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All American Game  | Story | 8/17/2021

Neal Makes The Leap To The Classic

Blake Dowson
Photo: Brady Neal (Perfect Game)
Brady Neal made the five-hour move from Tallahassee to Bradenton, Fla. before his sophomore year of high school to attend IMG Academy and play for the Crusader baseball team.
 
Much has been written and said about IMG and the immense amount of talent on that roster year-in and year-out. This year alone, IMG has three Perfect Game All-Americans – No. 1 overall 2022 prospect Elijah Green, No. 6 Jackson Ferris, and Neal, who slots in at No. 52.
 
Neal didn’t exactly expect to be headed to San Diego for the All-American Classic this weekend back when he jumped in the car in Tallahassee and headed to IMG last year. Not because he didn’t think he was talented enough, because he certainly was. It was because at that point, he was a top catcher in the 2023 class, still a year away from eligibility in the All-American.
 
However, after hitting .371 over 62 plate appearances with 22 RBI and nine extra-base hits all while proving to be one of the best backstops in the country regardless of age, Neal made the decision to re-classify into the 2022 class.
 
“I had a good sophomore year at school,” he said. “And it basically gave me the confidence and it proved to people that I can play with those older guys and succeed against those older guys. It really helps my situation the younger I am in the class, so that was a big part of the decision. I really wanted to get to college or go pro, get to my next step, as soon as I could.”
 
Neal said he received help from a host of people when it came time to make that decision – his advisor, his parents, Director of Baseball Dan Simonds at IMG, and the guidance counselors all played a part in making sure he was ready to make the jump, both physically and in the classroom.
 
He also made a call to the LSU coaching staff, wanting to make sure they would have a place for him a year earlier than expected. He was basically told the earlier he could get to campus, the better.
 
At the time, that was Paul Mainieri’s staff. That’s no longer the case, with Jay Johnson replacing Mainieri after his retirement at the conclusion of the 2021 season.
 
The coaching change in Baton Rouge made Neal pause for maybe all of a few seconds, but ultimately doesn’t change a thing about how excited he is to put on the purple and gold.
 
“I took a step back and realized that it was meant to be,” Neal said. “Whatever is meant to be is going to happen. It’s meant to be for me to go and play there. You just have to sit back and let things happen and figure out what you want to do. LSU is where I want to go. I’ve always loved it. I like watching them, I like the tradition, the fans.”
 
It’s easy to see he checks all the necessary boxes to move on to the next level. At 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, Neal moves as athletically as anyone you’ll find behind the plate, and his left-handed stroke at the plate is a smooth one. He has the pedigree of catching some of the more talented staffs around at IMG, as well as his 5 Star teammates.

He's been rostered in 46 PG events now, notably stringing together consecutive all-tournament team performances this summer at the National Elite Championship, Ultimate Baseball Championship, Southeast Elite Championship, Southeast Memorial Day Classic, and the PG High School Showdown, where his IMG squad took home a title. 
 
With that package in tow, Neal now finds himself thrust into the travel schedule of the elite baseball prospect heading into his final year as a prep – PG National, then the Prospect Development Pipeline league, East Coast Pro after that, and finishing up with the All-American Classic in late August.
 
He will be the youngest player in attendance at the Classic, not yet 17 years old when he takes the field at Petco Park in San Diego on August 22.
 
Getting selected to play in the event is an honor, Neal said, and a validation of sorts on his decision to jump into the 2022 class. This is something he has had his mind on since 2015, when North Florida Christian alum and future first rounder Cole Ragans was selected to play in the All-American Classic. North Florida Christian, in Tallahassee, is the school district Neal was in at the time of Ragans’ selection.
 
“Since I re-classed, it really meant a lot [to be selected],” he said. “I worked really hard to get there…It’s definitely been a goal of mine. A kid at my old school [Ragans] was selected when I was in seventh grade, so it’s been a dream of mine since then.”
 
That dream has become a reality, and a year earlier than originally dreamt.
 
Neal will head to San Diego with certain goals for the game – these guys are playing with and against the best prep prospects in the country on national television, they all want to play well – but more than anything, he wants to soak it all in.
 
“There are obviously goals you set for yourself,” he said. “Catch well, get a base hit or two, maybe a double. But really I just want to have fun. There aren’t many opportunities to get to do things like this. So you just relax and do what you know how to do.”
 
