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High School  | General  | 2/14/2023

Deep South Region Preview

David Rawnsley     
Photo: Ethan McElvain (Perfect Game)
High School Preview Index

Regional Previews: Florida | Georgia | Pacific

States Represented: AL, LA, MS, TN



There is a lack of star power in the Deep South Region, at least in the senior class, as the region only had a pair of 2022 PG All-Americans in shortstop Cooper Pratt and left-hander Ethan McElvain.  But a very talented junior class, headlined by all-around talent Konnor Griffin, helps to make up for that on the All-Deep South Region team below.

That lack of elite individual talent is more than made up for by the depth across the four states that make up the region.  An impressive eight teams are ranked in the PG Preseason High School Top 50, including five teams packed in to the 19th-26th range:  Barbe HS (LA), Auburn HS (AL), Lewisburg HS (MS), West Monroe HS (LA) and Jackson Prep (MS).

Deep South Region Dream Team

C –  Campbell Smithwick (Sr., Oxford HS, Miss.)
Smithwick was a 2020 14U Select Festival participant and is very young for a senior.  He stands out especially for his defense and has handled some of the better pitchers in the country as the primary catcher for the Canes National travel team.  A left-handed hitter, Smithwick hit .432-5-33 with 34 walks in 33 games for Oxford High School as a junior.

1B –   Henry Allen (Jr., Auburn HS, Ala.)
Allen is a more of a primary third baseman at present but has played first base and has the power profile to play the position in the future.  The extra strong right-handed slugger hit .364-6-41 with 12 doubles as a sophomore at Auburn High School and is the 25th ranked player overall in the 2024 class nationally

MIF –   Cooper Pratt (Sr., Magnolia Heights HS, Miss.)
Pratt was the lone position player from the Deep South Region to be named to play in the 2022 PG All-American Classic and is ranked 34th overall in the 2023 class.  He has pure shortstop actions on defense despite his long 6-foot-4, 200-pound frame, with soft hands and plus arm strength.  Pratt had an especially strong fall, including hitting .385 at the WWBA World Championships, and is poised for a big spring.

MIF –  Brodie Johnston (Jr., Boyd Buchanan HS, Tenn.)
Johnston is a present strong middle infielder with a nice variety of offensive and defensive tools.  He’s hit .345-5-56 with 26 stolen bases in 82 PG games over the last two years and defensively features a strong arm that has been up to 92 mph in drills and 89 mph off the mound.  A Vanderbilt commit, Johnston is ranked 79th in the 2024 class nationally.

3B –  Samuel Richardson (Jr., Lewisburg HS, Miss.)
Richardson has an outstanding power and speed combination and that right-handed power is improving the more he sees high quality pitching.  Richardson hit .313-3-18 with 11 doubles in 33 PG games last year and was recently named the MVP of the MLB Develops series in Arizona.  He’s a 6.53 runner in the sixty.

OF –  Konnor Griffin (Jr., Jackson Prep, Miss.)
Griffin re-classified from the 2025 class during the off-season and was immediately put into the number two spot in the 2024 rankings.  All he did as a freshman in 2022 at Jackson Prep was hit .476-5-28 and go 8-2, 1.64 on the mound.  Although Griffin has been up to 93 mph on the mound, his plus speed and enormous power potential make him a definite outfielder in the future.

OF –  Jaxon Walker (Jr., Loudon HS, Tenn.)
A 2020 14U Select Festival participant, Walker is a pure centerfielder on defense with 6.40 speed in the sixty.  A left-handed hitter, Walker registered a 100 mph exit velocity at the recent 2022 PG National Underclass Main Event to show his bat speed but he’s also a prime leadoff candidate, as he carries a career .539 PG on-base percentage in 195 games.

OF –  Seth Farni (Sr., St. Stanislaus HS, Miss.)
Farni is a strong bodied switch-hitter with big bat speed from both sides of the plate.  He hit .364-9-31 with 28 walks and 17 stolen bases in 30 games last spring for St. Stanislaus High School and is also a 6.64 runner with a 92 mph throwing arm from the outfield.

LHP Griffin Graves (Sr., Trinity Christian Academy, Tenn.)
Graves is a hyper-athletic southpaw who is one of the most prolific strikeout artists on the travel circuit despite standing only 5-foot-10.  He works up to 94 mph on his fastball with a deceptive delivery and a full four-pitch mix.  Graves struck out 18 hitters in eight innings over two appearances at the 2022 WWBA 17U National Championships and has picked up 115 strikeouts in 66 innings over the last two years in PG play.

LHP Ethan McElvain (Sr., Nolensville HS, Tenn.)
McElvain’s brother, Chris, was an eighth round pick by the Reds out of Vanderbilt in 2022 and younger brother Ethan is already threatening to surpass that.  A PG All-American, McElvain tops out at 95 mph on his fastball to go with a big sweeping 77-80 mph slider and plenty of deception in his delivery.  He went 5-2, 1.76 as a junior at Nolensville High School and struck out 78 hitters in 35 innings.

