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Tournaments  | Story | 7/9/2009

Watching the WWBA: You've got to love it

MARIETTA, Ga. -- If you've ever run a baseball tournament with 16 teams, you know what a logistical nightmare it can be with fields, umpires, teams, rosters, concessions, gatekeepers, cleanup crews and unruly weather. Now imagine trying it with 192 teams.

That's how many teams are currently playing in the World Wood Bat Association 17U National Championships in Georgia, a massive event that began on Tuesday and will continue through Monday with the fianls. This comes on the heels of the 192 teams that entered the 18U National Championships here from June 30 through July 6, and it precedes the 174 clubs that are expected for the 16U tournament on July 14-20.

All told, Perfect Game USA anticipated having nearly 700 teams and approximately 10,000 players in the five age groups in the WWBA this year over a busy six-week period from June 18 through July 26, with competition in 14U, 15U, 16U, 17U and 18U.

It's mind-boggling.

The 17U tournament is being played at 25 fields in Georgia, with locations in Marietta, Alpharetta, Roswell, Smyrna, Canton, Woodstock, Kennesaw, Austell and Atlanta. The hub is the impressive East Cobb Baseball Complex in Marietta, with its three regulation diamonds that feature 15 games per day. There are a total of eight fields at the East Cobb Complex, including five fields for younger players, making East Cobb the envy of many.

It's hard to know exactly how many college coaches and pro scouts are attending the 17U tournament this week, because not everybody signs in, but there probably are more than 500 in attendance. Most of the top college programs in the country have people here, but so do a whole bunch of D-2, D-3, NAIA and junior college teams. Everybody is looking for players, and there are lots of good ones here -- along with many great ones. The Savannah College of Art and Design is here, along with Ivy League schools, the Air Force Academy and Army.

They could play a mini-Aflac All-American game in Georgia this week with all the Aflac stars in the tournament, but they aren't the only superior players. There are players from 37 states in the tournament, including an entire team from Hawaii, along with players from Canada, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.

Last week at the 18U tournament, a pitcher named Dalton Acord had an impressive outing and was immediately signed to a pro contract by the Atlanta Braves. He's now practicing with the Braves' Rookie League team in the Gulf Coast League and expects to make his pro debut next week. One day, he's playing in an amateur 18U tournament. The next day, he's a professional baseball player.

If you're wondering about the logistics of a 192-team tournament, here's how it works: There are 32 pools with six teams apiece, and everybody plays five pool games with one game apiece on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The 32 pool champs will advance to the championship round on Saturday night, and there will be 16 teams in the picture when everyone wakes up Sunday. They'll play the Round of 16 and the quarterfinals on Sunday, followed by the semifinals and finals on Monday. The two teams that reach the championship game on Monday will have played 10 games in seven days, which puts a premium on a deep and talented pitching staff.

It's a lot of baseball, but it's more than that. The East Cobb Complex features an array of vendors with bats, caps, gloves, jerseys, T-shirts and many other baseball products for sale. There was even a jewelry stand today, featuring objects with a baseball theme.

You've got to love it.

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...
High School | Rankings | 2/4/2026

Florida Region Top Teams

Tyler Russo
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Florida All Region Team & Top Tools   Rk School Record 1 Stoneman Douglas 31-2 2 Tampa Jesuit 25-10 3 Trinity Christian Academy 30-5 4 South Walton 31-4 5 IMG Academy 24-1 6 Venice 29-5 7 Bishop Verot 32-3 8 American Heritage (Plantation) 29-6 9 St. Thomas Aquinas 29-6-1 10 Doral Academy Charter 27-8-1 11 North Broward Prep 23-8 12 Lincoln 24-11 13 Mater Academy 25-9-1 14 The First Academy 30-4 15 Alonso 21-13 16 St. John's Country Day 26-9 17 Bishop Snyder 23-8 18 Spruce Creek 30-4 19 Buchholz 33-3 20 Lake Mary 15-15 21 Miami Springs 28-3 22 Jupiter 25-10 23 Plant City 16-12 24 Berkeley Prep 25-10 25 Winter Park 25-6
College | Story | 2/4/2026

Conference Preview: Northeast

Jason Phillips
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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 CCSU 23 7 31 17 Coppin State 13 17 15 34 Delaware State 6 24 7 34 FDU 16 14 16 37 LeMoyne 17 13 20 28 LIU 24 6 35 23 UMES 6 24 7 41 Mercyhurst 15 15 17 35 New Haven* 12 12 24 20 Norfolk State 4 26 4 38 Stonehill 18 12 20 32 Wagner 23 7 31 22 *Member Northeast-10 DII Preseason All Conference Team Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Frankie Ferrentino CCSU .281-13-35, 9 2Bs, (Merrimack), Double digit HR all 3 years at Merrimack 1B Jayden Walker Mercyhurst .314-12-40, 10...
Press Release | Press Release | 2/4/2026

Baseball Meets Hollywood For Great Cause

Jim Salisbury
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BASEBALL MEETS HOLLYWOOD FOR A GREAT CAUSE    There’s no crying in baseball, but there is laughing, and there was lots and lots of it -- for a great cause -- last Saturday night in Hollywood, California. Perfect Game and its Believe in Baseball Foundation assembled a star-studded cast of comics and guests for the inaugural “In the Spirit of the Game” dinner and auction. The event was held at the iconic Laugh Factory, a historic venue that, in baseball terms, would be equivalent to Dodger Stadium or Wrigley Field. Late-night superstar Jay Leno took a turn on stage. So did comedic aces Tiffany Haddish, Nikki Glaser, Dustin Ybarra and Gary Cannon. “It was 4 ½ hours of straight laughter,” said PG commissioner Dennis Gilbert, still beaming a couple of days later. “It was a really nice success.” No one kept score at the event, but...
High School | General | 2/4/2026

West Region High School Sleepers

Joey Cohen
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Talking and debating sleeper prospects might be my favorite part of scouting. It’s where context, projection, and conviction matter most—whether it’s an underrated performer who keeps producing on the circuit, a raw but explosive athlete you can dream on, or an arm with starter traits that hasn’t quite made the stuff jump yet. These are the players who tend to separate evaluators, reward patience, and make the spring HS season really fascinating. Below are several West Region prospects outside the T100 who fit that mold and deserve serious attention as the spring unfolds. Jet Berry, Queen Creek HS, Arizona There’s a lot to like with Berry. He’s one of the more explosive, twitchy athletes in the country, and it shows consistently in all facets of his game. From a tools perspective his easy plus run and bat-to-ball ability stand out. He’s been a...
College | Rankings | 2/4/2026

Preseason NAIA Top 25

Nick Herfordt
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The 2026 NAIA Baseball Rankings arrive with the familiar weight of expectations and a few fresh storylines that make the new season feel electric from top to bottom. At the very front of the pack, perennial power Tennessee Wesleyan stands tall once again, a program that has turned sustained excellence into something bordering on routine. The Bulldogs are not just ranked highly, they set the tone. Year after year, they combine elite talent, veteran leadership, and a culture that refuses to blink under pressure. It says everything about the depth of this year’s field that it was genuinely difficult not to slide LSU Shreveport back into the top spot yet again. After all, how in the world does a team stay that good after losing so many impact players? The answer is simple and timeless. Success breeds success. Programs that live in championship air know how to reload, not reset, and...
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...
General | Blog | 2/3/2026

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...
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...
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...
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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