THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,801 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,801 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Create Account
Sign in Create Account
Tournaments  | Story | 10/12/2019

SC Panthers fit to be tied

Photo: Cooper King (Perfect Game)

JUPITER, Fla. – It’s a phrase that’s been uttered time and time again throughout the history of athletic competition, even if in this age of extra innings, overtimes and sudden-death finishes it’s not quite as relevant as it once might have been.

But it is relevant during pool-play games at Perfect Game tournaments throughout the year, and it goes a little something like this: “Settling for a tie is a little like kissing your sister” which is meant in the context that a tie doesn’t offer any palpable reward – except when it does.

The South Charlotte Panthers 2020 and the Scorpions Honor the Game skirmished to a 0-0 tie in their pool-play finale at the PG WWBA World Championship on Saturday morning in front of dozens of scout-laden golf carts, an outcome that handed the pool championship to the Panthers based on tie-breaking criteria.

South Charlotte outscored its three pool-play opponents by a combined 15-4 compared to Honor the Game’s 13-5 cumulative total. That runs-against differential was good enough for the Panthers to earn the automatic bid into Sunday’s 32-team playoff field; the Scorpions Honor the Game earned one of the nine wild card berths into bracket-play.

“We had scouted (the Scorpions) a couple of times and we knew they were an outstanding ballclub with some real competitive kids and they played the game the right way,” long-time South Charlotte program owner/head coach Don Hutchins told PG postgame on Saturday.

“Most times ties do feel like kissing your sister, but this one really didn’t because … we threw the ball really, really well, they threw the ball really, really well,” he said. “There was some offense but not a lot, and at the end of the day we come out at 0-0 and that moves us into tomorrow and the playoffs, which is what you come down here to do.”

There wasn’t a lot of offense because the pitchers from both sides who took their turns on the mound were nothing short of stellar.

Cooper King got the start for South Charlotte and did absolutely everything that could have been expected of him. A 6-foot-3, 180-pound top-500 2020 right-hander and a North Carolina State commit, King worked five sparkling, shutout innings, allowing just two hits while striking out six and walking one.

He threw just 73 pitches, watched his fastball reach 90 mph and was especially effective with his 73 mph slider.

“That was a really good team … and they were playing, like, awesome,” King told PG postgame. “They had a lot of energy at 8 a.m. and we came out and played really good defense. We didn’t hit much but we did enough to keep the pressure on and it was just a really good game.

“It felt good out there,” he added. “The slider was working well; I was really able to get into my legs and throw it kind of hard.”

King gave way to Cameron Arnold, a top-500 2020 left-hander and another N.C. State commit – there are seven on the Panthers 2020 roster – and he didn’t miss a beat. Arnold finished it off with two hitless, scoreless innings of relief with three strikeouts and one walk.

South Charlotte managed just four hits, two more than the Honor the Game squad. 2022 No. 138-ranked middle-infielder Parker Byrd tripled and Aiden Evans, Jacob Cozart and Carson Kelly each rapped singles.

“They did a great job pitching, both Cooper and Cameron; they dealed the whole game,” Byrd said. “We were just trying to get them some runs.”

Many of the players on the Scorpions Honor the Game also played on the Scorpions 2021 Founders Club team that finished as runner-up at last week’s PG WWBA Underclass World Championship in Fort Myers, so they were used to playing in pressure situations.

2021 right-hander Tj Melani got the start for the Scorps and matched King’s effort for five innings, allowing the four hits while striking out nine and walking one. Brandon Neely, another 2021 righty, threw two perfect innings, striking out two. They did their part but neither side was able to push across a run.

The South Charlotte Panthers 2020 reached this point of the tournament by beating the PG Navy Select, 11-1, in its pool-play opener and the fabled Ohio Warhawks, 4-3, in their second game. Outstanding performances from the mound carried the day earlier in the week just like they did on Saturday.

2020 right-hander Rhett Lowder, a top-500 Wake Forest commit, allowed one earned run on three hits with seven punch-outs in the win over the PG Navy. 2021 righty Jake Hunter, a No. 431-ranked East Carolina recruit, gave up one earned run on four hits with five strikeouts in six innings of work against the Warhawks.