LHP Jackson Sanders (Jr., Valley HS, Ala.)
Sanders was a 2020 Select Festival participant who committed to Auburn as an eighth grader, so he’s been on the prospect map for a long time.  He presently tops out at 93 mph on his fastball to go with a sharp breaking upper 70’s slider.  Sanders struck out 36 hitters in 18 PG innings in 2022 while only walking one hitter, garnering All-Tournament honors at both the 16U and 17U WWBA National Championships.

RHP William Schmidt (Jr., Catholic HS, La.)
Schmidt is one of the most projectable and high ceiling pitchers in the 2024 class.  The 6-foot-3, 170-pound right-hander has a loose and whippy arm and an advanced delivery.  His fastball topped out at 91 mph at the 2022 PG Underclass All-American Games to go with an outstanding curveball with 3,000+ spin rates and swing and miss sharpness.

RHP Landon Victorian (Jr., Barbe HS, La.)
Victorian is the 11th ranked prospect and the second ranked right-handed pitcher in the 2024 class nationally.  He went 10-1, 1.04 as a sophomore for a 36-4 Barbe High School team, striking out 94 against only 25 walks in 74 total innings.  Victorian has unusual maturity and command for a young power pitcher, filling up the strike zone with a 90-93 mph fastball and throwing both a curveball and slider.

UT –  Braden Booth (Jr., Bob Jones HS, Ala.)
Booth showed amazing consistency as a two-way player between his sophomore spring season at Bob Jones High School and his summer/fall travel season.  Working with a fastball up to 91 mph and a wipeout slider, Booth went 5-3, 1.24 with 78 strikeouts in 50 innings in the spring, then struck out 55 in 41 innings with a 1.41 ERA during travel ball.  His hitting numbers virtually overlapped as well, as he hit .340-3-23 in the spring and .345-1-29 in travel ball as a third baseman.

Deep South Top Tools

Best Hitter for Average: Jaxon Walker (Jr., Loudon HS, Tenn.)
Walker’s combination of speed, patience at the plate and plus left-handed bat speed make him not only a great leadoff candidate but also gives him the potential to be a very high average hitter.

Best Hitter for Power: Konnor Griffin (Jr., Jackson Prep, Miss.)
Even considering his elite level all-around athleticism, Griffin’s best future tool might be his power potential.  He has great bat speed and outstanding extension and lift in his right-handed swing.

Best Runner: RJ Hamilton (Sr., Hoover HS, Ala.)
Hamilton ran a 6.31 sixty at the 2022 PG National Showcase and has doubled as a prolific slot receiver on the Hoover High School football team.  The 5-foot-10, 170-pound middle infielder plans on playing just baseball at Vanderbilt.

Best Defensive Catcher: Campbell Smithwick (Sr., Oxford HS, Miss.)
Defense has always been Smithwick’s calling card and he should be able to easily adjust defensively at the next level, whether that be at Mississippi or in professional baseball.

Best Defensive Infielder: Cooper Pratt (Sr., Magnolia Heights HS, Miss.)
Scouts don’t shy away from taller middle infielders as much as they used to but Pratt is often listed as tall as 6-foot-5.  Still, there seems to be little question that he’s going to remain in the middle infield at the next level.

Best Defensive Outfielder: Konnor Griffin (Jr., Jackson Prep, Miss.)
Take a look at videos of Griffin as a football wide receiver (he gave up football this year, along with no longer running track) or slamming down dunks on the basketball court to get an idea what type of defensive centerfielder he can become with more repetitions.

Best Defensive Arm: Konnor Griffin (Jr., Jackson Prep, Miss.)
Griffin has mid-90s potential on the mound and that arm strength plays very well in the outfield, with a long and loose arm stroke that creates very good carry.

Best Fastball: LHP Ethan McElvain (Sr., Nolensville HS, Tenn.)
McElvain tops out at 95 mph on his fastball and the velocity plays up due to his easy, low effort mechanics and his already mature command of the pitch.  It would surprise few people if Landon Victorian didn’t surpass McElvain in terms of fastball velocity and quality in the future.

Best Off-Speed Stuff: LHP Griffin Graves (Sr., Trinity Christian Academy, Tenn.)
While William Schmidt’s curveball or Jackson Sanders slider might be the best individual breaking balls, Graves full arsenal of curveball, slider and change up create so much swing and miss that it’s hard not to recognize it here.

Best Pitchability: LHP Jackson Sanders (Jr., Valley HS, Ala.)
Sanders has exceptional maturity on the mound, especially for a junior, and has two plus pitches in his fastball and slider that he can spot up at any point in the count.  He simply dominated hitters at three of the top tournaments in the country last summer.

Best Multi-Sport Athlete: Brayson Hubbard (Sr., Ocean Springs HS, Miss.)
Hubbard posted huge throwing and rushing numbers on the football field the last three years as a four-star quarterback but has enrolled early at Alabama with the projection of being a safety in college.  He hit .378 with eight home runs as a junior at Ocean Springs High School and hit .393 and .324 the past two summers as a multi-tooled outfielder on the PG circuit. 
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