THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,450 MLB PLAYERS | 15,806 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,450 MLB PLAYERS | 15,806 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Sign in Create Account
Sign in Create Account
Tournaments  | Story | 12/7/2011

Sweet home Carolina

Jeff Dahn
Photo: Perfect Game
They become Catamounts and 49ers; Cougars, Panthers and Tigers; Chanticleers and Paladins, Wolfpack and Tar Heels. Some grow into Mountaineers, others Pirates. Some may even take flight as Gamecocks, Seahawks and Eagles.

The South Charlotte (N.C.) Panthers Baseball Club excels at a lot of levels, but what it seems most accomplished at is filling the classrooms and hallways – and the dugouts – at the top NCAA Division I universities and colleges in North Carolina and South Carolina with some of the best young baseball talent in the nation.

Former and current Panthers may become UNC-Charlotte 49ers or Western Carolina University Catamounts in the Tar Heel State. Others move on to wear the uniforms of the Clemson University Tigers or Coastal Carolina University Chanticleers in the Palmetto State. In other words, most will continue their educations and playing careers in the Carolinas.

It wasn’t something South Charlotte Panthers founder/owner Don Hutchins necessarily set out to do.

“If you can get them recruited in-state, obviously in-state tuition is a big factor,” Hutchins said in a recent telephone interview with Perfect Game. “We have a large number of D-I schools (in North Carolina) and, obviously, some very outstanding ones and a lot of others that are pretty doggone solid.

“When we started this, the North Carolina schools – including (the University of North) Carolina, North Carolina State and ECU (East Carolina University), their rosters were 20 percent North Carolina kids. They got most of their kids from out-of-state.”

Hutchins said the key was to get the Carolina players better exposure in front of the in-state college decision-makers.

“We’ve gained some credibility with the coaches out there and they know if (the players) pass the Panthers litmus test – academics and character – that puts them on a pretty high look-and-see from most of these schools,” he said.

Hutchins has also tried to stay away from pushing his prospects toward just one or two schools, and with 30 schools playing Division I baseball in the Carolinas – 18 in North Carolina and 12 in South Carolina – that’s not a difficult thing to do.

“I try to make sure we get exposed to as many different schools … as we can,” he said. “I don’t get anybody scholarships – the kids get them. We just hopefully coach them up a little bit and put them in the right places to be exposed, and Perfect Game events are some of the best places for that.”

Hutchins founded the South Charlotte Panthers Baseball Club in 1998 under the original name of the Pineville Panthers. The organization has stayed compact through the years, and will field its two standard teams in 2012: SCP 2013 Grads (17u) and SCP 2014 Grads (16u). A statement from Hutchins to potential players that appears on the club’s website is direct and to the point:

“Panther players are scheduled to attend multiple individual showcases and college showcase events in addition to team play,” it reads. “The rosters are made up of young men committed to setting and meeting individual and team goals in academics, personal life, sportsmanship, baseball skills and team results.”

One of only a handful of exceptions to the “stay in the Carolinas for college” rule this year is right-hander Ty Buttrey, a 6-5, 205-pound senior at Providence High School in Matthews. Buttrey is ranked No. 35 nationally overall (No. 1 in North Carolina and No. 12 nationally among right-handed pitchers) and has signed a letter-of-intent with Arkansas. Not a North Carolina Tar Heel or a South Carolina Gamecock, but an Arkansas Razorback.

Hutchins said Buttrey was intent on playing in the Southeastern Conference, and South Carolina didn’t initially show much interest. Neither did any of the other more eastern SEC schools.

“We kept going out and out (in the SEC) and we got as far as Arkansas before there was anybody that really saw it in him,” Hutchins said with a laugh. “He’s one of those prime examples of kids … that really develop a little bit later. Arkansas kind of took a shot at him.”

Buttrey has played in seven PG WWBA events with the South Charlotte Panthers since 2009, and has been at two Perfect Game showcases, including this year’s PG National Showcase. He also played in the Area Code Games in Long Beach, Calif., in early August, the only prospect from North Carolina to attend.

Hutchins doesn’t venture very far from his Charlotte base to find his players. This year’s 21-man SCP 16u roster featured 19 North Carolinians, with the other two spots filled by players from towns just over the South Carolina state line.

“We have a lot of outstanding talent in the greater Charlotte area, and when I say ‘greater’ I mean that I do expand some of my coverage up into the Winston-Salem area,” Hutchins said. “We found that as we put those guys out there in the competitive world in events like Perfect Game, they got a little bit of an awakening when they played some Georgia and Florida and Texas and California teams. But it also woke their eyes up and they realized that if they worked hard they could play competitively at that level.”

The South Charlotte Panthers organization entered six teams in five Perfect Games tournaments this year: two at the WWBA Underclass World Championship in Fort Myers, Fla., and one each at the WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Fla., the WWBA 2012 Grads or 17u National Championship, the WWBA 2013 Grads or 16u National Championship and the Perfect Game-East Cobb Invitational, in Marietta, Ga.

Buttrey, who was on the roster at both the WWBA World Championship and the WWBA 17u National Championship, wasn’t the only SCP prospect who shined.

Kirk Morgan, a 2013 right-hander and middle-infielder who is a junior at Mallard Creek High School in Charlotte and has committed to East Carolina, made an impression at both the WWBA World Championship and WWBA Underclass World Championship.

At the World Championship, where the Panthers finished 3-1, Morgan hit .400 (4-for-10) with a double, two RBI and three runs scored. The Panthers won their first five games at the Underclass World before being eliminated by the East Cobb Braves in the quarterfinals and Morgan was even better. He hit .400 (6-for-15) with four RBI and two runs, and also pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings with one strikeout.

