THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,479 MLB PLAYERS | 15,806 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,479 MLB PLAYERS | 15,806 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Sign in Create Account
Sign in Create Account
Tournaments  | Story | 9/4/2021

Select Obermueller home of the Hawks

Jeff Dahn
Photo: Kooper Schulte (Perfect Game)

MARION,  Iowa – The start of the high school and college football seasons in the state of Iowa was on the minds of a lot of folks at the Prospect Meadows Sports Complex on Saturday morning, but not quite as much as the first full day of play at the Perfect Game Midwest Labor Day Classic.

It was a fall-like day at The Meadows with cool temps and mostly cloudy skies but for guys playing for top PG MWLDC Upperclass (18u) entrant PG Iowa Select 2022 Obermueller, this was perfect baseball weather. Even while the players’ and coaches’ beloved Iowa Hawkeyes were throttling Indiana, 34-6, in the Big Ten football opener for both top-20 programs.



“It’s a great atmosphere,” Select 2022 outfielder Cade Obermueller told PG on Saturday. “We love playing ball so we want to come out here and make the best of it. We know we have a good team and we’re going to try to win the whole thing.”

The champions in the four age divisions (Upperclass, Underclass, Sophomore and Freshman) won’t be crowned until Monday, but the Iowa Select 2022 Obermueller (Select 2022 O’s for our purposes) came into the Upperclass event well-positioned for success.

There are six PG Iowa Select teams in the Upperclass MWLDC field, with Wes Obermueller, John Renning, Tim Evans, Todd Huckabone, Gordy Nordgren and Eric Munson doing the coaching. The Iowa Select program has grown in leaps and bounds during the 2021 season, with numerous teams from Central Iowa coming on board.

The Eastern Iowa teams’ rosters are constantly in flux with players revolving from one manager to the other during the course of the season.

“There’s so much good talent in Iowa, and we’ve used PG as a resource to develop our talent; it’s just catapulted all these kids to have these opportunities,” Wes Obermueller said. “These rosters could just be flip-flopped in and out, and on my roster we’ve got a quite a few commitments already to D-I’s and jucos. With these ‘22s, the talent pool is so thick anymore; Iowa has developed so much good talent recently; it’s just awesome.”

The Select 2022 O’s roster lists six players who are seniors at City High School in Iowa City, including top-500 Iowa Hawkeyes commits in outfielder Cade Obermueller (Wes’s son) and middle-infielder Gable Mitchell; uncommitted left-hander Jay Kennedy, catcher John Klosterman and shortstop Gavin Koch are other City High seniors ranked as top-500 national prospects.

Mitchell was not available on Saturday because he is also a standout on the Little Hawks’ football team, which played a game Friday night. In fact, Obermueller said, his squad was without seven guys Saturday who also played football Friday night, although they are expected back on Sunday.

“A lot of the football players are pretty sore on Saturday,” Obermueller said. “They want to come out, but they need pretty much a day just to shake out the cobwebs from the night before. But we like a lot of multi-sport athletes, especially in the state of Iowa, and I’m all for that.

“All I’m here to do is try to pass on the knowledge that I’ve learned out of my pro career with anything I can offer and any advice I can give to any of the kids when they can show up.”

There were many other top prospects on hand ready to contribute for Obermueller on Saturday, including PG All-American and No. 39-ranked Kentucky commit Tommy Specht and top-500 Iowa commits Aaron Savary and Kellen Strohmeyer, all from Dubuque.

Also, there’s top-500 Hawkeyes commit Drew Prokovec and top-500 Southeastern CC commit Mason Behn from Cedar Rapids; top-500 Iowa commit Reese Moore from Van Meter; top-500 Iowa Western CC commit Kooper Schulte out of New London; and high follow catcher George Sherlock, a Southeastern CC commit from the Dubuque-area town of Asbury. Don’t be surprised if those juco guys end up being Hawkeyes themselves one day, much like their head coach here this weekend.

Wes Obermueller, an Iowa native, was a second round pick of the Royals in the 1999 MLB June Amateur Draft out of the University of Iowa, after starting his career at Kirkwood CC in Cedar Rapids. A 6-foot-2, 195-pound right-hander, Obermueller pitched parts of five seasons in the major leagues and parts of nine seasons in the minors, while also enjoying stops in Japan and Korea late in his career.

