THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,805 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,805 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Sign in Create Account
Sign in Create Account
Tournaments  | Story | 10/11/2020

Power turns it on, advances to semis

Jeff Dahn
Photo: Ty Moody (Perfect Game)

FORT MYERS, Fla. – You can take the Perfect Game WWBA World Championship out of Jupiter, but you can’t take Jupiter’s Sunday-Funday out of the PG WWBA World Championship.

The first, second and quarterfinal rounds of bracket-play at the WWBA WC were contested at the Terry Park Sports Complex and the Lee County Player Development 5-Plex on Sunday and to say there were some surprises wouldn’t do justice to the day’s somewhat unexpected outcomes.



And even with this year’s PG national championship tournament moved from Florida’s Atlantic Coast to its Gulf Coast, the hundreds of MLB scouts – sans golf carts  – and other observers were treated to the usual craziness as Sunday’s 32-team field was pared down to Monday’s final-four.

The Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9-seeded teams in the 32-team playoff field were not only eliminated during a full day of play but were sent packing after losses in Sunday morning’s first round. Yes, the first round.

The No. 1 East Coast Sox Founder’s Club? Gone. The No. 3 Canes National/Mets Scout Team? See ya. No. 4 FTB/SF Giants Scout Team and No. 5 Hit Factory Pro? Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

And other pre-tournament favorites like the No. 15 Team Elite/Atlanta Braves Scout Team and the No. 7 ECB/Padres Scout Team – both boasting rosters stocked with 2020 PG All-Americans – also experienced early exits.

“Even though we lost, this has been the greatest experience of my life because these are my boys right here,” PG All-American and TE/Atlanta Braves ST shortstop and Vanderbilt commit Rob Gordon told PG. “I love them to death and it’s sad that we lost but I still have the love for them and I’ll see them around.”

Yes, defeat can be deflating but despite the setbacks suffered from some of the more high-profile teams in the bracket on Sunday we do have a final-four and if nothing else, this promises to be very entertaining come Monday morning.

On one side of the semifinal bracket sits the Virginia-based No. 16 Canes 17u Prospects (5-1-0) taking on the No. 13 GBG Navy 2021 (5-0-1) out of Southern California. The other side features an all-Florida pairing with the No. 22 Scorpions Marucci Franchise Team (5-1-0) going up against No. 10 Power Baseball 2021.

Despite the early first round upsets, there was more than one instance when the pairings in the  later rounds matched the seedings, including the intriguing quarterfinal matchup between No. 10 Power Baseball 2021 and the No. 2 South Charlotte Panthers.

The Power 2021 trailed 4-0 after only one inning into this thing but rallied for a 5-4 victory after scoring three runs in the  top of the third and a game-clinching two in the top of the seventh.

They used two one-out walks, a one-out single from Mason Wilson and a one-out, two-run double from Mac Omalley to stage the comeback win. 2021 righty Reid Sondermeyer worked six shutout, four-hit, four-strikeout innings in relief to pick up the win and send the Power dancing into Monday.

“Obviously we’re ecstatic to be here right now; this is the farthest we’ve ever made it at this event,” Power Baseball 2021 coach Jesse Marlo said Sunday. “This is only our second year (at the WWBA WC) as a program so to be able to get this far in year two is really a big step for us, a big milestone. But obviously we’re not happy just being here, we want to continue to keep this thing going.”

The Power earned its No. 10 seeding by finishing 3-0-0 in pool-play and outscoring those three opponents by a combined 20-7. They beat No. 23 Team Elite National 4-0 in a first round game Sunday and then topped the No. 24 Ontario Blue Jays 2021, 6-4, in the second round. 2022 top-500 lefthander Isaac Sewell delivered a complete game one-hitter, striking  out five in the win over TE National.

The Power’s roster features a nice blend of upperclass and underclass talent led by 2021s shortstop Justin Colon (No. 90 nationally ranked, Missouri commit), right-hander/first baseman Bryce Braxton (t-500, Florida Atlantic) and outfielder Kyle Manitz (t-500, Stetson).

The roster is ripe with class of 2022 talent including third baseman Ben Barrett (No. 243, Florida State), middle-infielder Greg Pettay (No. 310, UCF) and catcher Riley Parker (t-500, UCF). Shortstop/third baseman Braden Holcomb (No. 9, Vanderbilt) and outfielder Dallas Dale II (No. 117, Alabama) head a 2023 class that bodes very well for the future.

