THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,416 MLB PLAYERS | 15,806 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,416 MLB PLAYERS | 15,806 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Tournaments  | Story | 6/23/2021

Legends Take Home 18u BCS Title

Photo: Florida Legends (Perfect Game)
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The Florida Legends were crowned the 2021 PG 18u BCS National Championship victors Tuesday afternoon, defeating Marucci Elite Texas 18u Mayo, 11-3. While the game ended in a six-inning mercy rule, the matchup remained hotly-contested until the bottom of the sixth, when the Legends put up five runs to earn them the title.
 
After going home early in the 2021 PG 18u East Memorial Day Classic quarterfinals, the Legends pushed through the BCS field unscathed. Compiling an 8-0-1 record through pool and bracket play, the Miramar, Fla.-based squad posted an exceptional +57 run differential throughout the tournament. Legends head coach Carlos Marti was proud of his team’s performance after five long days of baseball.
 
“We just took home a victory against a really good ball club,” Marti said. “It just looked like we had another gear at this point after three games today, and having that drive is really impressive.”
 
After tempers flared through a heated first inning, the Legends bats found life in the bottom of the second. Andrew Estrella drilled the first pitch he saw to deep left field for a double to lead off the inning, giving the team an immediate runner in scoring position. Edgardo Villegas then shot a ball to the right-field wall, but Marucci’s right fielder tracked down the fly out, which allowed Estrella to advance to third. As Juan Aracena looked to plate the game’s first run, Estrella took advantage of a wild pitch, aggressively taking home and igniting the Legends dugout. In such a pivotal game, Marti thought grabbing momentum early was crucial to finish out victorious.
 
“Scoring first was big,” Marti said. “Especially in the championship game, you want to get on the board early, and we were able to do that.”
 
After Legends pitcher Michael Alfonso shut down the Marucci attack in the top of the inning, the Legends offense rode their momentum in the bottom of the third. Brandon Olivera kicked off the inning with another double to deep left field. To score the Miami commit, Kader Rabagh put pressure on the Marucci defense by laying down a bunt. The speedy Rabagh succeeded, as a throwing error scored Olivera and advanced the top-1000 ranked player in the 2021 class to third. Abdriel Delgado then capitalized on the opportunity, grounding an RBI single to right field to score Rabagh.
 
The Marucci bats would not back down quietly, however. Gavyn Jones got the rally going in the fourth with a leadoff single, then advanced to second on a balk. A Jaiden Wallace groundout then advanced Jones to third, giving Jack Clark an opportunity to drive home the first Marucci run of the game. The Louisianna-Lafayette commit delivered, knocking a single up the middle to score Jones. After Donavan Adkins walked, Carter Allen kept the line moving, singling to the left side and loading the bases. With a chance to even the game, Dawson Overby took advantage, shooting a two-RBI single into left field to score Clark and the speedy Adkins. As Marruci looked to take the lead, Alfonso limited the damage, inducing a double play to end the inning. While the opposition got to the top-500 player in the 2021 class, Marti was pleased with Alfonso’s play and attitude on the mound.
 
“Alfonso did a great job,” Marti said. “He was asking for the ball the whole time, and with a depleted bullpen after these long days, his pitching was what we needed to get through.”
 
After getting punched in the mouth, the Legends fought back in the bottom of the fifth. Olivera poked a leadoff single through the middle, putting the go-ahead run on base. Delgado and Jose Hernandez then walked, loading the bases for pinch hitter Maurice Maiquez. In the biggest moment, the 2024 graduate delivered, lining a two-RBI single to left to score both Olivera and Delgado, retaking the lead for the Legends. With the title on the line, Marti couldn’t be prouder of the way the young bat executed.
 
“Maurice is only a freshman,” Marti said. “The kid came up big to take the lead when we needed it. He won’t ever forget that moment.”
 
The team added on to their lead with some savvy baserunning, as Hernandez scored on a poor Marucci pickoff attempt. As the sixth inning began, the Legends had regained a 6-3 lead. 
 
Marcos Gamboa proceeded to shut down the Marucci bats in the sixth, and the Legends smelled blood in the water with the championship in their sights. To begin the sixth, Daniel Swirsky drew a walk, and Anthony Ruiz shot a single through the middle giving the squad two baserunners to work with. Rabagh proceeded to poke a grounder to first that Marucci couldn’t handle, scoring Swirsky. With runners in scoring position, the Legends kept the line moving as back-to-back-to-back RBI singles from Delgado, Hernandez and Maiquez put the team within one run of ending the game. With Juan Aracena at the plate, Hernandez took advantage of a wild pitch, sprinting home to give the Legends an 11-3 mercy-rule victory and the BCS National Championship title. 
 