And he really likes this roster, especially its versatility. It’s like one big, talented team of utility players, guys who can play multiple positions even while they are now starting to slot themselves into their positions of choice.

“That’s where my experience comes in where I was a catcher in high school, a shortstop and outfielder in junior college that pitched a little bit and then I got drafted as a pitcher,” Obermueller said. “That’s what I like to do with this team is give them an opportunity because you don’t know what’s going to open up for you at the next level.”

The Select 2022 O’s opened play Saturday with a decisive 12-2 win over the Midwest Halos out of Milwaukee. Iowa Select totaled 12 hits in the win, led by Schulte with three singles, two RBI and two runs scored; Specht with three singles, two RBI and a run; Strohmeyer with a triple, single, two RBI and two runs; and Savary with a pair of singles, two ribbies and two runs; they hit in the top four spots in the order.

Behn, a 2022 right-hander, threw five shutout innings, allowing three hits while striking out four without a walk; he also drove in a pair of runs without the benefit of a base-hit.

“It’s exciting to be out here and start playing again with this team; it’s going to be fun,” Behn said. “I’ve played with these guys for a few years now and it’s a bunch of good guys. … It’s nice to compete against them in the summer and now I get to play with them, so it’s great.”

The Iowa Hawkeyes are the only D-I baseball program in the state, so it only stands to reason that the top Iowa prep talent would choose to take up residence with head coach Rick Heller in Iowa City.

“Coach Heller and his staff have just done an amazing job,” Obermueller said. “Their track record is one of success no matter where they’ve (been) and they take notice of a lot of these kids. They recognize the talent and it’s just been amazing; it’s a great opportunity for these kids to stay home and compete at a high level.”

Added Cade Obermueller: “It’s awesome playing with a bunch of Hawkeye commits. We have other (commits) too, and it’s awesome playing with other college players and people that you know you’re going to play with in the future.”

Age-group tournaments like the PG Midwest Labor Day Classic are a great way to kick off what can be a busy fall season, Obermueller believes, because it gets the guys back on the field against top-notch competition that they can gauge themselves against.

A lot of the players on this Iowa Select 2022 O’s roster are the best players on their respective high school teams so it’s important that they see other talented players who will challenge them at every turn. With the exception of Specht, every one of these guys is considered a top-500 talent, a designation that just screams blue collar grit and gumption.

“I consider it the small-town mentality,” Obermueller said. “You’ve got work harder than the next guy and that’s what these guys do. They always want to fine-tune their skills and be better than the next guy.”

He was quick to add that these are players very coachable and especially receptive to the lessons he shares based on his own extensive experiences. Keeping an open-mind is essential for any prospect who hopes to keep climbing the ladder and Obermueller sees that with this group.

“I don’t know everything but I have experienced quite a bit. … They’re getting to the point where they’ve got the talent and now it gets into the mental aspect of the game.”

PG Iowa Select 2022 Obermueller dropped its second game of the day Saturday, falling to the Illinois-based Cangelosi Sparks 2022 White, 8-0. Sparks 2022 right-hander David Auw threw a six-inning five-strikeout five-hitter effectively silencing the Select 2022 O’s bats in impressive fashion; Savary had two of the 2022 O’s five singles off of Auw.

But the Select 2022 O’s will live to fight again on Sunday and they’ll do it together: “These (teammates) are guys we compete against all season in high school and they’re all awesome guys; great players,” Cade Obermueller said. “And now that we’re all together we just love being (here) and it’s like we just all wait for this moment, being together and playing because we know what we can do together; we’re all great ballplayers.”
Give us your feedback
Tournaments | Story | 6/19/2026

14u WWBA Returns to Hoover
Kinley Kitchens
Article Image
One of the most anticipated events on the summer travel baseball calendar returns this week as the 2026 Perfect Game 14U WWBA National Championship gets underway in Hoover and the surrounding Birmingham area. Now in its 19th year, the tournament has established itself as the premier event for 14U players across the country, annually attracting some of the top young talent in amateur baseball. This year’s championship will feature 129 teams competing for a national title, continuing a tradition that has seen organizations such as East Cobb Astros, Team Elite, USA Prime, SBA Bolts National, and defending champion ZT National Prospects take home the trophy. As always, the field is loaded with elite prospects, many of whom are already becoming familiar names within the Perfect Game community. Starting off strong with Christopher Cabrera, the No. 1 overall player and No. 1 third baseman...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 6/19/2026

