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College  | Story | 5/14/2026

Coppy's Corner: May 14 POY Deep Dive

John Coppolella
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 smaller players with big tools. Oh, did I forget to mention that Burress is listed at 5’9 and probably closer to 5’8 and maybe even closer to 5’7. And that means … absolutely nothing!! Dustin Pedroia was listed at 5’9, too, and was likely shorter, too, and in the 2004 MLB Draft he lasted all the way to Pick #65 – trust me, I know, because I was working for the New York Yankees, and we took three players ahead of Pedroia (smh). 5’6 Jose Altuve had to talk his way into a tryout in Venezuela and signed for only $15,000. Players who are smaller like Burress, Pedroia, and Altuve may be a market inefficiency.  

Burress should be able to stay in CF and reminds me a lot of Kirby Puckett, who was listed at 5’8, and was also a pretty damn good MLB player. In the latest PG Mock Draft (link), we project Burress going #10 to the Colorado Rockies – who else but Paul DePodesta to recognize a market inefficiency? – and it’s scary to think about the offensive havoc he could wreak in that ballpark. I’d take him even earlier.  

Carry Tool: Hit. All. Burress. Does. Is. Hit. The most consistent college performer in the Draft, he’s having arguably his worst year and is hitting .375 AVG / 1.162 OPS with more walks than strikeouts. Think about that: arguably his worst year is .375 AVG / 1.162 OPS with 38 BB vs. 34 SO. He hits good velocity (.375 AVG vs. pitches 95+ miles per hour) and hits breaking balls (.377 AVG). He hits everybody and everything everywhere. I think he could hit on Mars. I love this player. 

Co-Pitcher of the Week: Cykler Tengler – Arkansas State University  

This is my favorite story in a long time. Cykler Tenger, who also has the coolest name in college baseball, had thrown only 4.2 IP all season heading into last week, spread out among 1 start and three relief appearances. Of course, in his second start, he went CG SHO No-No with 9.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 SO, 1 HBP. Tengler also accomplished this feat against the University of Arkansas – Little Rock (UALR), the program with which he originally signed out of high school. Tengler never pitched for UALR in 2023, transferred to D2 Arkansas State University – Mountain Home (ASUMH) in 2024 and 2025, and is now at Arkansas State in 2026. Welcome to NIL! 

All kidding aside, there’s something about Cykler. Standing 6’5 / 205 with a good downhill plane and projection remaining, Tengler has shown a knack for missing bats with 116 SO in 76.2 IP for ASUMH last season. I know, it’s D2, right? Well, it was also D2 for Ryan Helsley (Northeastern State), Brandon Pfaadt (Bellarmine University), Alex Vesia (Cal State East Bay), Tim Mayza (Millersville University), and dozens of other pitchers who have had success at the MLB level. Tengler has the weapons with a two-seam FB 89-92, wipeout CH (see below), and improving SL. Tengler opened some eyes and hopefully made himself some money last week. And, while I am not expecting back-to-back no-hitters, I can’t wait to see what he does in his next start and the rest of the season. 

Carry Tool: Changeup. Look, all these numbers have to be taken with a few grains of salt because we are talking about 13.1 IP and 173 total pitches on the season. That being said, 74 / 178 (42.8%) of those pitchers were Changeups – and they generated 84% Strike %, 62% Swing %, and 44% Chase %. When you look at his splits against LH hitters, he’s allowed a .133 AVG and .325 OPS with 6 SO in 15 AB. Those are gaudy numbers and, combined with the leverage and sink he creates on his sinker from his 6’5 / 205 frame, it starts to get interesting. Why not take a chance on a pitcher like this and see what MLB pitching labs can do with these raw tools?

