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| 2,576 MLB PLAYERS | 16,376 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,576 MLB PLAYERS | 16,376 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
College  | Story | 2/23/2024

Weekend Preview Pick 'Em

Photo: TCU Baseball (TCU Athletics)
With Opening Weekend in the review mirror, Craig Cozart and Vinnie Cervino look ahead to week 2, breaking down 6 series while projecting who they think will win their respective three game set. Following a week in which they tied with a 5-3 record, this week could break the tie and build some momentum for the rest of the season. 

No. 15 East Carolina at No. 13 North Carolina

Cozy: The Pirates are off to a solid (3-1) start after sweeping Rider at home Opening Weekend while only surrendering 2 runs in the three-game set. Jacob Jenkins-Cowart is off to a blistering start batting .438 with 2 home runs and 5 RBIs and freshman Bristol Carter has yet to start a game but is batting .600 so far. The pitching staff is carrying a team ERA of 1.29 with Trey Yesavage, one of the best righties in the nation, leading the charge. The Tar Heels are (4-0) after sweeping Wagner and winning a tight game against Elon in the mid-week. Casey Cook is batting .625 and sets the tone for the offense that is hitting at a clip of .362 as a team. On the mound, Dalton Pence looks like a dominant force at the back of the bullpen with two clean appearances and a save already. This is becoming a traditional early-season, in-state rivalry and could impact NCAA hosting opportunities at the end of the season.



Pick: ECU

Vin: Both teams are off to a hot start as they head into a rivalry weekend against inter-state opponents. The Pirates have the edge on Friday with one of the top starters in the nation in Trey Yesavage but North Carolina has been pitching well and definitely feels good about their spot. I expect a big weekend from Vance Honeycutt and for the Tar Heels to come away with the series.

Pick: North Carolina


No. 16 UCLA at No. 5 TCU

Cozy: The Bruins are off to a tremendous (3-0) start after sweeping Gonzaga at home and they look like they are back in a big way. Veteran Cody Schrier is off to a smoking start with the stick batting .583 and they are averaging 8 run per game as a team. Their pitching staff is filled with young arms that are elite strike throwers and they miss barrels at a high rate as well. Meanwhile, TCU is off to a perfect (4-0) start having swept a tough Florida Gulf Coast club and taking down Texas State in the midweek. Chase Brunson and Anthony Silva are both batting over .500 and set the tone for an offense that is averaging 10 runs per game. The pitching staff appears to still be a work in progress, and they will look to get better results from their rotation moving forward. This will be a tightly contested series, but the Horned Frogs are tough at home, so they should take care of business.

Pick: TCU

Vin: The Horned Frogs enter as the top team in the Big 12 and despite sweeping a good FGCU team last weekend still trailed in each of the three games. Entering the season I thought this was an Omaha-caliber roster for TCU and haven’t been dissuaded of that. I still think that TCU has the veteran advantage to come away with a win in this ranked series.

Pick: TCU
 

UConn at California

Cozy: There is no team that travels more or plays a tougher early season schedule on an annual basis than the Huskies. They are off to a (2-1) start after playing three one-run games in Tampa, FL. The offense has struggled mightily, scoring only 7 runs this season and the only two hitters batting over .200 are Jake Studley and Paul Tammaro batting .455 and .444 respectively. The good news is that their pitching staff has a 2.08 ERA and are averaging a strikeout per inning. The Golden Bears are (3-1) having played a quality schedule thus far and are a terrifically balanced club right now. They are scoring 9 runs per game, spearheaded by Caleb Lomavita who already has 8 RBI, they are batting .328 as a team and are fielding .986 in 4 games. Averaging 12 strikeouts per game, the pitching staff is in good shape and are showing the quality and depth needed to make a real run.

Pick: Cal

Vin: Both teams impressed during the opening weekend, playing well against tough competition as UConn will travel to the west coast to play Cal. The Huskies played their desired brand of baseball last week, winning three one-run games in Tampa against some strong competition. Cal has more of the star power with the likes of Caleb Lomavita and Rodney Green Jr., but I think that this UConn team is very tough to play and think they can oulast the Bears on the road.

