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Tournaments  | Championship | 8/12/2026

Pokers Rally to Capture 16U BCS Title

Pokers Rally to Capture 16U BCS Title

A hot afternoon at JetBlue Stadium in Fort Myers, Florida ended in a 9-1 victory for the Original Florida Pokers 2028 National, defeating SBA Bolts Florida 2028 National on Monday to capture the 16U BCS National Championship.

A pitchers’ duel kept the game scoreless through four innings before the Pokers broke it open with a five-run fifth inning. The title marked the Pokers’ second 16U BCS Championship, adding to the championship they won in 2022.



Despite a slow start to the summer, the Pokers found their stride at the right time.

“We struggled a lot early in the summer, but the past few tournaments we really started turning it on,” Pokers head coach Will McCrimon said. “I’m just so proud of these kids.”

Max Maynes started the game on the mound for the Pokers. The left-hander allowed three hits and two walks while striking out three over four scoreless innings. His fastball sat consistently at 74-78 mph.

SBA leadoff hitter Chase Potter came out hot with a single. Potter, who finished the tournament with 11 runs scored, 14 hits and two home runs, later earned tournament MVP honors.

“My swing just felt really good this tournament,” Potter said. “I was seeing the ball really well and putting a lot of balls in play.”

No. 463-ranked Tristian Tallo started on the mound for SBA, not issuing a single walk and allowing four hits while striking out three over three innings. His fastball sat 79-82 mph throughout his outing.

Matching SBA’s fast start, Pokers leadoff hitter Sean Torres singled to begin the bottom of the first. Torres went 2-for-3 in the game with two runs scored and an RBI.

Tallo quickly stopped that momentum with a strikeout, but Charlie Acierno doubled to bring Torres to third. Acierno went 2-for-3 with one double, one run scored, and an RBI.

The SBA defense didn’t let the Pokers capitalize, however, as a lineout to shortstop ended the inning.

The defensive battle continued, with both teams throwing runners out on the basepaths. The Pokers turned a double play before a groundout to shortstop ended the second inning, allowing the minimum three batters.

Cyrus De Jesus, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI, singled to begin the bottom of the second and Daniel Beltran reached first on a bunt that hugged the third-base line and stayed fair.

Tallo stranded both runners, retiring the next three batters, including another strikeout.

Maynes answered with a strikeout of his own in the third, once again facing the minimum.

Tallo matched him in the bottom half, striking out another batter while retiring the side in order.

Looking to spark the offense, Evan Goodmon opened the fourth with a single and advanced to second on a bunt. However, with two outs, SBA stranded Goodmon at second as the inning ended on a swinging third strike.

With big shoes to fill, Shaun Maradona entered in relief for SBA in the bottom of the fourth.

Maradona came out hot, striking out his first two batters to keep the game scoreless through four innings.

Julian Solomon entered in relief for the Pokers to begin the fifth inning. His fastball sat 80-83 mph. The right-hander pitched 1.2 innings, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out one batter.

Maradona carried his momentum from the mound right to the plate with a leadoff triple before Camden Hagy drove him home with an RBI single to give SBA a 1-0 lead.

In a game where offense had been hard to come by, the run loomed large.

The deficit quickly woke up the Pokers’ offense, as they then powered through a five-run fifth inning, beginning with a double from Tyler Stertzbach.

“We just went back to fundamental baseball,” coach McCrimon said. “Got a guy on, bunted him over, got a hit and then the hitting was contagious. It just kept going.”

Stertzbach not only succeeded offensively, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored in the championship game, but also earned tournament MVPitcher honors after striking out 11 batters across seven innings during the tournament.

“I was struggling earlier in the tournament, but I figured it out and came through when it mattered most,” Stertzbach said.

He scored on a single from Torres, bringing the game to a 1-1 tie.

Torres advanced to second on a groundout and two walks followed to load the bases for the Pokers for the first time all game.

Then, just when his team needed him most, Nelson Velazquez delivered a two-run single to give the Pokers a 3-1 lead, one they never relinquished.

The offense kept rolling from there, adding two more runs later in the inning when De Jesus lined a two-run single to extend the lead to 5-1.

In the top of the sixth, the Pokers found themselves with the bases loaded and two outs after a single and two walks. Joseph Blosser entered in relief and escaped the jam by striking out the first batter he faced to end the inning.

Stertzbach singled to open the bottom of the sixth, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and scored on an error, bringing the Pokers’ lead to 6-1.

The Pokers continued to add on as Torres, Trey Hodges, Ander Elorriaga and Acierno all singled. Hodges and Acierno each drove in a run.

Hodges later scored on a wild pitch, extending the lead to 8-1 and ending the game via Perfect Game’s mercy rule.

For coach McCrimon, the championship was the product of a group that has played together for years.

“It’s a family,” he said. “A lot of them go to the same high school. They all grew up together, played Little League together. They love playing for each other.”

