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College  | Story | 4/2/2025

Midseason Collegiate Awards

Vincent Cervino
Craig Cozart
Photo: Kyson Witherspoon (Oklahoma Athletics)
Midseason Player of the Year

Alex Lodise – IF - Florida State

Lodise, the 6-1/190 infielder from St. Augustine, Florida, started his career down I-10 at the University of North Florida where he was an everyday starter at short stop and First Team All-ASUN award winner. He had a monster season batting .306 with 14 doubles, 16 home runs and 63 runs batted in. Transferring to FSU for his sophomore season, he started 62 games in 2024 and went through an adjustment period to ACC competition batting .281 with 14 doubles, 9 home runs and 44 RBI. Fast forward to this year and he is on pace to double most of his personal single season highs in virtually every batting category. Lodise is currently 4th in the nation with a .466 BA, leads the nation in average hits per game, tied for 22nd in home runs with 11, and his .871 slugging percentage is 7th in the nation. Beyond helping his club get off to an impressive (23-4) start to the season, he has played himself into late Day 1 to early Day 2 consideration in the coming MLB Amateur Draft.

Midseason Pitcher of the Year

Kyson Witherspoon – RHP – Oklahoma

At 6-2/207, the right handed pitcher from Jacksonville, Florida, started his career at Northwest Florida State College where he made 17 appearances, going 69.2 innings pitched with a 3.10 ERA. The following year he found himself in Norman and would lead OU with a 3.71 ERA in 80.0 innings pitched, 11 starts, 17 appearances and 8-3 record while accumulating a 90:40 strikeout-to-walk ratio. After a stint with the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, Witherspoon has taken his craft to another level. Armed with a fastball that lives in the mid-90s and will touch 98 mph and backing that up with a tight cutter and devastating mid-80s slider, he has emerged as the top starting pitcher in the country. He is (5-1) on the year in 7 starts with a 2.31 ERA in 39.0 innings pitched, holding opponents to a .189 batting average with a tremendous 64:10 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The Sooners looks like national title contenders and Witherspoon could be the first college arm off the board in this July’s MLB Draft.



Midseason Freshman of the Year

Derek Curiel – OF – LSU

Ranked by Perfect Game as the No. 1 Top 75 Freshman for the 2025 season, Curiel has somehow surpassed all expectations. Leading the Tigers in batting average at .408, runs scored with 38 and on-base percentage at .555, he has been the sparkplug for their explosive offense. He uses the big part of the field, driving the ball gap-to-gap on his way to 9 doubles, 2 triples, 3 home runs and 24 runs batted in. Adding significant physicality to his 6-2 frame, he now weighs 182 pounds, and the results have been him doing more damage with the stick. While it would be anticipated that his performance may take a hit once the challenge of SEC play began, Curiel continues to lead LSU in most offensive categories in league plays. In 9 conference starts, he is slashing .371/.629/.500 with a double, triple, 2 home runs and with 7 RBIs and a team leading 11 runs scored. The Tigers are an elite team with their sights on Omaha and with Curiel producing like he is, they would be a pretty safe bet to reach the promised land.

Midseason Two-Way Player of the Year

Ethan Hedges – IF/RHP – Southern Cal

The physicality and athleticism required to be a legitimate two-way player in D1 baseball are rare to find but the 6-1/185 Hedges is an elite example. The junior from Fountain Valley, California is putting together an epic season for the Trojans after being a position player only for his first two seasons. In 2025, he is thriving on both sides of the ball and the bat may be his loudest tool. So far this year he is slashing .413/.817/.508 with 6 doubles, 3 triples, 10 home runs, 34 runs batted in, and he has also swiped 7 bags. He leads the Trojans in every major offensive category with the exception of doubles, has hit safely in 25 of 27 games and he has been their stopper on the mound at the end of games. Using his low-to-mid 90s fastball and quality breaker, Hedges has made 9 appearances and registered 8 saves with an opponent’s batting average of .188 so far. Southern Cal is looking to make some noise in their first year of play in the Big 10, and Hedges will be in the thick of it.

Midseason Coach of the Year

Tony Vitello – Tennessee

Having picked up just about every coach’s award out there in 2024, it would have been reasonable to think Vitello may not be able to duplicate last year’s success. Well, nothing could be further from the truth as the Vols once again find themselves atop every Top-25 poll across the nation. Vitello has his club sitting (26-2) as well as (8-1) in SEC play, which has them in a 3-way tie for first place in the conference. Tennessee set the all-time SEC record for consecutive wins in the season following a national title as they reeled off 20 victories to open up 2025. In the transfer portal era, it is vital to attract the best transfer talent in the nation, but it is equally as important to retain your best players. Vitello and staff seem to have figured out the formula for both and at mid-season are the odds on favorites to win the national title yet again.

