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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 | 9/15/2025

PG Athletes Raise Money For Charity
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 ATHLETES RAISE MORE THAN $130,000   FOR CHILDREN’S CHARITIES THROUGHOUT AUGUST    Sanford, Florida (Monday, September 15, 2025) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced that its athletes raised a combined $130,195 for children’s charities during its August 2025 showcase events throughout the country.    The fundraising efforts took place at Perfect Game’s Select Festivals and the DICK’S All-American Classic, with each age group rallying behind a cause that supports children in need. The 11U and 12U Select Fests each benefited Elite Development Academy out...
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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...
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High School | General | 2/2/2026

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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...
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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...
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High School | General | 2/2/2026

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Cam McElwaney
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High School Preview Index | High School Top 50 As we have finished unveiling the National High School Top 50, we now look at the abundance of high-level prospects that make up those rosters, building 3 teams at the Class of 2026 level and an underclass team, all made ONLY from players on the teams across the Top 50. Upperclass 1st Team Pos Name High School State Team Rank C Jorvorskie Lane Jr. Grapevine TX 7 1B Will Adams Hoover AL 43 INF Tyler Spangler De La Salle CA 12 INF Cole Prosek Magnolia Heights MS 16 INF James Clark St. John Bosco CA 1 OF Brady Harris Trinity Christian Academy FL 6 OF Malachi Washington Parkview GA 34 OF Trevor Condon Etowah GA 5 UT Matt Ponatoski Archbishop Moeller OH 35 2W Coleman Borthwick South Walton FL 8 P Gio Rojas Stoneman Douglas FL 2 P Kaden Waechter Tampa Jesuit FL 4 P Bo Holloway Nolensville TN 36 P Joseph Contreras Blessed Trinity GA 9 P Savion Sims...
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College | Story | 2/2/2026

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Joey Cohen
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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*  Teams W L W L Air Force 12 18 20 34 Fresno State 18 12 31 29 GCU 13 11 31 27 Nevada 19 11 34 23 New Mexico 17 13 30 23 SDSU 14 16 20 39 San Jose State 13 17 29 30 UNLV 16  14 31 23 Washington State 11 19 18 36 Preseason All Conference Team Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Walker Zapp Air Force  .330/.420/.579 with 7 HRs, athletic catcher with strong catch/throw ability.  1B  Jayce Dobie Nevada .339/.413/.526 with 7 HRs. Physical presence. On base skills...
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College | Recruiting | 2/2/2026

Northeast Recruiting Notebook

Ryan Miller
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Jack Nicholls (‘27, NJ) working the 85-88 T89 mph range on the FB w/ some angle & life. Shorter & compact AA thru it. Mid-70s CB w/ good bite & depth to it. Mostly FB attack early on. @PGMidAtlantic @PG_Uncommitted @Oilers_BPC #WWBAWorlds pic.twitter.com/7WYz7ExUPE — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) October 3, 2025 Jack Nicholls, RHP, Class of 2027 Commitment: Tennessee Josh Elander and the Vols’ staff venture into the Northeast to snag an up-arrow right-hander out of New Jersey. Nicholls works from a medium frame with athleticism and present lower half strength. He starts at the belt exclusively from the stretch, transitioning into a high and compact leg lift. Nicholls fires down the mound via a whippy and quick arm action and high three-quarters slot. The South Jersey product works a lively fastball into the low-to-mid 90s, mixing in a sharp two-plane...
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College | Story | 2/2/2026

Conference Preview: Coastal

Ryan Miller
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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*  School W L W L Campbell 25 31 15 12 College of Charleston 37 22 15 12 Elon 25 32 13 14 Hofstra 18 36 8 19 Monmouth 24 30 10 17 NC A&T 15 37 9 18 Northeastern 49 11 25 2 Stony Brook 25 27 11 16 Towson 21 35 11 16 UNC-Wilmington 34 24 19 8 William & Mary 21 35 14 13 Preseason All-Conference Team Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Tyler Smith North Carolina A&T Switch-hitting backstop who slashed .323/.414/.542 in ’25 and earned a Team USA training camp invite....
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High School | General | 1/31/2026

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Tyler Russo
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The start of another high school season is right around the corner in a handful of states and with that, as always, comes our Preseason High School Top-50. A whopping twenty states are represented in the initial Top-50, a number that is staggering when you look at the amount of depth some of these rosters have across the nation. Leading the group is St. John Bosco (CA), a team that brought home a CIF Southern D1 title in 2025 and bring back a strong group of seniors to look to repeat. Stoneman Douglas (FL) is a name most people should know by now in the high school ranks and comes in as our preseason #2 team, looking to win their sixth straight state championship in Florida. Orange Lutheran (CA) had a good case for preseason #1 but come it an No. 3, bringing a roster with seven seniors ranked inside the top-200 in the country to the table. Four other Florida schools are represented...
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Softball | Softball Tournament | 1/30/2026

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Dave Durbala
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BURLINGTON, IA - Perfect Game Softball Burst The Bubble Tournament, January 24 - 25, 2026. 15 teams in  this four game guarantee, pool into bracket play tournament, with both a 16u and 18u division contested. In the 16u Division, it was the 09 Midwest Sluggers claiming the Championship over finalist Wisconsin Heat. In the 18u Division it was CIK 08’s taking home the gold rings over finalist Alliance Select Black. The tournament was filled with lots of young talent with big bats, and several players already committed to higher education programs. Below are some of the players that earned their way onto the tournament top performers list. 16U Division  Earning the tournament MVP award was Ruby Stagg (2028 Bettendorf, IA) a solid fielding SS for tournament champion 09 Midwest Sluggers. Stagg, hitting from the right side, sets up in a conventional stance, slightly wide and...
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Softball | Softball Tournament | 1/30/2026

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Erica Beach
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Perfect Game Winter Blow-Out 18U Division Burlington, Iowa Jan 17-18, 2026   BURLINGTON, IOWA- The 2026 Perfect Game Winter Blowout, held in the Fun City Turf bubble was competitive from start to finish. Seven teams from three states converged to sharpen their skills and compete for the title. In the end, the Iowa Dynamite 18U took home the hardware, defeating the Alliance Select Harper in the finale. There were some very strong performances on both sides of the ball and below we highlight the top performers from the weekend.     Payton Harris (2028, Mediapolis, IA) of the Black Dragons was lights out on the weekend, batting an impressive .733.  She led the entire tournament in hits, 11 in total showing she was one of the most formidable hitters in her class. She showed her power and ability to drive the ball to all fields, belting four home runs and two doubles on...
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