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College  | Story | 12/23/2020

Year in Review: College

Vincent Cervino
Photo: Spencer Torkelson (Arizona State Athletics)
Year in Review: PG Events | High School

Season Canceled Right Before Conference Play



We got about four weeks into the NCAA season before the pandemic led to the eventual cancellation of the season with a majority of conferences being shutout from playing conference games entirely. There were a number of teams and players we didn’t get the chance to truly appreciate and the entire situation was just unfortunate on an overall basis.

There were a lot of impressive early season matchups including Florida-Miami, Florida State-Texas Tech, and Mississippi State-Oregon State to name a few and we got to see some really exciting baseball. The loss of the season will undoubtedly have far-reaching effects to the sport at-large over the next few years but all eyes seem set on getting the 2021 season underway in some capacity come next spring.

College Leads the way for MLB Draft

College players and prospects continue to dominate the early round selections as 24 out of 37 picks in the first and first competitive balance round came from the college ranks. This draft started by the long-projected 1:1 pick in Arizona State’s Spencer Torkelson and then went seven in a row as the first seven picks were college players followed by Robert Hassell III at the eighth pick.

The draft seems likely to favor college selections early in 2021 once more as a large amount of players near the top come from universities. Thanks to the shortened draft and free agent cap in 2020, there may not be a more talented time for college baseball than the next few seasons. With the talent ramped up and teams showing they can develop top-tier draft talent, it’s an exciting time to be a college baseball fan.

Gators Favorites for 2021?

The Florida Gators had finished off a three-game sweep of Miami in a top-10 matchup prior to the shutdown and they return almost their entire roster with the surprising returns of Friday and Saturday starters Tommy Mace and Jack Leftwich. They had ascended to No. 1 in the country and remained there at season’s cancelation and now they appear to be primed as favorites heading into the new calendar year.

There’s a combination of star power and depth that should excite Gator fans as they return the entire weekend rotation of the aforementioned Mace and Leftwich along with star sophomore Hunter Barco. Jud Fabian is a prospective top-10 pick next July and he’ll have the Gators, who return starters at every position but one, in a prime position.

Shortened Draft Leads to Depth

There’s been one word that comes up on a consistent basis when chatting with coaches and contacts throughout the college baseball world: depth. There were only five rounds in the 2020 MLB Draft along with a free agent signing cap of only $20k. This leads to not only a number of players who would normally not return in a normal year to suit up once more in 2021, but this also leaves swaths of high school players who would normally sign in the later rounds heading to campus.

The combination of returnees and new faces, including both transfers and freshmen, along with the currently nullified roster limits have created for some pretty big fall rosters. With missing most summers, this has allowed teams to scrimmage often and have a good amount of healthy competition throughout fall camp. The fall has been fruitful for most of the country with the expectation being that almost every team in the country is going to have their most talented team of the last handful of years for the 2021 season.

New Challenges Face Next Spring

“What will the college baseball schedule look like next year?” seems to be the million dollar question these days. There have been reports of different structured schedules depending on both the conference and the individual states, a process that requires seemingly multiple governing bodies to sign off on proposed legislation. This leaves a sense of uncertainty with regards to the logistics of a schedule for next spring.

Different conferences are going to have different schedules and require different barometers in order to play, as we’ve seen so far with basketball and football. Also as we’ve seen with other sports, there is the reality that teams may have to deal with competitive play challenges due to number of players or positional groups being out for potential games. This is obviously a fairly minute point under the banner of keeping teams and players safe, but presents a challenge that coaching staffs are going to have to deal with on a day-to-day basis next spring.

