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College  | Story | 12/6/2024

College Fall Report: UNCW

Photo: Tanner Thach (UNCW Athletics)
Players Mentioned: Tanner Thach, Kevin Jones II, Aiden Evans, Brock Wills, Alec DeMartino, Trevor Lucas, Ryker Galaska, Zane Taylor, Connor Marshburn, Trace Baker, Cameron Bagwell, Christopher Morris, Baker Cox, Cyle Phelan, Ty Lawson, Mason Murdock, Aubrey Smith, Cooper Allen

Last Spring: Head coach, Randy Hood, has been a fixture in eastern North Carolina for almost his entire life after starring at South Wayne HS and playing collegiately at Campbell University. He would go on to play a few years professionally before starting his coaching career at his alma mater and then made the move to UNCW where he has been since the fall of 2002. After taking over for legendary coach, Mark Scalf, Hood guided the Seahawks to their second consecutive CAA Tournament championship in 2024. They would win 40-games before going (1-2) in the Athens Regional where they shutout Georgia Tech in Game 1.



Carrying Tool for 2025: Hood has long been revered for his ability to get the most out of his players and consistently mold his club into an offensive juggernaut. He blends athleticism and speed as bookends to his lineup and usually can do damage in the middle with plenty of power. The 2025 offense will feature exactly that, and it all revolves around one of the premier left-handed sluggers in the nation in Tanner Thach. The junior is an imposing 6-4/220 and carries a career slash line of .308/.626/.383 with 22 doubles, 42 home runs and 143 RBIs in his career thus far. With five other returning starters supporting Thach, this will be another potent offense. Senior, Bryan Arendt returns behind the dish with 127 career games played and is an elite defender, while slick fielding Kevin Jones II returns at shortstop. Last year, Aiden Evans elevated his batting average by almost 100 points from his freshman campaign and junior infielder Brock Wills is a grinder who does the little things to put his club on the scoreboard. Alec DeMartino has started 111 games in the last two years and will provide some of that pop in the middle of the lineup with 17 career home runs. JUCO transfer, Trevor Lucas, brings a blend of power and speed and should lock down the hot corner and UNC transfer, Ryker Galaska, is showing promise with the stick and could land in center field.

Concerns for 2025: The pitching staff has some questions to answer and will need to figure out the rotation in the non-conference segment of the season. The anchor of the rotation will be senior, RHP Zane Taylor who has made 42 career starts and is the consummate pitcher. He pounds the zone with three quality offerings and reports have his velocity trending upwards, grabbing the mid-90s with his fastball. Outside of Taylor, there are a couple returners who should garner attention for the rotation in 6-6/230 sophomore righty Connor Marshburn and junior Trace Baker. Marshburn works downhill with his sinker/slider combo both with above average traits, while Baker shows more of a power repertoire with a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and a well tunneled slider to go with it. Cam Bagwell, a 6-5 freshman RHP had a lot of heat in to see him last spring but made it to school and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he works his way into the rotation in the latter part of the season. His fastball already rides comfortably in the low-90s, and he shows feel for a tight two-plane breaker that misses barrels often. If senior, DII transfer, Khris Morris can duplicate his success from last year then he could give the Seahawks real depth in the rotation.

Two senior lefties will lead the way for the bullpen in Baker Cox and Cyle Phelan. They both proved their worth last season and have the flare for getting outs in high leverage situations. Phelan has also stepped into the rotation when needed, garnering 18 starts throughout his time in Wilmington. Juniors Ty Lawson and Mason Murdock with sophomores Aubrey Smith and Cooper Allen are all sturdy righties with 90 mph fastballs and quality breaking balls to go with it that will give Randy Hood plenty of options to finish a game.

Season Outlook: The Seahawks have put together an extremely difficult early season schedule with two games against UGA, a road series at Southern Miss and a home series against Charlotte. On top of that, most of their midweek competitions will be against Power-5 in-state programs. This is all a part of the process that Hood uses to get his club ready for the CAA gauntlet. So, as usual, we should expect UNCW to compete for the regular season title and find itself comfortably in the Field of 64 come June.

College | Recruiting | 12/15/2025

Recruiting Notebook: December 15

John McAdams
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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...
Tournaments | Story | 12/15/2025

17u Tourney All-American Team

Vincent Cervino
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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...
Tournaments | Story | 12/13/2025

Finest in the Field: Class of 2029

Tyler Russo
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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...
Tournaments | Story | 12/12/2025

Scout Stories: Part 5

AJ Denny
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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...
College | Story | 12/12/2025