Road to the 2026 17U BCS Title

Emily Hicks
Article Image
This weekend, 11 teams will take the field for the 2026 17U BCS Challenge, a three-day event that brings together programs from across the country for a full slate of pool play and bracket action. With games beginning Friday and a champion crowned Sunday, the format leaves little room for slow starts, making every inning important from the opening pitch. The field features a mix of established programs and rising teams. With so many evenly matched rosters, there’s not much separation heading into the weekend, which puts importance on pitching depth, defensive consistency, and timely hitting. Pool play will quickly determine seeding, and even one loss can shift a team’s path heading into bracket play. One of the teams expected to be in the mix is Hawaii Elite 2G 17U National, a group that is 6-3 overall and ranked as “Honorable Mention” on the Perfect Games...
Read More
Draft | Rankings | 6/19/2026

PG Draft: Top 500 Update

Tyler Henninger
Article Image
Rk. Name Lvl Pos. B-T School Hometown State Commitment 1 Roch Cholowsky C SS R-R UCLA Chandler AZ 2 Grady Emerson H SS L-R Fort Worth Christian Argyle TX Texas 3 Vahn Lackey C C R-R Georgia Tech Suwanee GA 4 Jackson Flora C RHP R-R UC Santa Barbara Pleasanton CA 5 Jacob Lombard H SS R-R Gulliver Schools Miami FL Miami 6 Eric Booth Jr. H OF L-L Oak Grove Bassfield MS Vanderbilt 7 Drew Burress C OF R-R Georgia Tech Perry GA 8 Ryder Helfrick C C R-R Arkansas Discovery Bay CA 9 AJ Gracia C OF L-L Virginia Monroe NJ 10 Chris Hacopian C SS R-R Texas A&M Potomac MD 11 Gio Rojas H LHP L-R Marjory Stoneman Douglas Coral Springs FL Miami 12 Tyler Bell* C SS S-R Kentucky Frankfort IL 13 Cameron Flukey C RHP R-R Coastal Carolina Egg Harbor Township NJ 14 Ace Reese C 3B L-R Mississippi State Canton TX 15 Justin Lebron C SS R-R Alabama Miramar FL 16 Derek Curiel* C OF L-R LSU West Covina CA 17...
Read More
Softball | Softball Tournament | 6/18/2026

PG Softball Stars Over Florida Showcase 14U Division

Erica Beach
Article Image
PG Stars Over Florida Showcase Clearwater, FL June 13-14, 2026   CLEARWATER, FLORIDA- Perfect Game Softball made its official debut in the state of Florida this past weekend at Eddie C. Moore sports complex. The weather was perfect, and the atmosphere was right for some great softball. We had many college coaches of all levels attend and our National Scouting Director was on hand to evaluate and highlight the athletes. We are excited for future events and the ability to promote and highlight the great athletes in the southeast! Below we highlight the 14U division where we had teams representing three states.     14U Division   Zoey Salas (2030, RHP/1B Windsor, CO) of the Colorado Angels 14U Breed was a standout player all weekend. She was a strong two-way player who proved to be a consistent force on both sides of the ball. Offensively, this left-handed hitter starts...
Read More
Softball | Softball Tournament | 6/18/2026

PG Aggieland Showcase

Article Image
PG Aggieland Showcase College Station, Texas June 13-14, 2026 Scouts: Brynn Baca & Karlie Milburn COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS- Perfect Game Softball was excited to return to College Station for the second annual Aggieland Showcase last weekend.. Some great competition was seen over the three age groups. We had two scouts on site to evaluate and highlight some of the athletes who caught their eyes. Thank you to all teams and players who competed so hard! Below we highlight those athletes who impressed our scouts. 18U Division Elizabeth Posada- Elizabeth Posada is a 2028 two-way player from Houston, Texas, competing for Aztecs Premier who brings an intriguing combination of offensive upside and athletic versatility. At the plate, Posada recently went 4-for-8 on the weekend, continuing to show consistency and offensive awareness. She sets up with a slightly open, wide stance and does a...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 6/18/2026

