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All American Game  | Story | 8/16/2025

Pence's pitch heard ‘round the world

SAN DIEGO – Eight days after firing the 100-mph fastball heard ‘round the world, Striker Pence sat in front of a locker at Petco Park and munched on a turkey sandwich. In 45 minutes, the 16-year-old right-hander would take the mound for Perfect Game’s third annual All-Star Game for underclassmen.

It was quite an honor to get the starting nod in such a prestigious and talent-filled game.



But Pence was the guy everyone wanted to see, especially after reaching triple digits at the recent Area Code Games up the road in Long Beach.

“He was the talk of the tournament,” said one scout who was there. “The big thing is he’s so young.”

Pence didn’t reach 100 mph in his one inning of work Friday in San Diego. But that 98 he fired up there looked pretty good. So did that hard slider. Thirteen pitches. A strikeout, a groundout and a fly ball. Not too shabby. At the plate, Pence, also a gifted hitter with left-handed power, struck out early but later hung tough in working a full-count walk to help fuel a game-winning rally as the National squad walked off the American team, 4-3. 

As much as Pence loves to swing the bat – he’s a corner infielder who would like to remain a two-way player – it’s his work on the mound that’s gaining him notice and making college and pro scouts salivate.

“He’s as unique as we’ve ever seen when it comes to velocity, plus stuff, plus control,” said Jered Goodwin, PG’s vice president of scouting operations. “Normally, as guys gain velocity, they lose the strike zone a little bit. But as Striker has gained velocity, he’s actually gained control. He’s throwing better strikes now. More strikes.

“I don’t want to downgrade what he can do offensively because if he was just a hitter he’d be on pro scouts’ radar, as well. But we’ve never had a (pitching) prospect like this at his age. We’ve never had somebody like this that young with that type of stuff that also is controlling the zone. It just never happens. He’s also got a great body, he does it fairly easily, and his off-speed stuff is good.”

It's no wonder that Pence was one of just two 2028 draft year players invited to play in the underclass All-Star Game. The other 39 players will be eligible for the 2027 draft.

Pence’s exciting story is becoming more well known by the day. He comes from a baseball family. Howie, his dad, pitched in the San Diego and Houston organizations before an injury cut short his career. Hunter, his uncle, was a four-time MLB All-Star and two-time World Series champion with the San Francisco Giants. According to Striker, his mom, Allison, always wanted to have a son and call him Striker.

“She had a plan,” the young pitcher said with a laugh. “I think it’s great.”

It is a great name for a pitcher. Maybe the best. At least until some mom names her kid No-Hitter.

The young man with the perfect pitcher’s name also has a pretty good pitcher’s body. He stands 6-6 and is strong-bodied. He just entered his sophomore year at Santiago High School in Corona, California, where he carries a 4.2 GPA. As a freshman, he played first base and threw 12 innings as a closer. Surely, there will be more innings in the coming years – and the scouts will be there for all of them.

Pence said he entered high school a year ago throwing 93-94 mph. By springtime, he was up to 97. He couldn’t help but dream about reaching 100.

“I think it’s a goal for every pitcher,” he said. “I figured in a year or two I would get there. Then I was 99 in North Carolina in late June. I was like, ‘Wow, it’s coming soon.’ “

And, sure enough, it did, on August 7 in Long Beach.

The pitch felt good coming out of Pence’s hand, but he abided by one of baseball’s unwritten rules and did not look at the reading on the scoreboard. Then he heard the crowd begin to cheer. He couldn’t help himself.

“I looked back and was like, ‘Oh, my God,’ ‘’ he said.

Those in attendance estimated that 300 college and pro scouts were on hand. When Pence hit 100 mph, the text messages started flying. The news was so big that it was even picked up by media outlets in Europe.

Pence had barely delivered his next pitch when Goodwin got word of the feat back home in Florida. He was elated for Pence, but not at all surprised.

“He’d been 95 to 99 all summer,” Goodwin said. “We become fans of these kids. Striker has been playing in PG events for a long time. When guys develop like that and when they make that next step on big stages, we’re just as excited as anybody.”

Legend has it that chocolate milk is the magic potion that has fueled Pence’s sensational summer of 2025.

But Friday in San Diego, it was a pregame turkey sandwich.

“This was the first time I pitched in a big-league park,” Striker Pence said with a big smile. “It was super surreal being out there.”

