THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,414 MLB PLAYERS | 15,806 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,414 MLB PLAYERS | 15,806 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
College  | Story | 2/13/2012

Top 100 College Seniors

Photo: Bethune-Cookman

Top 100 Juniors
Top 100 Sophomores
Top 100 Freshmen

Late Injury to Texas Lefty Stafford Throws Curve At College Senior Crop


College seniors are often viewed in a disparaging way in the baseball scouting community, sort of like that ugly step sister.

Over the last decade, just six seniors have been selected in the first round of the draft, the last coming in 2008 when the Seattle Mariners took University of Georgia righthander Josh Fields with the 20
th overall pick. Big-leagues teams will often draft a senior in the early rounds as a cost-saving measure, knowing that demographic has little or no bargaining leverage.

No college senior is projected to be drafted in the first round this year, but Texas lefthander Sam Stafford and Miami (Fla.) catcher Peter O’Brien are the logical candidates to draw close enough scrutiny to warrant being in the first-round mix for some clubs, based on their 2011 draft standing.

Stafford (Yankees/2
nd round, 88th overall) and O’Brien (Rockies/3rd round, 107th overall) are the highest unsigned college picks from last year, and rank 1-2 on Perfect Game’s list of the nation’s Top 100 college seniorsfor the 2012 draft.

The 6-foot-4, 190-pound Stafford has impressive raw stuff with a fastball up to 94 mph, while flashing a solid 12-to-6 curve. As a junior at Texas, he went 6-2, 1.77 with 42 walks and 91 strikeouts in 81 innings.

Stafford was expected to be the Longhorns ace this season, until it was determined through an MRI late last week that he will need shoulder surgery to correct a nagging shoulder injury. He is expected to be out for the year. That scenario will in all likelihood profoundly impact his draft status in June, with the most-likely scenario that he will return to Texas next year as a red-shirt senior.

O’Brien hit .304-14-69 as a junior at Bethune-Cookman, and was recently granted a waiver by the NCAA that allowed him to transfer to Miami for his senior year without being forced to sit out a year. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound O’Brien has two first-round quality tools in his raw power and arm strength, and could edge his way towards the first round this spring if he can approach the numbers he posted in his breakout sophomore year, when he hit .384 with 20 homers.

While Stafford and O’Brien warranted being early-round picks as seniors on the basis of their superior talent—at least until the severity of Stafford’s injury was determined—several other seniors like Florida first baseman/outfielder Preston Tucker, Florida State outfielder James Ramsey and Texas A&M righthander Ross Stripling should draw close scrutiny, as well.

It’s also entirely possible that big-league teams will look at seniors in increasing numbers in the first 10 rounds this year as the recent Collective Bargaining Agreement may indirectly benefit the draft positions of college seniors. The agreement has mandated a limit on the amount teams can now spend on all their draft picks without being penalized.

Seniors could be treated as sacrificial lambs to an even greater degree than in the past, as they may be the pawns that theoretically enable teams to spend less that the designated bonus amount in select draft slots in the first 10 rounds. The team could then utilize that saving towards paying an above-slot bonus on another selection in the first 10 rounds without being penalized for exceeding their overall cap limit.

Just one college senior was drafted in the top five rounds a year ago, and 24 in total were claimed in the first 10 rounds. In every case, those players were paid a discounted bonus, with one senior, selected in the eighth round, given a signing bonus of just $5,000.

It remains to be seen how teams will strategically treat seniors this year to manipulate bonuses overall, but it’s safe to say that college seniors will impact the 2012 draft more than they did a year ago—if only because there appears to be superior front-line talent in the current senior class. Among the 100 players on the accompany list of seniors, 56 were drafted in 2011, including five in the first 10 rounds.

Continue reading this article and more with a Crosschecker Rankings & Scouting Reports subscription.

