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Tournaments  | Story | 7/22/2012

Talent galore at 17u PG Series

Photo: Perfect Game
PEORIA, Ariz. - They are 16 of the best 17u baseball teams in the country, and represent every region in the nation. And after the tournament's 60th game is played Saturday morning at the Peoria Sports Complex, one of the 16 will be able say emphatically that it is, indeed, the best of the best.

The first 17u Perfect Game World Series will kick off with eight games Tuesday (July 24) night at the Peoria Sports Complex and continues with 16 games a day through Friday. The semifinals and championship games will be played Saturday morning, with all the action at the spring training home of the Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres.

The teams involved in this prestigious event are the ABD Bulldogs, based in San Bernardino, Calif.; Arizona Elite (Phoenix); Baseball U (West Branch, N.J.); the Dallas Patriots (Richardson, Texas); the East Cobb Braves (Marietta, Ga.), The EvoShield Canes (Fredericksburg, Va.); the Houston Banditos (Houston, Texas) and the Indiana Prospects (Indianapolis).

Also, Marucci Elite (Baton Rouge, La.); Mountain West '13 (South Jordan, Utah); NorCal Baseball (Manteca, Calif.); San Diego Show (San Diego); SGV Arsenal (West Covina, Calif.); the South Florida Elite Squad (Miami); Team Northwest (Puyallup, Wash.) and the Tri-State Arsenal (Vorhees, N.J.).

The 16 teams have been separated into two eight-team pools and each will play seven pool games between Tuesday and Friday. The top-two teams from each pool will advance to Saturday's semifinals.

For this year's inaugural event, Perfect Game tournament directors and scouts selected the 16 teams based on their performances at PG national tournaments in the past and the expectations for each in 2012. Beginning in 2013, teams will be given the opportunity to qualify for the PG World Series through a series of qualifying tournaments that will be held throughout the country.

The 14u, 15u and 16u Perfect Game World Series will be held July 31 through Aug. 5 in Marietta, Ga.

One of the more intriguing teams at what will be an intensely scouted tournament is the hometown Arizona Elite, a collection of the top prospects in the state of Arizona from the high school classes of 2013 and 2014. The roster is stocked with sons of former big-leaguers, including Cody Bellinger (son of Clay), Riley Unroe (Tim) and Brantley Bell (Jay).

Dustin Peterson, also on the Arizona Elite's roster, is the younger brother of the University of New Mexico's D.J. Peterson. It's likely both will be high-round MLB draft picks in 2013, reminiscent of Phoenix brothers C.J. and Kevin Cron in the 2011 draft.

Bellinger, Unroe, Bell and Peterson are all ranked among the top 120 national prospects in the class of 2013. The Arizona Elite will be coached by Micah Franklin from the Diamondbacks Scout Team and Ryan McKinnley from the Angels Scout Team.

Franklin is a scout in the big-league Arizona Diamondbacks organization and is looking forward to the PG World Series.

"I've scouted a lot of Perfect Game events and there is always a real good showing of talent," he said. "I think this Arizona group will definitely be competitive. They have the advantages of the weather, the facilities and playing the year around, but I think they're a little behind in playing against this kind of talent versus some of the other kids (from across the country)."

The East Cobb Braves will roll into the 17u Perfect Game World Series after just winning their third straight PG 18u BCS Finals national championship in Fort Myers, Fla., last week.

"Five or six of our better players have been with Team USA and they will be re-joining us out there," Braves head coach Kevin Baldwin said last week. "It's a first-year event, and going to the West Coast is always cool for the East Coast kids. We're excited to see where we stand up against the best competition in the country."

An event like the 17u Perfect Game World Series gives everyone a chance to see the very best teams from the four corners and the middle of the country in one place over the course of five days. And it becomes more and more evident every year that no one state holds a patent on producing the nation's top prospects.

"There is talent everywhere in the country; you just never know where it's going to be," Arizona Elite's Franklin said. "I would say that maybe Arizona kids don't really understand this type of stage yet. It's not that they're not ready for this type of stage, they're just a little behind the big-time elite club teams. They're more focused on playing for their high schools - and I don't want to put down the high schools, they do a great job - but they don't play at that elite level every game."

