THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,801 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,801 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Create Account
Sign in Create Account
All American Game  | Story | 8/26/2020

Pride of Texas, PGAA Lawlar shines

Jeff Dahn
Photo: Jordan Lawlar (Perfect Game)

The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex has long been a breeding ground for top high school baseball talent with each new year producing a bin-busting crop of elite prep prospects. And even with all the challenges the spring and summer of 2020 have thrown his way, Jordan Lawlar has managed to rise to the top among the prized prospects who populate the metroplex’s class of 2021.

There is just really a lot to like about the affable Lawlar, who on Aug. 17 started his senior year at Jesuit Dallas College Prep School where he is receiving both in-person and virtual instruction. That’s about the best that can be hoped for with the Covid-19 pandemic still raging across the country.



The classwork provides a small slice of normalcy for Lawlar, an exceptional student who carries a 4.21 GPA and who has committed to academic and baseball powerhouse Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. He’ll also enjoy another slice of normalcy next week when he’ll be given the opportunity to return to a baseball field on Perfect Game’s biggest stage of the summer.

Jordan Lawlar, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound elite shortstop prospect from Irving, Texas, is one of 54 class of 2021 standouts invited to the 18th annual Perfect Game All-American Classic, to be played Sept. 4 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in downtown Oklahoma City, Okla. It’s practically a home game for Lawlar with Oklahoma City sitting only a 3-hour drive north of Irving.

A special talent by any measure, Lawlar will enter the three-day PGAAC experience as the No. 7-ranked overall prospect in the 2021 class and the No. 1-ranked shortstop prospect; he is ranked 1/1 in the state of Texas.

“It’s kind of a confirmation of all the hard work that I’ve been putting in off the field and kind of behind closed doors,” Lawlar told PG during telephone conversation early this week when asked about the PGAAC invite. “So it’s more of a confirmation of all the work I’ve put in, and it’s just exciting to be with my guys and play against that competition.”

Competition is what Lawlar feeds off of, and despite one major disruption in the spring, he was able to find his share of it over the last several months.

Jesuit Dallas was able to get its 2020 spring season started in late February and the Rangers got 12 games in (6-4-2) before things were shut-down by the pandemic. Lawlar was slashing .485/.561/.848  and leading the team in hits (16), doubles (5), triples (2), home runs (1), runs scored (13), RBI (13) and steals (4) when the season ended.

The unfortunate outcome was obviously disappointing for everyone involved and Lawlar shared that disappointment with his teammates. “It was just kind of heart-breaking and I’d say more for the seniors because they only got 12 games in and they were hoping for a big season,” he said. “But I’m happy we got in what we got in.”

Jesuit Dallas competes in Texas UIL Class 6A Region II District 9, the only private school in the league. They’re in there with the likes of Allen, Boyd, McKinney, Prosper and three high schools from Plano so there’s never a night off for the Rangers, even during a truncated season like 2020.

“We pretty much compete with the big-dogs in Dallas, just some of the bigger names that are known for their sports,” Lawlar said. “I’d say it’s been a fun experience at Jesuit with all the sports and we’re also able to get the academics going. It’s been good to have the competition on the baseball side and to have my friends and my buddies who are just good teammates.”

Lawlar was finally able to kick the summer season off in grand style when he attended the PG National Showcase held June 17-21 in Hoover, Ala. The experience was a special one, he said, especially because it was his first event since coming out of quarantine. It forced him to make some adjustments, going pretty much from zero to 100 mph while competing with his class’s other top guns.

And he performed well at the Hoover Met Complex, running a 6.45-second 60 while showing an elite skill-set in the field and at the plate. Lawlar’s play defensively was especially impressive with his scouting report noting that he has “smooth actions in the middle-infield, hands are very quick and clean at the ball” and that he “rounds the ball with maturity.” It concluded by saying Lawlar “plays defense in an easy comfort zone with an advanced inner clock.”

Lawlar has worked hard on this aspect of his game and he takes a lot of pride in his ability to take care of business out in the field.

“I really never take any pitches off and I think that can be attributed to some of the success I’ve had on the defensive side,” he said. “I’m always ready every single pitch and sometimes it gets hard when you’re standing out there in the heat in Georgia on that turf for 100 pitches. I’m just trying to stay ready and make the most of my abilities out there.”

The best part of the PG National experience for most of these highly touted prospects is getting back together with their friends from locales scattered around the country, guys they maybe haven’t seen for months.

They’ve grown up together while competing on the PG tournament and showcase circuit and they came to miss the personal contact they once enjoyed before sheltering at home became a way of life in March.

Lawlar plays his travel ball with the Dallas Tigers, a prominent program he first became involved with roughly nine years ago. He committed himself to the Tigers and they returned that commitment to him and he credits the coaches there for helping him become the well-rounded ballplayer and the young man that he is today, on and off the field.

