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2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,805 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Tournaments  | Story | 6/6/2021

Monarchs Aim At BCS Qualifier Title

Photo: Jackson Geiger (Perfect Game)
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Since the Gulf Coast Monarchs 14U team began to cultivate their roster, they have always had one goal in mind: to win. As their players have grown up, they have been proficient at achieving that goal.
 
The Monarchs have assembled a 19-6-2 record overall through 2021 on their way to becoming the 12th-ranked 14U team nationally and the third-ranked team in the Florida and Puerto Rico region. 
 
While the team has piled up wins, they’ve also piled up talent. The Monarch roster features four players who rank in the top-200 of their classes and five others who carry Perfect Game ranked designations. While the Monarchs continue to look to feature the best talent Florida has to offer, coach Rob Rardin says the Monarchs have remained tight-knit since the team was established.
 
“We have set up a core group of guys that have been together since they were eight years old,” Rardin said. “There’s always people asking to play with us, so we try to pick up some talent here and there, but ultimately we love our guys and confidently go into tournaments with them.”
 
Among that talent are three top-150 ranked players in 2025; Braden Rosenthal, Jackson Geiger, and RJ Machado. 2024 standout Johnny King also suits up for the Monarchs and ranks just outside the top-150 in his class.
 
Rardin says that as the Fort Myers-based club has gained recognition, they’ve searched to face the best competition in the region and nationally to rise further up the rankings and grow their players.
 
“We’ve got a tough schedule going forward,” Rardin said. “We always try to play in the toughest tournaments, but we feel confident that we can beat anybody out there.”
 
To kick off their competitive schedule, the Monarchs went undefeated in their first two contests of the 2021 PG 14U BCS National Championship Qualifier. In their first matchup, pitchers Grayson Carpenter and Owen Rardin dominated GTZ Baseball, tossing a combined seven shutout innings. Owen shined in his appearance, allowing no baserunners through three innings of relief and fanning five GTZ bats. 
 
While Carpenter and Rardin needed little run support, Matthew Blanesa opened the scoring for the Monarchs in the bottom of the second, getting home on a wild pitch. The Monarchs then burst out for three more runs in the third behind a Geiger triple, King RBI single, and a two-RBI single by Cole Ingle, allowing Carpenter and Rardin to coast to a 4-0 victory. While Rob would have liked to see more offensive production, he was satisfied with his team’s performance on the mound.
 
“Grayson grinded it out,” Rardin said. “He went out there, gave up no runs and did his job. Then Owen went out there, threw strikes and we made plays. I’m proud of them as usual.”
 
In their second bout, the Monarch bats caught up to their prolific arms. After a King sacrifice fly scored one run against the PR Legends 14U Black in the top of the first Friday night, play was postponed to Saturday afternoon due to thunderstorms. Nevertheless, the Monarchs picked up where they left off, exploding for six runs in the bottom of the second behind a series of extra-base hits by Rosenthal, King and Machado, along with a two-RBI single from Geiger.
 
The bats stayed hot in the third as the Monarchs put up three more runs behind an RBI single from Konnor Vanhagen and a two-RBI single from Rosenthal. The Monarchs proceeded to tack on three more in the fourth, as Vanhagen added a two-RBI single to his day, completing the scoring for the Monarchs and giving them a 14-0 lead. 
 
Despite the offensive outburst, pitcher Matthew Delaney didn’t need much help. The right-hander from Albuquerque, N.M. tossed three perfect innings for the Monarchs, striking out four in the process. After Geiger allowed just one walk in a closing effort, the duo combined for a four-inning no-hitter, finishing off the Legends in a 14-0 mercy rule. After a slow start to the day, Rardin was pleased with how his offense performed in their second contest.
 
“Our lineup is stacked from top to bottom,” Rardin said. “If the top of the lineup is not hitting, the bottom of the lineup is going to clean it up. We have confidence in all our guys to get it done.”
 
Heading into bracket play with a +18 run differential, the Monarchs plan to stay undefeated in the BCS National Championship Qualifier. Despite their overall success, the Monarchs look to do something they haven’t yet accomplished in Perfect Game events this season: a tournament win. After finishing second in both the 2020 PG 14U Fall World Series and 2020 PG 14U Christmas Bash, Rardin said they’re determined to finish the job this time around.
 
“Our goal every tournament is to win it,” Rardin said. “We always plan on playing the maximum number of games, whatever they may be, and set up our roster that way. So tomorrow, we feel set up to win it.”

