Moving from a high school player draft from just Texas to a national pool of players is overwhelming in the best baseball way possible. It’s kind of like showing up to a rental car parking lot and picking from a couple rows of really nice cars and then the next flight going to another rental car lot with endless rows of brand new Porsche, Mercedes and BMW. 

If you missed our Texas High School Player Draft Recap, click HERE

At times during the podcast, listeners probably notice our heads spinning from the endless amount of talent to select from. Drew and I elected to, as best as we reasonably could, stick to filling out an actual lineup with additional utility spots. And we tried to select eight players each from the 2023, 2024 and 2025 classes; emphasis on “tried” because we both managed to come up just one short in 2025 but also both selected a player who reclassified from the 2025 class to 2024. So, it worked out. Anyway, let’s get to the good stuff: our loaded rosters with accompanying commentary about the players, many of whom are going to be college stars and/or top MLB Draft picks. 

#TeamDustin

2023

Walker Jenkins - OF - South Brunswick (NC) - UNC signee

Cameron Johnson - LHP - IMG Academy (FL) - LSU signee

Kevin McGonigle - MIF - Monsignor Bonner (PA) - Auburn signee

Thomas White - LHP - Phillips Academy (MA) - Vanderbilt signee

Raffaele Velazquez - 1B/C - Huntington Beach (CA) - Arizona State signee

Charlee Soto - RHP - Reborn Christian Academy (FL) - Central Florida signee

Ryder Helfrick - C - Clayton Valley (CA) - Arkansas signee

Mikhai Grant - RHP - Georgia Premier Academy (GA) - Mississippi State signee

Once Drew selected Max Clark, I immediately had the urge to select Walker Jenkins. They’re different players. Jenkins is in the bigger, taller, more classic power hitter mold who might have a chance to stick in center while Clark is a quick-twitch dynamo with at least plus wheels. But when you hear people discuss the top prep outfielders, Clark and Jenkins are typically in the same breath. I love everything about Cam Johnson’s future: easy delivery; big, physical, strong build; athleticism and easy delivery with steady head and good balance; big heater that is making a jump; some deception and what looks like a good attack angle; changeup should be quality future offering. 

Maybe the highlight of Area Code was settling into my seat very early in the morning and watching Kevin McGonigle send a 94 MPH fastball over the right-center wall to begin a game. It was a left-on-left matchup against Paul Wilson, one of the best prep pitchers in the nation. McGonigle exudes leadership intangibles and a football-like competitiveness; his energy and passion for the game are infectious and he’s one of the best hitters in the country. Speaking of left-handed hitters I loved at Area Code, Raffy Velazquez was maybe my favorite hitter I saw the entire summer. He recognizes, sees and tracks pitches differently than his peers and has a left-handed swing I will bet on confidently. Hitters hit and he’s a hitter who should get on base with a low strikeout rate at the next level.

Thomas White enters his senior season the consensus top left-handed pitching prospect. If you want an idea how strong the Washington Nationals Area Code rotation was, Charlee Soto and Mikhai Grant were a part of it with Cam Johnson. And there were a few other arms I liked from that staff, too. Soto gives me major Edinson Volquez vibes with power stuff and Grant, a good athlete with a quick arm, had one of the best sliders I saw all summer, up to 84 MPH with tight spin and short, late break.

Finding true catchers you believe can stick there without question is hard in any class and that’s why I grabbed Ryder Helfrick early in the draft. He’s the total package at the position and was outstanding defensively at Area Code. 

