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Tournaments  | Story | 12/24/2021

Regional Review: California

Photo: Marcelo Mayer (Perfect Game)
Regional Review: Texas

With the Perfect Game scouting staff spread throughout the country and another action-packed season in the books, we'll take a look back at some highlights from individual states over the next couple of weeks, from the 13u level all the way up through the collegiate ranks and the MLB Draft.

Biggest 13u/14u Breakout Player
Zach Strickland is someone to keep an eye on as we enter the new year, as he won this year’s National 14u Pitcher of the Year. He features a tall, lean, athletic build with plenty of room to add more muscle as he matures. The right-handed pitcher can run his fastball up to 89 mph with good life and swing-and-miss ability. When I first saw Strickland in March his velocity was dominating his competition, but was still trying to find the strike zone here and there. He kept his head down and kept working and started to climb in the rankings, earning himself an invite to the 2021 14u Select Festival, where he was named the National Pitcher of the Year and is currently ranked the No. 1 right-handed pitcher in California and is nationally ranked No. 2. The UCLA commit has a promising future and will be fun to watch over the years.



Biggest Moment in College
Stanford hosted a regional for the fourth straight season, dominated their bracket, then had to travel to Lubbock, Texas to face No. 8 Texas Tech, where they dominated as well and took the series in the first two games to advance to the College World Series. In game one of the CWS they faced a tough loss to NC State, but came back strong and took it to the Arizona Wildcats to advance. Next facing Vanderbilt, they battled and took the lead early, but ultimately fell to the Commodores. The pitching staff dominated all year and got stronger as the season went on. Offensively, the team was led in every offensive category by sophomore Brock Jones, a strong, physically-built outfielder with great power and a lot of speed that played well on both ends of the ball.

Biggest Breakout/Ranking Riser
Ethan Hedges had a big summer, as he made some noise in the PG 17u World Series. He caught the attention of scouts early as he crushed the ball all weekend to all fields and had several home runs, pitched well, and made some awesome plays defensively. He came to the tournament under the radar, with not many scouts knowing who he was, and left with a few college scholarships offers. The USC commit features a lean athletic build with a very projectable body and room to add more muscle. He has a violent, compact swing that stays long through the zone, consistently generating line drives to all fields. Defensively, he moves well and has good range to both sides of the ball with good arm strength. When he gets on the mound, he'll get his fastball to 92 mph with good arm-side run.

Biggest Draft Moment
The first prep player picked in the 2021 MLB Draft came from California in shortstop Marcelo Mayer, who was taken by the Boston Red Sox with the No. 4 overall pick. Marcelo was ranked the No. 1 shortstop and overall player in California per Perfect Game, where he finished ranked No. 2 nationally in the final player rankings installment. He is very athletic, very smooth defensively, and offensively could do it all with good speed. Mayer was set to attend USC prior to getting drafted and he'll continue to rise and excel at whatever level he plays at and will be a good one to follow in this year’s season.

Top Travel Teams
There are a few organizations that rank in the top-five programs in California in a few age divisions. CBA Marucci National is ranked No. 1 in both the 18u and 17u divisions. The San Diego Show holds a top-five position in three different age groups, as they are ranked No. 5 in both the 18u and 14u age groups and ranked No. 2 in the 17u division. Alpha Prime is another top contender, as they are ranked top-three in four age groups; ranked No. 1 in 16u and 15u and No. 3 in 18u and in 17u. BPA has a top-five ranking in three different age groups. They are ranked No. 5 in 17u, No. 2 in 16u, and No. 3 in 15u. The MVP Hustle is ranked No. 2 in both 15u and 14u divisions. The ZT Prospects have a few teams in the top-five in the younger divisions, as they are ranked No. 1 in both 14u and 13u divisions and have a third place team in the 14u division as well. All these programs have great coaches across the board that produce good athletes years after year. These teams compete and usually have a top finish in the tournaments they play in.