He started with coach Coy Polk and then moved on to Tommy Hernandez and those two men, along with Chad Polk, have influenced his career from the beginning.

“Those three guys have been really influential on the baseball side of things; they’ve always taken care of me,” Lawlar said. “They pretty much taught me all of those fundamentals that I know today.”

After the PG National, Lawlar played in a combined 15 games with the Dallas Tigers-2021 Hernandez at the PG WWBA 17u National Championship in late July and at the PG 17u South World Series earlier this month.

He earned all-tournament recognition at both, going 17-for-40 (.425) with 10 of those hits (6 doubles, 2 triples, 2 home runs) going for extra bases; he also collected 11 walks, seven RBI, 16 runs and 12 stolen bases. His final slash-line was .425/.558/.825, good for a 1.383 OPS.

“I think I picked up where I left off from the high school season; it kind of stuck with me,” Lawlar said of the strong 15-game stretch. “I was just swinging at strikes and trying to do some damage.”

It could be said Lawlar’s PG career really took off in 2017 when he participated at the PG WWBA 14u National Championship and the PG 14u National Showcase. He performed so well at those events that he received an invitation to the 2nd annual PG 14u Baseball Select Festival in Fort Myers, Fla.

The Select Fest has proven to be an eye-opener for the young prospects fortunate enough to earn an invitation and Lawlar was no exception. He had made a name for himself at the PG 14u National but the Festival drove the point home.

“That was my first big event with everybody on that big stage,” he said. “It was fun to get to know everybody and get put in that atmosphere with the top-tier of 14u players at that time. It was really just fun to get to know them and to know what it feels like to be in that level of conversation.

“It’s been a dream of mine ever since that 14u (Select Fest) to make the (PGAA) Classic,” he added. “That’s been a goal and I’m just happy I’ve been able to get here. I’ve really improved since that 14u game.”

Lawlar is the son of Hope Lawlar and Jeff Reeves, and he has lived with his mom his entire life (Jeff Reeves formerly played in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks). He speaks glowingly of his mom and the guidance she’s provided him while growing up.

“My mom has taken care of me for as long as I can think of now,” Lawlar said. “She started me off in pretty much all of the sports and baseball – as well as basketball – I ended up sticking with a little longer. When I was younger she would always put balls on the tee for me and (teach) me how to work hard and how to end on a good one. It’s just kind of all these little lessons she’s taught me.”

One of those lessons learned was the value of a good education, and Lawlar has thrived in the academic arena with the same proficiency he has shown on a ballfield. His passion for baseball and academics was a big reason he jumped on head coach Tim Corbin’s scholarship offer at Vanderbilt, which is still the reigning NCAA D-I national champion.

While the school’s strong academic reputation was an important element in his choice, Lawlar also spoke of the relationships he’s already formed with the coaching staff, most notably Corbin and assistant coach Mike Baxter. He wanted to get a great education while also playing for a national championship program in the SEC, and he struck gold twice with his commitment to Vandy.

There is the very real possibility, of course, that Lawlar will never make it to Nashville – the results of the 2021 MLB June Amateur Draft will have something to say about that. But the draft isn’t something he’s going to concern himself with presently.

“Just right now, our (focus) is on Vanderbilt and just everything that Vanderbilt can provide,” Lawlar said. “Whenever that time comes, we may talk about it then but right now it’s just Vanderbilt and trying to keep getting better every day.”

Lawlar will never forget his baseball roots, learning the game while playing in a region of the country where many of the other top prep prospects have also learned the game. And, Lawlar said, the players aren’t shy about learning from each other because you just never know when you might pick something up that works well for you, too.

This is the 18th annual PG Classic and with Lawlar, Izaac Pacheco, Eric Hammond and Luke Heefner all being named to this year’s West Team roster, there have now been 91 Texas prep prospects invited to the PGAAC.

Pacheco is a shortstop/righthander from Friendswood (Texas) High School who has committed to Texas A&M and is ranked No.  27 nationally; Hammond is a righthander/infielder from Keller (Texas) HS who has committed to Southern California and is ranked No. 36; Heefner, a middle-infielder from Cedar Hill, is home-schooled, committed to Dallas Baptist and ranked No. 49.

“It’s definitely special and it’s just an honor to even be in the game; I’m excited to get out there and show off what I can do,” Lawlar said. “I’m friends with all of them … and Isaac, we were at the 14u Select Festival together, too. …

“There were a couple of Dallas guys there at that time and we’ve kind of built those relationships ever since we were kids. We’ve known each other’s names for a long time now, we just kind of hit it off and we’re friends.”