2024

Konnor Griffin* - OF - Jackson Prep (MS) - LSU commit (reclassified from 2025)

Austin Nye - RHP - Woodcreek (CA) - Vanderbilt commit

Michael Mullinax - OF - North Cobb Christian (GA) - Georgia commit

PJ Morlando - OF - Summerville (SC) - Mississippi State commit

Owen Paino - SS - Roy C Ketcham (NY) - Ole Miss commit

Drew Bellis - LHP - IMG Academy (FL) - Vanderbilt commit

Josh Springer - C - Corona (CA) - Oregon commit

Mason Brassfield - LHP/OF - Bakersfield Christian (CA) - TCU commit

Fabio Peralta - OF - Miami Christian (FL) - Miami commit

How talented is Griffin? He reclassified from the 2025 class and might be the best 2024 prospect in the nation. Exciting tools is an understatement. You’ll notice on both our rosters the 2024 class was a great place to draft some top outfielders. Even though I took him later in the draft, Peralta might be my favorite of the bunch. The left-handed hitting center fielder with wheels and impact bat speed might end up being a plus defender at a premium spot and his physical projection is easy to see and very exciting. 

Watch Morlando take batting practice and you might think you showed up at a complex game with recent draft picks on the field. He’s impressive physically with present plus raw power and his shorter swing can do major pull-side damage. Mullinax has a similar hitting profile but he’s a switch-hitter with promising swings from both sides. He creates a lot of hand separation in his load before unleashing a dangerous barrel that has aggressive whip yet under control whip through the zone. Extremely exciting tools. 

We saw Brassfield pitch at Area Code and I think that’s where his long-term future is, but he can really hit, too. From the left side, Brassfield’s slider is one of the better ones in his class. Austin Nye can really pitch. At first glance, he looks like a bigger power pitcher who comes at hitters without command, but that’s not the case. He can beat hitters with his fastball; his changeup can neutralize lefties; and he has feel for two distinct, promising breaking balls. Most importantly, he can change speeds, move the ball around the zone and utilizes a promising feel for getting outs. Bellis has a long frame, but it doesn’t negatively impact his arm action or strike-throwing. He’s been up to 93 MPH recently with a curveball that’s a weapon and a promising changeup. Big upside. 

Owen Paino was so good at a young age he made the varsity high school team in seventh grade. Since then, he’s blossomed into an imposing left-handed hitter with a good feel for the strike zone and hitting. At 6-3 and around 200 pounds, Piano will add more power as he matures. What’s most impressive about him is he’s a young player who moves surprisingly well at shortstop for his age and size; he has a chance to stick there on the dirt. As for Springer, he’s another California catcher I’m very confident sticks there long-term and impacts the game defensively. Easy player to bet on because the bat is promising, too. 

2025 

Ethan Holliday - SS - Stillwater (OK) - Oklahoma State commit

Billy Carlson - SS/RHP - Corona (CA) - Vanderbilt commit

Xavier Neyens - 3B - Mount Vernon (WA) - Oregon State commit

Briggs McKenzie - LHP - Corinth Holders (NC) - LSU commit

Tyler Baird - RHP - Hough (NC) 

Vaughn Neckar - RHP/3B - Vista Murrieta (CA) - LSU commit

Coy James - OF/RHP - Davie (NC) - Ole Miss commit

Holliday and his elite all-around profile at shortstop was an easy first pick. He could join his older brother Jackson as the second No. 1 overall pick in the family and although it’s still very early, there are whispers people think Ethan is going to be better than Jackson, which is almost unbelievable considering Jackson was one of the best prep prospects we’ve seen in quite some time. 

Speaking of shortstops I’m an enormous fan of, Carlson was my second-favorite 2025 prospect at Area Code behind Cam Caminiti, who Drew stole from me. Carlson is advanced across the board with an outstanding, natural feel for hitting, playing good defense on the dirt and he has a ton of projection left physically. Plus, he can touch 90 MPH off the mound with a quick, loose arm and good delivery. 

The LSU commitment duo of McKenzie and Neckar are two distinctly different pitchers. The former is a lefty with advanced pitchability and is growing into velocity to match the strike-throwing while the latter is a big, physical, imposing right-hander that comes after people. Plus, Neckar gets into the batter’s box and punishes baseballs loudly with big power. Baird, a right-hander, is long, skinny, tall and is going to break a lot of bats in the future with a heavy fastball. 