Co-Pitcher of the Week: Karsten Sweum – Gonzaga University  

In the 2013 MLB Draft, with the #19 overall pick, the St. Louis Cardinals selected left-handed pitcher Marco Gonzales. Standing 6’1 / 205, Gonzales was a pitchability lefty who worked with a FB 88-91, a killer CH, and otherwise solid off-speed stuff. In his draft year, he was 7-3, 2.80 ERA with 106.0 IP, 102 Hits, 25 BB, 96 SO. Gonzalez pitched 10 MLB seasons with a career 66-50, 4.16 ERA over 926.2 IP. 

Sweum is also a left-handed pitcher from Gonzaga. At 6’3 / 225, Sweum is two inches taller and 20 pounds stronger than Gonzales. Featuring a plus FB 92-96, he also throws 4-5 mph harder. Sweum’s current season totals of 7-1, 4.42 ERA with 71.1 IP, 60 Hits, 33 BB, 99 SO tell a story with much higher upside, albeit also opportunities to improve control. And, while he may not have Gonzales’ CH, he has good off-speed weapons with his SL (49% Miss %, 35% Chase %), CUT (46% Miss %, 39% Chase %), and CH (54% Miss %, 37% Chase %). Aside: he should throw the CH more; he only throws it 6% of the time and it’s been quite effective vs. RH hitters. There’s a lot to like with Sweum: I like the size, I like the stuff numbers, I like that he’s left-handed and I don’t really care about the ERA (shhhhhh). If his development continues, you are going to hear a lot about Sweum in the 2027 MLB Draft. 

Carry Tool: Fastball. Sweum has a good one and throws it 55% of the time. It plays against both right-handed and left-handed hitters, and Sweum has better numbers against right-handed hitters even though he rarely uses his CH – which speaks to the quality of his FB. It’s also important to note the progress that Sweum has made year-over-year, showing marked improvement in BB/9 IP (8.20 in 2025 vs 4.16 in 2026) and ERA (6.27 in 2025 vs 4.42 in 2026). And, lastly, 6’3 / 225 left-handed starting pitchers who can sit 92-96 aren’t falling out of trees. This is one to watch.  

Freshman of the Week: John Paone – University of Virginia 

I usually try to work in a reference to 80’s or 90’s pop culture in these articles, but I am struggling this week. I thought about some kind of John Paone – Ione Skye linkage, but it was a reach. If I am going to present random stuff tied to Paone, it’s probably better to focus on his background as a prep student at the prestigious Lawrence Academy in Groton, Massachusetts – founded in 1793! Not to be confused with Groton, Connecticut, which produced a pretty good prep RHP that went to a pretty good college and MLB career: Matt Harvey. The Lawrence Academy has many prestigious alumni, but all I really care about is baseball (hello, former #14 overall pick Tyler Beede) and music (hello, Phish keyboardist Page McConnell).  

Unless Paone plays the keyboards, Beede is probably the better comparison as a strong built (6’2 / 215) prep arm with good stuff. At 6’3 / 210 with a plus FB he can maintain late into games, Paone reminds me a lot of Beede. It’s power stuff and good stuff numbers, his 4.91 ERA belying 59 SO vs. 20 BB in 51.1 IP. It’s even more impressive that, as a freshman, he is getting this opportunity and producing this type of performance. It’s not hard to envision a big jump forward heading into next season, when Paone will be a draft-eligible sophomore in the 2027 MLB Draft. It will be Phun to watch his continued development.  

Carry Tool: Slider. Beede’s bread-and-butter was his Changeup, but Paone has had a lot of success with this Slider. It’s got over 10 mph separation from his FB and has produced good results this year with 35% Chase %, 35 % Miss %, and 47% Swing %. Although he has no clear lefty/righty splits in AVG and OPS, he has struck out a significantly higher % of right-handed hitters (38/120 = 31.7%) than left-handed hitters (21/90 = 23.3%). Scouts like Paone’s CH, too, so there is further potential with continued development. The stuff, build, and, performance, especially lately, are impressive – even if my puns and references are not. 