“We lined-up out pitchers at the beginning of pool-play; we knew we needed to throw our best guys,” Hutchins said. “We just lined them up and they came through for us. Rhett Lowder led off the first game for us against Perfect Game Navy and threw a great game.

“He’s probably our number-one arm and they may not have been our number-one competitor, but I’ve been coming down here for 20 years and I’m a big believer in you’ve got to win that first one and go forward.”

While the Scorpions Honor the Game was recognized from the outset as an underclass team, the South Charlotte Panthers 2020 could by all rights be identified as an underclass team, as well.

The starting lineup featured the 2022 Byrd at second base, the 2022 Evans in center, 2022 Matt Heavner at short, 2022 Graham Smiley as the designated hitter, 2021 Carson Kelly at third and 2021 Sam Yelton at catcher.

“We’ve got a very young team this year,” Hutchins noted. “We just have the three teams – that’s all I ever have – and we just made the decision to roll with what we thought was our best guys in the program.”

Byrd agreed: “All these boys are great; it’s the best of the organization,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of fun these past three days and now we’re looking forward to the next day.”

As he gets ready to prepare his players for what lies ahead on Sunday, Hutchins took a moment to look back at Thursday morning when the Panthers beat the Rawlings National Scout Team-Sticks, 4-2, in an exhibition game.

It might not have seemed very important to casual observers at the time, but in reality it was all part of Hutchins’ master plan.

“We kind of have to go into (pool-play) thinking that we’re not going to bring kids down here and then (not) give them a chance to be on the mound,” he said. “Luckily enough we played an exhibition game … and we were able to put three or four of those guys in. All of those guys will be ready (Sunday) with very limited work; it’s a win-win.”

Before the South Charlotte Panthers 2020 even arrived here on Florida’s central Atlantic Coast, Hutchins gathered his young team together and tried to give them an idea of what to expect at the PG WWBA World Championship. His message, it turned out, was a simple one.

“He just told us to go out and try to win,” Byrd said. “He told us these boys are going to throw hard (and) there’s going to be some really good teams out here so just go out and compete and do your best. … Just take a two-strike approach and get your job done.”

The South Charlotte Panthers 2020 may have figuratively kissed their sisters Saturday morning, but they’re in a good place now because of it. They’re playing at least one more meaningful game on Sunday, and that gives everyone a reason to smile.

“I love Perfect Game tournaments,” King said. “This is something you’re working for all throughout the season and now that you’re here it’s pretty cool.”




Tournaments | Story | 12/19/2025

13u Tourney All-American Team

Jheremy Brown
Article Image
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 | Rankings | 12/26/2025

2026 MLB Draft Board Update

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
The calendar is just days away from being flipped over to 2026, and while the players may be on break, it’s clear that they are just itching to get back on the field and compete once again, with another season of college baseball right around the corner. For prep players (especially in warm-weather states), the season’s right around the corner, and players will be back on the ball fields sooner than later. With that said, the PG Draft Team came together and got to work on a 2026 MLB Draft Board update. A little pre-season shake-up and expansion as we took our board from the Top 150 names to the Top 300 names, in preparation for the 2026 college and prep seasons to begin. The 2025 MLB Draft Lottery occurred earlier in December and shed some light on what the draft order will look like in 2026, with the Chicago White Sox taking home the first overall pick, followed by the Tampa...
College | Story | 12/25/2025

2025 Year in Review: College

Craig Cozart
Article Image
The LSU Tigers Win It All Again For the second time in the last three years, the LSU Tigers, led by head coach Jay Johnson secured the national title. The national championship was the eight in LUS program history as they swept Coastal Carolina in the MCWS championship series. As a result, Johnson was virtually a unanimous choice for National Coach of the Year on media outlets and is the fastest coach to win multiple CWS championships at a single school. The tournament’s Most Outstanding Player was Tigers’ lefthanded ace and Perfect Game First-Team All-American, Kade Anderson highlighted by his complete-game shutout in Game 1 of the CWS Finals. The roster was a tremendous blend of offensive firepower, frontline pitching and elite defense, leaving opponents with very few avenues to victory. PG Second-Team All-American, Jared Jones was the heart of the lineup with his 20...
High School | General | 12/24/2025