Neyens might be the best left-handed hitter in the 2025 class currently and is an easy bet to hit at a very high level and put himself firmly in the mix for a top MLB Draft position in the future. Coy James has some of my favorite hitting hands of any prospect; they’re lightning-quick and can punish pitches all across the hitting zone. He’s a big-time athlete who is also a top football player and he was MVP of the Team USA 15U National team thanks in part to some big hits in big moments. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

This draft proved more difficult than I anticipated because the wealth of talent made selecting just one player a mental wrestling match. For example, there are numerous 2023 middle infielders I would have loved to place on the roster, especially players I had the fortunate chance to see this summer like Roch Cholowsky, Cal Fisher, Roman Martin, Walker Martin and Trent Carraway. Spending some of my outfield picks on the loaded 2024 class meant leaving off 2023 favorites Dillon Head, Zach Wadas and Will Gasparino. 

It’s obvious the recruiting pecking order nationally starts with the big-name SEC programs. LSU, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Arkansas; those programs have no issue going all over the country and getting the cream of the crop. Texas and Stanford are unsurprisingly making their presence felt nationally while programs like UCLA, Oregon, Texas A&M, Georgia, Florida, Miami and North Carolina remain a force in their region with the ability to go grab a top name nationally. 

I think we’ve seen signs of this in recent years, but I continue to notice bigger shortstops with surprising athleticism for their age/size. It used to be rare to find a 6-3 shortstop with some projection remaining that still had a chance to play the position long-term. Now, those types of players are surfacing more often and it’s easy to see the game values middle-of-the-diamond position players very highly. And rightfully so. Betting on athleticism and tools is one of the smartest bets an evaluator can make. 

#TeamBish

Dustin and I ventured outside of the friendly confines of Texas to conduct our first national player draft. We each drafted a 24-player team with a couple caveats. First, since we had already done a Texas draft, a handful of Texans that would have likely been selected were off limits. The next caveat was that we had to construct our roster with eight players from the 2023, 2024, and 2025 classes each. That portion is where strategy became paramount and created some challenges as well. There are 2025 players like Ethan Holliday and Cam Caminiti that would have been drafted regardless of these constraints, but leaving 2023 graduates like Roman Martin, Roch Cholowsky, and Arjun Nimmala off the roster certainly seems crazy. More on them later.

My roster:

2023

Max Clark - OF - Franklin Community (IN) - Vanderbilt signee

Bryce Eldridge - 1B/RHP - James Madison (VA) - Alabama signee

Noble Meyer - RHP - Jesuit (OR) - Oregon signee

Aidan Miller - 3B - JW Mitchell (FL) - Arkansas signee

Adam Hachman - LHP -Timberland (MO) - Arkansas signee

Eric Bitonti - IF - Aquinas (CA) - Oregon signee

Monster Milam - IF - Centennial (NM) - LSU signee

Cooper Pratt - IF - Magnolia Heights (MS) - Ole Miss signee

First, this group is flat out loaded. There is a realistic chance that you will see five players on this list selected in the first round of this year’s MLB Draft. What I love about this group is that collectively I have a group that has a great deal of experience on big stages like Team USA, Area Code, nationally televised all-star games and more. Everyone on this list checks that box.

I like the balance of this group on the mound with a top-of-the-rotation righty in Meyer, southpaw Hachman and the 2022 Team USA Dick Case Award winner, given to the top player throughout the Team USA organization, Bryce Eldridge, also a two-way standout. Competitiveness, stuff, and pitchability highlight this group.

Versatility on the infield is something I always prefer. With Eldridge at first and Milam, who can easily handle short, manning second base, I can use Pratt or Bitonti at short or third and have Miller to man the hot corner as well.  The athleticism of some of these big-bodied infielders is impressive with Bitonti and Pratt’s ability to play short in college should their bodies not eventually push them to third.

