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High School  | General | 1/31/2022

Next Level Environment Brings IMG Together

Blake Dowson
Photo: Jackson Ferris (Perfect Game)
High School Baseball Preview Index

As an independent school, IMG Academy doesn’t get to play for a state championship in Florida.
 
What it does instead is put together one of the most daunting schedules in the country, playing the best teams across Florida and the Southeast, and getting everyone’s best shot in the process.



A big part of that is the Perfect Game High School Showdown, which IMG won in 2021, and wants to defend in March.
 
“It’s a really good part of the development, playing for a brand,” IMG head coach Dave Turgeon said. “It really drives the preparation, because our kids know it. They know that teams are ready to play us and would like nothing more than to put a ‘W’ against IMG on their resume. I think that’s a great thing. I think it’s great for the teams we play and it’s great for us.”
 
IMG brings in some of the best prospects from across the country to play together in one of the most competitive environments possible.
 
Elijah Green (Windermere, Fla.) is the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2022 class, an outfielder who has a real chance to go 1:1 in the 2022 MLB Draft. Green, a Perfect Game All-American who is built like an NFL linebacker, has an unrivaled speed/power combo. He ran a 6.16 60-yard dash at PG National last summer, and it’s best to wear ear plugs during his batting practice rounds, it gets that loud.
 
Turgeon has spent a lot of time around Big Leaguers and first round picks. In talking about Green, he brought up Deon Sanders and Bernie Williams. Green is that level of athlete.
 
“With Elijah, I can honestly say I have never seen someone that is 6-foot-4, 240 pounds move with such an ease of operation,” Turgeon said. “It’s not 6-foot-2, 180 pounds. He’s an elite runner and he’s a big man that moves at world class speed…He’s a rare type of athlete because of the size and the raw power and the quickness, and when you watch it, it’s very easy.”
 
Brady Neal (Bradenton, Fla.) is another Perfect Game All-American on the roster. Neal reclassed up to the 2022 class from 2023, and hasn’t missed a beat. He’s the No. 32 overall prospect in his new class (No. 2 catcher), and is committed to play at LSU, although his athleticism behind the plate and smooth left-handed stroke suggest he’ll be highly sought-after in the MLB Draft.
 
The top-ranked pitcher on the roster is Jackson Ferris (Mount Airy, N.C.), the No. 1 left-handed pitcher in the country in the 2022 class and No. 6 overall prospect. Ferris is another PG All-American, sitting in the mid-90s with his fastball and complementing that offering with a power curveball and a nice changeup.
 
The PG All-Americans are joined by top-100 shortstops Alvin Keels (Portsmouth, Va.), the No. 66 overall prospect in the 2022 class, and JeanPierre Ortiz (Carolina, Puerto Rico), the No. 76 overall prospect. There’s also Nathan Fink (Charlottesville, Va.) and Davion Hickson (Bradenton, Fla.), an outfielder and right-handed pitcher, respectively, checking in as top-200 prospects in the class.
 
TayShaun Walton (Emporia, Va.) and Stone Russell (Bradenton, Fla.) are top-100 athletes in the 2023 class. Walton, an outfielder built somewhat similarly to Green, is the No. 15 prospect, and the shortstop Russell sits at No. 68 overall in PG’s most recent update.
 
Beyond that, IMG has players committed to Arkansas (RHP Jaewoo Cho), Indiana (LHP Ryan Rushing), Oregon (OF McCabe Moyer), Fresno State (SS Aidan Cremarosa), and Valparaiso (C Will Radich).
 
There’s a transition period when these players get to the IMG campus, Turgeon said. They no longer are surrounded by their normal support system. It’s closer to college baseball than the high school system their peers are in day-to-day.
 
“It’s a major transition because you go from a high school environment to what’s more like a big-time college environment,” he said. “The resources we have for them to take advantage of and tap into, it’s like a college program in terms of nutrition, weight room, mental skills, and the baseball aspect. They’re being coached up by a lot of ex-pros that have a lot of knowledge and wisdom…I don’t take that lightly because there is that transition where they are now away from home and away from their anchor.”
 
Turgeon knows the transition, but he made it the more traditional way, moving from Connecticut to North Carolina to play his college baseball at Davidson in the 1980s.
 
In his eyes, the move to IMG a year or two ahead of college or pro ball puts his players in an advantageous position. For one, there’s less of a transition period once you step on your college campus when it comes to time management and the other challenges of being away from home for the first time.
 
Secondly, he explained, it’s a good opportunity for his players to experience competition on their own roster. In their hometowns, these guys all hit third in the order. Now, it’s more of a battle to get on the lineup card.
 
None of that makes the transition to college or pro ball easy, just easier.
 
“They get a dose of reality here, knowing that this is how it’s going to be at the next level,” Turgeon said. “The expectation for us is to develop our players, but there’s also an expectation to win.”
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