2025 Year In Review: High School

Cam McElwaney
Article Image
IMG Academy Takes Home the National Title Every year IMG Academy comes into the spring with top-to-bottom one of the top rosters in the country and every year have the expectation of winning the national championship. Well in 2025 they did just that after finishing the spring 24-1, winning the High School Showdown, and winning 15 straight games to end their season. Their high end offensive ability was on full display throughout the year and they will once again be one of the most talented teams in the country in ’26 as they look to go back-to-back. Two Top-10 Picks in the MLB Draft Headline National Players of the Year It was another loaded crop that took home the National Players of the Year as both Ethan Holliday, the National Player of the Year, and Seth Hernandez, National Pitcher of the Year, heard their names called within the first-10 picks in the MLB Draft. Another first...
Draft | Rankings | 12/24/2025

Top 2027 Collegiate Draft Prospects

Isaiah Burrows
Article Image
With the 2025 cycle officially behind us and the calendar nearly flipping over to 2026, it is time to start looking ahead to the future. More importantly, start looking ahead to the next season of college baseball and what that may mean for draft-eligible players with big dreams of continuing their journey. While the 2026 MLB Draft is now on the horizon, we are looking ahead to the future even further – to see which players have already made impacts upon their arrival to college campuses. We have already dropped our 2028 Top 75 collegiate prospects board, but this one is our Top 100 college prospects who will be eligible for the 2027 class. These are the Top 100 players in our eyes for this group, and many of them have already shown up on campus and been impactful in many ways. Whether its our top-ranked player in Oregon State’s Dax Whitney or ninth-ranked William Schmidt...
Draft | Rankings | 12/23/2025

Top 2028 Collegiate Draft Prospects

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
The college players in the 2028 draft class have yet to step on campus, but they're positioned to make an immediate impact. Several high end talents either turned down significant money last year or honored strong college commitments, resulting in their arrival on campus this fall. The class is currently led by a trio of high-upside arms in Jack Bauer, Angel Cervantes, and Cameron Appenzeller. They are followed by a deep group of bats that rounds out a strong, high end Top-10. Rk. Name Level Pos. B-T School Hometown State 1 Jack Bauer C LHP L-L Mississippi State Frankfort IL 2 Angel Cervantes C RHP R-R UCLA Lynwood CA 3 Cameron Appenzeller C LHP L-L Tennessee Springfield IL 4 Brayden Jaksa C C R-R Oregon Fremont  CA 5 JD Stein C SS R-R Wake Forest Carmel IN 6 Mason Ligenza C OF L-L Pittsburgh Brockton PA 7 Ty Peeples C OF L-R Georgia Lavonia GA 8 Lucas Franco C SS L-R TCU Katy TX 9...
Juco | Story | 12/23/2025

2025 Year in Review: JUCO

Blaine Peterson
Article Image
Looking Back at the 2025 Top 10  Matt Barr (‘25 Niagara, ‘26 Minnesota Twins) Bursting onto the scene last winter, footage of an indoor bullpen rocketed Barr onto the radar of many. Explosive fastball reaches near triple digits with incredible spin numbers across the secondaries. Huge numbers at Niagara earned him the title of the first Juco player drafted in 2025. JC Vanek (‘25 Chipola, ‘26 Kansas City Royals) Just a professional hitter. Vanek for two years at Chipola was an impossible out. While there are questions if the power will ever reach what it takes to play first base at the big league level, the bat and quality defensive skillset at first base may carry. Donovan Becerra (‘25 New Mexico, ‘26 Texas Tech) One of the more high octane arms anywhere in the country last year. Can reach back for upper 90’s and has shown serious swing and...
Draft | Story | 12/22/2025

2025 Year in Review: Draft

Isaiah Burrows
Article Image
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
Article Image
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
Article Image
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: ...
Loading more articles...