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Tournaments  | Championship | 7/2/2020

5 Star National Claims Third Consecutive BCS Title

Photo: 5 Star National (Perfect Game)
FORT MYERS, FL.—The morning of July 1st, 2020 was not your typical championship game day. Due to weather delays the day before, many of the quarterfinal games had to be moved to the morning of July 1st. This posed a new challenge for all teams fighting for the 16u BCS National Championship as it meant having to win two back to back games and then competing in the championship right after. Despite these circumstances, 5 Star National 16u Burress and the Florida Burn 2022 Platinum were set to face off in the championship game. 

For one team however, this game meant more than just another championship. Winning this game would make the 5 Star National team three-time BCS championship winners in just three years.



Coach Andy Burress told PG, “This is the most different group I have had. They won the 14u, 15u, and now this 16u BCS”. After losing in the championship of the 2020 16u National Elite tournament, Burress said his team “had something to prove and wanted to come out and make a statement”. 

With something to prove and a goal to reach, 5 Star National came to the plate in the top of the first and showed everyone how badly they wanted their third BCS title.

First to the plate was Gage Harrelson who started his team off with a ground ball to third for a single. Clayton Tipton of the Florida Burn then gave up a walk and a line drive to left for a single from Hunter Russell. With runners on second and third, Sal Stewart delivered a sac fly to right for an RBI, putting the team’s first run on the board. 

Next up was Blaydon Plain who brought in two more runs with a line drive to left. Following right behind Plain, Isaiah Lowe hit a line drive off the left field wall, feet away from being a home run. Lowe’s powerful hit resulted in two RBIs and the score went up to 5-0. 

Lane Essary of 5 Star National came to the mound in the bottom of the first and pitched a scoreless first inning. Both he and Florida Burn pitcher Stephen Deans then pitched a scoreless second inning. 

The Florida Burn finally put a run on the board when the bottom of the third came around. A ground ball to second from Cole Schumaker followed by Joseph Urban’s line drive to left for a double put the Florida Burn in scoring position at second and third. Luis Garrido then allowed Schumaker to score off of his pop fly to right. At the end of three innings, the score was 5-1, with 5 Star National still in the lead. 

It was three up three down for both Stephen Deans of the Florida Burn and Lane Essary of 5 Star National during the fourth inning. 

Not satisfied with their four run lead, 5 Star National began to tack on more runs in the top of the fifth. Chris Stanfield got on base first with a line drive to center for a single. He was then joined by Gage Harrelson after he was walked. Both Stanfield and Harrelson were brought in by Davis Green who hit a pop fly to second base that went uncaught. Delivering the third RBI of the inning, Hunter Russell hit an uncatchable pop fly to short which brought in Green. 

5 Star National ended the inning with a now 7 run lead and a score of 8-1 after a scoreless inning for the Florida Burn. 

The Florida Burn was able to hold 5 Star National at a 7 run lead throughout the sixth, but couldn’t hold on through the seventh. 

Jaxson West and Tanner Knowles were the first two on base from 5 Star National after being walked, but were later joined by Nicolas Perez who hit a pop fly to first base that couldn't be caught. After Perez, Gage Harrelson came to the plate to hit an RBI ground ball to short. Next at the plate was Davis Green who hit this third and fourth RBI of the game with a line drive to left. 

In the bottom of the seventh, 5 Star National pitcher Patric Menk only saw three batters before ending the game with a final score of 11-1 and with the team’s third BCS National title. 

Sal Stewart of 5 Star National and Luis Garrido of the Florida Burn were named the CO-MVPs of the 16u BCS National Championship. 

Drew Nelson was named the MVP Pitcher for the 16u BCS National Championship.  
 

Tournaments | Story | 1/27/2026

MLK East Scout Notes Recap

Perfect Game Staff
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‘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...
Press Release | Press Release | 3/18/2026

PG Introduces Individual Player Entry

Perfect Game Staff
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  667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923 www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   PERFECT GAME INTRODUCES INDIVIDUAL PLAYER ENTRY, EXPANDING ACCESS TO ELITE NATIONAL EVENTS   Athletes Can Now Compete in Select National Tournaments Through Structured ‘Team PG’ Rosters   Sanford, Florida (Wednesday, March 18, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced the launch of Individual Player Entry, a new initiative designed to provide athletes the opportunity to compete in select national events even if their primary team is not attending.   Through the program, players can now register individually and be placed on a structured “Team PG” roster, allowing them to participate fully in...
Juco | Rankings | 3/18/2026

JUCO Top 25: March 18

Blaine Peterson
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This week brings a new top team to the rankings as Johnson County (KS), on the strength of 10 consecutive wins and a 26-2 record, claims the overall number 1 spot. The Cavaliers have made 3 consecutive trips to the JUCO World Series and have the talent to make it back there again this spring. Florida Southwestern and Chipola have seemingly separated themselves as the most consistent teams in Florida. Welcome to the top 5 to the Gaston Rhinos who will be one of the first teams to 30 wins this spring. Pearl River stays as the top NJCAA D2 team and Fresno City stays as the top Juco team in California; both are coming off undefeated 2 week stretches. Welcome back to the top 25 to John A. Logan who is now 20-7 overall and have played one of the toughest schedules of anyone. And for the first time in several years welcome to the top 25 to the College of Southern Idaho, the Golden Eagles have...
High School | General | 3/18/2026

Class of 2026: Preseason HS All-Americans

Perfect Game Staff
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College | Rankings | 3/18/2026

