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Tournaments  | Story | 6/6/2021

Monarchs Aim At BCS Qualifier Title

Sam Warren
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.”
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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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College | Rankings | 1/13/2026

Top 100 Collegiate Sophomores

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...
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Draft | Rankings | 1/12/2026

Top 100 Collegiate Freshmen

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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Tournaments | Story | 1/8/2026

PG Leaderboard: Class of 2029

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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College | Story | 1/9/2026

LSU Reloads & Returns; Opens No. 1

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

2026 Preseason Top 25

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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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...
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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,...
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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...
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