“It’s a very good mix; it’s about 50-50, so I think that’s helped us a lot,” Marlo said of the upper/underclass roster split. “Our older guys, they’ve got that blue-collar, grinder-type attitude. But the biggest thing, I don’t care what age these guys are, I’d put our defense on the infield up there against anybody.”

He’s talking about a foursome that includes Colon at short, Barrett or Holcomb at third and Pettay at second. Those are guys that not only already have D-I tickets in their pocket but could get some consideration in the MLB Draft when their time comes.

“It’s going to be hard to find a group better than that,” Marlo said of the players he can spread out in the middle and to the left side of the infield. “If we continue to throw strikes and get ground-ball outs we should be fine. That’s what we’ve continued to stress to our pitchers.

“It doesn’t matter if we don’t have guys throwing 95 miles an hour. You can be 84-86 and if you can throw three pitches, work it in-and-out and just get us our ground balls we’ll be fine.”

One of the pure joys over the last 11 Octobers for one veteran PG note-taker has been the opportunity to spend a few minutes chatting with South Charlotte Panthers founder/owner/head coach Don Hutchins.

Hutchins comes across as one of the more genuine guys to have ever spent time in the various dugouts in Jupiter, Fla., over the past 20 years and this year in Fort Myers while guiding his Panthers teams to win after win.

“It’s so good to see you,” was the greeting Hutchins provided from the Lee County Player Development Complex late Sunday afternoon after his Panthers team had picked-up yet another playoff victory at the WWBA WC. “This means we’ve done something good or one of my coaches got thrown out, I don’t know – one or the other.”

The reason for a chat has always been because the Panthers have done something good and their run this year was no exception. They took a lead into the top of the seventh against the Power and needed just three outs to move into Monday’s final-four; it was not to be.

Like Power Baseball 2021, South Charlotte’s roster is a perfect blend of upper and underclassmen featuring top 2021 catcher/corner-infielder/right-hander Jacob Cozart (No. 118, N.C. State), 2022 right-hander/infielder Eli Jerzembeck (No. 23, South Carolina), 2022 infielder Logan Wagner (No. 90, Louisville)  and 2023 outfielder Walker Jenkins (No. 10, North Carolina).

“We have a very small, kind of a boutique little program,” Hutchins said. “We have three teams: a ‘23 team, a ‘22 team and a ‘21 team and those teams stay together for three years. We’ll lose a kid here or gain a kid there but not very much and most of them come from the Carolinas and the greater Charlotte area – maybe a 200-mile radius.”

So it is the Power 2021 that moves on and Marlo and the program’s other coaches are liking what they’re seeing from their guys so far. It could very well be impossible to pick a favorite from this final-four but the Canes and GBG programs have been semifinalists in the past, just not with these particular teams.

Again, it is the very unexpected nature of events that makes playoff Sunday at the PG WWBA World Championship such a playoff Funday. Can GBG, the Canes and Scorpions draw on the history of their programs to find some magic come Monday? Can the newcomer Power Baseball 2021 power itself to a championship?

“The guys are just playing great baseball,” Marlo said. “They’ve done everything we’ve asked, they’re playing team baseball, they’re having team at-bats, they’re throwing strikes, they’re bunting when we need to bunt.

“I don’t want to jinx it right now, but they’re basically playing flawless baseball. We’ve got to continue to keep that up, obviously, especially when you get to this point in the game.”
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
College | Story | 3/31/2026

PG Collegiate Midseason Awards

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
Midseason Awards  Perfect Game Midseason Player of the Year:  Landon Hairston, OF, Arizona State  The season sophomore outfielder Landon Hairston is putting together is generational, even amongst the Hall of Fame talent Arizona State has fielded over the years.  Hairston, the 5-11/195 sophomore outfielder from Queen City, AZ has his club on track for another postseason appearance and they will make plenty of noise in the Big 12 regular season.  To put things in perspective on Hairston’s season, he is currently 5th in the nation in batting average, 3rd in hits, 8th in hits per game, tied for 2nd in home runs, tied for 5th in runs scored and is 4th in runs batted in so far.  He holds a batting average of .469 while slugging 1.027 and reaching base over half the time with an OBP of .551.  Hairston walks more than he strikes out and has 12 doubles, 17...
Read More
College | Story | 3/31/2026