DII/DIII/NAIA Rankings Update: March 18

Nick Herfordt
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In every major sport, the championship is decided in the postseason. You can lose games all year, get hot at the right time, and walk away with the hardware. The regular season is a rehearsal. The playoffs are the show.  The championship belt changes that. Borrowed from professional wrestling, boxing and ultimate fighting, the belt travels the moment the holder loses — no brackets, no seeding, no second chances. A random Tuesday non-conference game in Milledgeville, Georgia  becomes a title fight. A spring trip to Florida becomes a gauntlet. The defending national champion can lose the belt before February is over.  We’re tracking three belts this season — NCAA Division II, NAIA, and NCAA Division III — each starting with the defending national champion. The results have been exactly as chaotic as you’d expect.  Worth noting along the...
High School | Rankings | 3/17/2026

High School Top 50 Update: March 17

Tyler Russo
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We have another update to the National Top-50 after two weeks of even more games being played in the southern states along with seasons just starting to kick off across the country. We’re quickly approaching another stellar high school event, the NHSI in Cary, and with that will come even more movement in these rankings. St. John Bosco (CA) continues to hold firm at the No. 1 position after a 4-0 start to their season. Venice (FL) has been rolling throughout the early portion of the year and jumps up to No. 2 in the country. One of the biggest movers in this update is The Bennett School (TX) jumping from unranked to No. 8 in the country after beating a handful of top ranked programs to start the year. Some other big movers inside the top-10 are Barbe (LA), who jumps from No. 18 to No. 5 in this update as well as Aledo (TX) who jumps from No. 20 to No. 9. The rest of the top-10...
College | Story | 3/17/2026

College Players of the Week: March 17

Vincent Cervino
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March 17th Perfect Game/Player of the Week: Vahn Lackey, C, Georgia Tech The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (17-3) came into the season with the highest external expectations in decades based on the anticipation of their offensive potential. To this point they have not only met those lofty expectations, but twenty games in they may have exceeded them. While there are plenty of high-level prospects up and down the lineup, with all that star power Vahn Lackey has stood out. Sure to be one of the first catchers selected in this year’s MLB Draft with his comprehensive skillset, he projects well as an everyday backstop at the next level. However, his overall athleticism stands out as we saw this week when he had a game where he played every defensive position on the field except pitcher. At the plate over four games including a series victory at Clemson last week, he went 9 for 15, scoring...
College | Rankings | 3/16/2026

College Top 25: March 16

Vincent Cervino
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Collegiate Player Report Database As each week of the college baseball season passes, we continue to be entertained at an incredible level with high level drama at every turn.  Conference play is under way and the national landscape is starting to make a bit more sense.  The development and strength of individual players is on full-display and there continue to be upsets on occasion that sends the message no team can relax for one moment.  For the most part, the Top 10 remains unchanged with some reshuffling as No. 1 UCLA (17-2) holds on to the top spot with yet another perfect (4-0) week after sweeping Michigan.  The No. 2 Texas Longhorns (18-1) did drop their first game of the season in Game 1 of SEC play but won the series against Ole Miss and finished the week with a (3-1) record.  The Georgia Tech Yellowjackets (17-3) passed their first real road test of the...
Draft | Story | 3/13/2026

PG Draft: Under the Radar Preps

Tyler Henninger
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PG Draft: Under the Radar Preps As the spring season gets underway, the showcase circuit and early high-level tournaments have already provided our scouts with some intriguing first looks at this year’s crop of prospects. At the same time, we’ve been tracking the buzz among team evaluators, listening closely to the names that keep coming up in conversations and the players clubs are making sure they get eyes on this spring. Every year, a handful of prospects quietly slip beneath the radar during the fall and winter months, only to reemerge once the games start counting again. Sometimes it’s the result of a productive offseason in the weight room, a noticeable jump in velocity, or a step forward in skill development. Other times, it’s simply a player finally getting the opportunity and the stage to show what’s been building behind the scenes. The spring has a...
College | Rankings | 3/11/2026

DII/DIII/NAIA Rankings Update: March 11

Nick Herfordt
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Allendale Doesn't Rhyme With Knoxville or Danville. The Baseball Does. Meet the Three Coaches Turning Small College Programs Into National Contenders. There's something happening in small college baseball right now that doesn't get nearly enough attention. Three programs — separated by hundreds of miles and spread across three different governing bodies — are in the middle of the kind of rebuilds that make you wonder why anyone ever counted them out in the first place. One is in a Michigan lakeside college town. Two are in places that end in 'ville. All three have coaches who looked at a program and saw something nobody else did. The Perfect Game small school rankings noticed. You should too. See where Grand Valley State, Johnson U, Centre and the rest of the schools are positioned in the latest Perfect Game Top 25 Small School Rankings. NCAA DII For a generation of DII...
High School | General | 3/12/2026

High School Notebook: March 12

Steve Fiorindo
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Trey Rangel (‘26 TX) with some early morning fuzz. Goes 3.2 IP on 7ks. Fastball 92-96 T97 (2508 RPM) late life ASR. Curve 79-83 (2900 RPM) sharp 10-4 shape; power curve. Cutter low-90s. Change flashed at 89 (1405 RPM); kick change. Elite arm talent. #PGHS @PG_Draft #HookEm… pic.twitter.com/Xn3WaTJoVH — Perfect Game Texas (@Texas_PG) February 19, 2026 Trey Rangel (2026, The Colony, Texas) worked through 3.2 quality innings while striking out 7 batters for his opening season look here. Fastball opened up 93-96 with heavy arm side run out the gate. He would proceed to settle into the mid-90s range beyond his first inning of work while topping out at 97 once in the second and then closed out his final inning of work with a strikeout swinging on 96. Velo range varied throughout his outing and command came and went but was still dominant for the most part. He forced a ton of...
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