All American Game | Story | 9/15/2025

PG Athletes Raise Money For Charity

Perfect Game Staff
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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 ATHLETES RAISE MORE THAN $130,000   FOR CHILDREN’S CHARITIES THROUGHOUT AUGUST    Sanford, Florida (Monday, September 15, 2025) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced that its athletes raised a combined $130,195 for children’s charities during its August 2025 showcase events throughout the country.    The fundraising efforts took place at Perfect Game’s Select Festivals and the DICK’S All-American Classic, with each age group rallying behind a cause that supports children in need. The 11U and 12U Select Fests each benefited Elite Development Academy out...
High School | General | 12/24/2025

2025 Year In Review: High School

Cam McElwaney
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IMG Academy Takes Home the National Title Every year IMG Academy comes into the spring with top-to-bottom one of the top rosters in the country and every year have the expectation of winning the national championship. Well in 2025 they did just that after finishing the spring 24-1, winning the High School Showdown, and winning 15 straight games to end their season. Their high end offensive ability was on full display throughout the year and they will once again be one of the most talented teams in the country in ’26 as they look to go back-to-back. Two Top-10 Picks in the MLB Draft Headline National Players of the Year It was another loaded crop that took home the National Players of the Year as both Ethan Holliday, the National Player of the Year, and Seth Hernandez, National Pitcher of the Year, heard their names called within the first-10 picks in the MLB Draft. Another first...
Draft | Rankings | 12/24/2025

Top 2027 Collegiate Draft Prospects

Isaiah Burrows
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With the 2025 cycle officially behind us and the calendar nearly flipping over to 2026, it is time to start looking ahead to the future. More importantly, start looking ahead to the next season of college baseball and what that may mean for draft-eligible players with big dreams of continuing their journey. While the 2026 MLB Draft is now on the horizon, we are looking ahead to the future even further – to see which players have already made impacts upon their arrival to college campuses. We have already dropped our 2028 Top 75 collegiate prospects board, but this one is our Top 100 college prospects who will be eligible for the 2027 class. These are the Top 100 players in our eyes for this group, and many of them have already shown up on campus and been impactful in many ways. Whether its our top-ranked player in Oregon State’s Dax Whitney or ninth-ranked William Schmidt...
Draft | Rankings | 12/23/2025

Top 2028 Collegiate Draft Prospects

Vincent Cervino
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The college players in the 2028 draft class have yet to step on campus, but they're positioned to make an immediate impact. Several high end talents either turned down significant money last year or honored strong college commitments, resulting in their arrival on campus this fall. The class is currently led by a trio of high-upside arms in Jack Bauer, Angel Cervantes, and Cameron Appenzeller. They are followed by a deep group of bats that rounds out a strong, high end Top-10. Rk. Name Level Pos. B-T School Hometown State 1 Jack Bauer C LHP L-L Mississippi State Frankfort IL 2 Angel Cervantes C RHP R-R UCLA Lynwood CA 3 Cameron Appenzeller C LHP L-L Tennessee Springfield IL 4 Brayden Jaksa C C R-R Oregon Fremont  CA 5 JD Stein C SS R-R Wake Forest Carmel IN 6 Mason Ligenza C OF L-L Pittsburgh Brockton PA 7 Ty Peeples C OF L-R Georgia Lavonia GA 8 Lucas Franco C SS L-R TCU Katy TX 9...
Juco | Story | 12/23/2025

2025 Year in Review: JUCO

Blaine Peterson
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Looking Back at the 2025 Top 10  Matt Barr (‘25 Niagara, ‘26 Minnesota Twins) Bursting onto the scene last winter, footage of an indoor bullpen rocketed Barr onto the radar of many. Explosive fastball reaches near triple digits with incredible spin numbers across the secondaries. Huge numbers at Niagara earned him the title of the first Juco player drafted in 2025. JC Vanek (‘25 Chipola, ‘26 Kansas City Royals) Just a professional hitter. Vanek for two years at Chipola was an impossible out. While there are questions if the power will ever reach what it takes to play first base at the big league level, the bat and quality defensive skillset at first base may carry. Donovan Becerra (‘25 New Mexico, ‘26 Texas Tech) One of the more high octane arms anywhere in the country last year. Can reach back for upper 90’s and has shown serious swing and...
Draft | Story | 12/22/2025

2025 Year in Review: Draft

Isaiah Burrows
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2025 Year in Review: Draft We’ve reached the end of the 2025 calendar year, and while we’ve already jumped in on the 2026 cycle with some of the fall events and post-draft content we’ve had here at Perfect Game, there’s still one more piece on the docket, and that’s the 2025 Year-In-Review piece here from the PG Draft staff.  The 2025 MLB Draft took place in July, when many highly talented players heard their names called and continued their journey through the game to the next level. There’s already been some of those names making noise in the minors and guys who are moving up prospect lists and becoming names to know for MLB fans digging deep into the future of their organizations. While we are going to “close the book” on 2025 with this article, these players still have many years ahead of them, and many blank pages to continue...
College | Recruiting | 12/22/2025

