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Tournaments  | Story | 10/15/2020

Deeper Dive into the WWBA Freshman

Photo: Jack Frankel (Perfect Game)
WWBA Freshmen WC Scout Notes: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5

The 8th annual WWBA Freshman World Championship just wrapped up this past Monday in Fort Myers, Florida, returning to where it all began in 2013. Over its eight years the tournament has grown exponentially while the talent pool continues to take off, providing a platform for some of the best eighth graders and newly minted freshmen from around the country to put their talents on display. Of course, with the twist that 2020 presented, Division 1 college coaches weren’t permitted to attend by the NCAA but that’s another area of the tournament that has continued to grow as recruiters have made the event a priority on their calendar as it’s paired alongside the WWBA World Championship. Quite the far cry from it’s inaugural year when only one coach was in the stands which also speaks to the expediting of the recruiting process. 



Speaking of college commitments, back in 2013 the WWBA Freshman World Championships didn’t have a single listed commitment amongst the teams in attendance. But what about in 2020? When the final pitch of the tournament was thrown and the Canes FL 2024 club was crowned champion, 36 players had already given their verbal commitments to college programs around the country while right-hander Tag Andrews, who threw a no-hitter in the playoffs for the Louisiana Knights, announced his commitment to the University of Arkansas just following the conclusion of the tournament. 

The Canes FL 2024 went a perfect 8-0 in route to bringing home the title, the seventh organization to do so as the Banditos Elite won it in back-to-back years in 2015 and 2016. An offensive juggernaut throughout the summer, the Canes continued to score runs by the handful as they crossed the plate 32 times in just 3 pool play games before scoring another 26 across the playoffs. Both the MVP and MVPitcher came off their roster as Niko Benestad finished with a .571 average, one home run and 14 RBI helping to pace the offense while Maddix Simpson logged 10.2 innings across four appearances in which he struck out 12 and pounded the strike zone, issuing just a single walk. And for good measure he also hit .364 with 4 doubles and a triple. 

Now that we have some history of the tournament and talked about the Canes FL impressive run, lets take a closer look at some of the numbers and performances from players across the tournament.

Here’s a number to let sink in. At a tournament comprised exclusively of eighth graders and freshmen in high school, 72 different arms touched at least 84 mph on the radar gun. While the 90 mph record set by Brandon Jenkins back in the first years has only been made in subsequent seasons, 88 mph was the top in this year’s event, a three-way tie between Jack Frankel, Brooks Wright, and Carson Messina. 

Statistically through the Top Performers, the top three pitching performances of the tournament belonged to Nicholas Rovitti, Tag Andrews, and Jack Frankel as all three recorded at least 21 outs over the tournament and had a strikeout total in the double digits with Rovitti’s 17 leading the tournament. Not far behind, unsurprisingly, was MVPitcher Maddix Simpson. 

While it may seem as though the pitching was dominant, plenty of bats stood out in a loud way including a two home run showing from both Thomas Bly and Drew Rogers whose right-handed strength is certainly something to make note of. Both Niko Benestad and Rowan Kelly led the tournament with 12 hits apiece while Everett Johnson, Daquan Cox, and Daniel Arambula all finished the week with 10 hits and PJ Morlando and Jason Bello were close behind with 9 of their own. Of the performances listed above, Kelly’s may have been the most impressive as his Meta Prime team lost in the second round of the playoffs, leaving him with three less games than every other 9+ hit performer. 

In a tournament that provides a glimpse at the next wave of talent, you don’t have to squint to see that the future is bright for the game of baseball. Congrats to the Canes FL 2024 team for taking down the title among the field of 84 and being named champions of the 8th annual WWBA Freshman World Championship. 
 

