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Tournaments  | Story | 5/23/2024

West Memorial Day Classic Preview

During the holiday weekend, Perfect Game will be hosting its West Memorial Day Classic throughout sunny Arizona. Starting Friday and ending Monday, 137 hungry teams will come to compete and emerge as tournament winners. 

In the event's history, there have been near countless college commits, a Major Leaguer, and 153 players drafted in total. Like in the past, there will be age groups up from 13U to 18U, and each group will have their tournaments gathered at different baseball stadiums around the valley, such as Goodyear Ballpark, Peoria Sports Complex, Riverview Complex, and the Surprise Spring Training Complex. There will be 14 teams in 13U, 26 in 14U, 28 in 15U, 34 in 16U, 21 in 17U, and 15 in 18U, all traveling from different parts of America to battle in front of scouts, fans, and family. Many of last year's champion organizations will return to try to go back-to-back in their different leagues. The event starts with up to four, five, and or six teams placed in a pool to compete in a set of games for the first part of the tournament. Keep up with this classic by subscribing to DiamondKast where all stats and scores will be kept throughout the event. With 374 ranked players, 49 of whom are committed already, you don’t want to miss out on all the talent to watch this weekend. 



With a new summer circuit just on the horizon out in Arizona, we're going to switch things up a bit in terms of a preview for the West Memorial Day and look at a team to watch in each division, as well as highlight a key prospect to watch, who in this iteration will be Oregon State signee Dax Whitney, a talented right-hander out of Idaho. 

13u: AZ 643 Baseball

AZ 643 Baseball 13U team is set to face off in the 13U West Memorial Day Classic for their ninth event since the start of their membership in 2023. Starting in Pool B, their first three games are scheduled for Friday-Monday hosted at the Riverview Complex. Led by coach and owner Jeff Landry, this Gilbert, Arizona team looks to carry on their impressive 21-8-2 record and improve from fourth place based on last tournament's results. 

Overall, this team has a .315 batting average with eight players hitting above .300. The leader of the pack, hitting.439 with a 1.281 OPS, is first baseman and left-handed pitcher Evan Hedlund who recently won MVP and was named to the All-Tournament Team for pitching and batting in the 2024 13U 42 Classic (OPEN). On the mound, he also leads his team with 40 strikeouts so far in 17 games pitched. Two star pitchers are sub1.95 ERAs including infielder and right-handed pitcher Branden Cox. Cox is averaging a 1.11 ERA, the best on the team. He has pitched 38 innings, allowing 38 hits and only eight runs across the diamond. He was also awarded an MVPitching title during the 2024 13U Arizona PG Championship Series Tour 2 (OPEN). With four MVP awards and 57 All-Tournament Players already crowned, this young team has a lot of potential to keep an eye on. 

14u: Canes West Signature

Coming down from Irvine, California, the Canes West 2028 Signature team will participate in the 14U West Memorial Day Classic at the Goodyear Ballpark. Canes competing in Pool D will face MMW Arizona 2028 Gold for their first game on Friday morning. Players and coach JoJo Storniolo will embark on their 10th event of the year in hopes of coming out champions like the Canes West 2027 team did in last year's Memorial event. 

With a 22-14-1 record so far, a lot of that success carries from the heavy-hitting roster. The team bats.381 on average, with 21 players hitting above .328 with 743 hits and 614 runs scored. Standing on top is first baseman James Nolan, with a .604 batting average and an OPS of 1.483 and 29 hits out of 48 at-bats. Nolan claims nine All-Tournament Team titles, three of which are from 2023-2024. Another star bat is the team home run leader with five and shortstop Tj Otis, hitting .504 and has a 1.489 OPS, the highest on the team. He is the second-ranked shortstop in his hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada. He also has posted a 2.88 ERA in 11 games. Speaking of pitching, this team has plenty of depth with seven players throwing 3.00 or lower. The top strikeout arm is left-handed pitcher Nico Buscemi with 59. Max Nibarger in 20 games has a 3.00 ERA, Nathan Reaney a 2.35 within 41.2 innings, and Eli Iopa averages a 1.27 ERA in six games. Another key arm with fewer games is right-handed pitcher Carson Cato, with a 0.00 ERA who has allowed just seven hits while striking out eight with four unearned runs allowed. Behind him is Richard Cruz Iii, who had a 0.74 ERA with only 3 runs against. With 80 total All-Tournament Players and a multi-talented roster, there are many names to look for when the Canes take the field this weekend as they bounce back from the 2024 14U Huntington Beach Super Regional NIT (MAJOR) last month.
 
