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College  | Story | 3/9/2010

Northern Colleges Taking Root at Coastal Carolina

EDITOR’S NOTE: We’re taking a two-part look at the way that northern-based teams approach the college season in the wake of a mandated uniform starting date for Division I baseball. Today, our focus is on three of the more prominent college prospects in the 2010 draft class from traditional northern schools.

PART II

PART I

When the NCAA mandated both a later and uniform starting date for Division I college baseball, effective with the 2008 season, the desired effect was to level the playing field for northern-based schools. One of the unintended consequences is the way many of those schools now approach their season.


Though most northern colleges still must deal with the reality of rough early-season weather and have little choice but to head south to kick off their schedules, many are no longer heading all the way to Florida or other notorious warm-weather locations in search of games and decent playing conditions.

One of the more popular destinations has become Conway, S.C., just down the road from Myrtle Beach, a popular, year-round tourist retreat on the beaches of South Carolina. Conway is home to Coastal Carolina, a school that has infiltrated the national rankings on a recurring basis in the last two or three years. After an 11-1 start, the Chanticleers are ranked No. 8 in PG Crosschecker’s weekly top 50 rankings.

In addition to being a lure for its weather and tourism appeal, the Myrtle Beach area is attractive to northern colleges because it’s normally a bus ride to travel there, not an expensive plane ticket to Florida. And teams are taking advantage of the luxury in increasing numbers.

In each of the first three weekends of the 2010 college season, Coastal Carolina has hosted either a four- or five-team tournament, utilizing its campus facility and nearby BB&T Coastal Field, home of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the high Class A Carolina League, and will do so again this coming weekend when it welcomes four more northern-based schools, including Ball State, Illinois and Michigan.

Ball State, which opened its season with a three-game set at Arkansas and travelled to Alabama-Birmingham for four more games the following weekend, will play in one of Coastal Carolina’s tournaments for the second straight weekend after sandwiching in mid-week games at UNC Wilmington and the College of Charleston. In all, the Cardinals will spend 10 days in the Carolinas and play nine games. After 24 road games to begin their 2010 season, they’ll finally open at home in April.

“Starting our season in late February allows us to play in states like the Carolinas,” Ball State coach Greg Beals said. “Not only do we get the weather here, but it’s more economical for our program as he we can bus to our games, rather than be forced to spend a lot more money to fly to Florida to get games in, like we used to have to do.”
The Myrtle Beach-based Caravelle Resort is the title sponsor for three of the four tournaments Coastal Carolina will end up hosting on successive weekends, and it’s been a little tricky not to confuse one tournament from the next as they’ve been called, in order, the Caravelle Resort Tournament, the Caravelle Resort Invitational and Caravelle Resort Classic. Schools from 10 different northern states have flocked to the area to play games they wouldn’t otherwise have played with the harsh winter weather that continues to grip Northern states.

The Chanticleers also hosted Baseball at the Beach on the season’s second weekend and used it as an opportunity to reach out to non-northern, more traditional baseball schools like UC Irvine and North Carolina State. Unlike the series of games in the Caravelle Resort-sponsored tournaments, which have been played primarily on the Coastal campus, most of those games were played in a pro setting at BB&T Coastal Field.

Beals, for one, would rather play his spring games on college campuses.

“I prefer that, and we can do that here, rather than be stuck on a ‘B’ field at an old spring training complex,” he said. “You get to soak up the college atmosphere, more than you would be able to do in Florida, and you don’t get the feeling that you’re playing just a bunch of exhibition games.”

Coastal Carolina hasn’t exactly been the most hospitable host to its northern visitors as it has won 10 of 11 tournament games, including two over UC Irvine. Its only loss was to Kentucky on the opening weekend.

Ironically, spring has been much slower in arriving in South Carolina this year than normal, and a number of tournament games have either been re-scheduled because of rain or played in less-than-ideal temperatures. Even last Saturday’s game between the Chanticleers and Pittsburgh was adjusted, but that was done to accommodate Coastal Carolina’s participation in the championship game of the Big South Conference post-season basketball tournament, being played just beyond the left field fence from Coastal’s Watson Stadium/Vrooman Field campus facility. The top-seeded Chanticleers were upset by Winthrop, jeopardizing their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1993.
But back to baseball, and the series of weekend tournaments hosted by Coastal Carolina has not only been a boon to Northern schools, but also to scouts, who have flocked to games involving northern-based teams and prospects that they otherwise might have had to trek to Florida in the past to see.