Right-hander Colby Barnette, a junior at Peidmont High School in Monroe, N.C., who has committed to UNC, joined Morgan as the only two Panthers that played in both the WWBA World and WWBA Underclass World.

The Panthers’ pitching staff at the WWBA World – all North Carolinians in the class of 2012 – was led by right-handers Buttrey, Jake Cochrane of Lincolnton, Brody Koerner of Concord, Mike Herbert of Charlotte and Trent Thornton of Charlotte. They were joined by lefties Brian Donovan of Waxhaw and Brad Stone of Charlotte.

Right-hander/third baseman Jackson Campana, a classmate of Buttrey’s at Providence High and a Clemson commit, was listed on the Panthers’ WWBA World Championship roster but didn’t play.

Donovan (Western Carolina), Koerner (Clemson), Stone (N.C. State) and Thornton (North Carolina) are among the pitchers on the Panthers’ WWBA World roster who have made D-I college commitments.

Other Panther 2012s who have made commitments include RHP/3B Payden Honeycutt (Navy); 1B/3B/OF Martin Koon (College of Charleston); SS J.D. Long (Western Carolina); C/OF/1B Andrew MacLatchie (Furman); C/RHP/1B/OF John Mangum (N.C. State); RHP/1B Wales Toney (Clemson); 3B/RHP/C Tyler Chadwick (Coastal Carolina); RHP/OF Cameron Tekker (Virginia); RHP/1B/3B Nathan Helvey (College of Charleston; Preston Tiller (Appalachian State); Jonathon Olczak (N.C. State) and 1B/3B/RHP Kyle Whitman (Clemson).

Class of 2013 LHP Alexander Bostic (Clemson), RHP/3B/C Jeremy Schellhorn (UNC-Charlotte) and LHP Jon Stires (UNC-Charlotte) join Morgan and Barnette with Division I commitments.

The South Charlotte Panthers 16u (2013) team enjoyed a lot of success in 2011. It finished with a 51-15-3 record, earned a No. 23 ranking in PG’s 16u Travel Team National Rankings, and finished in the final eight at the WWBA Underclass World Championship and the final 16 at the WWBA 2013 Grads or 16u National Championship.

That group also won the USA Baseball 16u Cup championship and finished third at the USA 16u Nationals. With a few key additions, it finished 3-1 at the 16u Perfect Game-East Cobb Invitational in June. The SCP 2012 team, largely the same group that went 3-1 at the WWBA World Championship, won the Dynamic “End of Summer” Tournament held at the University of South Carolina.

Hutchins entered a second team at the WWBA Underclass World he called the Show Case Panthers that was made up of top 2014 prospects, including catcher Ryder Ryan from Waxhaw, ranked No. 22 overall nationally in the class of 2014. The team went 4-1 and finished in the round of 16.

“The teams are getting better,” Hutchins said. “The kids are more developed and I’m pushing these guys pretty hard – don’t get complacent with success at the high school level because if they’re going to play in college they better be successful at that high of level.”

Hutchins is a successful Charlotte businessman who, as he says, isn’t “somebody who enjoys the beach or spending my money on a mountain house” and instead makes sure the South Charlotte Panthers organization is fully funded – by him.

“I really enjoy doing it … and as long as I can fund it and I get the right kind of kids in – I don’t allow anybody in that’s less than a 3.0 (GPA) because I found out sometimes there were character issues that I wasn’t going to deal with,” Hutchins said.

“We set some high standards and we’ve been lucky enough to put together some really, really good teams. We’ve kind of got a unique little model and we’ve had a lot of fun with it … and I enjoy getting out and finding the kids and I enjoy working with the kids and the families through the process.”

Give us your feedback
Tournaments | Story | 5/24/2026

East Memorial Day Scout Notes: Days 1-2
Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
‘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...
Read More
College | Story | 5/25/2026

Field of 64 Projections

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
The 2026 season was one of the most exciting and unpredictable editions of college baseball in recent memory, and as quickly as it flew by, we are ready to start the “Road to Omaha”.  After hours of deliberation, we are ready to release our projected region field and “Field of 64” as we see it.  The UCLA Bruins (51-6) start us off as the anticipated No. 1 National Seed as they put the finishing touches on a historic season, including a 27-game win streak, a Big 10 Regular Season title and Big 10 Tournament championship.  The Big 10 looks like they will have (4) teams in the field, with (3) host sights, representing the West Coast well.  The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (48-9) should secure the No. 2 Nation Seed and lead the charge for (8) teams from the ACC in the field with (3) of them securing host opportunities.  Meanwhile, the Georgia...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 5/24/2026

West Memorial Day Scout Notes: Days 1-2

Tyler Henninger
Article Image
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....
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 5/21/2026

Memorial Day Classics Set to Kick Off

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
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...
Read More
High School | General | 5/22/2026

Northeast High School Notebook: May 22

Anthony Gambardella
Article Image
‘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...
Read More
Press Release | Press Release | 5/22/2026

Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 65

Ron Wolforth
Article Image
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...
Read More
College | Rankings | 5/20/2026

DII/DIII/NAIA Rankings Update: May 20

Nick Herfordt
Article Image
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...
Read More
College | Story | 5/21/2026

Coppy's Corner: May 21 POY Deep Dive

John Coppolella
Article Image
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...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 5/19/2026

Best of the Best Event Preview

Jheremy Brown
Article Image
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...
Read More
College | Story | 5/19/2026

College Players of the Week: May 19

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
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...
Read More
Loading more articles...
About Perfect Game :: Contact us :: Terms of Use :: Privacy Policy :: Testimonials :: Job Opportunities
Copyright 1994-2026 by Perfect Game. All rights reserved. No portion of this information may be reprinted or reproduced without the written consent of Perfect Game.