15u: Canes West AZ

As the number one ranked team in their West region and the top No. 84 team nationally, the Canes West AZ roster is ready for the 2024 15U West Memorial Day Classic hosted at Goodyear Ballpark. With an 8-2-0 record after participating in two tournaments last year, they join their first tournament in 2024 to improve from third place after their past event in October. 

Going into this event, 11 players are hitting .308 or higher, so expect a lot of offensive power from this team's lineup. Five of them hit in the .400 batting average, and the only bat hitting .500 is the third overall ranked player in New Mexico in utility player Colton Floyd. Behind Floyd for fourth in the New Mexico state ranking is Jonah Utash, who is hitting .450 with 18 hits in 16 games. Erick Jimenez is wrapping up the top three; he sports a .447 average in 38 at-bats. Even with only two home runs, this team relies heavily on singles and doubles to score. As for arms, there’s right-hand pitcher Jacoby Noble who has a 3.00 ERA in 23.1 innings with 28 strikeouts, fourth-ranked Arizona HS prospect Jimenez tosses 2.07 in 20.1 and leads the team with 30 punch-outs, and Maddox Wahlenmaier with a low 0.32 ERA in five games pitched with the third most strikeouts with 23 and counting. While these three carry the most strikeouts, there are a lot of other strong arms in the bullpen averaging 3.00 ERA and below in the roster. With all that talent and much more, the Canes will set forth a small drive from Scottsdale to Goodyear for their first game against the AZ Runners Scout Team as part of Pool B on Friday morning. 

16u: LVR Baseball

Heading into the Memorial Day Classic as champions from their last event in 2023, the LVR Baseball team looks to build off their undefeated record of 7-0. There’s a brightly lit spotlight as they enter this event coming down from Las Vegas, Nevada as the No. 14 Nationally ranked team. 

There are a lot of players whose talent helps this team remain undefeated, starting in the batter's box. There are six hitters throughout the lineup hitting above .346. The top three leads off with utility player Randall Riley III with a .500 average through a small sample size of just 18 at-bats. Next up is the sixth overall ranked prospect in Nevada, Dallon Cegavske who's hitting .457 and leads the team with two homers, 20 RBI, and a 1.287 OPS. Third is the number-one prospect in Nevada, Aiden Farrell, who has a .429 average in only seven games. With plenty off offensive depth there also comes their array of quality pitching. The third top pitching prospect also in Nevada is right-handed pitcher Brayden Lenahan with a 2.27 ERA. He is tied at 26 strikeouts with right-handed pitcher Chase Delprete, who's sporting a 3.89 ERA. This LVR team has nine All-Tournament Players whose names include those already mentioned, such as Cegavske, Farrell, and Riley, who also won an MVPicher award during the 2023 Fall National Championship. With a lot of star power on this team, there’s a solid chance to come back on top for the second event in a row. 

17u: Hawaii Elite 2G National

The Hawaii Elite 2G National team looks to turn the page during the West Memorial Day Classic, entering as a top 30 team in the country as the club is looking to repeat as they won the 16u West Memorial Day last year.