On top of his solid championship performance, Hernandez received the MVP award for the tournament. The top-1000 player in the 2021 class was 10-for-24 on the weekend, smacking five doubles and driving home 11 runs in the process. Hernandez feels that winning the award sets a new standard for himself and his play.
 
“Winning sets my goals high,” Hernandez said. “The rest of the summer, I want to keep playing well against good competition and try to win everything I can.”
 
Despite the losing effort, Marruci’s Alejandro Diaz earned MV-Pitcher honors for his performance throughout the tournament. The righty threw 9 1/3 shutout innings over two games, including a complete-game shutout in the semifinals to advance his squad to the championship game.
 
With a whole summer ahead of his squad, Marti is looking forward to continuing to see his team battle and come back from deficits after seeing his team do so Tuesday afternoon.
 
“The summer’s only a few weeks old, but we’ve talked about needing to answer back,” Marti said. “We’ve lost games here where we didn’t answer back, but today we did it every time. We took a giant step forward today as a team.”

Tournaments | Story | 4/21/2026

Southeast Super NIT #2 Scout Notes

Jason Phillips
Article Image
Chase Jelks (‘30 GA)- with a long double to deep CF. Huge day from the primary SS, 5-for-6 w/ 4 doubles & 6 RBI. #SESuperNIT @TheDreamBall @PG_Georgia https://t.co/biFSzXCrUt pic.twitter.com/HCQMduedb5 — Perfect Game Youth (@PGYouthBB) April 20, 2026 Chase Jelks (’30, Atlanta, Ga.)- the left-handed hitting Jelks was all over the barrel on Sunday in a pair of games for The Dream 14U Black. He finished the day with five hits in six at-bats which included four doubles and six runs batted in. His two doubles and four runs batted in played a big part in the Gold Playoffs Round 1 victory over the talented BPA squad out of California. He backed up that performance with three more hits in a quarterfinal’s loss to the East Cobb Astros 14U Orange to finish the tournament with a .600 batting average and 1.636 on-base plus slugging percentage. A primary utility infielder,...
Press Release | Press Release | 4/23/2026

Kash Shaikh Named Perfect Game CMO

Article Image
  667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923 www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   PERFECT GAME NAMES KASH SHAIKH CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER AND HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL   Sanford, Florida (Thursday, April 23, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced that Kash Shaikh has been named the company’s new Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and Head of International. In this role, Shaikh will serve on Perfect Game’s executive leadership team, overseeing global marketing, brand strategy, creative, partnerships and sponsorships, while leading the company’s international P&L and expansion. Shaikh brings more than two decades of experience building brands, businesses and communities across sports, media and consumer...
Softball | Softball Tournament | 4/22/2026

PG Softball Battle for the Belt

Article Image
Perfect Game Softball Battle for the Belt April 18-19, 2026 Des Moines, Iowa It was a cold and very windy weekend, but the girls still came out and put in their best efforts. If you wanted the place to see some of the state’s top talent, this was the tournament to be at. The 18u division was quite the slugfest! The Ankeny Centennial 18U -Kennedy team took down a tough Iowa Alliance Select-Benge team in the championship. Both teams had double digit homeruns on the weekend. In the 16u division the Iowa Aries CE Fire Black took control of the game from the start and never let up on the gas, taking down a solid Alliance Select- Harper team. 18U Division Kori Lincicum (2026 Ankeny, IA) of the Centennial Jaguars- Kennedy and Drake Bulldog softball commit was the weekends MVP Pitcher. Lincicum defeated a tough Alliance team in the championship game finishing with that game with 11...
High School | General | 4/23/2026

Northeast High School Notebook

Jheremy Brown
Article Image
In a season that has already had many exciting matchups across various events, we as a staff would like to highlight or “Shout-Out” notable performers along with an Uncommitted Spotlight and Team Spotlight.  Uncommitted Spotlight: Mason Rosenberg, 1B, 2027, Bishop Eustace Prep  Uncommitted Mason Rosenberg (2027, NJ) has been an absolute force within the Bishop Eustace lineup, as the left-handed hitting slugger is hitting .481 through eleven games including six homers. The strength has vastly improved, allowing for Rosenberg to impact the baseball with authority to all fields. Couple that with improved speed and athleticism, this uncommitted 2027 can be a welcomed addition to a class looking for offense.  Team Spotlight: Northern Burlington (9-0) Northern Burlington is once again off to a hot start, as the Greyhounds sit at 9-0 thus far and have continued to...
Juco | Rankings | 4/22/2026