The sport remains hopeful that 2021 will be able to go off relatively smoothly with little-to-no turbulence along the way. There are a number of challenges to be faced and a number of obstacles to overcome but what seems to be clear is that after losing the 2020 season the players and coaches don’t want to lose another one.
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College | Story | 2/3/2026

Conference Preview: Patriot
Anthony Gambardella
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2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order*  Team W L W L Army West Point 25 25 14 11 Bucknell 18 27 10 15 Holy Cross 31 27 17 8 Lafayette 14 35 9 16 Lehigh 24 26 11 14 Navy 26 25 14 11 Preseason All Conference Team Pos.  Name  School  Stats/Notes  C  Ty Deperno  Navy  Named PL Rookie of the Year & to 2nd Team All-PL in ‘25; batted .307 w/ 33 runs & 32 RBI  IF  Thomas Schreck  Army West Point  Named to 1st Team All-PL in ‘25; batted .335 w/ 40...
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Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 62

Ron Wolforth
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Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 62, Part 1 Demystifying the Curveball, Pitch Counts, and Weighted Balls - Part 2  Now, on to Part 2 of our three-part series on baseball's most misunderstood topics. We tackled the curveball. Next up: pitch counts. And in Part 3, we'll address weighted balls, another subject where fear has outpaced reason.   Why these three? Because they share something in common: each has been reduced to a simplistic, one-size-fits-all rule that ignores the complexity of human performance. And in each case, well-meaning people have latched onto these rules as if they're gospel, while the arm injury epidemic continues unabated.  It's time to think more clearly.   Part II: Demystifying Pitch Counts   Let me be clear from the start: I am not anti-pitch count.   Pitch counts are a valuable tool. We use them at...
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High School | General | 2/2/2026

Monday Morning SoCal Notebook

Steve Fiorindo
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Three hitters and three pitchers that really impressed or improved their stock at the Area Code Select at Dodger Stadium.  Gotta start with James Clark as he stole the show offensively, and right out of the gate, with a pull side home run as just the second hitter of the game.  Added a triple to the pull side again, again on the barrel.  Added a single up the middle.  Really showed exceptional feel for the barrel.  Flew out to center field on two occasions, both barreled up pretty well, with one getting lost in the sun.  I’m old and salty, so didn’t give him the double for the cycle, but he was the most impressive bat (easily) on the day.   One of the other position players that impressed, I’ve been somewhat critical of, have spoken with his travel coach a little bit about him behind the plate, but Vista Murrieta catcher Taytum...
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Softball | General | 2/2/2026

PG Softball Announce Leadership Hires

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 SOFTBALL ANNOUNCES KEY LEADERSHIP HIRES    Charlotte, North Carolina (Monday, February 2, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced the hiring of two industry-leading softball directors to lead and expand its footprint in the Charlotte, North Carolina market. The additions underscore Perfect Game Softball’s long-term commitment to North Carolina and its mission to elevate tournament standards, scouting opportunities, and player development across the region. Both were...
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High School | Rankings | 2/3/2026

Top High School Team by State

Tyler Russo
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As we continue to roll out our Preseason High School content, we look at what teams come into 2026 as the “team to beat” in each state, whether through prior success or talented rosters. Many of these teams will win titles in their respective states, but most are closely followed by other talented teams in their state that will look to take over the label as the “top team in the state” when we update this after the 2026 high school season. State School Alabama Hoover Alaska Service Arizona Casteel Arkansas Valley View California St. John Bsco Colorado Regis Jesuit Connecticut Fairfield Prep Delaware Sussex Central District of Columbia St. Johns Florida Stoneman Douglas Georgia Etowah Hawaii Kamehameha Kapalama Idaho Eagle Illinois Brother Rice Indiana Center Grove Iowa Waukee Kansas St. Thomas Aquinas Kentucky Trinity Louisiana Barbe Maine Fryeburg Maryland...
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High School | General | 2/2/2026