College Notebook: December 12

Craig Cozart
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Nebraska Cornhuskers 2025 Highlights: The Cornhuskers were a difficult team to figure in ’25 as they finished with 33 wins, played just .500 (15-15) in the Big Ten but had some big wins at various times during the season and got hot at the right time. They knocked off then #16 Vanderbilt in the second game of the year, beat #5 Oregon State 2-out-of-3 at home in late March and then got hot at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha to win the Big Ten Tournament. They beat Michigan State in a 10-inning thriller before taking care of #4 Oregon, knocking off Penn State and then shutout #13 UCLA to punch their ticket to the Chapel Hill Regional. Head coach Will Bolt has now led his alma mater to three conference titles and three NCAA Regional appearances during his six years in Lincoln. No different than when he was a player, Bolt’s teams play with passion and toughness, this was never more...
Tournaments | Story | 12/12/2025

Finest in the Field: Class of 2028

Troy Sutherland
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Finest in the Field: Class of 2026 | Class of 2027 You like athletes? You like defenders who can impact a game at any given point? Look not further than this class as it's loaded from coast-to-coast with elite defenders all over the diamond.  C: Brogan Witcher, Bakersfield, CA Our scouting staff got several strong looks at Witcher whether that was at the Summer Kickoff, Sophomore National or the Underclass All American Games where he showcased his strong overall skillset and especially his advanced ability behind the plate. His 6-foot-3,180 pound build looks like one that will fill in quite nicely and be that big and physical catcher’s frame. His arm talent is undeniable where he gets it out quick and runs it up to 79 mph on throwdowns to 2nd (1.84 pop). Besides the standout catch/throw ability, we’ve seen him frame/receive strong arms and block it well during...
Softball | Softball Tournament | 12/11/2025

PG Softball "Toys 4 Tots" Fundraiser 18U division

Dave Durbala
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BURLINGTON, IA - 2025 Perfect Game Softball Toys 4 Tots Fundraiser One Day, December 7, 2025. Kicking off the holiday season, six teams participated in this one day, 3 game guarantee tournament in the 18u Division. We would like to thank those that donated a toy, and know that they will be distributed to area underprivileged children through a local charity organization. Following are some of the top performers from the weekend. Earning Tournament MV-Pitcher was Jolee Strohmeyer (2026 Dubuque, IA), a RHP/UTIL with tournament champion Lady Expos Blue. Strohmeyer shows hitters a consistent and repeatable motion and delivery with good use of the legs in the drive phase, and a quick and aggressive arm whip. Working with a six pitch mix of fastball, change-up, rise, drop, curve and screw, Strohmeyer topped out at 60 mph, and showed good movement  as she worked her rise and curve just out...
Tournaments | Story | 12/11/2025

Scout Stories: Part 4

Tyler Henninger
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Scout Notes: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Best Game I Saw: Hudson Reed (‘26, GA) torches this ball to deep CF for a solo 💣. Generates easy power that plays to the big part of the yard. Middle of the order traits #UBCWest @PG_Georgia @PG_Uncommitted pic.twitter.com/UXqDVFmUBx — Perfect Game California (@California_PG) June 18, 2025 I was fortunate enough to see a lot of highly competitive games with loads of talent on the field, the game that sticks out to me the most was Alpha Prime 2026 vs. ZT National Prospects at the UBC West. The game was an efficiently played affair with arms dominating on both sides. Graham Schlicht was masterful for Alpha, striking out 12 hitters over 5 dominant innings. PG All-American Julian Cazares came out of the pen blowing smoke, touching 97 mph with the fastball. On the other side, Jake Carbaugh surrendered just one hit and...
Press Release | Press Release | 12/11/2025

PG Believe In Baseball Announces Awards Dinner

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   THE PERFECT GAME BELIEVE IN BASEBALL FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES DETAILS FOR FIRST ANNUAL “IN THE SPIRIT OF THE GAME” AWARDS DINNER AND AUCTION   Los Angeles, California (Thursday, December 11, 2025) – The Perfect Game Believe in Baseball Foundation, together with Perfect Game leadership of Chairman Rick Thurman and CEO Rob Ponger, has announced the inaugural “In the Spirit of the Game” event, an evening of baseball and laughter, taking place Saturday, January 31, 2026, at the iconic Laugh Factory in Hollywood, Calif. The evening supports the Foundation’s mission to provide financial assistance and resources that allow deserving young athletes to play, learn and grow through the...
Tournaments | Story | 12/11/2025

Finest in the Field: Class of 2027

AJ Denny
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Finest in the Field: Class of 2026 Elite defenders from coast to coast certainly seems to be a strength and to think you could make another top-tier team without thinking, speaks to the real depth this group possesses. The infield is a no-doubt strength of the group, but what catcher Dariel Carrion can do behind the plate is like something we haven't seen in a while in the prep ranks with an absolutely bazooka of an arm.  C: Dariel Carrion (San Juan, PR)  It isn’t often you get a catching prospect as athletic and natural as Dariel Carrion, a big reason why he holds the rank of #1 player in PR and #18 nationally. Metrics wise, the 5-foot-10, 210 pound San Juan native is all you can ask for and more, posting a sub 1.80 pop time with an 84 mph arm behind the dish. He has both contact and clear power threat on the offensive end, ending 2025 with a .337 BA and 4 HRs while also...
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