Pick: UConn


Navy at Air Force

Cozy:The Chuck Ristano era at the Naval Academy is off to a nice (2-2) start after taking a quality road series win at Elon. They have shown the ability to score runs in bunches and Zane Raba has been a monster, batting .571 with 4 doubles and he has swiped 3 bags. The pitching has been a mystery so far with an ERA of 8.74 but they can flat out flash the leather fielding .986 as a team. The Falcons are (1-3) and as always, have played a tough schedule at Mississippi State for three and one at Southern Miss. The offense has yet to get going with a .205 batting average but with studs like Sam Kulasingam in the lineup, they are bound to get rolling at their hitter friendly home park. The troubling and uncharacteristic stat for Air Force is the fact that they are giving away, on average, 9 free bases per game. This will be a beautiful and inspiring series between two service academies, but the Falcons are tough at home.

Pick: Air Force

Vin: Air Force lost a tough series last weekend on the road in Starkville but this is still a veteran team that can win the MWC this year. There’s a lot of veteran bats in this lineup like Sam Kulasingam and Jay Thomason, who struggled a bit in the opening series. I expect the Falcons to come out on top here and for their bats to wake up in a big way.

Pick: Air Force


West Virginia at Charlotte

Cozy: The Mountaineers (2-2) split a four-game set in Deland, FL with Stetson to open the season and got some bad news that J.J. Wetherholt will not be available for this weekend. The offense isn’t clicking on all cylinders yet, but the team has been nearly flawless with the gloves only committing 1 error in four games. The problem has been the pitching staff, that doesn’t have a lot of swing and miss stuff, is surrendering over 4 walks per game and has allowed 14 extra-base hits. The 49ers are also (2-2) to start the year and have been on an interesting roller coaster offensively. They only scored 5 runs the first two games of the year and then exploded for 34 runs in the next two. Carson Bayne looks primed for a big year with the stick and the team already has 6 different players with home runs. The pitching staff is deep with 16 different arms having seen time and they possess a wide range of power arm. These clubs are familiar with each other, and it will be another battle but it’s tough to lose the potential No. 1 pick in the draft as West Virginia has this weekend.

Pick: Charlotte

Vin: Both teams opened the season 2-2 with West Virginia splitting at Stetson and losing potential 1:1 pick JJ Wetherholt to a hamstring injury. This is still a veteran offense with a legit Friday night arm in Aidan Major while Charlotte is still trying to find their footing after having to replace a lot from last year. I think these will be high scoring games and like the length in West Virginia’s lineup a little more at this point.

Pick: West Virginia


Samford at UCF

Cozy: The Bulldogs (4-0) are off and running in a confident manner so far this season and they are putting up runs in bunches along the way. While they have played four games, they have only made it 9 innings once due to run-ruling the opponents. The team is batting .320 with 10 combined home runs as they average over 12 runs per game with John Anderson leading the way batting .583 with 2 homers and 8 RBI. Michael Ross is one of the best arms in the SOCON, anchoring a staff that is carrying a 2.61 ERA with 41 punchouts in 31.0 IP. The Knights under the leadership of first year head coach Rich Wallace have had an unusual start to the season, getting games 2 and 3 rained out Opening Weekend. They are sitting (2-0) just coming off a big midweek victory on the road against Miami. Andrew Sundean is batting .444 and will be trouble for opponents all year, while they are fielding .985 as a team. Chase Centala has registered a save in each game so far and the team ERA of 7.00 will surely settle down with time. This will be one of the most exciting series of the weekend, but the Knights should hold serve at home.

Pick: UCF

Vin: Samford is 4-0 heading into this matchup while UCF essentially got washed out of their opening weekend thanks to the rain across the state of Florida in week one. The Knights did come away with a big midweek win over interstate rival Miami and have some nice pieces they’ve added. It’s going to come down to starting pitching likely but I like the home field advantage here for UCF to take a big series.

