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| 2,631 MLB PLAYERS | 16,402 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,631 MLB PLAYERS | 16,402 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Tournaments  | Story | 10/15/2020

Deeper Dive into the WWBA Freshman

Photo: Jack Frankel (Perfect Game)
WWBA Freshmen WC Scout Notes: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5

The 8th annual WWBA Freshman World Championship just wrapped up this past Monday in Fort Myers, Florida, returning to where it all began in 2013. Over its eight years the tournament has grown exponentially while the talent pool continues to take off, providing a platform for some of the best eighth graders and newly minted freshmen from around the country to put their talents on display. Of course, with the twist that 2020 presented, Division 1 college coaches weren’t permitted to attend by the NCAA but that’s another area of the tournament that has continued to grow as recruiters have made the event a priority on their calendar as it’s paired alongside the WWBA World Championship. Quite the far cry from it’s inaugural year when only one coach was in the stands which also speaks to the expediting of the recruiting process. 



Speaking of college commitments, back in 2013 the WWBA Freshman World Championships didn’t have a single listed commitment amongst the teams in attendance. But what about in 2020? When the final pitch of the tournament was thrown and the Canes FL 2024 club was crowned champion, 36 players had already given their verbal commitments to college programs around the country while right-hander Tag Andrews, who threw a no-hitter in the playoffs for the Louisiana Knights, announced his commitment to the University of Arkansas just following the conclusion of the tournament. 

The Canes FL 2024 went a perfect 8-0 in route to bringing home the title, the seventh organization to do so as the Banditos Elite won it in back-to-back years in 2015 and 2016. An offensive juggernaut throughout the summer, the Canes continued to score runs by the handful as they crossed the plate 32 times in just 3 pool play games before scoring another 26 across the playoffs. Both the MVP and MVPitcher came off their roster as Niko Benestad finished with a .571 average, one home run and 14 RBI helping to pace the offense while Maddix Simpson logged 10.2 innings across four appearances in which he struck out 12 and pounded the strike zone, issuing just a single walk. And for good measure he also hit .364 with 4 doubles and a triple. 

Now that we have some history of the tournament and talked about the Canes FL impressive run, lets take a closer look at some of the numbers and performances from players across the tournament.

Here’s a number to let sink in. At a tournament comprised exclusively of eighth graders and freshmen in high school, 72 different arms touched at least 84 mph on the radar gun. While the 90 mph record set by Brandon Jenkins back in the first years has only been made in subsequent seasons, 88 mph was the top in this year’s event, a three-way tie between Jack Frankel, Brooks Wright, and Carson Messina. 

Statistically through the Top Performers, the top three pitching performances of the tournament belonged to Nicholas Rovitti, Tag Andrews, and Jack Frankel as all three recorded at least 21 outs over the tournament and had a strikeout total in the double digits with Rovitti’s 17 leading the tournament. Not far behind, unsurprisingly, was MVPitcher Maddix Simpson. 

While it may seem as though the pitching was dominant, plenty of bats stood out in a loud way including a two home run showing from both Thomas Bly and Drew Rogers whose right-handed strength is certainly something to make note of. Both Niko Benestad and Rowan Kelly led the tournament with 12 hits apiece while Everett Johnson, Daquan Cox, and Daniel Arambula all finished the week with 10 hits and PJ Morlando and Jason Bello were close behind with 9 of their own. Of the performances listed above, Kelly’s may have been the most impressive as his Meta Prime team lost in the second round of the playoffs, leaving him with three less games than every other 9+ hit performer. 

In a tournament that provides a glimpse at the next wave of talent, you don’t have to squint to see that the future is bright for the game of baseball. Congrats to the Canes FL 2024 team for taking down the title among the field of 84 and being named champions of the 8th annual WWBA Freshman World Championship. 
 

Tournaments | Story | 11/6/2026

National All State Preview: Week 1

Hannah Jo Groves
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This weekend, teams from all around the country in the 10U, 12U and 14U divisions will converge on the Houston area for the 2026 PG National All-State Select Championships. The 10U division will have 22 teams, 12U will have 23 and 14U will have 22. All ages have many different states represented - from Hawaii, to the Pacific Northwest, to Arizona, to New England, to Carolina to Florida and many more. “National All-State brings together the best players in the country across Houston,” national crosschecker and northeast scouting director, John McAdams, said. “It’s a fun atmosphere for ultimate bragging rights amongst all the regions the PG platform reaches domestically while serving as a good litmus test for myself, Jheremy Brown and Tyler Russo to see the players. We get another glimpse at the end of the year as we start to formulate our initial thoughts on the...
General | General | 11/6/2026

Class of 2028 Rankings Update

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Draft | Rankings | 11/6/2026

2027 MLB Draft Board Update: Top 200

Tyler Henninger
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PG Draft Content Hub With the fall season winding down and the winter months approaching, it is time for another draft board update.  After getting more live looks and gathering information from the fall action across the country, we have expanded the board to a Top-200. The class continues to feature an intriguing mix of arms from both the prep and college ranks, along with an enticing position player pool.  There is still plenty of time for new names to emerge and established prospects to continue to improve their draft stock, but here is where things stand as we head into the winter.  * denotes draft eligible sophomore Rk. Name Level Pos. B-T School Hometown State Commitment 1 Dylan Seward H SS S-R Norco Eastvale CA Tennessee 2 Brendan Lawson C SS L-R Florida Toronto ON 3 Dax Whitney C RHP R-R Oregon State Blackfoot ID 4 Tomas Valincius C LHP L-L Mississippi State...
College | Story | 11/6/2026