Sign in Subscribe Now

College | Rankings | 4/22/2026

DII/DIII/NAIA Rankings Update: April 22

Nick Herfordt
Article Image
The final weeks of the college baseball regular season have a way of separating programs that are genuinely postseason-ready from those that have simply been good enough for long enough. Conference tournaments loom, selection committees are paying close attention, and every game on the schedule carries weight that it simply didn't in February. This week's action, combined with the latest Perfect Game Top 25, paints a picture of a college baseball landscape where the top is clearly defined — and where the middle is a genuine battle. What follows is a cross-level look at teams across the NAIA, NCAA Division II, and NCAA Division III ranks who find themselves in that uncomfortable space: not safely in, not clearly out, but firmly on the bubble. Some have built compelling résumés that should hold up under scrutiny. Others have excellent records against soft competition...
Juco | Rankings | 4/22/2026

JUCO Top 25: April 22

Blaine Peterson
Article Image
Another week down and Johnson County continues their torrid run to remain at number 1. They're 46-2 on the season with multiple hitters over 25 bombs which is astonishing for the level as the Cavs have announced themselves as title favorites. Just a couple of weeks left heading down the stretch and our field remains mostly the same with the two additions of midwest powerhouse Iowa Western and the Warriors of East Central who will have a tough test Wednesday in Poplarville against fellow Mississippi adversary Pearl River in a mid-week double header.   Rk. School Record 1 Johnson County (KS) 46-2 2 Gaston (NC) 47-3 3 Walters State (TN) 42-10 4 McLennan (TX) 38-8 5 Southern Nevada (NV) 33-9 6 Chipola (FL) 39-9 7 Blinn (TX) 33-12 8 Florida Southwestern (FL) 32-13 9 Florence-Darlington (SC) 42-10 10 Pearl River (MS) 39-9 11 Cloud County (KS) 40-4 12 Cochise (AZ) 39-11 13 Midland (TX)...
High School | Rankings | 4/21/2026

High School Top 50 Update: April 21

Tyler Russo
Article Image
Another few weeks have wrapped up this high school season as we’re flying through the spring and most southern states are starting playoffs right around the corner. With the end of the regular season, we have another National Top 50 update to bring to you, along with this will be the start of the weekly editions of our National Top 50. We have a change at the top of the rankings as Venice (FL) takes over the top spot after just dominating their competition in the state of Florida this year. Orange Lutheran (CA) drops one spot to No. 2 after dropping a series but still holds firm at No. 2 in the country. Barbe (LA) has continued to dominate and holds onto the No. 3 spot while Tomball (TX) skyrockets in this update to No. 4 in the country, currently holding an incredible 30-0-1 record. The rest of the top-10 is names we’ve become accustomed to see with Aledo (TX) at No. 5, IMG...
Tournaments | Story | 4/21/2026

Southeast Super NIT #2 Scout Notes

Jason Phillips
Article Image
Chase Jelks (‘30 GA)- with a long double to deep CF. Huge day from the primary SS, 5-for-6 w/ 4 doubles & 6 RBI. #SESuperNIT @TheDreamBall @PG_Georgia https://t.co/biFSzXCrUt pic.twitter.com/HCQMduedb5 — Perfect Game Youth (@PGYouthBB) April 20, 2026 Chase Jelks (’30, Atlanta, Ga.)- the left-handed hitting Jelks was all over the barrel on Sunday in a pair of games for The Dream 14U Black. He finished the day with five hits in six at-bats which included four doubles and six runs batted in. His two doubles and four runs batted in played a big part in the Gold Playoffs Round 1 victory over the talented BPA squad out of California. He backed up that performance with three more hits in a quarterfinal’s loss to the East Cobb Astros 14U Orange to finish the tournament with a .600 batting average and 1.636 on-base plus slugging percentage. A primary utility infielder,...
PG Select Baseball Festival | General | 4/21/2026

Select Festival Dates/Locations Announced

Article Image
    667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923  www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    PERFECT GAME ANNOUNCES DATES AND VENUES FOR   2026 SLATE OF SELECT FESTIVALS    Sanford, Florida (Tuesday, April 21, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced dates and venues for its 2026 Select Festivals, a premiere series of invitation-only events showcasing many of the nation’s top young prospects at the 11U, 12U, 13U and 14U levels.    The Select Festivals provide elite players with a unique opportunity to compete alongside and against the best talent in their age group while experiencing a...
College | Story | 4/21/2026

