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All American Game  | Story | 8/12/2022

Clark Embracing Spotlight On Way To PGAAC

Blake Dowson
Photo: Max Clark (Perfect Game)
Everybody knows Max Clark.

Scouts love him for the five tools he so easily shows on the baseball field – the way he glides around the outfield and barrels up balls at the plate can look effortless. Kids love him for the highlights they see on social media – the doubles celebrations and the mic’d up moments. It can be a lot of pressure on a prospect, being the No. 1 overall player in the 2023 class with over 300,000 followers on Instagram and Tik Tok.



“I wear it as a badge of honor,” Clark said. “But I wouldn’t say it’s like an end-all, be-all for me. I’m blessed to have the ability to go out there and play my game and have that represented as the No. 1 player in the country...It’s a blessing and a curse, but it’s something that I would never change.”



It’s been like this for a few years now. As a freshman at the 2020 WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Clark hit .375 and made the All-Tournament Team in his first Perfect Game event playing for Team Indiana. That’s when he said things started to change. More love from coaches and scouts within the game, more followers online from people who admire his game. In the first re-rank of the 2023 class after that trip to Jupiter, Clark jumped from No. 51 overall in the class to No. 7.

Then he won Gatorade Player of the Year in Indiana as a sophomore. After that, video game-like numbers all summer long on the travel ball circuit. By the end of the summer, he was the No. 1 overall player in the class.



This is a new thing for high-end prospects like Clark, dealing with the experience of blowing up on social media while also navigating the normal trials and tribulations of having your every move picked apart in a draft cycle.

Clark loves it, though. He sees it as an opportunity, not a burden.

“You’ve got your haters and your keyboard warriors,” he said. “But it’s also really cool to go and connect to other kids out there. There are kids out there that look at me as a role model. That’s a really cool feeling. My social media is a way to reach out to them and let them know that you can be from anywhere and do whatever you want as long as you work for it.”

Clark takes pride in his own story. That’s why he’s fine with putting it out there for all to see. Indiana isn’t the baseball hot bed that maybe Florida, Georgia, or California are. But hard work wins the day. He’s proof of that.

He was in the gym, working, when he got the call that he was a Perfect Game All-American. He and his buddies celebrated quickly with some high-fives and hugs, he called his family, then got back in the cage.

This game requires that level of dedication and determination if you want to reach the heights Clark is intent on reaching. He’s played in Major League parks thanks to the showcases he has been invited to. He plans on making them his office a few years down the road.

That road will be full potholes, Clark admits. Baseball is a game of failure. Even for the No. 1 player in the country, getting sent back to the dugout in 60-70 percent of his at-bats is deemed a successful day.

“The most challenging thing about baseball is being able to handle failure,” Clark said. “Being able to flush it. Just being able to go out there and play your game, even when you know it’s not going to work 70 percent of the time. It’s just a mentally challenging game. But that’s what I love about it.

“There’s nobody who can go out there and perfect the game. The game is always improving. If you’re not improving, you’re getting passed by.”

Clark said he focuses solely on things he can control, something he was told early on and said is good advice for anyone wanting to be great in this game.

What are those things?

“You can control your effort, you control your attitude,” he said. “The way you treat your teammates and coaches, the other team.”

That knowledge was instilled in him early on at home, where his role models – more commonly referred to as mom, dad, and brother – started teaching him what it would take to be successful. Clark fell in love with baseball around six or seven years old because of those talks.

They’re the reason he wakes up every morning excited to get just a little bit better that day. That No. 1 overall ranking he owns is awesome. The social media following he has created has led to great opportunities.

Nothing compares to who and where you came from, though.

“It all just kind of hit me when I was young,” Clark said. “It was crazy. It was something I wanted to go out and do every single day. I wanted to play catch with my dad and my brother, I wanted to go hit with my mom.