A Look Ahead:



College

Youth may prevail at UCLA in 2022 as they had their best recruiting class in recent memory and there are many holes to fill. The Bruins return just 6 starts from last year’s staff, but they are armed with a bevy of talented arms in the freshman class, including Thatcher Hurd, currently the top-ranked collegian in the 2024 draft class. From the left side, Gage Jump came off an outstanding senior campaign at JSerra and looks primed for an impactful role. Ethan Flanagan, Alonzo Tredwell and Luke Jewett all had some injuries in their senior years of high school and could have roles in 2022.



The Bruins lost a lot of at-bats from last year’s squad to the draft and they have some freshman that could step in right away. Cody Schrier (ranked No. 5 in 2024 draft class) looks primed to have an early impact somewhere on the dirt (they have a lot of talent that can play multiple positions). In the outfield, Malakhi Knight and Nick McLain were both starting in fall looks.  



Long Beach State

Coach Valenzuela and his staff have recruited and developed a team that has gotten them back to their true Dirtbag roots, featuring pitching and a blue collar approach to the game. Luis Ramirez and Jack Noble return to anchor the weekend rotation and Team USA reliever Devereaux Harrison returns as closer and could also be stretched out to a longer role. Juaron Watts-Brown and Marques Johnson are two arms that impressed in fall looks. Connor Burns returns behind the dish, a standout defender that can handle the staff and can really throw. Sophomore Jonathon Long can swing the bat and is expected to be one of their key hitters in the middle of the lineup.
 
High School

In California the high school discussion generally starts in the Trinity League, and once again it will be loaded with talented teams and draft talent. Perennial power Orange Lutheran has three of the top-10 ranked players in California, led by Perfect Game All-American Mikey Romero (ranked No. 3), lefty Oliver Santos (ranked No. 4) and catcher Karson Bowen (ranked No. 9). Add 2023 infielder Casey Borba and Derek Curiel (No. 1 in nation for 2024 class) to that group and you have a very deep and talented squad. The Trinity League is a gauntlet with tough series every week. Look for Santa Margarita to make some noise with a young nucleus of talent. JSerra will plug in a new batch of talent and rely on some youth and two big arms in David Horn and Tyler Gough. Servite has some big arms and a deep lineup featuring 2022 Jarrod Hocking and Roman Martin.

Some of the usual suspects outside of the Trinity League that are expected to have big years, CIF Champions Harvard Westlake reloaded for 2022 and will have a pair of 2024 arms to lean heavily on in Bryce Rainer and Duncan Marsten to eat up innings. Huntington Beach has depth and talent led by Raffaele Velazquez (No. 13 in the state), one of the most pure hitters in the class. Yucaipa is loaded once again, with commits all over the field, including Jacob Reimer (No. 20 in state for 2022), Owen Egan (No. 14 in state for 2023) and Daniel Arambula (No. 22 in state for 2024). Corona will have one of the deeper lineups with three committed sophomores joining seniors Andrew Walters and transfer Troy McCain.

Further north, Buchanan is locked and loaded for 2022 with D-I commits all over, headlined by 2022 RHP Sam Tookoian (No. 34 in the state), an Ole Miss commit. Twin brothers Jared Lewis (No. 22 in state) and Jordan Lewis (No. 26 in state) headline a talented San Ramon Valley team chalked with D-I commits.

Some up-and-coming teams that will be exciting to follow for the next few years are San Dimas, which had nine freshmen on their varsity roster last year, five which are now committed (along with one 2025 commit). Aquinas, led by Eric Bitonti (No. 2 in state), is another young team establishing themselves as one of the better private programs in the Inland Empire.