College Players of the Week: April 21

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
April 21st Perfect Game/Player of the Week:  Tague Davis, IF, Louisville  The Louisville Cardinals (22-18) haven’t been able to get themselves in much of a groove this spring, their longest winning streak is 5-games, and they are (4-6) in their last 10-games.  The issue has not been the offense as the Cardinals are averaging over 8-runs per game and Tague Davis is leading the club in virtually every offensive category.  His calling card is his 70-grade power and that was on display last weekend in their series against Cal.  In the three-game series, Davis went 7 for 12, scoring 4 runs, launching 5 home runs and collected 7 RBIs.  The 6-4/220 lefthanded hitter from West Chester, PA has a pure stroke, is one of the premier power hitters in the nation and has significantly improved his plate discipline from a year ago.  After his big weekend, he is...
Press Release | Press Release | 4/20/2026

PG & EventConnect Extend Collaboration

Article Image
    667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923  www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    PERFECT GAME AND EVENTCONNECT EXTEND COLLABORATION FOCUSED ON SCALE, SERVICE AND EXPERIENCE    Sanford, Florida (Monday, April 20, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced the renewal and expansion of its long-standing housing and technology partnership with EventConnect, reaffirming a shared commitment to innovation, scale and best-in-class experiences for athletes, families and event operators across North America.    The renewed multi-year agreement extends a successful partnership that has helped Perfect Game...
College | Rankings | 4/20/2026

College Top 25: April 20

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
As the old saying goes, “all good things must come to an end” and that was the case last Tuesday when UCLA (36-3) saw their 27-game win streak come to an end in a shutout loss to UCSB.  However, the No. 1 team in the land still has their 21-game winning streak in Big Ten to protect, as they have started off league play without a single blemish.  The Bruins will remain atop our poll this week and their historical start to the season roll on.  The UNC Tarheels (33-7-1) move up to No. 2 this week after they made their biggest statement of the year by taking the weekend series from now No. 4 Georgia Tech (32-7).  No. 3 Texas (30-8) and No. 5 Georgia (32-9) both went (3-1) on the week and won their SEC series to stay in contention for the regular season title.  Florida State (28-11) had a nice bounce back (4-0) week and re-enter the Top 10 at No. 8 this...
College | Story | 4/16/2026

Coppy's Corner: April 16 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.   Player of the Week: Jaquae Stewart – Texas State University  If you squint a little bit, you can see some Josh Naylor or Dominic Smith in Jaquae Stewart, with a stout build like a more powerful version of the teacup from the children’s song. Lately, the Sun Belt Conference has been child’s play for Stewart as he has been on fire showing an improved hit approach and power that tracks more with his 2024 performance at Northwest Florida State College than with his 2025 experience at the University of Texas. It’s tough for any player to jump from a JUCO in Florida to the big stage...
High School | General | 4/16/2026

High School Notebook: April 16

Tyler Henninger
Article Image
Alain Gomez-Gudiño (‘26 AZ) with a pair of backside barrels, including a double. Physical 6-0/215 frame. Switch-hitter with power. Adv. defender with strong C&T behind the dish. @PGAllAmerican alum. #Gamecocks commit #PGHS @PG_Draft @SaguaroBaseball pic.twitter.com/2Vhuu5gYX9 — Perfect Game Four Corners (@PG_FourCorners) April 11, 2026 C Alain Gomez-Gudino, Saguaro (Ariz.) Since I first saw him as a sophomore, Gomez-Gudiño has long been one of my favorite prospects in the state. The backstop features a super physical frame at 6-foot-0, 215-pounds with a thick lower half and strong forearms. Defensively, Gomez-Gudiño has always stood out. He moves well for his size behind the plate and receives with confident hands. The catch-and-throw ability stands out. Gomez-Gudiño looks to be aggressive and will back pick runners often. The glove alone makes...
Loading more articles...