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All American Game | Story | 7/3/2026

Initial 2026 All Star Game Roster Reveal
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We are excited to announce the first selections for the 2026 PG All Star Game from both the Perfect Game Junior and Sophomore National Showcases. The PG All Star Game will be held on Friday, August 14th at Citizens Bank Ballpark, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies, and will feature roughly 40 of the top players, predominately from the 2028 class with a few of the very best 2029s also selected. A watchlist has been created from the Junior National Showcase and another group of players will be selected from that showcase towards the end of July as we continue to evaluate players at the major Perfect Game tournaments this summer. The final wave of selections we be made at the PG Underclass All American Games August 5-7 at the UCSD in San Diego, CA. PG Underclass All American Games   Junior National Selections Dexter McCleon Jr. OF Suwanee, GA USA Prime Cullen Scott RHP/3B Melissa,...
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Tournaments | Story | 7/7/2026

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Kinley Kitchens
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Two days into the 2026 Perfect Game 15U National Elite Championship, the storylines are already beginning to take shape. As one of the summer’s premier invite-only events, the tournament annually brings together many of the nation’s top 15U clubs, with 100 elite teams traveling to Hoover in pursuit of a championship. While there is still plenty of baseball left to play, the opening rounds have already produced breakout performances, dominant team victories, and plenty of excitement heading into bracket play. Several nationally recognized organizations entered the week as favorites, including MTBA Dawgs, ranked No. 3 nationally, Wildcatters Baseball at No. 10, and 5 Star Mafia, ranked No. 12. Meanwhile, newer programs like Jason Kidd Select Team have quickly shown they are capable of making noise against the nation’s best. One of the biggest storylines through the first...
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Tournaments | Story | 7/7/2026

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Jason Phillips
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College | Story | 7/7/2026

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John Coppolella
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It’s an exciting time for College Baseball. Not only do potential and proposed changes to the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) elevate the game, but we are coming off a thrilling College World Series and less than a week away from Major League Baseball’s 2026 Amateur Draft. In the middle of it all is the Cape Cod Baseball League.  The amateur players on the Cape are the future stars of the 2027 MLB Draft. The league runs from June 13th  through August 2nd. Games are played at historic stadiums in Old New England towns. It’s beautiful and charming. Hollywood even made a movie about the Cape Cod League ~25 years ago called Summer Catch. It scored an 8% (!) on Rotten Tomatoes, but, on the plus side, it featured 2001 Jessica Biel in a starring role.  It was so much fun writing Coppy’s Column this spring. My hope is to highlight a pitcher and...
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Tournaments | Story | 7/6/2026

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Quick Hits  Each year at the end of June and beginning of July, top collegiate baseball talent from around the nation arrives in Cary, NC at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.  Typically, the rosters are filled with top underclass, non-draft-eligible talent but this year, we will see a sprinkling of upper-classmen as the coaches evaluate just under 60 players to get to their final 28 roster spots.  For a total of two weeks, the Stars Squad and the Stripes Squad will compete against outside competition in North Carolina as well as Virginia before finishing their slate with 5-games against each other at the NTC Complex.  Once the final roster has been announced the team will depart for Taiwan to compete in the 2026 World Baseball Championships, July 11-15.    CNT Stars Position Players  Anthony Pack Jr.  FR / OF / University of Texas ...
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Draft | Mock Draft | 7/6/2026

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Tyler Henninger
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Tournaments | Story | 7/5/2026

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Perfect Game Staff
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Perfect Game Staff
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After a heavy stretch of early summer looks, our scouting staff felt confident rolling out an updated ‘28 national ranking a couple weeks ago. The evaluation window was packed whether it was with our Memorial Day and Summer Kickoff tournaments, UBC action, Sunshine Showcases, and of course the Junior National Showcase which all provided a deep and diverse look at the class against strong competition. Between fresh game evaluations and updated showcase data, we were able to get a clearer picture of where players stand and more importantly how they’ve progressed. Improvements in strength, athleticism, and overall skill were evident across the board giving our staff real conviction when it came time to shuffle the board. With that in mind, I wanted to highlight a handful of west region prospects who made a strong impression on me this summer and earned a well-deserved jump in...
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