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College  | Story | 3/31/2026

PG Collegiate Midseason Awards

Midseason Awards 

Perfect Game Midseason Player of the Year: 

Landon Hairston, OF, Arizona State 



The season sophomore outfielder Landon Hairston is putting together is generational, even amongst the Hall of Fame talent Arizona State has fielded over the years.  Hairston, the 5-11/195 sophomore outfielder from Queen City, AZ has his club on track for another postseason appearance and they will make plenty of noise in the Big 12 regular season.  To put things in perspective on Hairston’s season, he is currently 5th in the nation in batting average, 3rd in hits, 8th in hits per game, tied for 2nd in home runs, tied for 5th in runs scored and is 4th in runs batted in so far.  He holds a batting average of .469 while slugging 1.027 and reaching base over half the time with an OBP of .551.  Hairston walks more than he strikes out and has 12 doubles, 17 home runs and 48 RBI at the halfway point of the season.  If he can stay on this pace, he will have put together one of the best offensive seasons in college baseball history. 

Perfect Game Midseason Pitcher of the Year: 

Mason Edwards, LHP, Southern Cal 

With the Trojans off to their best start in program history having won 26 of their first 29 games, you must suspect that the pitching has been at the heart of their success.  Well, they do lead the nation with a 2.64 team ERA and Mason Edwards is right at the top individually with a minuscule 0.67 ERA of his own.  The 6-2/190 lefty from Los Angeles has put together one of the most dominant first halves of a season on the mound in recent years.  Using an explosive low-to-mid 90s fastball, an abrupt breaking ball and devastating changeup, he has held opponents in check with his ability to blend his repertoire.  In 7 starts, Edwards is 5-0 with that 0.67 ERA over 40.1 IP, allowing a ridiculously low 11 hits while accumulating a 74:20 strikeout-to-walk ratio.  He is in the top 5 in almost every pitching category including ERA, hits allowed per nine, strikeouts and WHIP.  Things are shaping up for Edwards to go down in USC history as one of their best starting pitchers of all time. 

Perfect Game Midseason Two-way Player of the Year: 

Evan Dempsey, OF/RHP, Florida Gulf Coast 

True two-way players are the rarest commodity in our game today and nobody has done it better than Evan Dempsey over the past three seasons.  Often, there isn’t a real balance between time on the mound and time at the plate, but Dempsey is a starter on both sides of the ball. To put it plainly, the 6-2/205 junior from Tampa, FL is one of the best hitters and the best pitcher on the FGCU roster.  As their Friday night starter on the mound, the righty Dempsey is 3-0 in 7-starts with a 2.89 ERA spanning 43.2 IP allowing 28 hits and putting together a 64:11 strikeout-to-walk ratio.  With the stick, he swings it from the left side and is slashing .398/.641/.504 with 13 doubles, 4 home runs, 25 RBIs and has thrown in 5 stolen bases for good measure.  The Eagles are (19-8) to the halfway point of the season and are right in the middle of the mix in the ASUN with a (5-3) record. 

Perfect Game Midseason Freshman of the Year: 

Nicholas Partida, IF, Texas A&M 

The Texas A&M Aggies have pushed their way into the Top 25 at the midway point of the season and the offense has been quite an issue for opponents to deal with.  They are averaging almost 10-runs per game as a team and Nico Partida has literally been right in the middle of this dangerous lineup.  The 6-0/195 freshman from Manvel, TX has been handling the hot-corner and typically batting 5th to provide protection for the cleanup hitter.  The super athletic righty is off to a great start, batting .320 and slugging .563 to go with an OBA of .413 over 27 starts and 103 at bats.  He is starting to tap into his power with 4 doubles and 7 home runs while driving in 23 runs to date.  As his strike zone discipline continues to improve, all indications are that Partida will continue to put up monster numbers for the Aggies.   

Perfect Game Midseason Coach of the Year: 

Andy Stankiewicz, Southern Cal 

Andy Stankiewicz has been coaching college baseball for 19 years, serving as head coach at Grand Canyon for 11 seasons and now in his fourth season as the head coach at USC.  While he has been ultra successful, having won five WAC championships along the way, even he hasn’t ever experienced the run his club has been on so far in 2026.  Off to the best start in program history, they set the record with a 16-0 start to the season and extended that record to 19 consecutive wins before losing their first game of the year.  Built around the best pitching staff in the nation, the Trojans have already thrown 8-shutouts and lead the nation in countless team pitching categories.  This season has reinvigorated the fan base, USC is currently (26-3) and they have their biggest challenge of the season this coming weekend as they travel to Westwood to take on UCLA.  Regardless, it obvious Stankiewicz has brought back the glory days for USC and this ride is just getting started. 
 
Perfect Game Midseason Team of the Year: 

UCLA Bruins 

There aren’t very many programs across the country with a more prestigious history than the UCLA Bruins.  So, the fact that the Bruins are off to the best start in program history is really saying something.  The consensus No. 1 team in the land, they are off to an incredible (12-0) start in the Big Ten, have won 19-games in a row and are (25-2) overall in the first half.  They sport one of the best offenses in the nation, slashing .306/.528/.443 as a team with 57 doubles, 46 home runs and they are averaging over 10-runs per game.  They are Top 10 in the nation with a .983 team fielding percentage, Top 15 in the nation with a 3.27 ERA and have only allowed 8 stolen bases all year.  With the experience and star power on this roster and the fact that most of them played in Omaha in 2025, the UCLA Bruins are the favorites to take home the national title as we are on the backside of the season now. 

