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Tournaments  | Story | 7/20/2019

Upsets abound at Prospect Meadows

Photo: Josh Krulich (Perfect Game)

MARION, Iowa – With day one of playoff action done at the WWBA 17u Prospect Meadows National Championship, half of the 33 original teams have been eliminated. Only 16 remain. Even so, there was a trio of upsets and one extra-innings rematch from the first round of tournament action.

NorthStar Neon knocks off No. 4 Windy City

The biggest upset of the day would arguably have to go to NorthStar Baseball 17u Neon. After a 0-3-1 finish in pool play, they nearly doubled their number of runs scored with a 6-3 victory over Windy City-Herbert

While Windy City was undefeated heading into the game, NorthStar didn’t break a sweat. Instead, NorthStar forced three walks in the first inning before Nick Friedman drilled a line drive double to center field for two RBIs. Friedman also earned the win on the mound, striking out five batters and spreading out eight hits amongst five innings of work.

“Honestly I think we’re better than a 0-3-1 team. We didn’t play well in pool play, but we came today with a much more aggressive approach, did much better at the plate and jumped on them for six early,” head coach Jake Plucinak said. “I think the energy we carried was the biggest difference between our first four games and today.”

As a team, NorthStar created six runs off of three hits, but the majority of their offense came from being patient at the plate. NorthStar earned 11 trips to first via walks. Spencer Krohn came in relief, tallying two loud strikeouts and only allowing one hit.

NorthStar Navy dominates Indians

NorthStar Baseball 17u Navy also pulled off an impressive upset, kicking off tournament play with a dominating 13-2 victory over the no. 13 Illinois Indians.

The game was scoreless until the third inning when NorthStar exploded for 10 runs. It seemed like they got on base every way possible, from hits and errors to walks and hit batters. NorthStar had already scored six runs before designated hitter Matt Olive came up to bat. With two outs and the bases loaded, he drilled one over the fence for the tournament's only grand slam.

The Indians tried to rally in the bottom of the inning, scoring two runs, but were unable to recover. NorthStar added a single run in the fourth and two in the fifth to make the final score of 13-2. Olive went 4-for-4 from the plate with five RBIs. Kieran Schmitz and Peter Tveite split time on the mound, combining for six strikeouts and three hits.

The two NorthStar teams will find out who is the best head-to-head as they face off in the quarterfinals.

“I’m sure they will be favored, but we’re going to give them a run,” Plucinak said of NorthStar Navy. “It’ll be fun. I’m sure there’ll be a lot of friendly trash talk.”

Navy enters as the No. 20 seed while Neon is No. 29.

Cangelosi White holds off Northern Illinois Reds

It didn’t matter that Cangelosi Sparks 2020 White was facing off against a future Division I pitcher. Instead, they stepped up to the plate and smacked 10 hits, fueling them toward a 7-5 win over the No. 10 Northern Illinois Reds.

Cangelosi scored first in the top of the fifth as Nick Muscolino drove in Jake Mucha off a single to right field. That was only the beginning, though, as Cangelosi’s offense sparked for six runs in the seventh. The Reds rallied, though, coming up just one run short.

With the tying run up to bat, closer Luke Sefcik forced a ground ball to first. With only one out needed, second baseman Ethan Imlach put away the game with a caught pop fly.

Offensively, Trevor King, Chase Jankowski and Jake Hesselmann led the way with two hits each. King and Adam Huekels drove in two runs apiece as well. On the mount, four Sparks split time, combining for three strikeouts and giving up four hits.

Cangelosi will take on No. 7 Michigan Select. Cangelosi Sparks 2020 Black is also still alive in the tournament and will face off against No. 14 STIKS Academy Red as the No. 3 seed. 

Lightning strikes against Starters

It took eight innings to decide the winner of Illinois Lightning and MN Starters 17u. But between Noah Deluga’s expertise on the mound and timely hitting in extra innings, the Lightning got it done. While it might not have been an upset, the crowd was on the edge of their seats as Breck Nowik singled to left field, driving in the winning run in the bottom of the eighth for a 1-0 shutout victory.

Deluga showed excellent work on the mound, striking out 10 batters and only allowing a pair of hits, both to Starters’ Robert Hogan. For the Lightning, Nowik had two of the team’s four hits.

No. 9 Illinois Lightning will take on No. 8 St. Louis Prospects Scout Kirchner next. 

For more information on the tournament, visit the Event Page.




Tournaments | Story | 1/9/2026

PG Leaderboard: Class of 2030

Jheremy Brown
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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...
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Vincent Cervino
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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...
Draft | Rankings | 1/12/2026

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Vincent Cervino
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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...
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Jheremy Brown
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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...
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Vincent Cervino
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“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...
Press Release | Press Release | 1/7/2026

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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 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...
College | Rankings | 1/8/2026

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Vincent Cervino
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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...
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Vincent Cervino
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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...
College | Recruiting | 1/6/2026

Recruiting Notebook: January 6

Michael Albee
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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,...
Tournaments | Story | 1/7/2026

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Jheremy Brown
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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...
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