Big Talent on Display at City of Palms

Alyssa Golden
Article Image
The fifth annual PG City of Palms Championship is set to take place in Fort Myers, Florida, from June 19-22, featuring teams from the 15U-18U age divisions. The four-day event will showcase some of the top talent in the state, including several nationally ranked prospects who have already made their presence felt this summer season. Before tournament play begins, here’s a look at some of the highest-ranked players expected to compete this weekend. Leading the group is catcher Nico Ayars in the 16U division. Ayars enters the weekend as the No. 135 player nationally, the No. 3 catcher in Florida and the No. 20 catcher in the country. Through 22 games this summer with Turn 2 Garcia, the right-handed hitter owns a .887 OPS while batting .306 with a .438 OBP and a .449 SLG. Ayars has collected 15 hits while driving in 12 runs and scoring 13 times. Ayars’ teammate, right-handed...
Read More
Softball | Softball Tournament | 6/17/2026

Perfect Game Softball Route 66 Summer Showcase

Dave Durbala
Article Image
SPRINGFIELD, IL - Perfect Game Softball Route 66 Summer Showcase, June 13-14, 2026. Twenty-Seven teams, representing the 14u and High School Divisions, arrived at the newly opened all turfed Scheels Sports Park at Legacy Pointe, for the opportunity to showcase their talent in a five game guarantee format. As with anytime we bring a group of players together for competition, there will be those players that rise to the challenge and turn in performances that earn them a place on our Top Performers list.  Below are some of the players, from both divisions, that were recognized as top performers. 14U Division Kinley Abrams (2030 Bloomington, IL) is a RHH for Texas Glory IL-2030 (Wyatt). Setting up in a slightly wide parallel stance, into her back leg, Abrams gains separation with a  push back to transfer weight, and then utilizes a small stride to launch her swing. Abrams works a...
Read More
Juco | Story | 6/18/2026

PG JUCO Awards & Final Top 25

Blaine Peterson
Article Image
Pitcher of the Year: Nathan Leffel - RHP - Fresno City College 2026 Stat Line: 89.1 IP | 12-1 | 1.91 ERA | .83 WHIP | 118 K An outstanding individual pitching season in California JUCO baseball this spring. A model of consistency on the mound making starts in January through May for Fresno City. Worked over 89 innings on the mound and made 14 starts where he threw at least 5 innings. Ranked in the top 5 of California JUCO in wins, ERA and strikeouts. And one of the only pitchers in all of JUCO to reach the benchmarks of 10+ wins (12), a sub 2.00 ERA (1.91 ERA) and 100 strikeouts (118 K). A consistent and dominant presence on the mound for a team that went 40-5 this past spring. Congratulations to Nathan Leffel, 2026 Perfect Game JUCO Pitcher of the Year. Ryan Bradford | FR | OF@JCCCBaseball Everything I have from this spring starting with HR’s 31 & 32 today. This is...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 6/18/2026

150 Teams Set to Battle at SE Select

Will Dembo
Article Image
As summer travel season continues to ramp up, more than 150 teams from 13-17u from all over the nation will meet in East Cobb as they look to showcase their talents and compete for a trophy in the PG Southeast Select Championship. The tournament will kick off with pool play on Thursday, June 18th, and champions will be crowned following bracket play on Monday, June 22nd. The 13u division will host 23 teams from four different states in the major style tournament. The East Cobb Astros and Ninth Inning Royals will share the spotlight as the only nationally ranked teams in the field as the Astros enter the weekend as the No. 45 ranked squad and Ninth Inning falls at the No. 31 spot. 14u will also play as a major tournament for the weekend and contains 31 teams looking to compete for a trophy. Although there are currently no nationally recognized teams in the pool, PFA Regional will be a...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 6/17/2026

UBC Midwest Scout Notes

Blaine Peterson
Article Image
Braydon McMillen (2029, Downers Grove, IL) an athletic MIF with a top of the order skill set at the plate. Reached base in all 5 games played at UBC this week. Including a 3 hit game in bracket play. Shows a balanced and compact swing at the plate with quick wrists and the ability to get the barrel to the baseball regularly. A quick first step defensively with clean glove actions and a quick release from the shortstop position. Made several athletic plays defensively this past week. Lot of promising impact traits and a real skill set to build on.  Paris Head | IF/OF/RHP | 2029 | IL@WhitesoxAce FB: 86-90 | CB: 73-75 SL: 77-79 | CH: 78-82 One of the best pitching performances of the tournament so far. High level athlete with an advanced pitch mix for the age. #UBC @PG_Scouting | @WhitesoxAce https://t.co/V3leWaCBSM pic.twitter.com/EDBvjpgI3p — Perfect Game Illinois...
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.