The bats came out a little slow in their first tournament, but they have the fire power to put up runs in bunches and should be expected to do so this weekend. This team currently has seven players batting above .333. The most notable is outfielder Alaka'i Kiakona, who's hitting .500 in 2024 PG events and is tied with Kainoa Kaneshiro, a University of Nevada commit. Behind them with a .429 average is Nicholas Nashiwa, and then tied at .400 are Caynen Kagami and Tanner Fujino. This roster also has seven primary pitchers listed as well. Kiakona, who sports a 0.88 ERA and leads the team with 16 strikeouts in eight innings, will be a go-to arm for the tougher pool play matchup and is one of the top arms in the state. The coaching staff  can also rely on right-handed pitcher Jayden Hunt, who has a 3.00 ERA and is a top ten pitching prospect in Hawaii as well as left-handed pitcher Cade Wehrsig who is currently the state's No. 19 prospect. This team still has much promise and look to repeat their title as they fly into Surprise, Arizona, this upcoming weekend to compete in Pool C. 

Prospect Profile: Dax Whitney

Right-handed pitcher Dax Whitney will participate in the West Memorial Day Classic for the third time. After committing to the Oregon State Beavers as he completes his senior year, Whitney comes to Arizona. He attracts many eyes behind the backstop as Idaho's No.1 pitching and overall prospect. 

In the past, Whitney has only ever played in the Memorial Day Classic dating back to 2022 and is doing so with much success. During that year, he reached 88 mph with his fastball, 70 mph on the curveball, 79 mph on the slider, and showed a 77 mph change-up. He threw four innings of work on five strikeouts and no hits in the two games he pitched. Last year, he grew from an average 83-88 mph fastball to a 90-92 fastball range. He also increased the speed of his three other pitches, adding eight mph to his curveball, four mph to his slider, and five mph to his change-up after pitching one inning with 13 strikeouts and one hit in the tournament. As a three-time All-Tournament Player and a national level-type prospect, Whitney is committed to improve his game as the numbers show. He was a teammate in 2023 on the Bandits Post 56 team.  This time around he will compete in the 18U age group with the Bandits. Their first four games as a team in Pool C will be at the Surprise Spring Training Complex starting Friday at 8:30 a.m. against the Badlands Baseball. Don’t miss a chance to see Whitney pitch during this event by attending or keeping up live on DiamondKast to see how much he has grown since the last Memorial Day Classic.  

Tournaments | Story | 11/13/2026

National All State Preview: Week 2

Hannah Jo Groves
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The second week of of PG All-State National Championships starts this weekend - this particular one featuring the 9U, 11U and 13U age groups. Last week, the 10U, 12U and 14U divisions got their chance to represent their states and compete in the Houston, Texas area. This weekend, there will be 23 teams competing in the 13U and 11U divisions and 15 teams competing for the 9U title. “For Tony [Harper] and I, it’s an early glimpse of guys yearning to impress as we head to the new year…for those seeking consideration for the Select Festival,” National Cross-Checker and Northeast Scouting Director, John McAdams, said. For those competing in the 11U division, this event marks their first opportunity to show out, get some recognition and potentially receive a coveted invitation to the 2027 11U Select Festival. Some names that have already stood out to PG’s scouts...
College | Story | 11/13/2026

College Fall Notebook: November 13

Craig Cozart
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UCF Knights  2026 In Review:  The Knights recorded their best finish of the Big 12 era tied for 3rd place in the regular season with a (19-11) record and (32-23) overall.  Their resume would earn them an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in the last three seasons under Head Coach Rich Wallace in what would be the 14th all-time postseason appearance.  The 19 conference wins were the most by a UCF team since 2005 as they won 7 of their 10-conference series.  UCF was a consistent on the offensive side batting .289 as a team and averaging almost 7-runs per game.  They also took another step forward on the mound, with a team ERA of 4.61 while registering an impressive 6-shutouts on the year.    INF Austin Jacobs (@UCF_Baseball)turns on this heater and deposits it over the LF wall for a 3 run HR (96 EV/ 364 FT). Nice job pulling the...
College | Recruiting | 11/12/2026