Tournaments | Story | 3/31/2026

14u East Spring Opener Scout Notes

Perfect Game Staff
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Roman Keister (2030, Dade City, FL) Could not miss the barrel this weekend tallying 6 hits including 2 triples and 4 RBI. Starts the load early and controls his body well, the up the middle approach really plays in game. Also worked from off the mound for an inning and picked up a punch out.  Colton Russo (2030, Coral Springs, FL) Showed off the power burning outfielders all weekend. 5 hits including two triples that carried over the CF and RF heads. Has a good understanding about using the lower half in the swing and the bat to ball skills really impressed.  Karson Blakney (2030, St. Augustine, FL) Made his impact in a big way this week, collecting the win in the quarterfinals. In his outing he went 5 shutout innings and struck out 5 while only allowing 2 hits. Worked in the mid 70s with the FB and topped out at 78. Also produced on offense driving in 5 RBI on 4 hits. ...
College | Rankings | 4/1/2026

DII/DIII/NAIA Rankings Update: April 1

Nick Herfordt
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Welcome to another week of Perfect Game Small School baseball — and if you're looking for clarity at the top, you've come to the wrong place. Across all three classifications, the No. 1 spot is very much an open question, and nobody is sleeping comfortably right now. In NCAA Division II, Pittsburg State is stumbling at precisely the wrong moment, leaving the door cracked wide open for hungry challengers to come knocking. In the NAIA, defending national champion LSU Shreveport has dropped four straight and suddenly looks far more vulnerable than a program of their pedigree ever expects to be. And in NCAA Division III, the race for the top ranking is less a competition and more a ten-car pileup of elite programs, none of whom have done enough to pull away — and all of whom have done plenty to deserve it. Three classifications, three vacancies at the top, and a whole lot of...
Juco | Story | 4/1/2026

JUCO Top 25: April 1

Troy Sutherland
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Another week of JUCO baseball and another week full of wins for No. 1 ranked Johnson County . The Cavaliers have won 18 games in a row and have swept through the Jayhawk Conference to this point, setting a new school home run record along the way. Walters State returns to the top 5 this week on the strength of a 12-game winning streak. Both McLennan and Pearl River are coming off of undefeated weeks and look like strong top 10 caliber teams, while Midland (now 30-3) continues to climb in the rankings for the third consecutive week. For the first time all year this ranking will feature 4 California schools as Palomar joins Ohlone, Fresno City and Santa Ana in the JUCO rankings. Check back in next week for an update as most of JUCO baseball is now past its halfway point in the 2026 season. RK School Week Overall 1 Johnson County (KS) 4-0 34-2 2 Gaston (NC) 2-1 35-3 3 Walters State (TN) 3-0...
College | Story | 4/1/2026

Collegiate Midseason All-Americans

Vincent Cervino
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Collegiate Midseason Awards * denotes Midseason Award Winner - All-Americans chosen based on statistics, prospect status, future projection, among other factors - Only true freshmen considered for Freshmen All-American teams - All Statistics as of Monday, March 30th First Team Hitters Pos. Name School Class AVG OBP SLG R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB C Vahn Lackey Georgia Tech JR .423 .541 .845 36 41 9 1 10 36 7 1B Quinton Coats Cincinnati SO .360 .441 .896 38 45 8 1 19 46 7 2B Jarren Advincula Georgia Tech JR .411 .489 .563 31 46 2 0 5 30 5 3B Ace Reese Mississippi State JR .330 .417 .661 32 36 12 0 8 37 1 SS Roch Cholowsky UCLA JR .350 .493 .730 39 35 8 0 10 32 1 IF Dee Kennedy Kansas State JR .430 .549 .910 44 43 10 1 12 43 15 OF Will Gasparino UCLA JR .351 .468 .794 31 34 5 1 12 38 1 OF AJ Gracia Virginia JR .350 .504 .650 37 36 7 0 8 24 1 OF Landon Hairston* Arizona State SO .469 .551 1.027 44...
High School | Rankings | 3/31/2026

High School Top 50: March 31

Tyler Russo
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Another pair of weeks has gone by this high school season and with that we have another High School Top-50 Update. Southern states are within a few weeks of the end of the season while some northern states are just getting started this week. Through the end of the spring, we will be bringing you updates to the Top-50 along with state rankings updates coming soon. For the first time in 2026, we have a new #1 in the country as Orange Lutheran (CA) takes over the top spot after winning the NHSI. Venice (FL) came in second place at the NHSI after a thrilling game against Orange Lutheran and comes in at #2. Previous #1 team in the country St. John Bosco (CA) rounds out the top-3 and will have a big showdown against Orange Lutheran starting tonight. Barbe (LA) boasts a 26-1 record and comes in at #4 while Corona (CA) continues to string together wins and holds down the #5 spot in this update....
College | Story | 3/31/2026