Upwards of 60 scouts, including 10 scouting directors, took in the first of the Caravelle Resort tournaments and got to see the likes of lefthander Logan Darnell and second baseman Chris Bisson of Kentucvky, righthanders Jesse Hahn and Matt Price and outfielder Austin Wates of Virginia Tech, and shortstop Jedd Gyorko of West Virginia, not to mention the elite talent on Coastal Carolina’s roster, particularly lefthander Cody Wheeler. All those players came into the 2010 season as high-profile prospects for this year’s draft.

Though the turnout of scouts was substantially less this past weekend for the Caravelle Resort Invitational, which attracted mid-major northern schools such as Albany, Ball State, Pittsburgh and Toledo, there was still plenty of interest in players like Toledo shortstop Jared Hoying, Pitt third baseman Joe Leonard and Ball State second baseman/righthander Kolbrin Vitek, all of whom should factor prominently in the 2010 draft.

EDITOR’S NOTE: In Part II, we’ll take more of a traditional scouting angle to the story and focus on Hoying, Leonard and Vitek.

College | Rankings | 6/25/2026

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Vincent Cervino
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Alyssa Golden
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More than 30 teams from the 14U-18U age divisions will head to Fort Myers, Florida this Fourth of July weekend for the seventh annual Perfect Game Freedom Classic. The tournament, running July 3-6, features several nationally ranked prospects from across the country as teams look to compete for a championship. Headlining the field are twin brothers Derek and Ryan Yormark of Merrick, New York. Right-handed pitcher Derek Yormack is the No. 51-ranked player in the class of 2027, the No. 1 player in New York and the No. 5-ranked right-handed pitcher in the country. First baseman Ryan Yormark comes in just behind his twin brother as the No. 3 overall player in New York, the No. 5 first baseman in the nation and the No. 90-ranked player nationally. Both brothers are committed to Vanderbilt. Derek Yormark has established himself as one of the top two-way prospects in the 2027 class. He has run...
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Tyler Russo
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Tournaments | Story | 7/1/2026

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Perfect Game Staff
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Tournaments | Story | 7/1/2026

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Kinley Kitchens
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Championship teams often reveal themselves when the game isn’t going their way. Performance Baseball 2028/Milwaukee Brewers Scout Team did exactly that. Trailing Florida Burn 2028 Scout through four innings, the Brewers refused to panic. Instead, they relied on timely hitting, consistent pitching, and an unselfish approach at the plate, rallying a five-run fifth inning before pulling away for a 9-5 victory to clinch their spot in the semifinals. The comeback was fueled by contributions throughout the lineup. Six different players drove in runs, including two RBIs each from Aiden Capobianco and Cameron Massey, while Matthew Heredia, Parker Weston, Ethan Smith, and Aj Bonnette each added an RBI of their own. On the mound, Derek Wenzel set the tone with 3.2 solid innings before Ethan Smith shut the door in relief, helping preserve the comeback victory. Although the Brewers have had a...
Tournaments | Championship | 7/1/2026

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Emily Hicks
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JK Select Hawaii capped off an impressive tournament run by defeating GBG Vegas 14u Red14-4 in the championship game on Sunday at Goodyear Ballpark, claiming the 14u West World Series title. From the opening pitch, JK Select controlled the pace of the game. The offense jumped out early, scoring 6 runs in the 1st inning after timely hits from MVP Sean Shindo and Kade Manarpaac. The early lead gave the pitching staff confidence as they worked efficiently through the opposing lineup. “I've worked hard to get better at my game for the past few months; it means a lot that I did well and performed in a tournament like this” said Shindo. Starting pitcher Maddox Prones turned in a strong performance, allowing 3 runs while striking out 5 batters over 3 innings. The defense backed the effort with great plays in the middle infield, preventing GBG Vegas from building momentum....
Tournaments | Story | 7/1/2026