Thirty-six of the top 100 2013 prospects are expected for the Series and 133 of the top 500. Additionally, 15 of the top 100 2014 prospects are also expected to be in attendance. More than 115 of the prospects have already committed to colleges, most of them to NCAA Division I schools.

The 10th Annual Perfect Game All-American Classic presented by Rawlings, the nation's premier all-star game for incoming high school seniors, will be played Aug. 12 at PETCO Park in San Diego, and this year features 48 of the top prospects in the 2013 class. At least 18 of them are expected to be performing this week at the 17u PG World Series, providing the MLB scouting community an early look.

The East Cobb Braves are expected to have five PG All-Americans available, including Kevin Davis, Josh Hart, Clinton Hollon, Robert Tyler and Travis Demeritte. 

The Houston Banditos will feature All-Americans Kacy Clemens (Roger's son), Nick Banks and Texas A&M football recruit Kohl Stewart, who is projected as a likely MLB first-round draft pick in June. The San Diego Show features All-Americans Stephen Gonsalves, Ian Clarkin and Gosuke Katoh.

An event like this is a scout's dream.

"Any time you can get the top talent pool in one sport where (the scouts aren't) chasing (prospects) from state to state and you're going from Field 5 to Field 4 or Field 6 to Field 3, it makes it much, much easier to scout," Franklin said. "Obviously, as a scout, that's where you want to be; in one place where you can see them all."

Tournaments | Story | 1/27/2026

MLK East Scout Notes Recap

Perfect Game Staff
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‘28 OF Jakob Groeschel (OH) continues to impress with the bat on the circuit, picked up 2 2Bs in the first game today. Really athletic, went 4.4 on turn; easy to dream on all the traits. #MLKEast @PG_OhioValley pic.twitter.com/wOIwnGKnkg — Perfect Game Florida (@Florida_PG) January 17, 2026 2028 OF Jakob Groeschel (Springfield, Ohio) broke out at this event last year hitting a casual .909, and although he didn’t turn in quite the same performance, he hit a strong .462 with 4 extra-base hits, 5 walks, 5 bags and only struck out once. He’s a pretty dynamic athlete who can do a lot of things well, but the bat is the calling card as he just lives on the barrel and has no problem handling all kinds of pitching. It’s a simple swing, but he’s got fast hands and he can really impact the ball without being overly physical yet.  2030 RHP Michael Vazquez...
High School | Rankings | 2/17/2026

Ohio Valley Top Teams

Tyler Russo
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Ohio Valley All Region & Top Tools Rk Ohio Valley 2025 Record 1 Trinity (KY) 38-3 2 Archbishop Moeller (OH) 25-4-1 3 St. Laurence (IL) 37-5 4 Center Grove (IN) 27-5 5 Brother Rice (IL) 36-5 6 Chicago Mount Carmel (IL) 23-14 7 Crown Point (IN) 27-5 8 Libertyville (IL) 37-4 9 Brother Rice (MI) 23-12-1 10 Orchard Lake St. Mary's (MI) 26-13 11 Normal Community (IL) 37-6 12 Detroit Catholic Central (MI) 20-10 13 Nazareth Academy (IL) 31-7 14 Lyons Township (IL) 22-11-1 15 Zionsville (IN) 19-9 16 St. Xavier (KY) 30-7 17 Noblesville (IN) 16-11 18 Jackson (OH) 27-4 19 Mason (OH) 22-7 20 Fishers (IN) 25-6 21 McHenry (IL) 34-5-1 22 McCracken County (KY) 24-7 23 Westfield (IN) 22-10 24 Olentangy Liberty (OH) 27-7 25 McCutcheon (IN) 16-12
High School | General | 2/17/2026

Ohio Valley All Region & Top Tools

David Rawnsley
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OHIO VALLEY REGION (IL, IN, KY, MI, OH) The Ohio Valley Region has a healthy amount of top-level talent, as it features five Perfect Game All-Americans in shortstop Ethan Bass, third baseman TJ McQuillan, two-way stand out Matt Ponatoski and right-handed pitchers Shawn Sullivan and Grayson Willoughby.  The 2027 class looks very strong as well, especially in Illinois. A couple of things are missing from the Ohio Valley All-Region team, though.  The first is the two best outfielders in the region, as 2027 Illinois outfielder Sebastian Wilson is attending IMG Academy in Florida and fellow 2027 outfielder Noah Goettke from Ohio is attending P27 Academy in South Carolina.  Also missing are any players from Michigan, which enjoyed a dominant run of top prospects in recent years largely behind the Lake Orchard St. Mary’s HS program.  2027 catcher Broder Katke (Brother...
Press Release | Press Release | 2/17/2026

