THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,802 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,802 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Create Account
Sign in Create Account
Tournaments  | Story | 10/8/2018

Co-champs wear Under crown

Jeff Dahn
Photo: WWBA Underclass World co-champs (Perfect Game)



FORT MYERS, Fla. – None of the top teams that arrived here five days ago for this year’s Perfect Game WWBA Underclass World Championship wanted to leave with the word “co-champion” in front of their name. Please, can we just leave the "co" at the door as we're walking out.

But no one left jetBlue Park on Monday afternoon particularly disappointed or with a bone to pick when the Scorpions 2020 Founders Club and the East Cobb Astros 17u – the Nos. 1 and 2 playoff seeds, respectively – did in fact depart as co-champs. In a round-about way, perhaps, it felt like this outcome was the most appropriate way to recognize these two terrific teams without picking sides.

With the score tied 1-1 heading into the top of the eighth inning, the lightning warning siren wailed and the rain began to fall, and both coaching staffs and PG officials decided to bring the national championship event to a close; both teams finished with 7-0-1 records.

“It was a good week all-in-all, and obviously we would have liked to complete this game, but it’s raining pretty hard so it probably wouldn’t have worked,” the Scorpions 2020 Founders Club’s Matt Gerber said postgame.

No, it probably wouldn’t have, and this way players and coaches from both teams were able to be fitted for PG national championship rings down in jetBlue Park’s main concourse while the rain continued to fall; they are both deserving of those rings.

The championship game settled into a pitcher’s affair early on, but also one of missed opportunities on the Scorpions’ side. They left two runners on base in the first inning and the bases loaded in the second before finally breaking through in the bottom of the third when they were trailing 1-0.

Even then, the run they scored was unearned when Richie Morales led off by reaching on an error and eventually scored on a one-out fielder’s choice with CJ Kayfus doing the hitting. Seven 2020 Founders Club hitters singled in the game, and those were the only hits they had. The 3-through-5 batters in the Club’s order finished a combined 0-for-10 with three strikeouts, leaving numerous runners on base.

The Astros 17u had taken the lead in the top of the third when AJ Fiechter – who fielded his shortstop position with aplomb throughout the game – came up with a one-out single, Tiger Borom walked and Brad Grenkoski chased Fiechter home with a two-out double.

Astros 17u 2020 right-hander Zack Henderson worked the first 5 1/3 innings and surrendered only the one unearned run on seven hits.

One of the biggest turning points in the game came when Astros’ 17u head coach Josh Burrus handed the ball to 2020 right-hander Ethan Stamps with one-out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth. Stamps promptly struck out the first two batters he faced, and worked 1 2/3 hitless, scoreless innings, striking out four and walking one.

The Scorpions’ Zac Veen, a 6-foot-3, 175-pound 2020 outfielder/utility from Port Orange, Fla., and a Central Florida commit ranked No. 478 nationally in his class, was named the Most Valuable Player. Veen hit just .273 (6-for-22) but those hits included a double and a monstrous walk-off home run in the semis; all seven of his RBI came in the Scorps’ quarterfinal and semifinal games.

Astros 17u 2020 right-hander Will Sanders was named the Most Valuable Pitcher. A 6-foot-6, 185-pounder from Atlanta, Sanders – a top-1,000 uncommitted prospect – worked 10 1/3 innings over two appearances without giving up a run on five hits, striking out three and walking two.

Lightning and rain may have brought the curtain down on the PG WWBA Underclass World Championship an inning or two early, but both of these teams played at the top of their game over the last five days.

“Our guys played really, really hard and had a great week,” Gerber said. “We played some really quality opponents and the pitching was very good for us all week.”

The East Cobb Astros 17u’s Burrus was all-in on his guys, as well: “We played well all weekend, and it was all of our guys,” he said. “We kind of came here short-handed … but I’ve got to give all our guys credit; everybody played well. We had somebody different every game that stepped up and performed.