College Players of the Week: March 31

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
March 31st Perfect Game/Co-Players of the Week:  Landon Hairston, OF, Arizona State  The Arizona State Sun Devils (20-8) went (3-2) last week and now sit at No. 18 in our latest Top 25 poll.  They are proving that they are legitimate Big 12 contenders and Landon Hairston is making a strong case for National Player of the Year at the halfway point in the season.  The 5-11/195 sophomore outfielder from Queen City, AZ is putting up such loud numbers that they are almost hard to fathom.  In five games last week, the lefthanded hitter collected 12-hits in 19 Abs, scoring 13 runs on 6 walks, a double, 5 home runs and he drove in 11 runs on his own.  For the season, he has put together a slash line of .468/.991/.553 with 12 doubles, 15 round trippers, 45 RBIs, a 12:18 strikeout-to-walk ratio and he has swiped 8 bags so far.  It has been a special year for the...
Read More
College | Rankings | 3/30/2026

College Top 25: March 30

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
Well college baseball fans, we are officially at the half-way point of the 2026 season and what an incredible ride it has already been.  While there is some separation at the top as we start to look at programs that could be potential NCAA tournament hosts, things continue to change as clubs revitalize their seasons by winning massive series in league play.  The Top 25 seems to be getting more volatile as we reach the midway point, and the second half is setting up to be something special.  The one thing that will remain the same as it has for a month now, is that the UCLA (25-2) will still be the No. 1 team in the nation.  The Bruins are winners of 19-consecutive games and have started off Big Ten league play by sweeping 4-straight series.  The Texas Longhorns (23-4) hold tight at No. 2 this week after sweeping previous No. 11 Oklahoma (19-8) and sit atop the...
Read More
High School | General | 3/27/2026

High School Notebook: March 27

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
Hudson December (2027, Woodland Hills, Calif.) showed flashes of his upside despite a somewhat uneven three-inning outing. The 6-foot-2, 170-pound right-hander struck out three while working through a couple of tough jams, though his command was inconsistent at times. He ran his fastball up to 87 mph on a pair of occasions and generally sat in the 83–85 range. He mixed in an upper-70s slider with varying shape and execution where it was most effective when thrown with proper intent, showing shorter, tighter depth. He also flashed a changeup against a few left-handed hitters. Mechanically, there’s a blend of positives and areas for development. He incorporates his lower half fairly well and moves down the mound with some pace and intent. The arm is quick, though it can be late getting up at times, and his taller finish limits full torso extension through release. With...
Read More
Draft | Mock Draft | 3/27/2026

2026 MLB Mock Draft: V 2.0

Tyler Henninger
Article Image
The spring season is well underway and the board is starting to take shape. Last week, the draft team put together the Top-300 and this week we take a stab at our first mid-season mock draft. While there still is plenty of time for things to shake out differently, here is how we see things shaping up at this point in the draft cycle.  Pick Team Selection Position School 1 Chicago White Sox Roch Cholowsky SS UCLA 2 Tampa Bay Rays Justin Lebron SS Alabama 3 Minnesota Twins Grady Emerson SS Fort Worth Christian 4 San Francisco Giants Jackson Flora RHP UC Santa Barbara 5 Pittsburgh Pirates Vahn Lackey C Georgia Tech 6 Kansas City Royals Drew Burress OF Georgia Tech 7 Baltimore Orioles Ace Reese 3B Mississippi State 8 Athletics Jacob Lombard SS Gulliver Schools 9 Atlanta Braves Eric Booth Jr. OF Oak Grove 10 Colorado Rockies AJ Gracia OF Virginia 11 Washington Nationals Gio Rojas LHP...
Read More
Juco | Rankings | 3/25/2026

