen, but there are some important pieces in place to at least make a solid run. It starts with a solid group of seniors who have definitely paid their dues but it goes even deeper than that.
Pasqualotto, the Cal signee, leads the way. The right-hander/outfielder/infielder was 2-2 with a 3.79 ERA in 20 1/3 innings pitched and hit .382 (34-for-89) with 14 extra-base hits, including four home runs, for the Panthers in 2019.
He also earned a top 10.0 grade at the PG National Showcase in Phoenix in June and was an all-tournament selection at the PG WWBA 17u National Championship, the PG 17u World Series and the PG WWBA World Championship last summer and fall playing with the San Diego Show.
Senior
Jaden Agassi
will be back with the team this spring after playing eight games with the varsity last year. The home-schooled Agassi, a Southern California signee ranked No. 165 in the class of 2020 (No. 2 Nevada), underwent Tommy John surgery last May and while he is also considered a promising two-way prospect, he will be available only to hit this spring.
There are several more pretty sharp arrows in Palo Verde’s quiver. Senior catcher/outfielder
Josiah Cromwick
, an Oregon signee ranked Nos. 446/6, will be playing his third season on the varsity and is coming off a junior season when he hit .465 (47-for-101) with team-highs of 12 home runs and 43 RBI.
By being on the varsity as a sophomore in 2018, Cromwick knows what it’s like to be a part of a state championship-winning dogpile. The rest of the seniors were playing on the JV team as 10
th
-graders but they are no less talented.
Team captain
Paul Myro
IV (Oregon State, t-500/9), a top utility player/right-hander, and middle-infielder/right-hander
Noah Carabajal
(Long Beach State, t-500/7) are key cogs returning for their senior seasons. The Panthers’ pitching staff is bolstered by the return of senior right-handers
Jasper Nelson
(t-500/14) and
Zach Rowley
(High Follow).
“It really does come down to all those seniors,” Hallead said. “They’ve been in the program and they know what it’s like and they know what it takes to win here. They have that winning attitude … where they know they’re going to go into a season and win games.
“The last couple of years the senior classes have been really good that way,” he continued. “Now it’s almost a given, like the torch has been passed to this senior group. And with all the talent we have it makes it even better.”
They won’t have to do it alone. Hallead calls his juniors and a few select sophomores the most talented group of underclassmen he’s ever coached during a 21-year career.
Dilandri, who had been home-schooled, is new to the program this season. He got the attention of PG scouts by earning Top Prospect List recognition at both the PG Junior National Showcase in Hoover, Ala., and at the PG Underclass All-American Games in San Diego last summer. You can count his head coach as among those who appreciate his considerable skills.
“He’s unbelievable; he might be the best player I’ve ever coached,” Hallead said. “He deserves a high ranking for being a person, too, because he’s a great baseball player but he’s an even better guy. He’s very respectful, very hustle-oriented, yes coach-no coach; just the perfect kid.”
Neville, already a veteran of 23 PG events including the 2019 Junior National Showcase, played in 18 varsity games for the Panthers as a freshman in 2019. Although 13 plate appearances and nine at-bats is a small sample size, he was able to contribute a home run, a double and a single, driving in five runs and scoring four.
Every player on the Palo Verde roster will be challenged this season. The high school baseball scene in the Las Vegas area is as vibrant and compelling as anywhere in the country, and it’s been that way for quite some time. No current fan of Major League Baseball needs to be reminded that former Perfect Game All-Americans and MLB All-Stars
Kris Bryant
,
Bryce Harper
and
Joey Gallo
are Vegas products.
Bishop Gorman HS has been the standard-bearer in Nevada for a lot of years now – it is No. 24 in PG’s preseason national rankings – but the programs at Vegas-area schools such as Faith Lutheran, Spring Valley, Desert Oasis, Arbor View, Green Valley, Basic and Sierra Vista are also highly regarded.
Hallead isn’t afraid to take the Panthers out of state, either. They’ve played in early season tournaments in Arizona, California and Utah since he’s come on board and they’ll be at the Boras Classic of Arizona in the Phoenix area in mid-March this season.
“It’s one of those things where we try to get as much good competition as we can,” he said. “The way we think of it is, we play a faceless opponent and we play ‘Palo Baseball.’ If we’re good enough we’ll we win; if the other team is better we’ll tip our hat.”
Maybe that describes this Palo Verde program as well as any statement could. Hallead insisted that the final numbers on the scoreboard won’t matter to him at all until postseason play begins at the end of the school year.
The scoreboard, he said, tells an incomplete story because the final score isn’t always indicative of the way a team played. After the completion of a game, win or lose, he’ll talk to his players, evaluate their overall performance and then reach the right conclusions on what needs to be done moving forward. Winning a state championship and doing it the right way is the only thing that matters.
“All I say is four words: ‘Stay humble, stay hungry,’” Hallead told PG. “Everybody’s going to be looking at you … but all you’ve got to do is stay humble and stay hungry and understand that our prize is at the end of May up in Reno, dog-piling at home plate.”
Give us your feedback
RELATED ARTICLES
Finest in the Field: Class of 2024
Two-time PG Select Festival alum Ty Southisene has long excelled with his defensive actions as he leads the way in our look at the Finest in the Field for the Class of 2024.
Finest in the Field: Class of 2023
Catcher Raffaele Velazquez showed off his defensive prowess and big time arm strength from behind the plate all summer long, leading the way as we look at the Finest in the Field for the Class of 2023.
Finest in the Field: Class of 2022
Outfield Andruw Jones has long been a defensive standout on the circuit as we take a look at the Finest in the Field for the Class of 2022.
Finest in the Field: Class of 2021
We kick off our coverage of the Perfect Game/Rawlings Finest in the Field with the Class of 2021, where there were several defensive standouts throughout the year, including top ranked '21 Jordan Lawlar.
SHOP PERFECT GAME
HEADWEAR
SHIRTS
SHORTS
LIFESTYLE
HOODIES
GLOVES
About Perfect Game
::
Contact us
::
Terms of Use
::
Privacy Policy
::
Testimonials
::
Job Opportunities
PG Athlete Safety Program
COVID-19 Update
Event Guidelines
Message from Jerry Ford
Copyright 1994-
2021
by Perfect Game. All rights reserved. No portion of this information may be reprinted or reproduced without the written consent of Perfect Game.