“Again, every game we had somebody different … coming through with the big hit to keep rallies going,” he added. … “There was no selfish baseball and that was the biggest thing. Everybody played for one another and it was team-first.”

The Scorpions 2020 FC outscored their three pool-play opponents 26-0 en route to the No. 1 seed, and also won their second- and third-round playoff games by shutout. It got more interesting in the quarters and semis where the run differential was 14-11.

The Astros 17u were right there, too, earning the No. 2 seed by outscoring their pool-play foes by a combined 25-1 and then their first four playoff opponents by a combined 26-5.

“Those were the big things I thought we did very well,” Burrus said. “Pitching and defense, we played both lights-out, and we had some timely hitting.

Sanders pitched six innings of three-hit, shutout ball to help the Astros 17u to a 7-0 victory over the No. 11 Canes National (6-1-0) in one of the semifinals played Monday morning at the jetBlue Park complex. Stamps singled, doubled, drove in two runs and scored two others for East Cobb, while Andrew Bennett had a pair of singles and drove in a run.

Veen crushed a 1-out, walk-off solo home run – an absolute bomb, in the words of one PG observer – in the bottom of the ninth to lead the Scorpions 2020 FC to a thrilling 6-5 victory over never-say-die No. 12 Team Louisiana in the other semifinal.

Veen also singled and doubled and finished with four RBI, and pitched four innings of relief, allowing one run on five hits. CJ Kayfus singled four times, drove in a run and scored twice for the Scorps.

Connor Simon (3), Brody Drost (2) and Matthew Russo (2) combined for seven of Team Louisiana’s 10 singles in the loss; Drost drove in two runs and Simon scored three.

“Sheets Baseball Team Louisiana was an awesome opponent,” the Scorpions’ Gerber said. “I’ve been doing this for a long time and hats off to those guys. They really play the game hard and in the right way.”

At the end of the day, yes, the Scorpions 2020 Founders Club and the East Cobb Astros 17u were the co-champions at the PG WWBA Underclass World Championship. And both coaches feel like their players have grown-up as a result of the experience.

“I hope they’ve gotten better this week,” Gerber said. “I was talking to the East Cobb coaches before the game, and this is how you get better; it’s about playing the game and playing the game at this level. If you look at the major leagues right now there are a lot of guys that went through Perfect Game and they’re young … and the fact of the matter is that I think these guys are getting prepared earlier and earlier to play the game at a high level.”

Burrus concurred: “Individually, they’re all good ballplayers but now they’ve really seen that playing together is much bigger,” he said. “When you play together big things and great things will happen to you and I hope that’s what they can take out of this weekend.”


2018 WWBA Underclass World Championship MVP: Zac Veen



2018 WWBA Underclass World Championship MV-Pitcher: Will Sanders
Give us your feedback
Tournaments | Story | 1/9/2026

PG Leaderboard: Class of 2030
Jheremy Brown
Article Image
Complete PG Leaderboard Database PG Leaderboard: Class of 2026 | Class of 2027 | Class of 2028 | Class of 2029 Today we wrap up our reviews of the 2026 thru 2030 class where we looked back on some of the eye opening metrics we saw from around the country, both in a showcase and tournament setting. To those not inside the youth baseball world, some of the metrics below would seem truly unattainable from current 8th graders, from the pair of 90 mph heaters courtesy of Amani Tuiasosopo and Kingston George, to upper-80s velocity from all over the field and multiple players north of 90 mph on the exit velocity testing (with wood), this 2030 class is one that has a chance to be special as we continue to watch it unfold moving forward.  Top Fastball Velocity  Rk Player FB Event School Hometown 1 Amani Tuiasosopo 90 2025 WWBA 14U World Championship Renton...
Read More
College | Rankings | 1/13/2026