And come next week, this large group of 54 friends will get together in OKC.
Give us your feedback
All American Game | Story | 9/15/2025

PG Athletes Raise Money For Charity
Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
    667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923  www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    PERFECT GAME ATHLETES RAISE MORE THAN $130,000   FOR CHILDREN’S CHARITIES THROUGHOUT AUGUST    Sanford, Florida (Monday, September 15, 2025) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced that its athletes raised a combined $130,195 for children’s charities during its August 2025 showcase events throughout the country.    The fundraising efforts took place at Perfect Game’s Select Festivals and the DICK’S All-American Classic, with each age group rallying behind a cause that supports children in need. The 11U and 12U Select Fests each benefited Elite Development Academy out...
Read More
High School | General | 12/19/2025

Huntington Beach HS World Series Recap

Steve Fiorindo
Article Image
MVPitcher: Duncan McLeod The uncommitted junior toed the slab in three of the four games for Team Mick, tossing 3 2/3 innings.  Zero walks, zero hits and 6 punchouts for the lefty who was used both as a starter in the series clinching game 4 and he closed out game 3 on Friday in quick fashion.  McLeod was very efficient as well, needing just 42 pitches over all his outings.  In the game 4 start, over two innings he punched out 3, with one strikeout with all of his offerings.  The mid 80’s fastball regularly played up, set up with efficient use of the secondaries, with the breaking ball 73/74 and fading change-up 72-74.   Owen Bone (2026) at it again... Solo shot in the 5th to tie things up. Back to back days with a home run for Bone. #PGHS pic.twitter.com/2JC9qETI5h — Perfect Game California (@California_PG) December 13, 2025 MV Hitter: ...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 12/19/2025

13u Tourney All-American Team

Jheremy Brown
Article Image
What a year it was in 2025 on the national landscape at the 13u level as Perfect Game continues to expand its reach around the country, providing an even bigger schedule of events coast-to-coast which has allowed players all over show out and gain their deserved recognition. Whether in Texas for the Houston 1000 or the 13u WWBA in West Palm Beach, we saw huge, eye opening performances from the players placed below, knowing that we could EASILY build a third team and likely a fourth without much effort.  As we do every year with this exercise, it's worth pointing out the trickiness of this age group and putting the teams together with the 13u group. While the players are all members of the Class of 2030, some are younger for the grade, which allowed them to play at the 12u level where's it's a smaller field, shorter mound distance and different bats, so we'll separate them out and...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 12/18/2025

14u Tourney All-American Team

Tyler Russo
Article Image
Player of the Year: Asher Williams It was an incredible year for Williams that was rewarded with a trip to the 14U Select Fest, before some more impressive play in the fall. He came to the plate almost 250 times in PG tournaments throughout 2025 and reached base in well over half of them, hitting to a .500 AVG while slugging a 14U circuit best 12 bombs and driving in 113 runs. The numbers on the surface are ridiculous, but when you look at the high-level events he put them up in, it makes it even more impressive. Pitcher of the Year: Tristan Blalock Blalock earns this honor after a dominant 2025 where he struck out 85 batters in just 48.2 innings of work with a minuscule 1.58 ERA. This included several strong performances at many national level tournaments and showcases where he was able to bully some of the best hitters in the country. It’s hard not to fall in love with...
Read More
Draft | Story | 12/18/2025

PG Draft: Gut Feel Guys

Tyler Henninger
Article Image
While we are nearing the turn of the calendar to the 2026 year, that means we are just inching closer to the beginning of the season for many high school players and college baseball is on the horizon. We are prepping for a reshuffle of the 2026 MLB Draft Board as well here amongst the PG Draft staff. But before we get to that, we sat down and have each picked a couple of players who are in the mix to get selected in a couple of different buckets.  We have prospects who could go into the Top 30 picks or so, prospects who could be selected in the Top 5 rounds, and prospects who could go inside of the Top 10 rounds. With the draft quite far down the road and a lot of re-shuffling to be done as these players play themselves into certain spots on the draft board, our scouts picked some players who fit into these “buckets” who are gut-feel guys. These are the guys that our PG...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 12/17/2025

15u Tourney All-American Team

Jason Phillips
Article Image
Hitter of the Year: Landon Bonner The 2028 class saw many players from across the country take the next step in their development as they entered the High School ranks. There were huge performances from highly ranked players on the PG circuit as well as some under-the-radar guys who burst onto the scene. Landon Bonner came into Sophomore National as a Top 500 ranked player and after an impressive showing, left with all eyes on him as a rankings riser in the class. The left-handed hitting shortstop from The Colony, Texas, had a summer to remember with All-Tournament Team selections in three of his next four events culminating with a historic performance at the 2025 PG 15U WWBA National Championship. The Hebron High School prep went 20-for-24 in nine games for 5 Star Mafia 15U Black with four homeruns and 12 runs batted in. He also scored 17 runs and finished with a mind-boggling 2.500...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 12/16/2025