PG & 100% Sunglasses Team Up

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 PARTNERSHIP WITH 100% SUNGLASSES   Sanford, Florida (Tuesday, February 17, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced a new partnership with 100% Sunglasses, naming the premium performance eyewear brand an official sunglass partner of Perfect Game and the Presenting Partner of Perfect Game’s MLB Draft coverage.   As part of the partnership, Perfect Game and 100% will collaborate on co-branded sunglasses, bringing together two brands synonymous with elite performance and authenticity in the game of baseball.   In addition, 100% will provide custom sunglasses to players selected to participate in...
College | Story | 2/17/2026

College Players of the Week: Feb. 17

Vincent Cervino
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Perfect Game/Player of the Week: Tyce Armstrong, IF, Baylor Opening Day always has a special feel with the sights, sounds and smells bringing back memories of days gone by. But no one that made their way to Magnolia Field at Baylor Ballpark could have imagined what they would witness in the Baylor Bears first game against New Mexico State. Enter 6-4/228, redshirt senior 1B Tyce Armstrong with his power stroke and flare for the dramatic. Transferring in after a successful career at UT Arlington, the Magnolia, TX native would etch his name in the record books with an incredible day at the plate. Armstrong would hit three grand slams in the game, becoming just the second player in NCAA history to accomplish this feat in a single game. His three home runs tied a program record, and his 12 RBIs set a new standard for the Bears. Beyond that, Armstrong matched the 50-year-old record previously...
High School | Rankings | 2/16/2026

Northeast Region Top Teams

Cam McElwaney
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Northeast All Region & Top Tools Rk Northeast 2025 Record 1 Poly Prep Country Day (NY) 17-9 2 Stony Brook (NY) 19-5-1 3 Dexter Southfield (MA) 15-2 4 Iona Prep (NY) 25-9-1 5 Bishop Hendricken (RI) 25-6 6 Fairfield Prep (CT) 18-12 7 Austin Prep (MA) 20-2 8 Choate Rosemary Hall (CT) 11-7 9 Cheshire Academy (CT) 20-2 10 Bishop Feehan (MA) 20-5 11 Fairfield Warde (CT) 15-4 12 St. Anthony's (NY) 14-9-1 13 Kings Park (NY) 13-8 14 Phillips Academy (MA) 7-14 15 St. Dominic (NY) 15-6 16 Tottenville (NY) 22-3 17 Belmont Hill (MA) 11-8 18 Avon Old Farms (CT) 15-5 19 St. Sebastian's School (MA) 9-8 20 Archbishop Molloy (NY) 32-7-1 21 Southington (CT) 19-7 22 Mamaroneck (NY) 18-7 23 Colchester (VT) 12-6 24 Trinity (NH) 20-4 25 Fryeburg (ME) 10-7
High School | General | 2/16/2026

Northeast All Region & Top Tools

David Rawnsley
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NORTHEAST REGION (NY, CT, MA, RI, VT, NH, ME)  The strength of the Northeast Region in 2026 is the number of high ceiling power arms, led by potential upper-90’s throwers in left-hander Brody Bumila and right-hander Bryce Hill.  The depth of quality pitching is such that two of the top pitchers in the 2028 class, right handers Gavin Chakar (Norwalk HS, Conn.) and Dylan Cunningham (Austin Prep, Mass.) didn’t have a spot on the team.  The weakness of the Region is the increasing number of players who leave to play baseball and continue their school work at Academy programs in the South.  Numerous players that fit under that umbrella would have a place on the All-Northeast Region if they weren’t in Florida or the Carolinas. C – Bradley McCafferty (Sr., Austin Prep, Mass.) McCafferty was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for Massachusetts as a...
College | Rankings | 2/16/2026