Head of the Class: No. 4 Arkansas

Jordan Gates
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Complete 2027 Arkansas Recruiting Class No. 4 Arkansas Head Coach: Dave Van Horn | Recruiting Coordinator: Nate Thompson Total Signees: 18 | Top 100 Signees: 3 Top 5 Recruits: Rk. Name Pos. HT WT B-T High School Hometown ST 42 Christopher (CJ) Wall C 6-1 195 L-R Georgia Premier Academy Statesboro GA 52 Jake Ivey LHP 6-3 200 L-L Gunter Gunter TX 91 Conor Rae SS 6-1 170 R-R Corona Del Sol Gilbert AZ 102 Charlie Sarsfield OF 5-10 170 L-R Linn-Mar Cedar Rapids IA 107 Bear Calvo SS 6-1 200 R-R Orange Lutheran Fullerton CA Over the last decade, Arkansas has found themselves ranked inside the top ten in recruiting classes eight of the last ten years. They are no stranger to being ranked towards the top either with a handful of top five finishes, with their 2027 class checking in at number four. While the transfer portal has had the largest impact on college baseball and sports in general, the...
College | Recruiting | 11/12/2026

Head of the Class: No. 3 Texas A&M

Vincent Cervino
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Complete 2027 Texas A&M Recruiting Class  No. 3 Texas A&M Head Coach: Michael Earley | Recruiting Coordinator: Nolan Cain Total Signees: 17 | Top 100 Signees: 6 Top 5 Recruits RK. Name Pos. HT WT High School Hometown State 11 Striker Pence RHP/1B 6-6 215 Santiago Corona CA 15 Brady Cunningham 3B/RHP 6-3 225 Brother Rice Mokena IL 40 Isaiah Snavely SS 6-3 195 Zionsville Community Zionsville IN 77 Jordan Ayala RHP 6-1 185 Norco La Habra CA 88 Clyde Williams III OF 5-11 178 Magnolia Magnolia TX The Aggies jumped into the top 10 with their 2026 high school recruits and in his third season Michael Earley has achieved a the highest ranked recruiting class of his career at No. 3 for the 2027 class. Credit due as well to RC Nolan Cain who rejoined the Aggies just this past summer.  There’s star power littered throughout this class including four PG All-Americans, led by...
Tournaments | Championship | 11/12/2026

Texas Defends Home Turf at All State

Hannah Jo Groves
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Texas American Dominates for the 12U All-State Select Championship A run-rule, 11-3 victory over California National sealed the deal for Texas American’s 12U PG National All-State Select Championship win. 6 different players combined for Texas American’s 11 total runs - Ishmael Ruiz knocked in 2 runs with a double in the bottom of the second, Cannon Hughes knocked in 5 runs with 2, 2-run home runs in the first and second innings and an RBI walk to seal the game. Though it’s clear Texas American’s offense was explosive, right-handed pitcher Martin Vazquez did his part on the mound, striking out 6 batters and only dealing 1 walk in his 4 innings and 61 pitches of work. Earlier in the tournament, Lucas Bingham, the tournament’s MVPitcher, struck out 11 batters over 6.1 innings in his outing - and despite that impressive stat line - Bingham said he was not...
Draft | Prospect Scouting Reports | 11/12/2026

2027 Draft Board Update: Biggest Risers

Tyler Henninger
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2027 MLB Draft Content Hub With our latest draft board update, several prospects have made significant moves up the rankings following strong performances throughout the fall. From prep talent finishing off the circuit to college players ramping up for the spring, the latest update features plenty of new names and notable jumps. Here we will take a closer look at some of the biggest risers, highlighting the players who have done the most to improve their draft stock and have positioned themselves well heading into the winter.  Biggest Riser John Hucko (‘27 NC) lifts this one into RF for an RBI 2B, does a nice job of recognizing off speed w/ good adjustment; athletic frame w/ strength present. @AuburnBaseball commit #WWBAWorlds @PG_Coastal https://t.co/GXnZlsMidh — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) October 8, 2026 OF John Hucko, Charlotte Catholic | Pres. Rank: 23...
College | Recruiting | 11/13/2026