Top 100 Collegiate Sophomores

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
Top 100 Collegiate Freshmen As we creep toward opening day here in a month or so, the draft team has put together the Top 100 sophomores on campus this spring.  This list is chalk full of talent, with future draft prospects littered top to bottom. The headliner of this group is Derek Curiel, a draft eligible sophomore that took the SEC by storm last spring. The Perfect Game All-American posted a .990 OPS over the course of a full season and is projected to vault himself further up the board during his ‘26 campaign. An electric arm in Dax Whitney follows up Curiel, with Strosnider, Lawson and Franco rounding out the top five.  Keep tabs on the draft eligible sophomores in this group come the summer. The rest of the pack are eligible for next year’s draft and figure to feature at the top of many draft lists in ‘27.  Rk. Name Level Pos. B-T School Hometown...
Read More
Draft | Rankings | 1/12/2026

Top 100 Collegiate Freshmen

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
As we creep toward opening day here in a month or so, the draft team has put together the Top 100 freshmen on campus this spring.  Three high-end arms lead the way, starting with Jack Bauer. The Mississippi State left-hander reached triple digits as a prep and is sure to make an immediate impact this spring. UCLA right-hander Angel Cervantes was selected in the 2nd round of last year’s draft but held firm on his commitment and should be an impact arm for the Bruins. Following the arms, a collection of bats rounds out the Top 10. There is loads of upside to the group with the potential and they should draw considerable playing time as freshman.  As the list gets deeper, there are plenty of players that should pop up and make significant contributions both this year and years down the line. The class has both depth and talent, making for a very intriguing group of...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 1/8/2026

PG Leaderboard: Class of 2029

Jheremy Brown
Article Image
Complete PG Leaderboard Database PG Leaderboard: Class of 2026 | Class of 2027 | Class of 2028 These players below are just entering their freshmen year's of high school, a scary though as you scroll through the 11 categories and see some of the eye opening numbers from the fastballs to the infield and outfield velocities, down to the Diamond Kinetic testing and their three sub-categories.  Top Fastball Velocity Rk Player FB Event Commitment School Hometown 1 Brody McCorkle 92 2025 18U PG Mid-Atlantic Fall Elite Championship Uncommitted Ranney Forked River, NJ 1 Caleb Polk 92 2025 14U Perfect Game Select Festival Uncommitted IMG Academy Dallas, TX 1 Knox Myers 92 2025 PG WWBA Freshman World Championship Uncommitted East Bay Riverview, FL 2 Alex Bello 91 2025 16U PG Fall World Series Uncommitted Montverde Academy Orlando, FL 2 Alex Bello 91 2025 14U Perfect Game...
Read More
College | Story | 1/9/2026

LSU Reloads & Returns; Opens No. 1

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
“How do you get to success? You have to honor the process that you built to get to that success…The standard is how we operate, train, and get better each day.”” Process-oriented leadership is a popular coaching strategy here in the mid-2020s but no one exemplifies that more than LSU head coach Jay Johnson. He’s won the Tigers two national titles during his time in Baton Rouge and expectations won’t be any lower in 2026 as LSU is the No. 1 team in the country in Perfect Game’s Preseason Top 25.  Johnson is heading into his fifth season at the helm in Baton Rouge and it’s fair to say that he has already experienced enormous success. There have been two national titles in four years (2023, 2025), a Golden Spikes winner (Dylan Crews, 2023), a first overall MLB Draft pick (Paul Skenes, 2023), and five first-round MLB Draft picks during...
Read More
Press Release | Press Release | 1/7/2026

PG Announces Naming Rights in Chesterfield

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
    667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923  www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    PERFECT GAME AND FIRST COMMUNITY CREDIT UNION ANNOUNCE CHESTERFIELD ATHLETIC COMPLEX    Landmark Partnership to Center on Community, Inclusion and Youth Sports    Chesterfield, Missouri (Wednesday, January 7, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, along with the City of Chesterfield, today announced  an exclusive naming rights partnership with First Community Credit Union (FCCU) for the Chesterfield Valley Athletic Complex. Effective immediately, the venue will be known as the “Chesterfield First Community Athletic...
Read More
College | Rankings | 1/8/2026