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Kinley Kitchens
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On the second day of the 2026 Perfect Game National Elite Championship, one swing turned heads across the ballpark. The next one brought everyone to a stop. With Wow Factor Nation 16U trailing midway through its matchup against Sandlot Scout Team 2028, Micheal O'Connor launched a solo home run to spark the offense. Just one batter later, Aaron Frink stepped into the box and sent another ball over the fence, delivering back-to-back home runs that quickly became one of the most talked about moments of the tournament’s opening days. Parents gathered along the nets, players from previous games stopped to watch, and college scouts turned their attention toward the action as the two towering swings energized the crowd and brought new life to the game. Although Wow Factor Nation ultimately lost 5-3 after a hard-fought performance, the back-to-back home runs served as a reminder of the...
Tournaments | Story | 6/30/2026

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Will Dembo
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Following a jam-packed week of entertainment at the 17u WWBA Championships, the top nationally ranked program, USA Prime 17u National/Detroit Tigers Scout Team, faced off against Stacked Baseball 17u (No. 80 nationally) in the highly anticipated championship matchup as both teams looked to earn one of the most prestigious titles in all of travel baseball. Each talented squad entered the finale undefeated, but Stacked Baseball continued their dominance throughout the tournament, defeating the Detroit Tigers Scout Team 10-2 in mercy rule fashion to become national champions behind explosive bats and impressive pitching. Stacked Baseball was the overwhelming top team throughout the week as the WWBA Champions outscored opponents by an absurd 117-12 during their 11-0 run. “We got some talented kids, but we played against a little bit of Goliath over there,” Stacked Head Coach Mike...
Tournaments | Story | 6/30/2026

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Perfect Game Staff
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17u WWBA Scout Notes: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4  Day 5 | Day 6 Shea Corona (2027, Brooklyn, N.Y.) showcased some loud stuff out of the bullpen for MLB Breakthrough Series 2027. The New York native and primary shortstop topped out at 93 with the fastball, sitting comfortable in the 90-92 range. Corona paired it with a sharp and tight slider at 81-83, staying on the same plane until late. The pitch plays well already and the delivery is very athletic. The uncommitted right-hander went three scoreless and was in the zone plenty, striking out two while not allowing a walk. '27 SS Moises Gudino (FL) continues to stay red hot, working a long AB & cracking an oppo 2B on the 8th pitch. Really seeing ing well. #WWBA @Florida_PG https://t.co/OjNJ8Bmzao pic.twitter.com/WoDDp35EI1 — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) June 30, 2026 Moises Gudino (2027, Tampa, Fla.)...
Tournaments | Story | 6/30/2026

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Kinley Kitchens
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Every team hopes to start a tournament with momentum, but few make a statement quite like Texas Twelve Maroon 2028. Matched up against defending champion Excel Blue Wave National to kick off their debut in the 2026 Perfect Game National Elite Championship, Texas Twelve Maroon delivered a complete team performance, earning a hard-fought 3-2 victory and immediately establishing themselves as one of the top teams to watch this week. The win showcased the balance that has made Texas Twelve Maroon a powerful team. Strong pitching, timely hitting, and steady defense all played a role as the team held off one of the tournament’s premier programs. Right-hander Ty Antley turned in an outstanding performance on the mound, throwing a complete game while allowing only five hits and two walks over seven innings. The High Follow prospect worked consistently between 85-89 mph and mixed in a sharp...
Tournaments | Championship | 6/30/2026

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Alyssa Golden
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Flames Natty used timely hitting and a dominant start from Beau Collier to defeat NLB American 7-3 and capture the 18U BCS National Championship on Monday at Lee Health Sports Complex. Despite being assembled just hours before the tournament began, the Flames quickly developed chemistry throughout the tournament. “This team was put together 12 hours before this tournament, and they went on a crazy run,” head coach Adam Vasquez said. “These kids know each other locally, but they don’t play together. For them to come together last minute like that, it’s crazy. I’m proud of them for that.” The game opened as a pitchers’ duel, with David Acevedo recording the lone hit through the first two innings. NLB American starter Hayden Graham kept the Flames in check early, allowing just one hit while striking out one over 2.0 innings. The right-hander...
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