Head of the Class: No. 1 Louisiana State

Jheremy Brown
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Complete 2027 LSU Recruiting Class No. 1 Louisiana State Head Coach: Jay Johnson | Recruiting Coordinator: Josh Jordan Total Signees: 17 | Top 100 Signees: 12 Top 5 Recruits RK Name Pos. HT WT B-T High School Hometown ST 6 Samir Mohammed RHP 6-5 240 R-R Tampa Jesuit Trinity FL 13 Sebastian Castillo SS 6-0 195 R-R Byron Nelson Justin TX 16 Graham Houston SS 6-1 175 S-R Venice Nokomis FL 22 Drake Hawpe OF 6-4 215 L-R Liberty Christian Argyle TX 32 Jordin Griffin OF 5-10 190 L-R Barbe Lake Charles LA Wash. Rinse. Repeat. The 2027 recruiting cycle saw Jay Johnson and his staff pull in the top class in the country, something we've come to almost expect as of late, and though they have some names to monitor heading into next year's MLB Draft, the depth of this group is unreal and one of the best we've seen in some time. Just how good is this class as a whole? Of their 16 commits, 12 are ranked...
College | Recruiting | 11/11/2026

Head of the Class: No. 5 Vanderbilt

Kyler Peterson
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Complete 2027 Vanderbilt Recruiting Class No. 5 Vanderbilt Head Coach: Tim Corbin | Recruiting Coordinator: Scott Brown Total Signees: 16 | Top 100 Signees: 5 Top 5 Recruits RK Name Pos. HT WT B-T High School Hometown ST 21 Ethan Gustus RHP 6-6 192 R-R Roseville Roseville CA 55 Broder Katke C 6-2 205 R-R Brother Rice Bloomfield Hills MI 61 Graham Keen 3B/RHP 6-4 185 R-R Mt Lebanon Pittsburgh PA 63 Stephen Bobo OF 5-11 175 L-L Shelbyville Central Shelbyville TN 85 Derek Yormack RHP 6-3 220 R-R Bellmore JFK Merrick NY The Dores check in at No. 5 in the recruiting rankings with a loaded 2027 class. The class holds five players currently ranked in the top 100 and ten total ranked within the top 200. Coach Corbin and his staff dipped into the west coast to head their class with one of the best arms in the country, California native Ethan Gustus. The 6-foot-6 right-hander has touched triple...
College | Recruiting | 11/11/2026

Head of the Class: No. 6 Alabama

Jay Vossler
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Complete 2027 Alabama Recruiting Class Head Coach: Rob Vaughn | Recruiting Coordinator: Jason Jackson Total Signees: 17 | Top 100 Signees: 4 Top 5 Recruits RK Name Pos. HT WT B-T High School Hometown ST 29 Finnian O'Loughlin OF 6-2 200 R-R Delbarton Jersey City NJ 31 Mac Morris SS 6-0 187 R-R Dorman Taylors SC 47 Harry Chubb Jones Jr. * SS 6-4 190 R-R McEachern Douglasville GA 86 Anderson Lambert OF 6-0 180 R-R McDonogh Laurel MD 108 Jude Carter RHP 6-5 210 R-R Alexander Central Taylorsville NC * denotes enrolling early for upcoming spring After three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament, including a trip to Omaha in 2026, Rob Vaughn and the Alabama Crimson Tide have seen their recruiting class skyrocket in the rankings. After checking in at 24 in 2024, they took a huge leap up to 8 in 2025, stayed close to that at 13 in 2026, and now sit at 6 in 2027, the highest under Rob Vaughn....
Tournaments | Championship | 11/11/2026

Florida Offense Paces All State Crown

Hannah Jo Groves
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Florida National got off to a hot start in Monday’s championship game against Texas National. Scoring all their runs in the first and second inning, Florida National held off Texas National and won 5-3 for the 14U PG National All-State Select Championship title. An electric and fun-filled weekend all led up to this final game on Field 3 at Premier Baseball of Texas. The players geared up under the lights for what would surely be another great meeting between stacked teams. Texas National was up to bat first, but Florida’s pitcher, Lucas Diaz, struck out 2 batters in a row before fielding a ground ball for the third out. Though the bottom of the first started with a strikeout for Florida National, Diaz reached first base on a dropped passed ball and Jayden Portes got on with a walk. With two on and only one out, Florida National was primed to pounce. Lucas Viera singled to...
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