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Cam McElwaney
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High School Preview Index | High School Top 50 As we have finished unveiling the National High School Top 50, we now look at the abundance of high-level prospects that make up those rosters, building 3 teams at the Class of 2026 level and an underclass team, all made ONLY from players on the teams across the Top 50. Upperclass 1st Team Pos Name High School State Team Rank C Jorvorskie Lane Jr. Grapevine TX 7 1B Will Adams Hoover AL 43 INF Tyler Spangler De La Salle CA 12 INF Cole Prosek Magnolia Heights MS 16 INF James Clark St. John Bosco CA 1 OF Brady Harris Trinity Christian Academy FL 6 OF Malachi Washington Parkview GA 34 OF Trevor Condon Etowah GA 5 UT Matt Ponatoski Archbishop Moeller OH 35 2W Coleman Borthwick South Walton FL 8 P Gio Rojas Stoneman Douglas FL 2 P Kaden Waechter Tampa Jesuit FL 4 P Bo Holloway Nolensville TN 36 P Joseph Contreras Blessed Trinity GA 9 P Savion Sims...
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College | Story | 2/2/2026

Conference Preview: Mountain West

Joey Cohen
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2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order*  Teams W L W L Air Force 12 18 20 34 Fresno State 18 12 31 29 GCU 13 11 31 27 Nevada 19 11 34 23 New Mexico 17 13 30 23 SDSU 14 16 20 39 San Jose State 13 17 29 30 UNLV 16  14 31 23 Washington State 11 19 18 36 Preseason All Conference Team Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Walker Zapp Air Force  .330/.420/.579 with 7 HRs, athletic catcher with strong catch/throw ability.  1B  Jayce Dobie Nevada .339/.413/.526 with 7 HRs. Physical presence. On base skills...
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College | Recruiting | 2/2/2026

Northeast Recruiting Notebook

Ryan Miller
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Jack Nicholls (‘27, NJ) working the 85-88 T89 mph range on the FB w/ some angle & life. Shorter & compact AA thru it. Mid-70s CB w/ good bite & depth to it. Mostly FB attack early on. @PGMidAtlantic @PG_Uncommitted @Oilers_BPC #WWBAWorlds pic.twitter.com/7WYz7ExUPE — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) October 3, 2025 Jack Nicholls, RHP, Class of 2027 Commitment: Tennessee Josh Elander and the Vols’ staff venture into the Northeast to snag an up-arrow right-hander out of New Jersey. Nicholls works from a medium frame with athleticism and present lower half strength. He starts at the belt exclusively from the stretch, transitioning into a high and compact leg lift. Nicholls fires down the mound via a whippy and quick arm action and high three-quarters slot. The South Jersey product works a lively fastball into the low-to-mid 90s, mixing in a sharp two-plane...
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College | Story | 2/2/2026

Conference Preview: Coastal

Ryan Miller
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2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order*  School W L W L Campbell 25 31 15 12 College of Charleston 37 22 15 12 Elon 25 32 13 14 Hofstra 18 36 8 19 Monmouth 24 30 10 17 NC A&T 15 37 9 18 Northeastern 49 11 25 2 Stony Brook 25 27 11 16 Towson 21 35 11 16 UNC-Wilmington 34 24 19 8 William & Mary 21 35 14 13 Preseason All-Conference Team Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Tyler Smith North Carolina A&T Switch-hitting backstop who slashed .323/.414/.542 in ’25 and earned a Team USA training camp invite....
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High School | General | 1/31/2026

Preseason HS Top 50

Tyler Russo
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The start of another high school season is right around the corner in a handful of states and with that, as always, comes our Preseason High School Top-50. A whopping twenty states are represented in the initial Top-50, a number that is staggering when you look at the amount of depth some of these rosters have across the nation. Leading the group is St. John Bosco (CA), a team that brought home a CIF Southern D1 title in 2025 and bring back a strong group of seniors to look to repeat. Stoneman Douglas (FL) is a name most people should know by now in the high school ranks and comes in as our preseason #2 team, looking to win their sixth straight state championship in Florida. Orange Lutheran (CA) had a good case for preseason #1 but come it an No. 3, bringing a roster with seven seniors ranked inside the top-200 in the country to the table. Four other Florida schools are represented...
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