PG Collegiate Midseason Awards

Vincent Cervino
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Midseason Awards  Perfect Game Midseason Player of the Year:  Landon Hairston, OF, Arizona State  The season sophomore outfielder Landon Hairston is putting together is generational, even amongst the Hall of Fame talent Arizona State has fielded over the years.  Hairston, the 5-11/195 sophomore outfielder from Queen City, AZ has his club on track for another postseason appearance and they will make plenty of noise in the Big 12 regular season.  To put things in perspective on Hairston’s season, he is currently 5th in the nation in batting average, 3rd in hits, 8th in hits per game, tied for 2nd in home runs, tied for 5th in runs scored and is 4th in runs batted in so far.  He holds a batting average of .469 while slugging 1.027 and reaching base over half the time with an OBP of .551.  Hairston walks more than he strikes out and has 12 doubles, 17...
College | Story | 3/31/2026

College Players of the Week: March 31

Vincent Cervino
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March 31st Perfect Game/Co-Players of the Week:  Landon Hairston, OF, Arizona State  The Arizona State Sun Devils (20-8) went (3-2) last week and now sit at No. 18 in our latest Top 25 poll.  They are proving that they are legitimate Big 12 contenders and Landon Hairston is making a strong case for National Player of the Year at the halfway point in the season.  The 5-11/195 sophomore outfielder from Queen City, AZ is putting up such loud numbers that they are almost hard to fathom.  In five games last week, the lefthanded hitter collected 12-hits in 19 Abs, scoring 13 runs on 6 walks, a double, 5 home runs and he drove in 11 runs on his own.  For the season, he has put together a slash line of .468/.991/.553 with 12 doubles, 15 round trippers, 45 RBIs, a 12:18 strikeout-to-walk ratio and he has swiped 8 bags so far.  It has been a special year for the...
College | Rankings | 3/30/2026

College Top 25: March 30

Vincent Cervino
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Well college baseball fans, we are officially at the half-way point of the 2026 season and what an incredible ride it has already been.  While there is some separation at the top as we start to look at programs that could be potential NCAA tournament hosts, things continue to change as clubs revitalize their seasons by winning massive series in league play.  The Top 25 seems to be getting more volatile as we reach the midway point, and the second half is setting up to be something special.  The one thing that will remain the same as it has for a month now, is that the UCLA (25-2) will still be the No. 1 team in the nation.  The Bruins are winners of 19-consecutive games and have started off Big Ten league play by sweeping 4-straight series.  The Texas Longhorns (23-4) hold tight at No. 2 this week after sweeping previous No. 11 Oklahoma (19-8) and sit atop the...
High School | General | 3/27/2026

High School Notebook: March 27

Vincent Cervino
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Hudson December (2027, Woodland Hills, Calif.) showed flashes of his upside despite a somewhat uneven three-inning outing. The 6-foot-2, 170-pound right-hander struck out three while working through a couple of tough jams, though his command was inconsistent at times. He ran his fastball up to 87 mph on a pair of occasions and generally sat in the 83–85 range. He mixed in an upper-70s slider with varying shape and execution where it was most effective when thrown with proper intent, showing shorter, tighter depth. He also flashed a changeup against a few left-handed hitters. Mechanically, there’s a blend of positives and areas for development. He incorporates his lower half fairly well and moves down the mound with some pace and intent. The arm is quick, though it can be late getting up at times, and his taller finish limits full torso extension through release. With...
Draft | Mock Draft | 3/27/2026

2026 MLB Mock Draft: V 2.0

Tyler Henninger
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The spring season is well underway and the board is starting to take shape. Last week, the draft team put together the Top-300 and this week we take a stab at our first mid-season mock draft. While there still is plenty of time for things to shake out differently, here is how we see things shaping up at this point in the draft cycle.  Pick Team Selection Position School 1 Chicago White Sox Roch Cholowsky SS UCLA 2 Tampa Bay Rays Justin Lebron SS Alabama 3 Minnesota Twins Grady Emerson SS Fort Worth Christian 4 San Francisco Giants Jackson Flora RHP UC Santa Barbara 5 Pittsburgh Pirates Vahn Lackey C Georgia Tech 6 Kansas City Royals Drew Burress OF Georgia Tech 7 Baltimore Orioles Ace Reese 3B Mississippi State 8 Athletics Jacob Lombard SS Gulliver Schools 9 Atlanta Braves Eric Booth Jr. OF Oak Grove 10 Colorado Rockies AJ Gracia OF Virginia 11 Washington Nationals Gio Rojas LHP...
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