College Top 25: February 16

Vincent Cervino
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It was incredible Opening Weekend across the nation with numerous upsets, tightly contested series’ and dominating sweeps. Beyond that, there were generational individual performances, lockdown pitching appearances and record-breaking runs scored as well. It feels like we have been saying this every year for the past decade, but our game is alive and well. More and more programs are getting massive returns on their investments and the fans are turning out in record numbers to see college baseball in its Golden Era. As is typical this time of year, there was very little movement within the poll, in fact, our Top 15 places in the poll remain unchanged. No. 1 LSU (3-0), No. 2 Georgia Tech (3-0) and No. 3 Tennessee (3-0) all took care of business at home, treating their fans to a show of their offensive firepower. No. 16 Coastal Carolina (3-0) and No. 17 UNC (3-0) both had perfect...
High School | General | 2/13/2026

Mid-Atlantic Region Top Teams

Tyler Russo
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Mid-Atlantic All Region & Top Tools Rk Mid-Atlantic  Record 1 Delbarton (NJ) 24-5 2 DePaul Catholic (NJ) 21-7 3 Gloucester Catholic (NJ) 24-3 4 Malvern Prep (PA) 32-5 5 St. Augustine Prep (NJ) 18-8 6 Archbishop Spalding (MD) 22-16 7 Don Bosco Prep (NJ) 26-3 8 Cedar Cliff (PA) 21-6 9 St. John's College (DC) 30-1 10 Seton Hall Prep (NJ) 22-2 11 St. Joseph's Prep (PA) 10-11 12 Christian Brothers (NJ) 22-5 13 Hazelton Area (PA) 18-6 14 Sussex Central (DE) 16-6 15 Ranney (NJ) 12-10 16 Calvert Hall (MD) 20-10 17 Radnor (PA) 11-4 18 Governor Livingston (NJ) 28-0 19 The Haverford School (PA) 5-11 20 Bergen Catholic (NJ) 16-8 21 Holy Ghost Prep (PA) 10-9 22 North Hunterdon (NJ) 14-12 23 Northern Burlington (NJ) 28-2 24 St. Albans (DC) 23-14 25 Urbana (MD) 21-4
High School | General | 2/12/2026

Mid-Atlantic All Region & Top Tools

David Rawnsley
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The Mid-Atlantic Region lost its only Perfect Game All-American when catcher Andrew Costello left his Pennsylvania high school early and enrolled at Wake Forest for the spring semester.  The Region ends up being dominated by underclassmen, with seven juniors and even a pair of talented sophomores getting recognition. The story of the spring could very well be watching the young power arms in the Region come outdoors and show their talents on the mound.  Pennsylvania juniors Cole Kuhn and Trent Lutz have been getting lots of off-season attention along with New Jersey senior Alex Weingartner. New Jersey has a trio of high schools represented in the Perfect Game Pre-Season Top 50 High School Rankings.  Delbarton HS, behind a very strong junior class, leads the group at 29th overall, followed DePaul Catholic HS at 41st and Gloucester Catholic at 46th. C – Braeden Lipoff...
High School | General | 2/12/2026

Coastal Region Top Teams

Tyler Russo
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Coastal All Region & Top Tools Rk Coastal Record 1 Charlotte Catholic (NC) 22-6-1 2 Metrolina Christian Academy (NC) 28-3 3 James Island Charter (SC) 30-4 4 Battlefield (VA) 23-3 5 Charlotte Christian (NC) 26-6 6 Dorman (SC) 22-7 7 Marvin Ridge (NC) 21-8 8 Grace Christian (NC) 23-7 9 Berkeley (SC) 22-10 10 T.C. Roberson (NC) 27-6 11 Lexington (SC) 22-11-1 12 Providence (NC) 23-6 13 Southside Christian Schools (SC) 33-2-1 14 Bishop O'Connell (VA) 20-6 15 Cuthbertson (NC) 26-6 16 Wesleyan Christian Academy (NC) 18-11 17 Blythewood (SC) 24-7 18 The Miller School (VA) 34-6 19 Stratford (SC) 22-6-2 20 Laney (NC) 25-7 21 Gaston Christian (NC) 18-4 22 Airport (SC) 27-6 23 Hurricane (WV) 28-7 24 Gainesville (VA) 23-4 25 Oceanside Collegiate Academy (SC) 27-8
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