Pick: UCF

College | Story | 7/21/2026

Coppy's Corner: July 21 Summer Edition

John Coppolella
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The amateur players in the Cape Cod Baseball League are the future stars of the 2027 MLB Draft. The league runs from June 13th through August 2nd. Games are played at historic stadiums in Old New England towns. It’s beautiful and charming. Hollywood even made a movie about the Cape Cod League ~25 years ago called Summer Catch. It scored an 8% (!) on Rotten Tomatoes, but, on the plus side, it featured 2001 Jessica Biel in a starring role.  It was so much fun writing Coppy’s Column this spring. My hope is to highlight a pitcher and position player each week from the Cape. And, who knows, maybe somewhere out there Jessica Biel is reading it.    Player of the Week: Coen Niclai – Wareham Gatemen  The Internet tells me that 12 MLB players have come from Alaska, 10 of whom were from Anchorage, and the best of which is Curt Schilling. Niclai, who is also...
Tournaments | Story | 7/22/2026

15u WWBA Scout Notes: Day 5

Perfect Game Staff
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15u WWBA Scout Notes: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 Noah Rumley (‘29 NC) has been up to 90 so far in this start w/ 8 Ks in 4 innings of work. Really jumps out of the hand at foot strike w/ some ride to it; has also mixed in a SL w/ horizontal action. #WWBA @PG_Coastal pic.twitter.com/OcU57a3Syl — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) July 21, 2026 Noah Rumley (2029, Summerfield, N.C.) got the ball for GBC Lopez 2029 15u in their final game of pool play and dominated, going up against a tough lineup in the East Cobb Astros. The 6-foot-2 left-handed pitcher ended up going five innings, allowing only one hit and one run, while striking out nine. It’s premium stuff at the 15u level as he worked easily in the upper-80s, topping at 90 mph in the first. The breaking ball showed two-plane shape in the upper-70s as well. There’s a ton of things to like already and even...
Tournaments | Championship | 7/22/2026

Champions Named at Southwest Select

Emily Hicks
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Another week of Perfect Game baseball concluded as champions were crowned in the 15U, 16U, and 18U divisions of the Southwest Select Championship. After several days of pool play and championship bracket action, three teams rose above the competition to capture tournament titles following a week of high-level baseball. Throughout the tournament, teams from across the Southwest and beyond competed in closely contested matchups, producing standout pitching performances, timely offense, and memorable defensive plays. As the bracket narrowed, each division featured championship-caliber baseball before the final trophies were awarded. 15U Championship The 15U division title was claimed by AZ Prodigy, who defeated Nomadic 14U Premier by a score of 2-1 in the championship game. After putting together a strong tournament run, AZ Prodigy continued its momentum in the title game with contributions...
All American Game | Story | 7/22/2026

PGAAC Roster Reveal

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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 ANNOUNCES TEAM ROSTERS FOR 2026 DICK'S ALL-AMERICAN CLASSIC AT CITIZENS BANK PARK   The rosters span 20 U.S. states, Puerto Rico and Canada, with California leading the way Jersey City's Finnian O'Loughlin gives the host region a player in the spotlight Field includes sons of Hall of Famer Frank Thomas & MLB All-Star Brad Hawpe   Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Wednesday, July 22, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced the Team East and Team West rosters for the 2026 DICK'S All-American Classic, set for Sunday, August 16 at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies. The 60-player field represents the top...
Tournaments | Championship | 7/22/2026

Florida Burn Cruise to 17U BCS Crown

Alyssa Golden
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Ranked fifth nationally entering the tournament, Florida Burn 2027 Scout left no doubt who the best team was at the 17U BCS National Championship. Burn finished a perfect 9-0 tournament, earning an 11-1 semifinal victory before defeating No. 86-ranked Original Florida Pokers 2027 National, 9-1, Tuesday afternoon at JetBlue Park. Burn seized control early and never looked back in a game that ended after the fifth inning per Perfect Game’s mercy rule. Burn carried its explosive offense into the championship game as Braedon Mackay launched a two-run home run in the first inning, giving his team an early 2-0 lead. Mackay’s home run sparked a five-run opening inning, setting the tone for the rest of the afternoon. The Florida commit later earned tournament MVP honors after helping lead Burn to an unbeaten championship run. “I was just trying to get something started,”...
PG Select Baseball Festival | General | 7/21/2026