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...
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...
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...
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...
High School | General | 5/18/2026

High School Notebook: May 18

Jordan Gates
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‘27 RHP Grant Slater (@BoydCoBaseball) gets his 1st start of the year (3rd appearance) as he works his way back. FB opened 89-92 w/ ride & was still up to 91 in the 5th (run rule), while touching 93 in the 3rd. CT worked in the mid 8s & breaking ball in mid 7s (sweep). Big summer… pic.twitter.com/w9EXl6Jmrx — Perfect Game Ohio Valley (@PG_OhioValley) May 8, 2026 Grant Slater, 2027, RHP, Boyd Co (KY) Slater made his full start of the year back on May 7th. He had appeared in a few games in relief roles prior as he has come back from a few injury bugs. The Alabama commit went five strong innings, in a complete game fashion (run rule), only allowed a couple hits, one walk, and struck out 13 batters. Slater is beginning to ramp up at the right time with postseason right around the corner. Slater’s fastball peaked at 93 mph a few times, held velocity in the...
High School | General | 5/14/2026

CPBL Showcase Scout Notes

Troy Sutherland
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Logan Cummins (‘26 ON) Silky op with big arm speed and projection. Shaky FB command early, 91-93 T94. CH is present plus, weapon vs both LH & RH hitters at 83-84. Good arm side depth to it. SL has some length to the mostly lateral action @ 77. #KState commit.#CPBLShowcaseWknd pic.twitter.com/7TdJ2neOv6 — Perfect Game International (@pg_int1) May 8, 2026 Logan Cummins (‘26 ON) Very intriguing athletic upside here, came out early a bit juiced up leading to inconsistent fastball command but settled in and started dotting. Ran the fastball up to 94 with running life. Changeup is ahead of the rest of the arsenal  in terms of quality, and has a parachuting arm side dive that gets frequent swings over the top. Slider is tight with varying length at its best it does have an extra gear to garner a late count whiff. Should fit nicely at Kansas State if he decides to...
College | Story | 5/14/2026

Coppy's Corner: May 14 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.   Player of the Week: Drew Burress – Georgia Tech  I love everything that Craig Cozart writes, and his piece on Burress is as good as it gets (link). Craig does a masterful job of showing us how Burress has (not arguably) the best career college performance of any current player. The body of work is consistent and impressive, and Burress has one of the highest floors in the 2026 MLB Draft with above average or better tools across the board.  I’m not going to do a deep dive on Burress’ numbers because there is no point: they are really good, everywhere. I would rather talk about...
College | Rankings | 5/13/2026

DII/DIII/NAIA Rankings Update: May 13

Nick Herfordt
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The college baseball postseason has arrived for NCAA Division II, Division III, and the NAIA, bringing with it the most intense stretch of the season. Conference tournaments have wrapped up, national brackets are taking shape, and teams across the country are shifting from regular season positioning to survival mode, where one bad inning can abruptly end a year’s worth of work. The NAIA Opening Round is already underway, and some programs could begin packing for the national finals as early as tomorrow. Across all three divisions, the postseason field is loaded with experienced clubs, dominant pitching staffs, and lineups capable of changing a game with one swing. Now, the focus turns from building résumés to advancing through regional play and chasing national championships. These antepenultimate rankings provide a final snapshot of where the divisions stand entering...
High School | Rankings | 5/13/2026

High School Top 50 Update: May 13

Tyler Russo
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Another week has passed by in the high school baseball season and with that, we have another edition of the National High School Top 50 to bring to you. Playoffs are rolling in southern states and we have reached the final 4 in some of them already. Each week we have new teams break in and this week is no different with three new faces inside the top-50.   The top remains almost identical to a week ago with the top-10 remaining the exact same with Venice (FL) leading the way as the No. 1 team in the nation. North Paulding (GA) swept Buford in an Elite 8 matchup in Georgia and move up a pair of spots to No. 12 in the country. Another big mover is St. Laurence (IL) who jumps nine spots to No. 13 and boast a 30-1 record on the year. Waxahachie (TX) continues to move up and are up nine spots this week to No. 32.   The three new teams inside the National Top 50 are Etowah...
College | Story | 5/12/2026

College Players of the Week: May 12

Vincent Cervino
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May 12th Perfect Game/Player of the Week:  Drew Burress, OF, Georgia Tech  It would be hard to come up with an award that Drew Burress, the 5-9/185 junior from Houston County, GA, hasn’t achieved throughout his All-American career for the Yellow Jackets.  From being named the Perfect Game Freshman of the Year in 2024, to being a semifinalist for the Dick Howser and Golden Spikes Award in 2025, it would be a challenge for a mere mortal to live up to the expectations.  Burress has done that and more as he etched his name in the record books last weekend when he tied Georgia Tech legend Jason Varitek’s record for career home runs.  Launching round-trippers in each of their 3-victories against ACC foe Duke, Burress brought his total to an incredible 57 over his three seasons in Atlanta.  For the weekend, he collected 6 hits in 12 at bats, scoring 6...
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