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Tournaments  | Story | 7/1/2019

Klassen creates more hype

Photo: George Klassen (Perfect Game)

EMERSON, Ga. – George Klassen rocked back in his delivery with an overhead windup, worked downhill, and used his long stride to generate uncommon power on his first pitch of the game. 

The scoreboard at LakePoint Sports Complex flashed the two digits that sent the crowd into a hushed roar: 95 mph.

Oohs and aahs filled the background. College coaches and scouts did a double take and rechecked their own radar guns. One onlooker let out an expletive. 

Klassen unleashed his next pitch. 95 again. It was a consistent theme all night for Klassen whose fastball never dipped below 90 mph. The GRB Rays pitcher also showcased a devastating slider, revealing why Klassen is now the No. 73 overall player in the 2020 class. 

“He’s certainly an electric arm,” head coach Greg Reinhard said. “He does things that a lot of people can’t do. He’s got a plus breaking ball that he throws extremely hard for his age. When he throws strikes with his stuff, he’s about as unhittable as people can be.”

The 6-foot-2, 165-pound righthander was nearly unhittable Sunday night as he limited the Beast Mode Prime 17u offense to just one hit over five innings pitched. Klassen walked one batter and struck out three in the GRB Rays 7-0 victory. It was simply another look at the talented pitching that GRB lines up after Reece Lawler and Ryan Stefiuk turned in dominant starts earlier in the tournament.

Klassen’s rapid rise to the prospect that he is today began earlier in June when he attended the Perfect Game National Showcase in Arizona. Despite the uncustomary stifling heat for Klassen, a Wisconsin native, he began to turn some heads with his performance on the bump. 

After decommitting from Purdue earlier in the month when head coach Matt Wasikowski left for Oregon, Klassen quickly became one of the hottest uncommitted commodities on the market.

“It was a drastic change from what it was before,” Klassen said. “Maybe two days after my phone blew up. A lot of schools to choose from, but I’m keeping it open right now.

“After Arizona and after I decommitted, it was a whole new world for me. It’s pretty crazy.”

Despite the swift spike in interest, Klassen still maintains that his favorite part of the whole experience this week at the 2019 WWBA 17u National Championship is the memories he’s making with everyone on the team. He’s the same player who will quip with his teammates and let his actions on the mound speak for themselves.

“He’s a great personality in the dugout,” Reinhard said. “He’s not walking around like he’s gotten all the attention. He handles it how a professional does.”

Right now as it stands, Klassen named Kentucky as his top choice. He noted that he’s also interested in Washington, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt, but even more suitors might come calling following Sunday’s outing.

“I really liked the coaches there [at Kentucky],” Klassen said. “That’s probably my No. 1 right now because that’s the only place I’ve visited so far. I really like that place.”

Wherever Klassen decides to play his college ball, Reinhard is positive that it will be a well-thought out decision that will provide the best future for the talented hurler.

“A lot of times kids have different situations where they feel they’re not in control of the recruiting situation,” Reinhard said. “He certainly has played it where he’s in control. He’s not in any rush and he’s not getting pressured. Making a sound decision is probably his goal.”

Opposing Klassen on the bump was Beast Mode Prime’s Jaylen Paden. Paden was no slouch either, using his 5-foot-10 frame to produce a fastball that topped out at 92 mph and a slurvy breaking ball for a swing-and-miss pitch. 

Unfortunately Beast Mode Prime was undone by some early errors, but Paden still struck out eight over five innings, surrendering only two hits, one walk, and one earned run.

“He fills it up,” Beast Mode Prime head coach Pete Sass said. “He gives us a chance to win every time he steps on the mound. He just gives energy and that’s all you can ask for.”

Like Klassen, Paden is uncommitted and going through his own recruiting process. The Lilburn, Georgia native is currently the No. 372 ranked player nationally in the 2020 class. So far, he’s heard the most interest from Eastern Kentucky University, UAB, Southern, Stetson and Missouri. 

Despite the brilliance that he flashed on the mound, Paden still contends that shortstop is his favorite position. It’s why his favorite player to watch is Andrelton Simmons and his “smooth action” in the infield. Paden is the three-hole batter in Sass’s lineup, hitting a grand slam earlier in the day on Sunday. When Sass looks at Paden, he sees a complete player who’s work off the field is most impressive.

“He works hard and he keeps a level mind,” Sass said. “I know whatever he does, he’s going to do it well. Off the field he’s always focused. That then turns into the game. I think he’s a legit two-way guy at the next level.”

It’s the beauty of the 17u WWBA. Those players previously overlooked for a variety of reasons can let their play on the field speak loudest to all those in attendance waiting to hear. It’s what Paden is attempting to do with the help of the greatest influence on his baseball career.

“My dad has been pushing me since I was younger,” Paden said. “He’s been telling me to keep grinding. I might start off a little slow just because of my size, but as long as I keep grinding and stay committed to it, it’ll work out in the end.”