13u Select Festival Roster Reveal

Jheremy Brown
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With the completion of the 2026 13u National Showcase, an event that featured some of the best talent the age group has to offer, 42 players came out with the label of "Festivaler" as they received a phone call shortly after the event concluded. Moving back to the University of Tennessee after a two year stay at the University of Virginia, Ole Rocky Top will see a mixed bag of returners; three-timers, new faces and a couple who bridged the gap from the 11u game into the 13u iteration.  Of the 42 players, 9 players call Florida their home base which is the most of any state while Texas (8), California (7) and Georgia (5) are all close behind nearly three-quarters of the players selected. In total 17 different states are represented, from Hawaii to Arkansas, Washington to Maryland and everywhere in between.  Quick roster breakdown: Three-time Select Festival: 13 players ...
Tournaments | Story | 7/21/2026

UBC Midwest X Atlantic Notes: Part 1

Blaine Peterson
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Jack Postma (2028, Barrington, IL) made an impression in Chicago this week. A 6-foot-5 right hander with a starter pitch mix. Topped out at 93 in his outing at UBC Midwest and pitched at 88-93 for 2 innings on the mound. Slider showed late horizontal bite at its best when finished out front. Change up is a usable third pitch with fading action and ability to miss bats. Clean overall operation in the delivery. Upside with added stability in the arm action. Chance to be one of the top prospects in Illinois and potentially the country with necessary adjustments moving forward.  Connor Basinski (2028, Columbia, IL) an athletic player with 2-way potential. Physicality stands out for a player in the 2028 class. Swung the bat impressively well in Chicago. Hits from a wide stance and stays balanced using strength and leverage to drive the baseball to all fields. Launched a long pull side...
Tournaments | Story | 7/21/2026

15u WWBA Scout Notes: Day 4

Perfect Game Staff
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15u WWBA Scout Notes: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 Mason Conner (2029, Palestine, Texas) was a force in the middle-of-the-order for Gold Culture. The right-handed hitter starts from a medium stance with in-line feet and a low handset with a low back elbow, utilizes a negative leg lift stride. Strides through and uncoils the lower half well and creates separation in the back shoulder. Solid hand speed with a flat bat plane and feel to leverage and lift. Impacts the ball well with feel to impact and drive. The shortstop showed the power upside belting a two-run homer over the fence in left field and added a two-RBI knock later in the game. Medium 6-foot, 175-pound frame that was consistently on the barrel and showed a good approach at the plate working two walks. Lennon Dunn (2029, Mansfield, Texas) competed and showed the upside on the mound for Stix 2029 Scout. The right-handed pitcher...
Tournaments | Story | 7/21/2026

16U BCS Rolls into Fort Myers

Alyssa Golden
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The 21st annual 16U BCS National Championship returns to Fort Myers, Florida from July 23-27, bringing together many of the nation’s top 2028 graduates. The tournament features 44 teams, including six nationally ranked clubs, competing for a national title across five days of high-level competition. Year after year, the event has served as a proving ground for elite talent. Defending champion Showtime Select National 16U returns after capturing last year’s championship, while a talented field from across the country will look to add its name to the event’s prestigious history. One of the premier prospects in the field, shortstop Gabriel Coupet enters as the highest-ranked player in attendance, checking in at No. 49 overall in the Class of 2028 and No. 8 player in Florida. The Boynton Beach, Fla., native has established himself as one of the country’s most talented...
Tournaments | Championship | 7/20/2026

FTB National Completes Elite Run

Kinley Kitchens
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Championships are never won in a single game. For FTB National 2027, this one has been in the making for years. An 8-0 victory over Team Elite 17U Scout capped off an unforgettable week at the 2026 Perfect Game 17U National Elite Championship, but according to those inside the dugout, the championship was a product of friendships formed long before the tournament ever began. FTB took their first national elite win in team history, giving one of the nation’s top 2027 teams an elite ending to their 17U summer. “This is a homegrown group,” head coach Will Haynie said. “This team has been together for the last four or five years, and I think a lot of them have been together since the Little League World Series when they were 12. It’s been fun, and a nice little cap off to their 17U summer, especially after winning a big event like this.” That chemistry...
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