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Tournaments  | Story | 7/15/2021

Gaeckle Coming Back Stronger Than Ever

Sam Warren
Photo: Gabe Gaeckle (Gaeckle family)
Heading into the summer of 2020, Gabe Gaeckle was looking forward to competing at the highest stages of competitive travel baseball and making a name for himself on the national level. However, in his first start of his summer season, the right-handed pitcher felt something was off.
 
“I first noticed that it took a little longer than usual to warm my arm up,” Gaeckle said. “In the first inning, I was pretty happy with where my velocity was at. But, after the third batter, I dropped down 10 mph, and my elbow hurt real bad.”
 
The No. 177 player in the class of 2023 went to the doctor the next day and was diagnosed with a torn Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL), and was destined for Tommy John surgery at the age of 15. While Gaeckle just started to feel the pain in summer ball, his father Peter said the surgery might have been a long time coming.
 
“We saw four different orthopedic surgeons before we decided to do the surgery, and they all thought the injury was pretty old,” Peter said. “He might have been throwing with a messed up arm before, so we weren’t sure if we’d ever seen him throw fully healthy.”
 
After an arduous rehab process, Gabe made his first competitive pitching appearance at the 2021 PG 17u West Elite Championship in late June, 11 months after his surgery. Facing his first opposing batters in almost a year, Gaeckle showed off the hard work he’d put in on his road back to the mound. The Aptos, Calif. native reached 92 mph on his fastball, 7 mph faster than his Perfect Game personal best, and sat in the low-90s all day long. The young arm believed that he’d reached a new standard of performance for his play in his first appearance.
 
“I felt probably the strongest I’ve ever felt,” Gaeckle said. “Physical therapy and working on my arm has made me 10 times stronger than I was before.”
 
While Gaeckle feels fully recovered from his surgery, the righty’s doctors have still yet to clear him to make full starts or not require pitch count limits. For those reasons, Gaeckle may still not be performing at 100 percent, and his arm may have yet to reach its total capacity, leaving room for the pitcher to get even higher numbers in the near future. Despite his enthusiasm to break free from physical limitations, Gaeckle knows that he needs to take things slow to complete his full rehabilitation.
 
“My coaches told me from the get-go that I was going to feel amazing five to six months after surgery, but I just had to wait it out,” Gaeckle said. “It’s been really tough as my velocity, control and arm strength have been where I’ve wanted them to be. I want to progress faster, but my doctors keep telling me not yet.”
 
Gaeckle can now see the light at the end of his rehabilitation tunnel, but that has not made the process any easier. The 8th-ranked right-handed pitcher in California plays for the star-studded Alpha Prime 2023, who has a roster chock full of the best arms his home state has to offer. For a whole year, Gaeckle struggled with not being able to contribute for his squad.
 
“I wouldn’t say I was depressed, but it was really hard just to watch all my teammates compete that whole summer after surgery,” Gaeckle said. “Missing a whole year of summer ball and high school baseball was definitely rough, but I got through it and got ready for this summer.”
 
To get ready for the summer, the pitcher put himself through a rigorous training regimen to continue the road back to full strength. Gaeckle said he lifts six times a week, training his legs, chest, back, shoulders and overall mobility. While under unfortunate circumstances, Gaeckle believed that his rehabilitation taught him a lot about working out and strength training.
 
“I took a lot of the lifts from the physical therapy I was doing at home,” Gaeckle said. “I was doing physical therapy for over seven months, so I learned a lot from that, and it helped me understand what I needed to train to get better.”
 
Now, nearing the end of his recovery, Gaeckle’s strong work ethic has begun to show through in his recent performances, and people have been taking notice. After an intrasquad appearance and his debut at the West Elite Championship, the pitcher has gained more and more interest after his year away from the game.
 
“I’ve been keeping up conversations weekly with college coaches,” Gaeckle said. “After the start, programs have become more interested and have been wanting me to come out to their schools and have been checking in on me. It’s been pretty cool.”
 
The top California arm holds offers from a few Pac-12 schools and is looking forward to continuing his recruitment into 11th grade. Throughout his recovery, Gaeckle used his collegiate aspirations as an incentive to get back onto the field.
 
“I think what motivated me was wanting to play at the next level,” Gaeckle said. “Going into my junior year, things are starting to heat up, so I started working out and focusing on my rehab, and things are now starting to come together.”
 
As Gaeckle’s dreams come within grasp, the pitcher is itching to get back out on the mound. With hopes of showing what he can do at this week's 2021 WWBA 16u National Championship, Gaeckle continues to fight to perform at a full capacity.
 
