The 2023 Alex Bregman World Series welcomes many of the top 2026 players and teams from the state of Texas and nearby states. The opening day began with an electric pitching performance and ended with a lineup filled with impressive athletes looking the part of a major title contender. Some day one notes:

1) Although it happened during the second batch of games during Tuesday’s tournament-opener, it’ll be hard for anyone to top 2026 left-handed pitcher and outfielder Crue Collie’s performance. The Midland Christian School prospect fired a 6.0-inning no-hitter with an absurd 14 strikeouts for Dallas Patriots 15U. And it was as dominant as the line suggests. Listed at 5-8, 125 pounds, Collie is, obviously, a thin lefty who has yet to fill out and physically mature like older high school prospects. But that doesn’t prevent him from creating impressive velocity and he carried himself on the mound like he was 6-2, 220 pounds and easily the most confident player on the diamond who wasn’t afraid to let the opposition know it. He didn’t just want to succeed. He aimed to intensely dominate.  

He threw his fastball consistently in the 84-85 MPH range during his start and the combination of arm speed and heat coming out of a small frame led to it having some explosive traits through the zone. But the real standout was the breaking ball. At times it took the shape of a power curveball and other times more of a slider without a lot of sweep; regardless, it missed a ton of bats at 74-76 MPH and with spin rates up to nearly 2700 RPM. Hitters had no chance against the pitch, which he consistently buried late in counts. And Collie could swing the bat, too. He showed a confident, quick left-handed swing with good paths and had no trouble making quality contact. 

The Dallas Patriots 15U looked like it could make some noise and a deep run in the Alex Bregman World Series. Max Mayton (Midway) swung the bat well from the right side, leveraging his short arms and strength to create some loud impact. Lincoln Wagner, a 2025 prospect from Scurry-Rosser, has a promising left-handed swing and made quality contact. 

2) During the next set of games, I saw an impressive performance on the mound packed into a different physical look. Abilene 2027 prospect George Ferguson is listed at 6-2, 180 pounds and looked every bit of it on the mound as he fired fastballs up to 87 MPH. There wasn’t as much finesse, spin and pitchablity to Ferguson’s performance as there was for Collie, but there was similar effectiveness and competitiveness. 

Ferguson possesses impressive arm strength for a pitcher his age and carried his fastball velocity deep into his outing, which resulted in just one run on six hits, one walk and six strikeouts over 6.0 innings. The strong righty fearlessly challenged a really good OK Fuel 2026 lineup relentlessly with fastballs and occasionally mixed in a 68-72 MPH curveball that is a work in progress. 

Although it ran into a tough matchup Tuesday, OK Fuel 2026 swung the bat much better than the line indicated. Left-handed hitter Avery Lonberg, an Edmond North 2026 prospect, took some of the best swings of the day with impact barrel feel. He hit a line drive so hard off the Red Monster wall that he was held to a single. Cooper Kardokus (Memorial) is a very interesting, physically impressive prospect with tools and talent; Zane Sander (Silo) and Grant Richards (Deer Creek) weren’t at all overmatched by the premium velocity and both looked the part of major hitters with promise in the 2026 class. 

3) He didn’t possess the velocity of Ferguson and wasn’t quite as dominant as Collie, but I left the Z-Plex Tuesday thinking the best pitching prospect long-term I saw was Texas Senators 15U Scout Team right-hander CJ Hansford. Listed at 5-9, 138 pounds, Hansford appeared to be closer to 5-10, 170 pounds and showcased an easy, good, repeatable delivery that should really boost his long-term ability to thrive on the mound. 

The Moe and Gene Johnson prospect from the Austin area sat in the 82-84 MPH range consistently with his fastball, which showed early signs of promising command and control potential long-term. And once he began mixing in his 70-72 MPH curve, hitters were overmatched. Hansford’s breaking ball didn’t have that visual hump out of the hand that can tip it’s coming to hitters and instead came out of a similar look as the fastball because showing late break/depth from a true overhand look with a hint of tilt (spin rates 2000-2200 RPM). He didn’t need to use it much, but there was feel for a 76 MPH changeup, too. Overall, Hansford, who is uncommitted, struck out 10 across 5.2 scoreless frames and gave up five hits and issued two walks. 

Catching Hansford was his high school teammate and 2025 prospect, Ricky Montijo. Montijo moved with impressive agility behind the dish and showcased a strong arm with promising catch-and-throw skill. The Texas Senators 15U Scout Team is another team that will be a tough out in the tournament. Lake Travis teammates Ben Soules, Landon Lang and Cooper Webb had productive nights at the plate and the lineup had a nice blend of skill and athleticism. 

4) Among my two favorite prospects from Tuesday’s action were tall, two-way prospects Wyatt Clewett from 2026 Texas Twelve Black and ZT Elite – Texas 15U’s Bryson Session. On the mound, Session sat 78-81 MPH with his fastball, which came out of a lower slot and low release height for a tall (appeared to be around 6-2, 180 pounds) pitcher and allowed the pitch to play up through the zone with whiffs. He repeated his delivery well, threw strikes and competed well on the mound. 

Then, he manned left field later in the game and made a sensational catch in the gap, tracked fly balls naturally and effortlessly, and showed a strong arm. As a hitter, Session showed bat speed from the right side and promise. He thought the game at a high level and had a major “ballplayer” vibe with a calm heartbeat who could do it all on the diamond. 

As for Clewett, he finished the day hitless, but it wasn’t for lack of contact. Listed at 6-4, 175 pounds, the uncommitted prospect from Montgomery smashed the ball in multiple at-bats and looked like the kind of left-handed hitter who is going to be a threat to hit an extra-base hit each time he’s in the batter’s box this tournament. In right field, Clewett moved well for his size and showed his future plus arm strength by firing a rocket into home plate to nail a runner at home. Long-term, he’s a very intriguing all-around prospect with projectable physicality and tools.

5) Speaking of athleticism and tools, the most impressive team I saw in that regard was Scorpions 2026 Black. I’m not exaggerating when I saw I could list the entire lineup as being interesting and possessing the potential to become a JUCO or D1 prospect. Left-handed hitter Nathan Eveler (Kingwood Park) unleashed aggressive, quick yet under control swings with impressive barrel accuracy from the left side, which resulted in some very well-struck hits. Bridgeland catcher Trey Allen had a 1.9 in-game pop time (helped that the second baseman came off the bag to get the through, but still very impressive) and is an outstanding looking athlete with major projection. 

Brycen Kincy (Cypress Ranch) moved very well at shortstop at 6-0, 160 pounds; Jeffrey-Todd Darden (Cypress Woods) glided around the outfield with a great frame, big arm and interesting hitting tools; Jackson Morrow (Tomball) smashed a bases-clearing, three-RBI double deep into the right-center gap. And this list goes on. Very fun team to watch. 

Dustin McComas
Senior Editor