Tournaments | Story | 11/6/2026

National All State Preview: Week 1

Hannah Jo Groves
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This weekend, teams from all around the country in the 10U, 12U and 14U divisions will converge on the Houston area for the 2026 PG National All-State Select Championships. The 10U division will have 22 teams, 12U will have 23 and 14U will have 22. All ages have many different states represented - from Hawaii, to the Pacific Northwest, to Arizona, to New England, to Carolina to Florida and many more. “National All-State brings together the best players in the country across Houston,” national crosschecker and northeast scouting director, John McAdams, said. “It’s a fun atmosphere for ultimate bragging rights amongst all the regions the PG platform reaches domestically while serving as a good litmus test for myself, Jheremy Brown and Tyler Russo to see the players. We get another glimpse at the end of the year as we start to formulate our initial thoughts on the...
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Class of 2028 Rankings Update

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Draft | Rankings | 11/6/2026

2027 MLB Draft Board Update: Top 200

Tyler Henninger
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PG Draft Content Hub With the fall season winding down and the winter months approaching, it is time for another draft board update.  After getting more live looks and gathering information from the fall action across the country, we have expanded the board to a Top-200. The class continues to feature an intriguing mix of arms from both the prep and college ranks, along with an enticing position player pool.  There is still plenty of time for new names to emerge and established prospects to continue to improve their draft stock, but here is where things stand as we head into the winter.  * denotes draft eligible sophomore Rk. Name Level Pos. B-T School Hometown State Commitment 1 Dylan Seward H SS S-R Norco Eastvale CA Tennessee 2 Brendan Lawson C SS L-R Florida Toronto ON 3 Dax Whitney C RHP R-R Oregon State Blackfoot ID 4 Tomas Valincius C LHP L-L Mississippi State...
College | Story | 11/6/2026

College Fall Notebook: November 6

Craig Cozart
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Virginia Cavaliers  2026 In Review:  Under the leadership of first year Head Coach Chris Pollard, the Cavaliers won 37 games which was the second most victories by a first-year coach in program history.  Virginia went (37-23) finishing tied for 8th in the ACC and earned an at-large bid to the Hattiesburg Regional.  They fielded a talented offense that averaged over 8-runs per game, highlighted by AJ Gracia and Eric Becker who were both selected on Day 1 of the 2026 MLB Draft.  While the defensive squad wasn’t quite as elite as usual, they were ultra-competitive on the mound with a strong rotation and lock down bullpen.  With plenty of talent returning for Pollard and his staff in ’27, they should be a force on a national level once again.  Impact Returners:    Senior Antonio Perrotta (.266/.459/.431, 5 HR, 6 2B, 24 RBI) experienced...
General | General | 11/5/2026

Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 70

Ron Wolforth
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That Off-Season Program Wasn't Built for Your Son. It Was Built for Nobody. The Harsh Reality of Skill Development · Part 2 of 5 Somewhere right now, a pitcher is starting a twelve-week off-season program. It came from his travel team. Or a trainer. Or a big leaguer's Instagram. It has phases and a logo, and every kid in the building got the same one. Here is the harsh reality. That program was written before anybody looked at your son. It doesn't know he exists. It was built for the average pitcher... and the average pitcher does not exist. A Template Fixes Somebody's Problem. Maybe Not His. Every pitcher who is stuck is stuck for a reason. We call that reason his constraint... the thing that is actually limiting him right now. For one kid it is strength. For the next it is mobility. For the next it is a mechanical inefficiency, or an arm that isn't recovering, or a body that...
General | General | 11/5/2026

Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 69

Ron Wolforth
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Your Son's April Arm Injury is Being Scheduled Right Now   The Harsh Reality of Skill Development - Part 1 of 5 Let me start this series with something most people in baseball won't say out loud. In my experience, a great many of the arm problems we will see next April are being set up right now... in October, November and December. Not necessarily because a young pitcher is throwing too much. Often it's because of what happens when he stops. Here is the pattern. I have watched it for more than thirty years. The fall season ends. The arm is tired, so the family does what seems like the responsible thing.  They shut it down. No throwing. For a lot of kids, no anything. Weeks go by. The holidays come and go. Then somebody looks at a calendar in January and realizes tryouts are three weeks away. Suddenly, an arm that has done nothing since October is asked to go from zero to game...
High School | Rankings | 11/4/2026

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Kyler Peterson
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Complete Class of 2027 Rankings With the end of the summer and fall seasons behind us, it was time for a quick refresh of the 2027 class rankings. Below you'll be able to read about some of the biggest risers up the board, led by North Carolina outfielder John Hucko who jumped more than 110 spots to now sit at No. 20 overall.  John Hucko, OF, Charlotte, N.C. Previous Rank: 132 | Current Rank: 20 Hucko makes a huge leap into the top-20 players in the class after a dominating showing in Jupiter. It’s as good of a left-handed swing as you’ll come across with pretty easy impact to all parts. He’s a supreme athlete with all the tools to play center long term and is a present plus runner. Hucko is a name that cemented his prospect status in Jupiter and will be a name to follow for next year’s MLB Draft. Elyjah Mason, SS, Lake Forest, Calif. Previous Rank: 71 |...
General | General | 11/3/2026

Class of 2027 Rankings Update

Perfect Game Staff
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Press Release | Press Release | 11/2/2026

PG Partners Up with Minority Prospects

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 ANNOUNCES MEDIA RIGHTS PARTNERSHIP WITH MINORITY PROSPECTS   Sanford, Florida (Monday, November 2, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced a media rights partnership with Minority Prospects, the Atlanta-based organization that has become the largest platform in the world for minority baseball and softball prospects. The partnership kicked off last month at the WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Fla., Perfect Game's premier fall event, where Minority Prospects produced content featuring some of the nation's top amateur players in front of college coaches, professional scouts and MLB legends. Under the agreement, Minority...
Draft | Story | 10/30/2026

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Ryan Miller
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