Midseason Team of the Year

Tennessee Volunteers

Life of the SEC defending national champion in the previous 4 years has been a difficult road to navigate. In 2021, the Mississippi State Bulldogs followed up their title run with sub-.500 record and failed to make the SEC tournament. The Ole Miss Rebels won the national title the following year and followed the same path only winning 25 games and fell short of reaching Hoover. So, the LSU Tigers took home the hardware in 2023 and followed up with a quality season of 43 wins but saw their season end in the Chapel Hill Regional. The Vols won it all in 2025 and have shown no signs of a hangover, racing out to a (20-0) record to start the season and are (26-2) overall with their sights on another SEC Regular Season title. This year’s club is an offensive juggernaut, batting .317 as a team, having hit 68 home runs (3rd in the nation) on their way to scoring on average 10.5 runs per game (2nd in the nation). They have scored 211 more runs than their opponents and an almost 1:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio as a team with an outrageous .447 OB%. As good as they are with the sticks, they may be better on the mound as they lead the nation in team ERA with a 2.54 and also lead the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 4.28 as a staff. They are as deep as they are good with 15 pitchers having made at least 5 appearances as they spread the workload and keep arms fresh down the stretch. This team plays with freedom but remains disciplined and they thrive under the expectations that they are the frontrunners for another national championship.
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College | Story | 5/21/2026

Coppy's Corner: May 21 POY Deep Dive
John Coppolella
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Each week I huddle with Vinnie Cervino and Craig Cozart  to discuss Top-25 rankings and Players of the Week. In Coppy’s Corner, I dive deeper into these Players of the Week, providing analysis from 20+ years working in baseball front offices at the highest level.   Co-Player of the Week: Carson Tinney – University of Texas  As a Notre Dame alumnus, it pained me to see Tinney transfer from the Golden Dome to the University of Texas after an All-American sophomore season for the Irish. He’s picked up in Austin right where he left off in South Bend and is currently hitting .321 AVG, 20 HR, .475 OBP / .695 SLG / 1.170 OPS on the 2026 season. It’s plus right-handed power and a plus arm; with the numbers I have found indicating that Tinney has erased more than half of attempted base stealers over the past two seasons of college baseball. Tinney threw...
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Tournaments | Story | 5/24/2026

East Memorial Day Scout Notes: Days 1-2

Perfect Game Staff
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‘27 IF Braylon Sheffield (FL) with an absolute 🚀 here, launching high off the RCF wall for a 3B. Super polished LH stick; hit over .400 last year on the circuit. #GoHoos commit. #EastMemorial pic.twitter.com/mdehqpR5v5 — Perfect Game Florida (@Florida_PG) May 23, 2026 Braylon Sheffield (2027, Fort Myers, Fla.) got the event started with the loudest swing of the night on Friday at Terry Park, rocketing a triple off the wall in the stadium. Sheffield, ranked 121 and committed to Virginia, is a super polished left-handed hitter with left side of the infield projection long term. The swing is tension-free with loose wrists and he generates easy bat speed with already present power to the pull side. This blast came inches away from being a home run and hitting a ball that far at Terry Park stadium is a significant shot. Sheffield also tripled in his second game of the weekend at...
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Tournaments | Story | 5/24/2026

West Memorial Day Scout Notes: Days 1-2

Tyler Henninger
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Colton Floyd (‘27,AZ) just misses a HR here. Can really impact the baseball & shows over the fence power potential. Took 3 QAB’s today. He’s the #1 ranked 3B in the state and #4 in the country. #MDWest https://t.co/ReMh7D0v4y pic.twitter.com/w1dzssSy8N — Perfect Game Four Corners (@PG_FourCorners) May 23, 2026 Colton Floyd, 3B, Chandler, AZ. Canes West National (2027) Floyd is a high-upside prospect with physical tools and burgeoning power. His combination of size, bat speed, and raw strength makes him one of the top power-hitting third basemen in the country. Currently ranked the #1 third baseman in Arizona and #4 nationally in his class. With continued refinement of his approach and defensive consistency, he has all the ingredients to be a middle-of-the-order bat at Texas A&M and a legitimate MLB Draft prospect JJ Utash (‘27,AZ) with a triple here....
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Tournaments | Story | 5/21/2026

Memorial Day Classics Set to Kick Off

Perfect Game Staff
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Southeast Memorial Day East Cobb Baseball will welcome more than 100 teams spanning the 13-17u age groups this weekend as summer baseball gets underway with the highly anticipated PG Southeast Memorial Day Classic, commencing on Thursday, May 21st. This weekend’s annual premier event will feature 11 nationally ranked teams across the five age groups with the No. 9 16u East Cobb Astros headlining the 17u division alongside top prospects such as No. 11 ranked Bryan Johnson Jr. And No. 22 ranked Georgia Tech commit, Malachi Butler. The No. 34 17u ranked 643 DP Cougars will also be a squad to watch as they will look to challenge the Astros for the championship amongst the other 14 17u division teams. While the oldest division will draw lots of attention with highly touted prospects, the 16u field is stacked with 29 total teams including three nationally ranked clubs. Over 30 top 1000...
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High School | General | 5/22/2026