2026 Preseason Top 25

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
With an interesting and action-packed fall behind us, a new college season is just around the corner. The college game continues to prove it is alive and well as the Division 1 team count has now ballooned to 308 teams for the 2026 season. With new legislation allowing teams 5-weeks to prepare for opening day, many student athletes have returned to campus and will begin skill related workouts soon. Opening Day, as usual, will fall on Valentine’s Day weekend and it is just six weeks away. After a fall of evaluation and months of research and discussion, we are ready to release our annual Perfect Game pre-season Top 25 poll. After winning 53-games, hosting the NCAA Regional and Super Region, and sweeping their way through the College World, the LSU Tigers will debut the 2026 season as our No.1 ranked team. Head coach, Jay Johnson, has now led the Tigers to two national titles in the...
Read More
College | Story | 1/7/2026

Preseason Collegiate All-Americans

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
The transfer portal, JUCO gems, 6th year waivers and impact freshman; following the college game and figuring out rosters is basically a fulltime job nowadays. This is the new norm, and while the baseball purist may not like it, the college game has never been more exciting. It looks like 2026 is shaping up to be an incredible season with the balance of power seemingly spread out evenly from coast to coast. Like we seem to say every year, the depth and quality of talent has never been better, and the 2026 Perfect Game Pre-Season All-American teams will attest to that fact.With the 2026 College Baseball season is just around the corner, the Perfect Game college staff will have you loaded with coverage heading into the new year. On the heels of our Pre-Season Top 25 poll, the All-American list will be headlined by a banner sophomore class on the 1st team. The sweet lefthanded swings of...
Read More
College | Recruiting | 1/6/2026

Recruiting Notebook: January 6

Michael Albee
Article Image
Griffin Boesen (‘27, IA) shoots this one backside down the line. Adds his second hit of the day. Picked up a base knock. Physical LH bat w/ an ability to drive the baseball here. @IowaPG @PG_Uncommitted @CanesMidwest #WWBAWorlds https://t.co/pmpIzaAbLz pic.twitter.com/Qz0CHiS3P1 — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) October 13, 2025 Griffin Boesen, Class of 2027 Commitment: Duke Another top 100 prospect is off the board as the Corey Muscara led Duke Blue Devils picked up a physical two-way prospect in Boesen out of Florida recently. At 6-foot-5, 205 pounds, Boesen looks the part of a middle of the order type slugger and he's just that, showing lots of looseness and bat speed in his left-handed stroke and is coming off a Jupiter where he hit .700 (!!) as an underclassman while driving in 10 runs. The bat-to-ball skills are obvious as he simply hit at all the big stops in 2025,...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 1/7/2026

PG Leaderboard: Class of 2028

Jheremy Brown
Article Image
Complete PG Leaderboard Database PG Leaderboard: Class of 2026 | Class of 2027 Well, the fastball department is dominated by two arms in particular with Striker Pence and Dexter McCleon Jr. combining for almost 200 mph of velo between them on their peak heaters in 2025. That's just absolutely insane. The freakiness of the class continues down the boards with a 6.26 60-yard from Colton Fitzgibbon to the 88 mph hand cannon of Grant Arnold behind the plate to Christian Lux's 106 (!!!) mph exit velocity, this class has out of this world chart toppers. Even scarier? They don't graduate for another three years... Top Fastball Velocity Rk Player FB Event Commitment School Hometown 1 Striker Pence 101 2025 PG WWBA World Championship Uncommitted Santiago Corona, CA 2 Striker Pence 99 2025 PG 17U World Series - National Uncommitted Santiago Corona, CA 2 Striker Pence 99 2025 PG 16U WWBA...
Read More
Loading more articles...
About Perfect Game :: Contact us :: Terms of Use :: Privacy Policy :: Testimonials :: Job Opportunities
Copyright 1994-2026 by Perfect Game. All rights reserved. No portion of this information may be reprinted or reproduced without the written consent of Perfect Game.