JUCO Top 25: April 22

Blaine Peterson
Article Image
Another week down and Johnson County continues their torrid run to remain at number 1. They're 46-2 on the season with multiple hitters over 25 bombs which is astonishing for the level as the Cavs have announced themselves as title favorites. Just a couple of weeks left heading down the stretch and our field remains mostly the same with the two additions of midwest powerhouse Iowa Western and the Warriors of East Central who will have a tough test Wednesday in Poplarville against fellow Mississippi adversary Pearl River in a mid-week double header.   Rk. School Record 1 Johnson County (KS) 46-2 2 Gaston (NC) 47-3 3 Walters State (TN) 42-10 4 McLennan (TX) 38-8 5 Southern Nevada (NV) 33-9 6 Chipola (FL) 39-9 7 Blinn (TX) 33-12 8 Florida Southwestern (FL) 32-13 9 Florence-Darlington (SC) 42-10 10 Pearl River (MS) 39-9 11 Cloud County (KS) 40-4 12 Cochise (AZ) 39-11 13 Midland (TX)...
College | Story | 4/23/2026

Coppy's Corner: April 23 POY Deep Dive

John Coppolella
Article Image
Each week I huddle with Vinnie Cervino and Craig Cozart  to discuss Top-25 rankings and Players of the Week. In Coppy’s Corner, I dive deeper into these Players of the Week, providing analysis from 20+ years working in baseball front offices at the highest level.     Player of the Week: Tague Davis – University of Louisville  Between 2016-2022, the University of Louisville produced 14 players taken in the Top 5 Rounds of the MLB Draft, seven of whom were taken in the 1st Round. The Cardinals haven’t produced a Top 5 Rounds pick since 2022, but that will change soon with Davis. Still only 20 years old and not draft-eligible until 2027, Davis continued his assault on college baseball this weekend with a 7-for-12 performance that included 5 HR. On the 2026 season, Davis is hitting .389 AVG / .489 OBP / .911 SLG / 1.392 OPS. That’s a 400+...
College | Rankings | 4/22/2026

DII/DIII/NAIA Rankings Update: April 22

Nick Herfordt
Article Image
The final weeks of the college baseball regular season have a way of separating programs that are genuinely postseason-ready from those that have simply been good enough for long enough. Conference tournaments loom, selection committees are paying close attention, and every game on the schedule carries weight that it simply didn't in February. This week's action, combined with the latest Perfect Game Top 25, paints a picture of a college baseball landscape where the top is clearly defined — and where the middle is a genuine battle. What follows is a cross-level look at teams across the NAIA, NCAA Division II, and NCAA Division III ranks who find themselves in that uncomfortable space: not safely in, not clearly out, but firmly on the bubble. Some have built compelling résumés that should hold up under scrutiny. Others have excellent records against soft competition...
High School | Rankings | 4/21/2026

High School Top 50 Update: April 21

Tyler Russo
Article Image
Another few weeks have wrapped up this high school season as we’re flying through the spring and most southern states are starting playoffs right around the corner. With the end of the regular season, we have another National Top 50 update to bring to you, along with this will be the start of the weekly editions of our National Top 50. We have a change at the top of the rankings as Venice (FL) takes over the top spot after just dominating their competition in the state of Florida this year. Orange Lutheran (CA) drops one spot to No. 2 after dropping a series but still holds firm at No. 2 in the country. Barbe (LA) has continued to dominate and holds onto the No. 3 spot while Tomball (TX) skyrockets in this update to No. 4 in the country, currently holding an incredible 30-0-1 record. The rest of the top-10 is names we’ve become accustomed to see with Aledo (TX) at No. 5, IMG...
PG Select Baseball Festival | General | 4/21/2026

Select Festival Dates/Locations Announced

Article Image
    667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923  www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    PERFECT GAME ANNOUNCES DATES AND VENUES FOR   2026 SLATE OF SELECT FESTIVALS    Sanford, Florida (Tuesday, April 21, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced dates and venues for its 2026 Select Festivals, a premiere series of invitation-only events showcasing many of the nation’s top young prospects at the 11U, 12U, 13U and 14U levels.    The Select Festivals provide elite players with a unique opportunity to compete alongside and against the best talent in their age group while experiencing a...
College | Story | 4/21/2026

College Players of the Week: April 21

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
April 21st Perfect Game/Player of the Week:  Tague Davis, IF, Louisville  The Louisville Cardinals (22-18) haven’t been able to get themselves in much of a groove this spring, their longest winning streak is 5-games, and they are (4-6) in their last 10-games.  The issue has not been the offense as the Cardinals are averaging over 8-runs per game and Tague Davis is leading the club in virtually every offensive category.  His calling card is his 70-grade power and that was on display last weekend in their series against Cal.  In the three-game series, Davis went 7 for 12, scoring 4 runs, launching 5 home runs and collected 7 RBIs.  The 6-4/220 lefthanded hitter from West Chester, PA has a pure stroke, is one of the premier power hitters in the nation and has significantly improved his plate discipline from a year ago.  After his big weekend, he is...
Loading more articles...