In the outfield, social media standout Max Clark gives me just as much substance, if not more, as he does style. A virtual lock to be taken in the top 10 picks, barring injury, Clark has a non-stop motor that has proved he can perform on the biggest stage when everyone is gunning for his reputation as a top prospect. Bringing it every time out with that pressure is not something that many high schoolers have handled as well as Clark.

Overall, this star-studded group possesses both standout production as well as a great deal of projection, which makes it an exciting group to follow as we progress towards the draft. In the unlikely event that they all end up on college campuses, six of the eight are SEC-bound with the other two heading to Oregon.

2024

Derek Curiel - OF - Orange Lutheran (CA) - LSU commit

Noah Franco - OF/LHP - IMG Academy (FL) - MSU commit** (reclassified from 2025 class)

Anson Seibert - RHP - Blue Valley Southwest (KS) - Tennessee commit

JD Dix - SS - Whitefish Bay (WI) - Alabama commit

Bryce Rainer - SS/RHP - Harvard Westlake (CA) - Texas commit

Blake Larson - LHP/OF - Dowling Catholic (IA) - TCU commit

Tegan Kuhns - RHP - Chambersburg Area (PA) - Tennessee commit

Aukai Kea - C - Kamehameha (HI) - Vanderbilt commit

Ariston Veasey - C - Starr’s Mill (GA) - Georgia commit

Moving to the 2024 group, I was able to secure both of my catchers in Kea and Veasey; some difference makers on the mound with Siebert, Larson, and Kuhns; JD Dix and Bryce Rainer on the left side of the infield; and some real star power in the outfield in Derek Curiel and Noah Franco.

Kea had a breakout performance blasting two home runs and two doubles while driving in six at Area Code while Veasey showed his athleticism behind the plate to go along with his rocket arm.

On the mound, #TeamBish will have no shortage of stuff with the physically imposing RHP Anson Seibert, the ultra-athletic southpaw Blake Larson, and a guy with some big time spin rates in Kuhns. Dreaming of what Tennessee pitching coach Frank Anderson could do with his two commits, Seibert and Kuhns, doesn’t seem particularly fair to SEC East competition.

Dix is a big-bodied shortstop who looks like he will have to move to third base UNTIL you see him play. After watching him throughout Area Code, I came away confident he can play shortstop at the next level. Baseball people rave about his mental makeup, baseball IQ, and intangibles. Rainer is a player who plays with a swagger that matches his talent. With a fluid swing, Rainer produces quite a bit of power with a lot of projection as he continues to fill out.

Curiel is the epitome of “roll out of bed and hit” with a sweet left-handed swing that produces extra-base hit after extra-base hit. Even after reclassifying to the 2024 class recently, Franco still finds himself as one of the most elite players in his (new) class at the plate and on the mound.

Much like their 2023 teammates, this 2024 group has a heavy SEC flavor with 8 of the 9 committed to play in the country’s toughest conference.

2025

Cam Caminiti - LHP/OF - Saguaro (AZ) - LSU commit

Sean Gamble - SS - IMG Academy (FL)

Sam Cozart - RHP - Wesleyan Christian (NC) - MSU commit

Rashad Hayes - SS - Bishop O’Dowd (CA) - Stanford commit

Dean Moss - OF - IMG Academy (FL) - Vanderbilt commit

Trey Morris - LHP - Washington Union (CA) - Texas commit

Brady Ebel - SS - Etiwanda (CA)

My 2025 crop possesses talent and production far beyond their age. In my opinion, I was able to draft the top lefty, righty, shortstop and outfielder in the class. The exciting part is that this isn’t a group that seems likely to plateau. While some of them are physically advanced, there is still a great deal of projection to be fulfilled as they progress towards pro or college ball.