“I just have to get cleared by my doctors and work my way up to a full start,” Gaeckle said. “Once I do that, I can really show what I can do.”
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Tournaments | Story | 1/27/2026

MLK East Scout Notes Recap
Perfect Game Staff
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‘28 OF Jakob Groeschel (OH) continues to impress with the bat on the circuit, picked up 2 2Bs in the first game today. Really athletic, went 4.4 on turn; easy to dream on all the traits. #MLKEast @PG_OhioValley pic.twitter.com/wOIwnGKnkg — Perfect Game Florida (@Florida_PG) January 17, 2026 2028 OF Jakob Groeschel (Springfield, Ohio) broke out at this event last year hitting a casual .909, and although he didn’t turn in quite the same performance, he hit a strong .462 with 4 extra-base hits, 5 walks, 5 bags and only struck out once. He’s a pretty dynamic athlete who can do a lot of things well, but the bat is the calling card as he just lives on the barrel and has no problem handling all kinds of pitching. It’s a simple swing, but he’s got fast hands and he can really impact the ball without being overly physical yet.  2030 RHP Michael Vazquez...
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Nick Herfordt
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Allendale Doesn't Rhyme With Knoxville or Danville. The Baseball Does. Meet the Three Coaches Turning Small College Programs Into National Contenders. There's something happening in small college baseball right now that doesn't get nearly enough attention. Three programs — separated by hundreds of miles and spread across three different governing bodies — are in the middle of the kind of rebuilds that make you wonder why anyone ever counted them out in the first place. One is in a Michigan lakeside college town. Two are in places that end in 'ville. All three have coaches who looked at a program and saw something nobody else did. The Perfect Game small school rankings noticed. You should too. See where Grand Valley State, Johnson U, Centre and the rest of the schools are positioned in the latest Perfect Game Top 25 Small School Rankings. NCAA DII For a generation of DII...
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College | Story | 3/10/2026

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Vincent Cervino
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March 10 Perfect Game/Player of the Week:  Lorenzo Carrier, OF, Pitt  The Pitt Panthers (12-2) are off to one of the best starts in recent program history and their offense has performed as one of the best in the country.  For the season, they are averaging almost 12-runs per game and on their recent trip to the West Coast, Lorenzo Carrier went on the kind of hot streak that is hard to comprehend.  The 6-5/215 senior from Bear, DE was a one-man wrecking crew in their 4-wins last week, starting with the fact that he reached base safely in 17 of his 19 trips to the plate.  He collected 13 hits in 14 official at-bats, scoring 10 runs, with 4 walks, 2 triples, 4 home runs and he drove in an insane 19-runs.  Carrier has refined his approach, simplified his bat path and is creating massive power that has him putting up career numbers.  For the season, he is...
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College | Rankings | 3/9/2026

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Vincent Cervino
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Collegiate Player Report Database While there will not be any new faces in this weeks Top 25, there is quite a bit of shakeup as the season, somehow, becomes even more unpredictable.  There were several teams in the poll that dropped weekend series and, in some cases, registered losing records in the last seven days.  There is sure to be more chaos this week as virtually every conference starts league play and the race for regular season titles begins.  The UCLA Bruins (13-2) remain No. 1 as their sizzling hot bats led the way to a perfect (4-0) week and they swept their first Big Ten series of the year.  As one of only two remaining undefeated teams in the nation, the Texas Longhorns (15-0) jump to No. 2 before they open SEC play this weekend in Austin.  No. 3 Georgia Tech and No. 4 Mississippi State both (14-2) hold their spots in the poll after both dropped a...
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Press Release | Press Release | 3/7/2026

Debut: Contreras YouTube Feature

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 DEBUTS NEW YOUTUBE FEATURE FOLLOWING JOSEPH CONTRERAS ON HISTORIC DAY BEFORE WBC   Behind-the-scenes access captures the youngest player in the World Baseball Classic preparing for the global stage   Sanford, Florida (Friday, March 6, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced the debut of a new original YouTube feature spotlighting right-handed pitcher Joseph Contreras, as PG cameras followed him throughout the day of his final high school start before departing to join Team Brazil in the World Baseball Classic.   The feature provides exclusive, behind-the-scenes access to one...
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Softball | Softball Tournament | 3/4/2026