Tournaments | Story | 1/7/2026

PG Leaderboard: Class of 2028

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...
Press Release | Press Release | 1/7/2026

PG Announces Naming Rights in Chesterfield

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 | Story | 1/7/2026

Preseason Collegiate All-Americans

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,...
Showcase | Story | 1/6/2026

PG Leaderboard: Class of 2027

Jheremy Brown
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Complete PG Leaderboard Database PG Leaderboard: Class of 2026 To think this group still has another two years of high school is a scary thought given what some of the category leaders already are. Samir Mohammed up to 97 mph on the mound, Bryce Fontenot with a max exit velocity of 103 mph and a 6.22 60-yard out of Dylan Seward are all otherworldly numbers that you'd expect to find on a college campus, much less a junior in high school.  Below we check in on several categories for the Class of 2027 and will continue to do so through the week, taking in the top 10 for each, from both Perfect Game showcases and tournaments.  Top Fastball Velocity Rk Player FB Event Commitment School Hometown 1 Samir Mohammed 97 2025 PG WWBA World Championship Louisiana State Tampa Jesuit Trinity, FL 2 Connor Salerno 96 2025 PG WWBA World Championship Mississippi State Sun Valley Indian Trail, NC...
Tournaments | All-Tournament Team | 1/5/2026

12u All-Tourney Standout Performers

John McAdams
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The bar continues to rise each and every year, as the Perfect Game tournament platform adds new exciting locations, events and even refines existing ones. This year was no different, as players played in events hosted all over the country. Now, let’s get to the players as they also continue to up the ante every year with outstanding performances that leave many people in complete awe. Please note that due to age of these players, we have decided to focus primarily on the statistics amassed in Perfect Game tournaments. Let’s talk about the numbers, as not one single player on the first team (Hitters) was below a .464 average, while that group hit an astounding 515 homers as a whole. Offensive Player of The Year Aaron Kim led the way with 31 All-Tournament selections with William Goodrich Jr. a close second with 30. In totality, a total of nine selections made the...
Tournaments | Story | 1/2/2026

PG Leaderboard: Class of 2026

Jheremy Brown
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Complete PG Leaderboard Database With the Main Event Showcase in the rearview mirror, let's take a peak back at some of the standout performances from across the country, both at PG showcases and tournaments. Want to make the list for top fastball? You better have hit at least 97 mph. How about speed? The "slowest" 60-yard to make the table is a 6.30. A 101 mph throws from across the infield courtesy of Matt Ponataski, a few 100s in the outfield from Brady Harris, Matthew Kelley and Juriel Collazo and a top heater of 100 mph from Savion Sims all lead the way in their respective categories. Get ready for the future right now as you'll be hearing plenty about these names in the coming months, leading up to the 2026 MLB Draft.  Top Fastball Velocity Rk Player FB Event Commitment School Hometown 1 Savion Sims 100 2025 PG National Showcase Oklahoma Prestonwood Christian Academy...
Draft | Story | 1/1/2026

2026 MLB Draft Preview & Superlatives

Tyler Kotila
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As we look ahead to the 2026 calendar year, we take a step closer to the 2026 MLB Draft. While we recently dropped our Top 300 College Prospects for the 2026 group, there is still a lot to sort out throughout this year. High school ball is right around the corner and the college season is on the horizon. Many players are going to see their stock improve as games start to get played and players pitch/hit their way up or down the board. We’ll see some breakout candidates, collegiate performers, and high school arms that pop throughout the 2026 spring and summer. In this article, we are going to talk through some of the narratives/storylines shaping up for this 2026 draft class. We’ll also talk through a couple of players who fit the build of some pre-season superlatives. Battle for 1:1 It’s still really early in the race for things, but with the Draft Lottery done with,...
Tournaments | Story | 12/29/2025

PG Expands Presence in Pacific Rim

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 EXPANDS PRESENCE IN PACIFIC RIM, STRENGTHENING YOUTH BASEBALL DEVELOPMENT    Sanford, Florida (Monday, December 29, 2025) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced a significant expansion of its presence across the Asia-Pacific Zone, with a strategic focus on the 10-15 year-old age group. The initiative will be led in partnership with longtime Japanese youth baseball executive and coach Takaharu Nasu, as Perfect Game continues to grow its global footprint and strengthen pathways for elite youth...
Showcase | Story | 12/27/2025

Main Event Invades Fort Myers

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 CLOSES OUT 2025 WITH MAIN EVENT SHOWCASE  AT JETBLUE PARK IN FT. MYERS, FLORIDA    Nearly 1,000 players expected at largest showcase of the year  that has produced over 1,000 MLB Draft picks    Ft. Myers, Florida (Saturday, December 27, 2025) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, will host its 2025 Main Event Showcase from December 28–31 at JetBlue Park, the spring training home of the Boston Red Sox, in the Fort Myers area.    The Main Event is the largest showcase Perfect Game holds annually,...
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