Caminiti may have been my favorite player at Area Code as he showed plus stuff and the ability to harness it and actually pitch, not just throw. Cozart, who physically looks like he could pitch in the SEC right now, comes at you with a four pitch arsenal that is unfair to his peers. Morris gives off major Pete Hansen vibes as the former Longhorn southpaw also hails from Northern California. Racking up 117 strikeouts and a 0.83 ERA as a freshman in 75.2 innings on varsity shows his maturity and pitchability.

On the infield it is tough to go wrong with any of the shortstop options on #TeamBish. Gamble possesses elite, lightning-quick hands while oozing baseball IQ on the field. Hayes is a projectable, athletic talent that is mature beyond his years. With a simple, smooth right-handed stroke and easy actions on the infield, Stanford is getting a future star. Ebel hit at a .400 clip for the 15U Team USA team this fall and already shows a good feel for the barrel and power to the gaps.

My lone 2025 outfielder, Moss will be in the mix for the top bat in the class as he hits his way towards the draft. The Vanderbilt commit looks to do major damage to the baseball and produces in-game power already at his age.

While two of the seven are currently uncommitted, four of the five commits in this group are heading to the SEC for their college ball. Sound familiar?

FINAL THOUGHTS

Dustin and I thoroughly enjoyed our first crack at a national draft while learning a great deal about what’s out there from a talent perspective. I came away with a couple takeaways as a I readied myself for the draft on a national scale across classes:

1. The SEC does not appear to be slowing down when it comes to dominance in the talent pool of college baseball. Sure, some of these athletes will sign a pro contract out of high school, but there is a clear separation between the SEC and the other conferences. Of the 48 players taken in our draft, 45 are signed or committed. Of that 45, 33 are headed to the SEC, five to both the Big 12 and Pac 12, and two to the ACC.

2. The 2023 class is absolutely loaded at shortstop. Despite us only taking one for this exercise, there are at least six in the mix currently for first round status come draft day. The group of Roman Martin (UCLA), Walker Martin (Arkansas), Arjun Nimmala (FSU), Colt Emerson (Auburn), Cooper Pratt (Ole Miss), and Roch Cholowsky (UCLA) will spend the spring jockeying for top billing, which should be fun to track.

3. The 2024 outfield class may end up being one for the ages as well, especially after standouts Noah Franco and Konnor Griffin reclassified. Curiel has paced the class to this point, #TeamDustin picks PJ Morlando, Michael Mullinax, and Fabio Peralta are all in the conversation along with the two who reclassified. Names like Dante Nori (MSU), Matthew Priest (Stanford), and Michael Torres (Miami) are some names to watch as well.

4. While examining all the lists and talking to scouts, agents, and coaches for research, there are a few programs that standout for identifying and securing commitments from the country’s elite at a young age. The group of LSU, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, and Tennessee definitely stands out in this regard. Of course, some of these top prospects will never make it to campus. But the talent level is such that there will be scenarios where “only” getting one out of three or four in a group will be a win and add a potentially program-changing player to the roster. Such would be the case in the LSU 2024 class with Curiel, Griffin, Cade Arrambide, and Casan Evans, and for MSU in the 2024 class with Franco, Morlando, Jack Frankel and Henry Allen.

5. Following the theme of recruiting classes, a couple schools that are really starting to take off from a recruiting standpoint at the earlier age groups are academic powers Duke and Stanford. While Stanford is no stranger to recruiting success, they have typically leaned more toward the patient end of the spectrum. Stanford currently has six 2025 commits, with Hayes as the headliner, and seven 2026 commits including the Harrington twins, Alex and Hunter, out of San Diego; James Tronstein, Archer Horn, and Dillon Moss, the younger brother of 2025 #TeamBish member Dean Moss. On the other side of the country, Duke is lighting up the recruiting world in the 2025 class with five top-100 type commits, led by Jayden Stroman, and eight commits in 2026, with Trenton Maybin being the biggest name in the group at this stage.

Again, this was a really fun, thought-provoking exercise that we really enjoyed and look forward to doing again in the future. We hope you enjoyed this as much as we did.

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Dustin McComas and Drew Bishop