“That’s the reason I play now. Those role models are who I play for, my family. They have made so many sacrifices and taken me to so many different places across the United States to be able to play this game. I’m super blessed for that. I definitely play because of them and it’s definitely the reason I fell in love with the game.”
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All American Game | Story | 4/2/2026

All American Classic Heading to Citizens Bank
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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 DICK’S ALL-AMERICAN CLASSIC HEADED TO CITIZENS BANK PARK IN 2026   Perfect Game makes debut at iconic Phillies venue during America’s 250th birthday celebration   Former Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel named Honorary Chairman of All-American Classic   Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Thursday, April 2, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced that the 2026 Perfect Game DICK’S All-American Classic will be played at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, marking the first time a Perfect Game event has ever been held at the iconic home of the Philadelphia Phillies.   The game will take place on...
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College | Rankings | 4/6/2026

College Top 25: April 6

Vincent Cervino
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With another week in the books, some teams at the top continue to prove they are elite, and others continue to fall by the wayside.  Meanwhile, there were several teams that had been lingering outside the Top 25 that had huge weekends to put themselves in the thick of things as every weekend has significant consequences for good or for bad.  The No. 1 UCLA Bruins (29-2) have now pushed their win streak to an incredible 23-games as they swept USC (27-6) who was previously ranked No. 7 in the poll.  The Bruins are off to a perfect (15-0) start in Big Ten play and are without a doubt the most complete team in the country right now.  The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (26-5) move up to No. 2 this week after they dismantled now No. 12 Auburn (22-9) in the midweek and then swept Cal on the West Coast last weekend.  Texas (26-5) moves down one spot to No. 3 this week after...
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Draft | Mock Draft | 4/3/2026

PG Staff Mock Draft

Jheremy Brown
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Welcome to another Perfect Game Mock Draft. This is not your typical mock draft as it features 15 different GMs drafting the first two rounds of the draft. Each member of the mock draft was assigned two teams and as such will be drafting all of the picks in the first two rounds for each responsible team. The actual draft order will be presented below and we will dive into how teams made their selections and how they feel about the players drafted. It is important to note that this is not how we think the draft will play out in almost any capacity. This is simply an exercise 4 months ahead of time with a large portion of the scouting staff and some picks fall under personal favorites, best available, and a multitude of other factors. Chicago White Sox 1:1 Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA | 1:41 Jack Radel, RHP, Notre Dame The White Sox don’t overthink here and select Roch Cholowsky, who has...
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High School | General | 4/2/2026

High School Notebook: April 2

Steve Fiorindo
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Lennex Minor (‘28 CA) absolutely destroys this offering to the PS for a 2-run shot. 2-4 on the day w/ 4 driven in. Athletic in the box w/ a quick stroke and strength throughout the frame. Also closed out the game running the FB up to 88 in a St. Bernard win #PGHS @PG_Scouting pic.twitter.com/KF7BsKGcm7 — Perfect Game California (@California_PG) March 29, 2026 Lennex Minor, MIF/P, St. Bernard (2028) Minor had a massive day in my look this past Saturday in a game being played at the University of San Diego.  The sophomore had a pair of hits, one which was a no-doubt homer, and drove in four.  Minor’s athleticism jumps out on the field with twitchy actions both at the dish and in the dirt.  He features a 6-foot, 170-pound frame with room to add and generates from a strong lower half and exceptionally quick hands.  Showing two-way potential, he made an...
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High School | General | 4/2/2026

NHSI Scout Notebook

Cam McElwaney
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College | Rankings | 4/1/2026

DII/DIII/NAIA Rankings Update: April 1

Nick Herfordt
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Welcome to another week of Perfect Game Small School baseball — and if you're looking for clarity at the top, you've come to the wrong place. Across all three classifications, the No. 1 spot is very much an open question, and nobody is sleeping comfortably right now. In NCAA Division II, Pittsburg State is stumbling at precisely the wrong moment, leaving the door cracked wide open for hungry challengers to come knocking. In the NAIA, defending national champion LSU Shreveport has dropped four straight and suddenly looks far more vulnerable than a program of their pedigree ever expects to be. And in NCAA Division III, the race for the top ranking is less a competition and more a ten-car pileup of elite programs, none of whom have done enough to pull away — and all of whom have done plenty to deserve it. Three classifications, three vacancies at the top, and a whole lot of...
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Juco | Story | 4/1/2026