Tournaments | Story | 12/19/2025

13u Tourney All-American Team

Jheremy Brown
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What a year it was in 2025 on the national landscape at the 13u level as Perfect Game continues to expand its reach around the country, providing an even bigger schedule of events coast-to-coast which has allowed players all over show out and gain their deserved recognition. Whether in Texas for the Houston 1000 or the 13u WWBA in West Palm Beach, we saw huge, eye opening performances from the players placed below, knowing that we could EASILY build a third team and likely a fourth without much effort.  As we do every year with this exercise, it's worth pointing out the trickiness of this age group and putting the teams together with the 13u group. While the players are all members of the Class of 2030, some are younger for the grade, which allowed them to play at the 12u level where's it's a smaller field, shorter mound distance and different bats, so we'll separate them out and...
Draft | Story | 12/22/2025

2025 Year in Review: Draft

Isaiah Burrows
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2025 Year in Review: Draft We’ve reached the end of the 2025 calendar year, and while we’ve already jumped in on the 2026 cycle with some of the fall events and post-draft content we’ve had here at Perfect Game, there’s still one more piece on the docket, and that’s the 2025 Year-In-Review piece here from the PG Draft staff.  The 2025 MLB Draft took place in July, when many highly talented players heard their names called and continued their journey through the game to the next level. There’s already been some of those names making noise in the minors and guys who are moving up prospect lists and becoming names to know for MLB fans digging deep into the future of their organizations. While we are going to “close the book” on 2025 with this article, these players still have many years ahead of them, and many blank pages to continue...
College | Recruiting | 12/22/2025

Recruiting Notebook: December 22

Jheremy Brown
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Lucien Saint Cyr, INF, Class of 2026 Commitment: Bucknell Saint Cyr announced his pledge to Bucknell, giving the Bison an interesting blend of present tools and projection. Saint Cyr stands 6-foot-1 and offers room to fill in his medium frame, profiling in the middle infield defensively. The New York product starts wide at the base in the right-handed box, keeping his hands high behind the ear. He works into a subtle outward step load, firing through a compact barrel that showcases bat speed and gap-to-gap impact. For head coach Scott Heather and Bucknell, they land a high-quality Northeast infielder in the ’26 cycle, adding to a class that takes the quality over quantity approach. Patrick Diaz ('26, NY) 102 EV off the bat. Impact to the pull side. #PGNational @PGMidAtlantic @PG_Uncommitted pic.twitter.com/NN0L3FRdO9 — PG Showcases (@PGShowcases) July 9, 2025 Patrick Diaz,...
High School | General | 12/19/2025

Huntington Beach HS World Series Recap

Steve Fiorindo
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MVPitcher: Duncan McLeod The uncommitted junior toed the slab in three of the four games for Team Mick, tossing 3 2/3 innings.  Zero walks, zero hits and 6 punchouts for the lefty who was used both as a starter in the series clinching game 4 and he closed out game 3 on Friday in quick fashion.  McLeod was very efficient as well, needing just 42 pitches over all his outings.  In the game 4 start, over two innings he punched out 3, with one strikeout with all of his offerings.  The mid 80’s fastball regularly played up, set up with efficient use of the secondaries, with the breaking ball 73/74 and fading change-up 72-74.   Owen Bone (2026) at it again... Solo shot in the 5th to tie things up. Back to back days with a home run for Bone. #PGHS pic.twitter.com/2JC9qETI5h — Perfect Game California (@California_PG) December 13, 2025 MV Hitter: ...
Tournaments | Story | 12/18/2025

14u Tourney All-American Team

Tyler Russo
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Player of the Year: Asher Williams It was an incredible year for Williams that was rewarded with a trip to the 14U Select Fest, before some more impressive play in the fall. He came to the plate almost 250 times in PG tournaments throughout 2025 and reached base in well over half of them, hitting to a .500 AVG while slugging a 14U circuit best 12 bombs and driving in 113 runs. The numbers on the surface are ridiculous, but when you look at the high-level events he put them up in, it makes it even more impressive. Pitcher of the Year: Tristan Blalock Blalock earns this honor after a dominant 2025 where he struck out 85 batters in just 48.2 innings of work with a minuscule 1.58 ERA. This included several strong performances at many national level tournaments and showcases where he was able to bully some of the best hitters in the country. It’s hard not to fall in love with...
Draft | Story | 12/18/2025