Tournaments | Story | 4/9/2026

Don't Boot the Loot Scout Notes

Cam McElwaney
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‘30 UTL Chase Jelks (GA) lifts this one deep into the gap & rolls around the bags for a triple. Loose LH swing w/ feel to lift. #DontBootTheLoot @PG_Georgia pic.twitter.com/leF4GMTawJ — Perfect Game Youth (@PGYouthBB) April 4, 2026 Chase Jelks (2030, Atlanta, Ga.) put together a great weekend for The Dream 14u Black in their run to a championship game appearance, hitting .444 with two triples and a double along with three RBI. He controlled the zone throughout the event in the box and finished with a 6:1 BB:K ratio because of it while also swiping five bags as well. It was a strong showing for Jelks, something that’s becoming common this spring in PG events.    ‘30 MIF Cohen Carter (TN) hits this one on the screws into the gap for a triple. Functional & compact swing. #DontBootTheLoot @PG_Tennessee pic.twitter.com/YVUfxbHBxx — Perfect Game...
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Troy Sutherland
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Another week of conference play down and Johnson County continues there tear through the spring of 2026, they retain the top spot with Gaston nipping their heels at number 2 for the third consecutive week. McLennan jumps up to number 3 with a big series sweep over rival Texas powerhouse, Weatherford. Out west, Cochise just keeps rolling in the desert and California looks to be hotly contested all the way down the final stretch. A couple of debut appearances down the board with Harford, CCF, and Linn Benton all earning their spot on our top 25 for the first time in the first week of April. So many great records out there it will be interesting to see how it all shakes out with so many teams vying for seeding and conference championships on this final stretch run. Rank Team Record 1 Johnson County (KS) 38-2 2 Gaston (NC) 38-3 3 McLennan (TX) 29-7 4 Chipola (FL) 34-7 5 Walters State (TN)...
College | Rankings | 4/8/2026

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Nick Herfordt
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We are past the midpoint of the college baseball season and the stakes are rising by the week. Conference races are tightening, schedules are getting harder, and the résumés that will matter in the selection room are being written right now — one series at a time. This week's most significant development came in Division II, where North Greenville swept Young Harris in three consecutive one-run games to claim the top spot for the first time this season, knocking Tampa from a perch they've held most of the year. It's a genuine changing of the guard at the top, and it's exactly the kind of shakeup that makes this stretch of the season worth paying close attention to. Across all three divisions the picture is coming into focus. In Division I NAIA, Georgia Gwinnett remains the standard while Taylor and Cumberlands continue to make their cases from behind. In Division III,...
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Perfect Game Staff
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Brooks Mitchell-Birdsell (2027, Atkins, Iowa) was solid on both sides of the ball this weekend. He was able to show a clean move working into it, with the feel to impact it out in front and drive hard through contact. He had good barrel accuracy with feel to drive the ball well, especially working pull-side. He was 4-for-8 on the weekend with a double to his credit, driving in 7 runs as well. Mitchell-Birdsell also put together a good outing on the mound, delivering 2 innings of scoreless work with 3 punchouts. He worked the low 80s with some run, flashing a mid-70s curveball with good 11-5 shape and depth.  Maddux Mueller (2026, Amana, Iowa) LH bat with plenty to like in the batter’s box, and he put together a solid showing this weekend. He finished 2-for-3 with a double, demonstrating both contact ability and the capacity to drive the baseball for extra bases. Mueller...
College | Story | 4/7/2026

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Craig Cozart
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April 7th Perfect Game/Player of the Week:  Andrew Williamson, OF, UCF  The UCF Knights (20-9) are coming off one of their biggest series victories in years when they went to Morgantown and took down the Mountaineers to take control of the Big 12 regular season standings.  The offense put on quite the performance and Andrew Williamson set the tone by leaving the yard in his first at-bat of the weekend launching a towering home run over the centerfield wall.  The 6-0/195 lefty from St. Petersburg, FL has one of the sweetest strokes in the college game today and when he goes, so do the Knights.  In the 3-game series, the junior collected 6 hits in his 10 at-bats, scoring 6 runs, on 5 walks, a double and he launched 3 home runs all told.  While he had a stretch earlier in the season where he was searching for his stroke a bit, he is getting locked in at the...
College | Rankings | 4/6/2026

College Top 25: April 6

Vincent Cervino
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With another week in the books, some teams at the top continue to prove they are elite, and others continue to fall by the wayside.  Meanwhile, there were several teams that had been lingering outside the Top 25 that had huge weekends to put themselves in the thick of things as every weekend has significant consequences for good or for bad.  The No. 1 UCLA Bruins (29-2) have now pushed their win streak to an incredible 23-games as they swept USC (27-6) who was previously ranked No. 7 in the poll.  The Bruins are off to a perfect (15-0) start in Big Ten play and are without a doubt the most complete team in the country right now.  The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (26-5) move up to No. 2 this week after they dismantled now No. 12 Auburn (22-9) in the midweek and then swept Cal on the West Coast last weekend.  Texas (26-5) moves down one spot to No. 3 this week after...
Draft | Mock Draft | 4/3/2026

PG Staff Mock Draft

Jheremy Brown
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Welcome to another Perfect Game Mock Draft. This is not your typical mock draft as it features 15 different GMs drafting the first two rounds of the draft. Each member of the mock draft was assigned two teams and as such will be drafting all of the picks in the first two rounds for each responsible team. The actual draft order will be presented below and we will dive into how teams made their selections and how they feel about the players drafted. It is important to note that this is not how we think the draft will play out in almost any capacity. This is simply an exercise 4 months ahead of time with a large portion of the scouting staff and some picks fall under personal favorites, best available, and a multitude of other factors. Chicago White Sox 1:1 Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA | 1:41 Jack Radel, RHP, Notre Dame The White Sox don’t overthink here and select Roch Cholowsky, who has...
High School | General | 4/2/2026

High School Notebook: April 2

Steve Fiorindo
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Cam McElwaney
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All American Classic Heading to Citizens Bank

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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 DICK’S ALL-AMERICAN CLASSIC HEADED TO CITIZENS BANK PARK IN 2026   Perfect Game makes debut at iconic Phillies venue during America’s 250th birthday celebration   Former Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel named Honorary Chairman of All-American Classic   Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Thursday, April 2, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced that the 2026 Perfect Game DICK’S All-American Classic will be played at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, marking the first time a Perfect Game event has ever been held at the iconic home of the Philadelphia Phillies.   The game will take place on...
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