JUCO Top 25: April 1

Troy Sutherland
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Another week of JUCO baseball and another week full of wins for No. 1 ranked Johnson County . The Cavaliers have won 18 games in a row and have swept through the Jayhawk Conference to this point, setting a new school home run record along the way. Walters State returns to the top 5 this week on the strength of a 12-game winning streak. Both McLennan and Pearl River are coming off of undefeated weeks and look like strong top 10 caliber teams, while Midland (now 30-3) continues to climb in the rankings for the third consecutive week. For the first time all year this ranking will feature 4 California schools as Palomar joins Ohlone, Fresno City and Santa Ana in the JUCO rankings. Check back in next week for an update as most of JUCO baseball is now past its halfway point in the 2026 season. RK School Week Overall 1 Johnson County (KS) 4-0 34-2 2 Gaston (NC) 2-1 35-3 3 Walters State (TN) 3-0...
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College | Story | 4/1/2026

Collegiate Midseason All-Americans

Vincent Cervino
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Collegiate Midseason Awards * denotes Midseason Award Winner - All-Americans chosen based on statistics, prospect status, future projection, among other factors - Only true freshmen considered for Freshmen All-American teams - All Statistics as of Monday, March 30th First Team Hitters Pos. Name School Class AVG OBP SLG R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB C Vahn Lackey Georgia Tech JR .423 .541 .845 36 41 9 1 10 36 7 1B Quinton Coats Cincinnati SO .360 .441 .896 38 45 8 1 19 46 7 2B Jarren Advincula Georgia Tech JR .411 .489 .563 31 46 2 0 5 30 5 3B Ace Reese Mississippi State JR .330 .417 .661 32 36 12 0 8 37 1 SS Roch Cholowsky UCLA JR .350 .493 .730 39 35 8 0 10 32 1 IF Dee Kennedy Kansas State JR .430 .549 .910 44 43 10 1 12 43 15 OF Will Gasparino UCLA JR .351 .468 .794 31 34 5 1 12 38 1 OF AJ Gracia Virginia JR .350 .504 .650 37 36 7 0 8 24 1 OF Landon Hairston* Arizona State SO .469 .551 1.027 44...
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High School | Rankings | 3/31/2026

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Tyler Russo
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Another pair of weeks has gone by this high school season and with that we have another High School Top-50 Update. Southern states are within a few weeks of the end of the season while some northern states are just getting started this week. Through the end of the spring, we will be bringing you updates to the Top-50 along with state rankings updates coming soon. For the first time in 2026, we have a new #1 in the country as Orange Lutheran (CA) takes over the top spot after winning the NHSI. Venice (FL) came in second place at the NHSI after a thrilling game against Orange Lutheran and comes in at #2. Previous #1 team in the country St. John Bosco (CA) rounds out the top-3 and will have a big showdown against Orange Lutheran starting tonight. Barbe (LA) boasts a 26-1 record and comes in at #4 while Corona (CA) continues to string together wins and holds down the #5 spot in this update....
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College | Story | 3/31/2026

PG Collegiate Midseason Awards

Vincent Cervino
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Midseason Awards  Perfect Game Midseason Player of the Year:  Landon Hairston, OF, Arizona State  The season sophomore outfielder Landon Hairston is putting together is generational, even amongst the Hall of Fame talent Arizona State has fielded over the years.  Hairston, the 5-11/195 sophomore outfielder from Queen City, AZ has his club on track for another postseason appearance and they will make plenty of noise in the Big 12 regular season.  To put things in perspective on Hairston’s season, he is currently 5th in the nation in batting average, 3rd in hits, 8th in hits per game, tied for 2nd in home runs, tied for 5th in runs scored and is 4th in runs batted in so far.  He holds a batting average of .469 while slugging 1.027 and reaching base over half the time with an OBP of .551.  Hairston walks more than he strikes out and has 12 doubles, 17...
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