College Fall Notebook: November 6

Craig Cozart
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Virginia Cavaliers  2026 In Review:  Under the leadership of first year Head Coach Chris Pollard, the Cavaliers won 37 games which was the second most victories by a first-year coach in program history.  Virginia went (37-23) finishing tied for 8th in the ACC and earned an at-large bid to the Hattiesburg Regional.  They fielded a talented offense that averaged over 8-runs per game, highlighted by AJ Gracia and Eric Becker who were both selected on Day 1 of the 2026 MLB Draft.  While the defensive squad wasn’t quite as elite as usual, they were ultra-competitive on the mound with a strong rotation and lock down bullpen.  With plenty of talent returning for Pollard and his staff in ’27, they should be a force on a national level once again.  Impact Returners:    Senior Antonio Perrotta (.266/.459/.431, 5 HR, 6 2B, 24 RBI) experienced...
General | General | 11/5/2026

Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 70

Ron Wolforth
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That Off-Season Program Wasn't Built for Your Son. It Was Built for Nobody. The Harsh Reality of Skill Development · Part 2 of 5 Somewhere right now, a pitcher is starting a twelve-week off-season program. It came from his travel team. Or a trainer. Or a big leaguer's Instagram. It has phases and a logo, and every kid in the building got the same one. Here is the harsh reality. That program was written before anybody looked at your son. It doesn't know he exists. It was built for the average pitcher... and the average pitcher does not exist. A Template Fixes Somebody's Problem. Maybe Not His. Every pitcher who is stuck is stuck for a reason. We call that reason his constraint... the thing that is actually limiting him right now. For one kid it is strength. For the next it is mobility. For the next it is a mechanical inefficiency, or an arm that isn't recovering, or a body that...
General | General | 11/5/2026

Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 69

Ron Wolforth
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Your Son's April Arm Injury is Being Scheduled Right Now   The Harsh Reality of Skill Development - Part 1 of 5 Let me start this series with something most people in baseball won't say out loud. In my experience, a great many of the arm problems we will see next April are being set up right now... in October, November and December. Not necessarily because a young pitcher is throwing too much. Often it's because of what happens when he stops. Here is the pattern. I have watched it for more than thirty years. The fall season ends. The arm is tired, so the family does what seems like the responsible thing.  They shut it down. No throwing. For a lot of kids, no anything. Weeks go by. The holidays come and go. Then somebody looks at a calendar in January and realizes tryouts are three weeks away. Suddenly, an arm that has done nothing since October is asked to go from zero to game...
High School | Rankings | 11/4/2026

Class of 2027 Rankings Risers

Kyler Peterson
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Complete Class of 2027 Rankings With the end of the summer and fall seasons behind us, it was time for a quick refresh of the 2027 class rankings. Below you'll be able to read about some of the biggest risers up the board, led by North Carolina outfielder John Hucko who jumped more than 110 spots to now sit at No. 20 overall.  John Hucko, OF, Charlotte, N.C. Previous Rank: 132 | Current Rank: 20 Hucko makes a huge leap into the top-20 players in the class after a dominating showing in Jupiter. It’s as good of a left-handed swing as you’ll come across with pretty easy impact to all parts. He’s a supreme athlete with all the tools to play center long term and is a present plus runner. Hucko is a name that cemented his prospect status in Jupiter and will be a name to follow for next year’s MLB Draft. Elyjah Mason, SS, Lake Forest, Calif. Previous Rank: 71 |...
General | General | 11/3/2026

Class of 2027 Rankings Update

Perfect Game Staff
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Press Release | Press Release | 11/2/2026

PG Partners Up with Minority Prospects

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 ANNOUNCES MEDIA RIGHTS PARTNERSHIP WITH MINORITY PROSPECTS   Sanford, Florida (Monday, November 2, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced a media rights partnership with Minority Prospects, the Atlanta-based organization that has become the largest platform in the world for minority baseball and softball prospects. The partnership kicked off last month at the WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Fla., Perfect Game's premier fall event, where Minority Prospects produced content featuring some of the nation's top amateur players in front of college coaches, professional scouts and MLB legends. Under the agreement, Minority...
Draft | Story | 10/30/2026

2027 Draft Preview: Prep Middle Infielders

Ryan Miller
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2027 MLB Draft Profile Preview: Collegiate Right-Handed Pitchers | Collegiate Left-Handed Pitchers The premium profile in each class often are prep middle infielders, a sought-after group with the athletic ability to stick on the dirt or land throughout the diamond long term. This demographic has produced the superstars of today’s game and therefore are selected in prime spots while demanding high-end signing bonuses. This group features a mix of loud tools, high level projection, and impact defenders. Below we break down at the top prep middle infielder in the 2027 cycle.  ‘27 SS Dylan Seward (CA)- liftoff from the No. 1 player in the class. A solo blast to RCF to extend the lead for @TheCanesBB #WWBA @California_PG @Vol_Baseball commit https://t.co/lJjNg6T7PS — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) June 27, 2026 SS Dylan Seward, Norco (CA)  The Southern...
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