PG Draft: Gut Feel Guys

Tyler Henninger
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While we are nearing the turn of the calendar to the 2026 year, that means we are just inching closer to the beginning of the season for many high school players and college baseball is on the horizon. We are prepping for a reshuffle of the 2026 MLB Draft Board as well here amongst the PG Draft staff. But before we get to that, we sat down and have each picked a couple of players who are in the mix to get selected in a couple of different buckets.  We have prospects who could go into the Top 30 picks or so, prospects who could be selected in the Top 5 rounds, and prospects who could go inside of the Top 10 rounds. With the draft quite far down the road and a lot of re-shuffling to be done as these players play themselves into certain spots on the draft board, our scouts picked some players who fit into these “buckets” who are gut-feel guys. These are the guys that our PG...
Tournaments | Story | 12/17/2025

15u Tourney All-American Team

Jason Phillips
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Hitter of the Year: Landon Bonner The 2028 class saw many players from across the country take the next step in their development as they entered the High School ranks. There were huge performances from highly ranked players on the PG circuit as well as some under-the-radar guys who burst onto the scene. Landon Bonner came into Sophomore National as a Top 500 ranked player and after an impressive showing, left with all eyes on him as a rankings riser in the class. The left-handed hitting shortstop from The Colony, Texas, had a summer to remember with All-Tournament Team selections in three of his next four events culminating with a historic performance at the 2025 PG 15U WWBA National Championship. The Hebron High School prep went 20-for-24 in nine games for 5 Star Mafia 15U Black with four homeruns and 12 runs batted in. He also scored 17 runs and finished with a mind-boggling 2.500...
Tournaments | Story | 12/16/2025

16u Tourney All-American Team

AJ Denny
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Hitter of the Year: Koa Romero is the Hitter of the Year for the 16u group, as he would come to every premier event of the summer and earn All-Tournament honors (Beast of the East, 16/17u WWBA, Jupiter) in every single one. Over 82 plate appearances, Romero would pump ten homeruns with forty two RBI and sixteen walks, good for a .378 average and 1.339 OPS. The performance on volume at the best events of the year pushed Romero over the edge here, as he’d hit a pair of homeruns in Jupiter (one of them at 112 EV) as an underclassmen and collect double digit hits in BOTH WWBA events with a combined six jacks over the two tournaments. It was a summer that combined performance and winning on the biggest stages for Romero. It’s a quiet left-handed swing that packs a punch. He would reap the benefits of his performances, earning a commitment to LSU and jumping to the #74 prospect in...
College | Recruiting | 12/15/2025

Recruiting Notebook: December 15

John McAdams
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Tucker Rice (27 MS) bumping up to 91; living hi-80s from real fast arm. Good SL @ 77-79 w/ depth & sold w/ intent. Loads of traits & strikes. #WWBA @PG_Uncommitted @PG_DeepSouth pic.twitter.com/DEjFqRcsIY — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) July 6, 2025 Tucker Rice, RHP, Class of 2027 Commitment: Alabama Alabama has continued to stay red hot in the recruiting trail ever since August 1st rolled around on the calendar and have continued to stack major pieces in their ’27 class. They dip into Mississippi to land one of the premier arms and one that’s stood out on the circuit for quite some time. It’s a fast arm and the athleticism certainly shines working down the slope. The velocity has continued to tick up over the last calendar year and reached into the low-90s towards the end of the summer. He’s confident in his changeup and the breaking ball is...
Tournaments | Story | 12/15/2025

17u Tourney All-American Team

Vincent Cervino
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There’s a lot of talent throughout this 2026 class, filled with the big-name stars, to talent that spreads across the nation. It’s been a lot of fun seeing these prospects grow and develop over the years, from the days of watching some of these guys at the 13/14u days at events on the circuit, to now where they are all graduating seniors in 2026. There’s been new faces who have popped along the way over the years, even in 2026, where some players who were relatively undiscovered, have come out and made a name for themselves with a statement performance. Between the familiar and the new, there’s a lot of names on this list that are going to be quite regularly talked about on the circuit, and for good reason.  Whether it’s PG All-Americans or not, there’s a lot of names with superstar potential at the next level. We’ve got 14 PG All-Americans...
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