Recruiting Notebook: December 22

Jheremy Brown
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Lucien Saint Cyr, INF, Class of 2026 Commitment: Bucknell Saint Cyr announced his pledge to Bucknell, giving the Bison an interesting blend of present tools and projection. Saint Cyr stands 6-foot-1 and offers room to fill in his medium frame, profiling in the middle infield defensively. The New York product starts wide at the base in the right-handed box, keeping his hands high behind the ear. He works into a subtle outward step load, firing through a compact barrel that showcases bat speed and gap-to-gap impact. For head coach Scott Heather and Bucknell, they land a high-quality Northeast infielder in the ’26 cycle, adding to a class that takes the quality over quantity approach. Patrick Diaz ('26, NY) 102 EV off the bat. Impact to the pull side. #PGNational @PGMidAtlantic @PG_Uncommitted pic.twitter.com/NN0L3FRdO9 — PG Showcases (@PGShowcases) July 9, 2025 Patrick Diaz,...
High School | General | 12/19/2025

Huntington Beach HS World Series Recap

Steve Fiorindo
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MVPitcher: Duncan McLeod The uncommitted junior toed the slab in three of the four games for Team Mick, tossing 3 2/3 innings.  Zero walks, zero hits and 6 punchouts for the lefty who was used both as a starter in the series clinching game 4 and he closed out game 3 on Friday in quick fashion.  McLeod was very efficient as well, needing just 42 pitches over all his outings.  In the game 4 start, over two innings he punched out 3, with one strikeout with all of his offerings.  The mid 80’s fastball regularly played up, set up with efficient use of the secondaries, with the breaking ball 73/74 and fading change-up 72-74.   Owen Bone (2026) at it again... Solo shot in the 5th to tie things up. Back to back days with a home run for Bone. #PGHS pic.twitter.com/2JC9qETI5h — Perfect Game California (@California_PG) December 13, 2025 MV Hitter: ...
Tournaments | Story | 12/19/2025

13u Tourney All-American Team

Jheremy Brown
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What a year it was in 2025 on the national landscape at the 13u level as Perfect Game continues to expand its reach around the country, providing an even bigger schedule of events coast-to-coast which has allowed players all over show out and gain their deserved recognition. Whether in Texas for the Houston 1000 or the 13u WWBA in West Palm Beach, we saw huge, eye opening performances from the players placed below, knowing that we could EASILY build a third team and likely a fourth without much effort.  As we do every year with this exercise, it's worth pointing out the trickiness of this age group and putting the teams together with the 13u group. While the players are all members of the Class of 2030, some are younger for the grade, which allowed them to play at the 12u level where's it's a smaller field, shorter mound distance and different bats, so we'll separate them out and...
Tournaments | Story | 12/18/2025

14u Tourney All-American Team

Tyler Russo
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Player of the Year: Asher Williams It was an incredible year for Williams that was rewarded with a trip to the 14U Select Fest, before some more impressive play in the fall. He came to the plate almost 250 times in PG tournaments throughout 2025 and reached base in well over half of them, hitting to a .500 AVG while slugging a 14U circuit best 12 bombs and driving in 113 runs. The numbers on the surface are ridiculous, but when you look at the high-level events he put them up in, it makes it even more impressive. Pitcher of the Year: Tristan Blalock Blalock earns this honor after a dominant 2025 where he struck out 85 batters in just 48.2 innings of work with a minuscule 1.58 ERA. This included several strong performances at many national level tournaments and showcases where he was able to bully some of the best hitters in the country. It’s hard not to fall in love with...
Draft | Story | 12/18/2025

PG Draft: Gut Feel Guys

Tyler Henninger
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While we are nearing the turn of the calendar to the 2026 year, that means we are just inching closer to the beginning of the season for many high school players and college baseball is on the horizon. We are prepping for a reshuffle of the 2026 MLB Draft Board as well here amongst the PG Draft staff. But before we get to that, we sat down and have each picked a couple of players who are in the mix to get selected in a couple of different buckets.  We have prospects who could go into the Top 30 picks or so, prospects who could be selected in the Top 5 rounds, and prospects who could go inside of the Top 10 rounds. With the draft quite far down the road and a lot of re-shuffling to be done as these players play themselves into certain spots on the draft board, our scouts picked some players who fit into these “buckets” who are gut-feel guys. These are the guys that our PG...
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