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Ashley Mears
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2026 Perfect Game March Madness February 27-March 1st Ashley Mears What a weekend at the Fun City Dome in Burlington, Iowa! The energy was electric from first pitch to final out towering home runs, edge-of-your-seat battles, dramatic comebacks, and extra-inning thrillers with some unpredictable endings, it was a great weekend all around. The Top Performers list welcomed some exciting new names, while seasoned seniors continued to cement their legacies, delivering standout performances week after week. For some, this may have been their final appearance on a Perfect Game stage, and they made sure it was unforgettable. In the 18u division a tough Nebraska Gold 319 Berning team outlasted the Southeast Iowa All Stars in the championship. In 16u the Top Gun 2028- Strange completed their weekend by beating the Iowa Aries 16U CE Fire Black. 18U The weekend’s Most Valuable Player award...
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High School | General | 3/5/2026

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Steve Fiorindo
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Full BP & pregame I/O from ‘26 SS Keon Johnson. Whippy hands and lifted to the middle of the field throughout the rounds, athletic mover on the dirt & enough arm strength to stick on the left side. #4 in @PG_Georgia & #50 on the @PG_Draft Board. #PGHS @FPDVikingSports https://t.co/vYvReQKTVh pic.twitter.com/BksHJtA09X — Cam McElwaney (@CamMcElwaneyPG) February 20, 2026 Keon Johnson, SS, First Presbyterian Day Johnson has long been near the top of the 2026 rankings and it all culminated in being a PG All-American last August. He heads into the spring as one of the names to know in the upcoming MLB Draft and is drawing crowds to his high school in Macon. It’s a well-built 6-foot-2, 200-pound frame with good actions up the middle. The defensive acumen has continued to improve over the last few years and now looks comfortable at shortstop and even projects there...
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College | Rankings | 3/4/2026

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Nick Herfordt
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The 2026 college baseball season is starting to reveal its early storylines, and across the Division II and Division III landscape a few programs have already forced their way into the spotlight. From the blistering start by the Pittsburg State Gorillas baseball that rocketed them to the top of the rankings, to the steadily rising championship ambitions of the Taylor Trojans baseball, the national picture is beginning to take shape. In Division III, heavyweight programs like the Trinity Tigers baseball and the Wisconsin–Whitewater Warhawks baseball have already traded blows in one of the season’s first statement series, while emerging challengers such as the Keene State Owls baseball are looking to turn early momentum into a breakout year. With many teams still just getting their seasons underway, the rankings remain fluid, but the early results are already giving us clues...
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Juco | Rankings | 3/4/2026

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Troy Sutherland
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Another week down as we get into conference play in parts of the nation. This week is led by Chipola at No. 1 with an impressive 24-1 record. Walters State drops to No. 2 at 16-3 and Florida SouthWestern State College (17-5) follows closely behind. Powerhouse programs  McLennan Community College (11-2) and Johnson County Community College (18-2) round out the top five, while one-loss teams Fresno City, Ohlone, and Cloud County are quickly climbing into the national conversation. With traditional Texas powers, West Coast contenders, and deep Florida Juco rosters all in the mix, the race for Grand Junction is already taking shape.   Rk. Team Record 1 Chipola (FL) 24-1 2 Walters State (TN) 16-3 3 Florida Southwestern (FL) 17-5 4 McLennan (TX) 11-2 5 Johnson County (KS) 18-2 6 Gaston (NC) 20-2 7 Blinn (TX) 12-6 8 Florence-Darlington (SC) 18-5 9 Northwest Florida (FL) 16-8 10...
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High School | Rankings | 3/3/2026

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Tyler Russo
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As we get rolling deeper into the spring here in the southern states, other states are only a few weeks away from their seasons beginning and some are even starting the day this will be posted. We’ve concluded the first major event on the high school schedule, the PG High School Showdown, and it was an epic weekend in Hoover. The event was littered with talent and these rankings reflect just that. St. John Bosco (CA) holds onto the first spot in this update and are being pushed by an IMG Academy (FL) team that’s 8-0 after winning the High School Showdown as well as beating two preseason top-10 teams in the first few weeks of the season. Orange Lutheran (CA) holds onto the No. 3 spot after a 1-0 start to the year and just a few weeks away from NHSI. A trio of Florida schools follow Olu in South Walton (FL), fresh off a win at the HS Showdown, Venice (FL), a surging team...
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Press Release | Press Release | 3/3/2026

PG & RaceTrac Expand Partnership

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 RACETRAC ANNOUNCE EXPANDED PARTNERSHIP   Sanford, Florida (Tuesday, March 3, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced an expanded partnership with RaceTrac, naming the convenience store brand the Official Convenience Store of Perfect Game in Georgia and Florida. The enhanced relationship significantly broadens RaceTrac’s presence across Perfect Game’s premier tournament venues and digital platforms, deepening its engagement with players, families, coaches and fans throughout two of the most active youth baseball markets in the country.   As part of the expanded agreement, RaceTrac will launch a robust...
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