Northeast High School Notebook: May 22

Anthony Gambardella
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‘26 RHP Hunter Brown (@NHLionsBaseball - NJ) struck out 1️⃣5️⃣ thru 6 IP w/ 0 BB & 2 H allowed. FB lived 90-92, T93 w/ ASR & late life. Froze bats with his 11/5 CB both early/late in counts (2600rpm). Mixed in fading CH & short/tight SL. #WeAre commit. @PG_Draft#PGHS @PG_Scouting pic.twitter.com/NbSSOmCyD0 — Perfect Game Mid-Atlantic (@PGMidAtlantic) April 23, 2026 Hunter Brown - 2026 RHP, North Hunterdon Reg (N.J.) was utterly dominant in his start against Franklin last month, tossing six shutout innings with 15 strikeouts, zero walks and just two hits allowed. The 6-foot-5 215-pound right-hander has pitched to a 0.97 ERA this spring with 78 punchouts over 36 innings of work. Brown has been one of the many northeast arms receiving increasingly more buzz ahead of the MLB Draft this July. Brown’s heater lived in the low-90s throughout the duration of his...
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Press Release | Press Release | 5/22/2026

Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 65

Ron Wolforth
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The Insidious Lie That Hurts Pitchers Thep Most How many of you have ever had a terrible outing and afterward couldn’t really explain what went wrong? And how many of you have ever had a great outing and couldn’t explain what you did differently either? That gap between what is happening and your awareness of what is happening may be one of the most important gaps in player development. Closing that gap has a name. It is called metacognition. In simple terms, metacognition means thinking about your thinking. It is the ability to understand how you learn, how you perform, how you respond under pressure, and how you make adjustments when things are not going your way. For a pitcher, that matters because no matter how good your coach is, he cannot stand on the mound with you. Your coach cannot take the ball with the bases loaded, two outs, and the best hitter in the league...
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College | Rankings | 5/20/2026

DII/DIII/NAIA Rankings Update: May 20

Nick Herfordt
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There is a reason the preseason pick to win it all rarely does. College baseball's postseason is a gauntlet — double elimination, best-of-three’s, then a full World Series format — and the team that looks unbeatable in February has to prove it again in May against opponents who have had just as long to get ready. Plenty of programs have entered the tournament as the obvious favorite and gone home early. It happens every year. Nobody should be shocked when it does. Top-ranked teams flaming out in regional weekends happens so many times it has become its own genre of schadenfreude Which makes this particular moment worth noting. The Perfect Game preseason picks to win the NAIA, NCAA Division II, and NCAA Division III national titles — Tennessee Wesleyan, UT Tyler, and the University of Lynchburg — are all still alive heading into the final rounds. All three...
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Tournaments | Story | 5/19/2026

Best of the Best Event Preview

Jheremy Brown
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In simplistic terms, the Best of The Best tournament is an absolute gauntlet as seemingly every game brings a playoff game atmosphere. Coaches must strategically map out their pitching to ensure they can get through Pool Play while also making sure they have arms to make a deep playoff run. Each and every age group is loaded with the best teams, composed of some of the best players that travel baseball has to offer. The 9u & 10u age groups will respectively have 9 out of the Top 10 Teams within the latest PG National Team Rankings participating in the event. At 9U, LTP-Reign will look to hold on to their #1 ranking but will have plenty of competition with the likes of ZT National Prospects and HTX-Wildcatters 9U looking to take over that #1 spot. In the 10u age group, Elevate National will look to fend off plenty of talent with #2 ranked Kaos National, East Cobb Astros and ZT...
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College | Story | 5/19/2026

College Players of the Week: May 19

Vincent Cervino
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May 19th Perfect Game/Co-Players of the Week:  Carson Tinney, C, Texas  The Texas Longhorns just finished off another stellar regular season and are heading to Hoover for the SEC Conference Tournament as the No. 2 Seed this week.  To secure their 2nd place finish, they had to sweep Missouri at home last weekend and did so in large part to the power bat of Carson Tinney.  The 6-4/240 catcher from Castle Pines, CO transferred to Austin after two sensational seasons at Notre Dame and has thrived in his draft year.  In the 3-game set, Tinney collected 7 hits in 13 at-bats, scoring 5 runs, with a double, 3 home runs and he drove in 10 runs all told.  With some of the most prodigious power in the college game this year, Tinney is now slashing .321/.695/.473 with 10 doubles an incredible 20 home runs and 54 RBIs while playing in the most spacious ballpark in the...
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College | Rankings | 5/18/2026

College Top 25: May 18

Vincent Cervino
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The regular season is behind us, and it is now tournament time and wow, is there a lot to still be decided.  We are a week away from the Field of 64 being announced and hosting opportunities, at-large bids, as well as automatic bids are there for the taking.  The UCLA Bruins (48-6) continue their stranglehold on the No. 1 spot in the land, finishing the regular season without losing a series all year.  ACC powers, UNC (43-10) and Georgia Tech (45-9) remain at No. 2 and No. 3 respectively and SEC regular season champs, the Georgia Bulldogs (43-12) stick at No. 4.  After that there was a small amount of shuffling within the Top 10 with No. 5 Texas (40-12), No. 6 West Virginia (37-13) and No. 7 FSU (38-16) moving ahead of now No. 8 Auburn (36-18) after they were the only team in this group to drop their weekend series.   No. 14 Florida (37-18) and No. 15...
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