16u Tourney All-American Team

AJ Denny
Article Image
Hitter of the Year: Koa Romero is the Hitter of the Year for the 16u group, as he would come to every premier event of the summer and earn All-Tournament honors (Beast of the East, 16/17u WWBA, Jupiter) in every single one. Over 82 plate appearances, Romero would pump ten homeruns with forty two RBI and sixteen walks, good for a .378 average and 1.339 OPS. The performance on volume at the best events of the year pushed Romero over the edge here, as he’d hit a pair of homeruns in Jupiter (one of them at 112 EV) as an underclassmen and collect double digit hits in BOTH WWBA events with a combined six jacks over the two tournaments. It was a summer that combined performance and winning on the biggest stages for Romero. It’s a quiet left-handed swing that packs a punch. He would reap the benefits of his performances, earning a commitment to LSU and jumping to the #74 prospect in...
Read More
College | Recruiting | 12/15/2025

Recruiting Notebook: December 15

John McAdams
Article Image
Tucker Rice (27 MS) bumping up to 91; living hi-80s from real fast arm. Good SL @ 77-79 w/ depth & sold w/ intent. Loads of traits & strikes. #WWBA @PG_Uncommitted @PG_DeepSouth pic.twitter.com/DEjFqRcsIY — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) July 6, 2025 Tucker Rice, RHP, Class of 2027 Commitment: Alabama Alabama has continued to stay red hot in the recruiting trail ever since August 1st rolled around on the calendar and have continued to stack major pieces in their ’27 class. They dip into Mississippi to land one of the premier arms and one that’s stood out on the circuit for quite some time. It’s a fast arm and the athleticism certainly shines working down the slope. The velocity has continued to tick up over the last calendar year and reached into the low-90s towards the end of the summer. He’s confident in his changeup and the breaking ball is...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 12/15/2025

17u Tourney All-American Team

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
There’s a lot of talent throughout this 2026 class, filled with the big-name stars, to talent that spreads across the nation. It’s been a lot of fun seeing these prospects grow and develop over the years, from the days of watching some of these guys at the 13/14u days at events on the circuit, to now where they are all graduating seniors in 2026. There’s been new faces who have popped along the way over the years, even in 2026, where some players who were relatively undiscovered, have come out and made a name for themselves with a statement performance. Between the familiar and the new, there’s a lot of names on this list that are going to be quite regularly talked about on the circuit, and for good reason.  Whether it’s PG All-Americans or not, there’s a lot of names with superstar potential at the next level. We’ve got 14 PG All-Americans...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 12/13/2025

Finest in the Field: Class of 2029

Tyler Russo
Article Image
Finest in the Field: Class of 2026 | Class of 2027 | Class of 2028 These guys might just be entering high school, but they've certainly already made a name for themselves on the national circuit, especially with their abilities on the defensive side of things.  C: Xavier Rodriguez (Logansville, GA) Rodriguez is a polished defender with real arm strength behind the dish, while showcasing the ability to impact the baseball with authority to all fields evident by thirty of his sixty-five hits going for extra-bases including seven bombs. He handles high-level pitching extremely well, commands his staff and his offensive prowess makes him a true two-way asset. 1B: Cooper Knight (Buda, TX) Knight is a smooth operator at first base with plenty of range, fluidity and agility in his footwork around the bag. Add-in a rocket for an arm, the ability to change slots and to...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 12/12/2025

Scout Stories: Part 5

AJ Denny
Article Image
Best Game I Saw: The Dream NTL 18U vs. MBA Scout Team Murphy Jupiter always brings out the best, and we got fireworks from the jump. Turner Marshall gave The Dream an outstanding 4+ innings of work on the mound, holding a lethal MBA team at bay with Chance Dixon, Derrick Carter, and Ellis Appling providing an offensive spark out of the gate for the Georgia based boys. However, it was only a matter of time before the talent on the other side got going, as MBA erased a 3-run deficit in the 5th to take a 4-3 lead led by a Parker Loew HR. The Dream then took command again in the Top of the 6th, before MBA punched right back with a huge 5-run inning in the bottom half capped off by a clutch RBI single from Matthew Kerrigan, ending a wild sequence with tons of notable performances from two very competitive rosters. Best Tournament Performance I Saw: Surely someone has already brought this...
Read More
Loading more articles...
About Perfect Game :: Contact us :: Terms of Use :: Privacy Policy :: Testimonials :: Job Opportunities
Copyright 1994-2025 by Perfect Game. All rights reserved. No portion of this information may be reprinted or reproduced without the written consent of Perfect Game.