National Nuggets:

It’s been a tough year for LSU and it was another lost weekend (0-3) against Georgia in Athens, but none of it is or was Derek Curiel’s fault – aggressive side eye toward the pitching staff that allowed 36 runs – as he went 5/10 on the weekend with 3 BB vs. 3 SO … this snapshot is a microcosm of the season for both LSU and Curiel, who continues to hit and get on base, even he isn’t posting Landon Hairson-esque numbers (who is? I mean, besides Landon Hairston) … Curiel hit .345 AVG / .470 OBP / .519 SLG / .990 OPS as a freshman last season and has produced similar numbers as a draft-eligible sophomore in 2026 with .341 AVG / .420 OBP / .512 SLG / .932 OPS … however, a deeper dive inside the numbers reveals real progress for Curiel and points toward more upside in this bat … specifically, Curiel has made big progress against LHP (.237 AVG / .800 OPS in 2025 vs .339 AVG / .943 OPS in 2026), hitting on the Road (.253 AVG / .757 OPS in 2025 vs .403 AVG / 1.063 OPS in 2026), and performance on Friday nights (.297 AVG / .813 OPS in 2025 vs .346 AVG / .914 OPS in 2026) … why does this stuff matter? … Curiel is a 6’2 / 185 LHH outfielder so to see him improve vs LH pitching is a good sign he’s more than a platoon player … “The Box” at LSU is a hitter’s park with its humid, sea-level atmosphere, so to see Curiel have so much success on the road is also encouraging … and Friday nights, as most of you know, is when the best pitchers are on the mound, so seeing increased performance is another positive sign because those are the types of pitchers at the next level … and Curiel has always been able to crush the FB, with strong performances both years against 95+ mph velocity (.423 AVG / 1.038 OPS in 2025 vs .419 AVG / .952 OPS) … Curiel can just flat hit and has shown the ability to play CF this season … he reminds me of Rusty Greer, Mark Kotsay, and Christian Yelich, all LH bats who could flat hit – and made multiple All-Star teams. 
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College | Recruiting | 9/18/2026

Top DII/DIII/NAIA Incoming Freshmen
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Top Incoming DII Freshmen Rank Name Pos School HS City ST 1 Isaiah Fernandez C Barry Chaminade Madonna College Prep Fort Lauderdale FL 2 Jaiden Palmer SS Newberry University High School Deland FL 3 Mills Carrillo RHP Saint Leo Wesley Chapel Wesley Chapel FL 4 Reuben Vasquez OF Barry Strawberry Crest Dover FL 5 Andrew Petrock SS West Alabama Pelham Pelham AL 6 Jonathan Duffy OF Bentley Walt Whitman Huntington Station NY 7 Tyson McFarlin SS Texas A&M-Kingsville Elgin Elgin TX 8 Chip Glogorski C Georgia College & State Kings Ridge Christian Cumming GA 9 Tanner Pope 1B Francis Marion Garner Magnet Garner NC 10 Brice Gillis 1B University of North Georgia Wesleyan Johns Creek GA 11 Dillon O'Connor RHP Ferrum College The Miller School of Albemarle Charlottesville VA 12 Cooper Obst C Lander Pine Crest Fort Lauderdale FL 13 Brent Sollars OF Colorado Mesa Sandra Day O'Connor Phoenix AZ 14...
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Tournaments | Story | 9/18/2026

Northeast Qualifier Scout Notes

Perfect Game Staff
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Another day, another Gavin Greene (‘28 GA) barrel as the @AuburnBaseball commit is now hitting well over .500 on the event #NEQ<ahref="https: pg_scouting?ref_src="twsrc%5Etfw'">@PG_Scouting @PG_Georgia https://t.co/Lf6G8AExjB pic.twitter.com/LFMueYHMxB</ahref="https:> — Perfect Game Mid-Atlantic (@PGMidAtlantic) September 14, 2026 Gavin Greene (2028 Alpharetta, GA) played a major factor in AZ Diamondbacks Scout’s Championship run, finishing his weekend with a .528 AVG and 7 RBI. The 5-foot-11, 175 pound Auburn commit was simply a hit machine regardless of who was on the mound, showcasing the ability to handle velo with ease and repeat the stroke at a high level. Starting from a narrow and upright, slightly open base, Greene does a great job of working directly to the point of impact with consistent hard line drive impact to the pull side of the field. He...
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Juco | Rankings | 9/18/2026

