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College  | Story | 4/2/2024

Midseason Collegiate Awards

Photo: Charlie Condon (University of Georgia Athletics)
Player of the Year

Charlie Condon, Georgia

By now, most people have heard the story of Charlie Condon and the fact that he was not heavily recruited out of high school and chose to walk-on at the University of Georgia. Fast forward to his junior year and the 6-6/216 righty from Marietta, GA has pretty much established himself as the greatest hitter in college baseball halfway through the 2024 season. It may be a shorter list if we were to make one in the categories where he wasn’t among the nation’s leaders, but that wouldn’t do him justice. So, let’s start with his .505 BA, 1.184 SLG%, and his absurd .619 OB% all of which lead the nation by a significant margin. He has collected 11 doubles, a triple and leads the nation with 19 home runs through 28 games. He is also well on his way to breaking the single season BBCOR home run record of 33 set last year. Condon has also driven in 40 runs and amassed an impressive 26:15 walk-to-strikeout ratio thus far. The Bulldogs have been on the doorstep of the Top-25 for a couple weeks now and Condon has established himself as a contender to be the No. 1 pick in July’s MLB Draft.



Pitcher of the Year

Hagen Smith, Arkansas

Our Team of the Year fittingly has our Pitcher of the Year as he spearheads the premier pitching staff in the nation. Hagen Smith, the 6-3/225 LHP from Bullard, TX has positioned himself as the potential first arm to go off the board in this year’s MLB Draft. His ability to miss barrels and eliminate opponents scoring threats by stacking together multiple clutch pitches together in succession has helped him keep his flawless record. Smith has used his mid-to-upper 90s fastball that explodes on hitters and his abrupt, mid-80s slider to finish both lefties and righties alike. Having made 7 starts, he is (5-0) with a 1.54 ERA over 35.0 IP where he has only allowed 16 hits, good for a .136 OBA. He has a sparkling 72:10 strikeout-to-walk ratio and is averaging over 2 punchouts per inning. Smith is the ace of the best team in the nation and the Razorbacks have it all going in the right direction for now.

Two-Way Player of the Year

Jac Caglianone, Florida

Caglianone is likely the best two-way player we’ve seen in college baseball since 2017 Golden Spikes winner Brendan McKay and he’s been by far the most dominant two-way force in the sport for two years now. He’s got massive size at 6-5/250 with elite raw power and a fastball that approaches triple digits. Cags comes into the midway point of the year hitting .389 with thirteen home runs and an improved swing and approach. He’s walking more than he’s striking out and he’s smoking balls all over the hitting zone. Caglianone carried a no-hitter into the fifth his last time out and is pitching to a 2.18 ERA over 33 innings with 44 punchouts. There’s a dominance factor to his game and at this point he’s a legitimate contender to go first overall in July’s draft.
 
Freshman of the Year

Drew Burress, Georgia Tech

Hitters just hit and there is no better example in the college game today than Drew Burress, the 5-9/182 offensive dynamo from Houston County, GA. With one of the most consistent approaches in the game, he has done damage consistently throughout his brief 26 game career. His stroke is compact, and his dense muscularity allows him to create elite exit velocity with seeming ease. He crashed the national scene when he launched 4 home runs in one midweek game against Georgia State and he hasn’t looked back. For the season he is slugging .370/.890/.477 with 8 doubles, a triple and an impressive 14 home runs. He leads the Yellow Jackets in basically every offensive category, including RBI with 37 and he has also swiped 5 bags. As further proof of his consistency, he is hitting .375 in ACC play while slugging .750 and reaching base over 50 percent of the time. The Rambling Wreck needs to right the ship in ACC play and Burress is the man to help them do it.

Coach of the Year

Link Jarrett, Florida State

In 2023, Link Jarrett was named head coach of his alma mater and landed his dream job. However, things didn’t go very smoothly as the Seminoles would suffer a losing season and miss the NCAA tournament for the first time in 44 years. Fast forward to 2024 and last year seems like a distant memory as Jarrett lead his club to a historic (19-0) start and went from unranked in the pre-season to being ranked in the Top-10. Known as one of the best offensive minds in the game, the Jarrett-effect has taken hold in Tallahassee and the Noles are batting .341 as a team with 55 doubles, 50 home runs and are slugging an impressive .589 to date. Their biggest area of improvement has been on the mound with a 3.77 ERA and are amongst the nation’s leaders with an incredible 324:122 staff strikeout-to-walk ratio. With the exception of a rough weekend in Clemson, they have virtually unbeatable and roll into the midway point of the season with a (22-4) record, one win shy of their total from a year ago.

Team of the Year

Arkansas Razorbacks

Dave Van Horn’s club didn’t come into 2024 as unknowns by any means, as we did have them ranked as our pre-season No. 2 team in the nation. There wasn’t much room at the top but after 5 weeks into the season, they have ascended to the pinnacle of college baseball and thrived while there. They are currently (23-3) overall and (8-1) in the SEC with a 2-game lead in the West. They have played the 16th toughest schedule in the nation and have a (12-3) record against Q1 and Q2 competition. Offensively, they are just starting to hit their stride after working through some early season injuries and are slugging .468 as a team with 42 doubles and 37home runs and walk almost as much as they punch out. Their true calling card is their quality with the gloves, fielding .980 on the year and backing up the best pitching staff in the nation. They lead the nation with an ERA of 2.67, in hits per-9 only allowing 6.28, strikeout-to-walk ration at 4.39-to-1, strike outs per-9 with 13.1 and finally in WHIP at 1.03. Their weekend rotation has gone (11-0) and six different bullpen pieces have registered saves this year. The Razorbacks are the most complete club in the nation and aren’t looking back.

College | Story | 5/25/2026

Field of 64 Projections

Vincent Cervino
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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...
Tournaments | Story | 5/24/2026

East Memorial Day Scout Notes: Days 1-2

Perfect Game Staff
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‘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...
Tournaments | Story | 5/24/2026

West Memorial Day Scout Notes: Days 1-2

Tyler Henninger
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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....
Tournaments | Story | 5/21/2026

Memorial Day Classics Set to Kick Off

Perfect Game Staff
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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...
High School | General | 5/22/2026

Northeast High School Notebook: May 22

Anthony Gambardella
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‘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...
Press Release | Press Release | 5/22/2026

Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 65

Ron Wolforth
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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...
College | Rankings | 5/20/2026

DII/DIII/NAIA Rankings Update: May 20

Nick Herfordt
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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...
College | Story | 5/21/2026

Coppy's Corner: May 21 POY Deep Dive

John Coppolella
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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...
Tournaments | Story | 5/19/2026

Best of the Best Event Preview

Jheremy Brown
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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...
College | Story | 5/19/2026

College Players of the Week: May 19

Vincent Cervino
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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...
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