JUCO Top 25: March 25

Blaine Peterson
Article Image
Another strong week of Juco baseball for teams in our Top 25, and as you may see, our field is the same from a week prior with each and every team handling business in their weekend sets to hold fast to their spots on the board. Some notable movement though inside the Top 5 with Gaston jumping up to number 2 after a 33-2 start to the 2026 season as well Cloud County cracking the Top 15 for the first time all year. Looking forward to watching conference play around the country as we approach the final stretch of the regular season. Rk. School Record 1 Johnson County (KS) 30-2 2 Gaston (NC) 33-2 3 Florida Southwestern (FL) 26-7 4 Walters State (TN) 26-6 5 Chipola (FL) 29-5 6 Florence-Darlington (SC) 29-6 7 Blinn (TX) 22-8 8 McLennan (TX) 20-7 9 Cochise (AZ) 28-6 10 Pearl River (MS) 25-7 11 Georgia Highlands (GA) 30-8 12 Southern Nevada (NV) 24-6 13 Northwest Florida (FL) 21-12 14 Cloud...
Read More
College | Rankings | 3/25/2026

DII/DIII/NAIA Rankings Update: March 25

Nick Herfordt
Article Image
Every preseason, analysts and voters pour enormous effort into ranking the small college baseball landscape — poring over returning rosters, transfer additions, coaching changes, and historical trends to assemble the most accurate picture they can of who will be contending when the postseason arrives. And most years, they get it largely right. But the nature of college baseball, with its massive rosters, unpredictable development arcs, and ever-churning transfer portal, guarantees that a handful of genuinely elite programs will slip through the cracks every spring. A team loses too many seniors. A key transfer hasn’t yet suited up. A new coaching staff hasn’t had the chance to prove itself. The voters see the question marks and leave the blank space, and then the season begins and the blank space starts filling itself in — loudly. As the 2026 season heads into its...
Read More
College | Story | 3/24/2026

College Players of the Week: March 24

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
March 24th Perfect Game/Player of the Week: Quinton Coats, IF, Cincinnati The Cincinnati Bearcats (19-7) are on the cusp of the Top 25 and are playing their best ball of the season. The offense has been the driving force behind their success, and it has been incredibly consistent having averaged 8.5-runs per game. In the middle of it all, Quinton Coats, is on pace for a historic season both within the program and on a national level. The 6-3/225 infielder from Olathe, KS has been launching home runs at a record pace and opponents seem to be powerless to stop his onslaught. With incredible strength in his hands, Coats creates easy loft and in 5 road games last week he collected 9 hits in 20 at-bats, with 4 home runs, 9 runs scored, and he drove in a total of 9 runs as well. As for his pursuit of history, the modern day BBCOR bat standard single season home run record is 34, set back in...
Read More
College | Recruiting | 3/23/2026

Recruiting Notebook: March 23

Ryan Miller
Article Image
High speed look at the FF-SL from '27 SS/RHP Harry Chubb Jones Jr. (GA)... #BeastoftheEast @PG_Uncommitted @PG_Georgia https://t.co/zXWgDJjU0y pic.twitter.com/GUIUN4tWmw — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) June 25, 2025 Harry Chubb Jones Jr., RHP/SS, Class of 2027 Commitment: Alabama Jones recently flipped his commitment from Clemson to Alabama, landing Rob Vaughn and staff a high-end two-way talent in the ’27 class. The Georgia native possesses tremendous upside on the mound, working from a long and lean right-handed frame that displays projection and athleticism. Jones starts over the face before working to the belt and into a higher pronounced leg lift. He fires down the mound via a standard-length arm action and high three-quarters slot. Chubb’s fastball/slider combination and feel for the zone, with the heater showcasing run/ride traits and power into the high-90s....
Read More
College | Rankings | 3/22/2026

College Top 25: March 23

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
Time flies when you are having fun and the fact that we are almost to the halfway point of the 2026 season, proves just how entertaining things have been to this point. In what was an ultra-impactful week on the national landscape, there are some clubs fading out of the limelight while others are emerging from the shadows and showing they are a force to be reconned with. Conference play always makes the big picture come into view and we are now getting a feel for who the true contenders may be as the grind begins. The UCLA Bruins (21-2) keep their stranglehold on the top spot in the land as they remain unchallenged since the start of Big Ten play and finished the week with a (4-0) record. The Texas Longhorns (20-3) did lose back-to-back games this week but showed their resilience by winning an intense road series against now No. 7 Auburn (19-4). Georgia Tech (19-5) also had a (2-2) week...
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.