JUCO Impact: Top 100 D1 Transfers

Troy Sutherland
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With the season upon us, let's take a minute to look at 100 of the biggest impact players who played at the JUCO level last year and have since transferred to a D1 program for the upcoming spring.  RK Name JUCO in 2025 DI in 2026 1 Ryan Bradford Johnson County TCU 2 Carson Bailey McLennan Texas Tech 3 Kameron Yearsley John A. Logan  Oklahoma 4 Holden Pantier Walters State Georgia Tech 5 Caden Davidson Gaston Florida 6 Anthony Quigley Northwest Florida Oklahoma 7 Walt Jones Weatherford Kansas 8 Colin Coonradt Johnson County West Virginia 9 Collin Smith Cochise Kansas 10 Ned Frutchey Sac City Arkansas 11 Hayden Blair Walters State Georgia 12 Parker Ishee Co-Lin Oklahoma 13 Coy Clements Pearl River Florida State 14 Griffin Rardin Shelton State Alabama 15 Jordan Martinez Gulf Coast State Florida State 16 Noah Bentley Weatherford Oklahoma 17 Kole Fenton Walters State North Carolina...
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Softball | Softball Tournament | 9/17/2026

PG Softball Des Moines Elite Scouting Showcase

Ashley Mears
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Perfect Game Des Moines Elite Scouting Showcase 2026 Indianola. IA Ashley Mears What started off a perfect weather weekend, unfortunately was cut short due to thunderstorms mid-morning on Sunday. In the 18u Division, the Iowa Gold Prospects and the Midwest Speed National Kotzmacher were undefeated. In the 16U Division, 515 Fastpitch Twogood and Iowa Premier Gold- Brower. The tournament featured a ton of solid hitters and pitchers from across the state and Minnesota. Even with the poor weather on Sunday, there was still plenty to see and write about! 18u Division Lexi Adams (2028 Ankeny, IA), a catcher for Iowa Gold Prospects, had a stellar weekend at the plate. Behind the plate, Adams shows strong command of the game and does an excellent job working the zone, using her framing ability to consistently give her pitchers a chance to earn borderline calls. At the plate, Adams starts from a...
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Tournaments | Story | 9/17/2026

South Underclass Qualifier Scout Notes

Geoff Billock
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Cole Marquardt (2029, Montgomery, Texas) left no doubt this weekend as he came home with Tournament MVP honors for his work with Banditos 2028 Black. Went 7-10 with a double, a home run, a pair of triples, and the walk off single in the championship game. Projectable left-handed swing with plenty of tools to dream on. Bat to ball was on point all weekend and he had plenty of chances to show off an advanced run tool. Plenty to dream on moving forward. Callen Corley (2028, Houston, Texas) put together a stellar two-way performance for Houston Wildcatters Navy 2028. At the plate, he went 5-10 with a double, triple, and home run, driving in seven runs. Sinks into his lower half well and creates strong angles for leverage. Plenty of power upside remaining in that frame, to go along with the twitch already present. On the mound, Corley went four shutout innings, surrendering just one hit while...
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Tournaments | Story | 9/16/2026

Midwest Labor Day Classic Scout Notes

Brayden Powell
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Ryan Jones (2027, Tinley Park, IL) was one of the most productive hitters of the weekend, collecting six hits, including three doubles and a home run, while driving in nine runs. The left-handed hitter consistently got the barrel out front and created hard contact throughout the event. Working from an open setup with high hands, he features a compact swing that allows him to get to the ball quickly. His hand speed stood out and helped him drive the baseball to multiple parts of the field. Jones showed a strong understanding of pitches he could handle and rarely missed opportunities to do damage. The swing remains efficient through the zone and produces carry off the barrel. His combination of consistent contact and extra-base impact made him a key offensive contributor all weekend. Uncommitted  JP Elbert (2027, Dubuque, IA) put together an impressive tournament, finishing with five...
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Tournaments | Story | 9/16/2026

Southeast Qualifier #1 Scout Notes

Perfect Game Staff
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Walk. It. Off! ‘27 IF Drew Giles (GA) calls game here as he hammers a ball over the CF wall for a solo HR to win it in the bottom of the 7th. #FLQualifier pic.twitter.com/YrzspVZzUY — Perfect Game Florida (@Florida_PG) September 12, 2026 Drew Giles (2027, Brunswick, Ga.) took home MVP honors from the weekend after hitting .385 including a walkoff home run during pool play. Giles helped lead his Canes team to victory and did so with the bat. The swing is super short and simple and he gets immense jump off the barrel. It’s a level path through the zone but the blend of hit and power showed out all weekend for the MVP.  August Backman (2027, Venice, Fla.) had a solid weekend on both sides of the ball: hitting .333 over three games and also sitting 88-91 mph on the mound. Backman, a Florida commit who is nationally ranked, has a three pitch mix highlighted by a really...
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Tournaments | Story | 9/16/2026

Fall World Series Scout Notes

Jason Phillips
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Joseph Mosley 2028, Hendersonville, Tenn.) showed the upside all weekend for Southeast Rawlings Mad Mavericks. The right-handed hitter starts from a medium stance with in-line feet and a low handset with a low back elbow, utilizes a low leg lift stride. Creates separation in the back shoulder with strength through the hands into a flat bat plane and line drive lift in the swing. Stays balanced throughout the swing and showed the feel to use the whole field. The outfielder has an athletic, strong 6-foot, 190-pound frame with more gap-to-gap type power to be unlocked. Collected four hits, including two triples, to drive in an RBI and came around to score three runs. Exciting player with two-way upside. On the mound the right-handed pitcher went two innings in relief with three strikeouts and spread three hits and three walks for one earned run. The fastball ran up to 87 and paired it with...
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College | Recruiting | 9/14/2026

Class of 2026 Recruiting Rankings

Perfect Game Staff
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Tournaments | Story | 9/14/2026

Coastal Fall Battle of the Carolinas Notes

Perfect Game Staff
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Deacon Hensley (2028, Zebulon, NC) stands at 6-foot-0, 165 pounds and is a left-handed hitting and throwing right fielder. Lean frame with good athleticism and additional strength likely to come with maturity. Compact swing with quick hands and good feel for the barrel. Relaxed setup with good bat speed through the zone. Good balance in the box with a direct path and solid contact skills. Hensley went 3-for-3, scoring three runs and hitting a double. Great day at the plate. Colt Funderburk (2027, Lancaster, SC) stands at 5-foot-10, 195 pounds with an athletic frame and present strength. Bats and throws left-handed. Physical hitter with a compact swing, good bat speed, and the ability to drive the ball with authority. Good pitch recognition with a disciplined approach. Quiet lower half with a controlled load and good balance. Funderburk went 2-for-4 with one double and two RBI. Cameron...
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Press Release | Press Release | 9/14/2026

PG Athletes Raise North of $138,000 in August

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 ATHLETES RAISE OVER $138,000 FOR CHARITABLE PARTNERS THROUGHOUT MONTH OF AUGUST   Sanford, Florida (Monday, September 14, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced that its August premier events raised a combined $138,422 for children's hospitals and charitable organizations, with 1,112 total supporters contributing across five showcases. Since 2016, Perfect Game athletes have raised over $1.8 million for various charitable causes and organizations. The annual fundraising initiative, which runs in conjunction with several of Perfect Game's marquee events each year, gives players, families and fans the opportunity to support...
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