50 Standouts For 2024, 2025 Class From WWBA In Jupiter (2024)

The most prestigious and heavily scouted event in the fall every year is the WWBA World Championship, or commonly just referred to within baseball as “Jupiter” in reference to its Florida location at the complexes of the Cardinals and Marlins.

For scouts with major league clubs, their primary focus is on the 2023 players, but Jupiter also offers a glimpse of some of the premier 2024 players in the country, in addition to some standout 2025s who are advanced enough to earn a spot with their teams in the tournament.

These were 50 underclass players for 2024 and 2025 who stood out in Jupiter, ranging from some of the top draft prospects in their class to deeper sleepers who should get a closer follow next year.

Ethan Holliday, 2025 SS/3B, Oklahoma

Let’s start with the player who already has a familiar name. When scouts were following B.J. Upton in high school leading up to him becoming the No. 2 overall pick in the 2002 draft, they got to know his younger brother, Justin, a freshman at the time who went on to become the No. 1 overall pick in 2005. This year, when scouts were pouring in to watch shortstop Jackson Holliday before the Orioles drafted him first overall, they were able to see Ethan Holliday, one of the elite talents in the 2025 class. The bloodlines are there with Holliday, the son of former star outfielder Matt Holliday, and he has his dad’s physicality at 6-foot-3, 190 pounds at 15. Holliday’s size sticks out right away, but it’s his polish at the plate that’s especially impressive, with a sweet swing from the left side that results in a high contact rate and a knack for driving the ball with impact the opposite way and to the middle of the field. An offensive-minded infielder, Holliday also showed he can pull the ball for power as well when he drove a changeup for a double to deep right field. He’s committed to Oklahoma State.

Dante Nori, 2024 OF, Michigan

Nori has a strong, compact frame (5-foot-11, 190 pounds) and is an explosive, quick-burst athlete in center field who accelerates quickly with plus-plus speed. A lefty committed to Mississippi State, Nori also performed well at the plate in Jupiter, going 6-for-13 with two doubles, a triple, three walks and one strikeout. Two of those hits came off Luke McNeillie, one of the better righthanders in the 2023 class, with a single and a double against 91-92 mph fastballs.

Talan Bell, 2024 LHP/OF, Florida

Bell faced a strong MLB Breakthrough Series lineup led by three of the top 2023 players in the country in Dillon Head, Zion Rose and Nazzan Zanetello, with several quality underclass hitters down the lineup as well. That just made it stand out more when the Florida State commit fired five shutout innings, allowing only one hit with nine strikeouts and no walks. At 5-foot-11, 165 pounds, Bell isn’t that big and his velocity (85-89 mph here) isn’t overpowering, but he stands out for his athleticism, ability to throw strikes and mix all of his pitches effectively to keep hitters off balance. Bell filled the zone with his fastball and went frequently to his offspeed stuff, including a changeup that’s advanced for his age. Bell’s changeup comes in firm off his fastball in the low 80s, but it mirrors his fastball well with heavy action. Of the 12 times he threw his changeup, hitters swung seven times and whiffed on five of them. Bell was also able to get swing and miss with his mid-70s curveball, which has slider-like tilt and might end up turning into a slider from his lower arm slot.

Mason Brassfield, 2024 LHP, California

Jupiter only offered a quick look at Brassfield, a Texas Christian commit who threw two scoreless innings with no hits, three strikeouts and two walks. It didn’t take long, though, for Brassfield to show why he has one of the most impressive fastball/slider combinations in the 2024 class, especially from the left side. While the strikes were scattered, Brassfield pitched at 89-92 mph, with almost all of his fastballs going arm side and lots of room on his 6-foot-4, 185-pound frame to add strength and velocity in the coming years. His separator is a potentially plus slider that piles up empty swings already. Brassfield threw his 81-84 mph slider 12 times, with hitters swinging five times and whiffing on four of them thanks to the late tilt and two-plane break that makes it an out pitch against lefties or righties.

Owen Paino, 2024 SS, New York

Paino has a calm, balanced, compact swing from the left side as one of the most advanced hitters in the 2024 class. He’s 6-foot-3, 205 pounds with a knack for slowing the game down and excellent instincts for the game. The Mississippi commit had some atypical swing and miss early in the event, particularly against lefthanded pitching, but he finished 5-for-14 (.357) with two walks, catching up to good velocity by lining a 90 mph fastball for a single to right field and staying back on an 0-2 curveball that he drove the other way for a single.

Zach Swanson, 2024 RHP, Washington

An Oregon State commit, Swanson has two power pitches with his fastball/curveball combination. During his start, he allowed only one hit in four scoreless innings, striking out six with three walks. His velocity stacks up among the best in the class, pitching here at 89-94 mph with the physical projection in his 6-foot-3, 190-pound frame for more to come. Swanson throws his hard curveball with power, too, at 78-81 mph. Swanson will need to tighten his control of both his fastball and breaking ball, but when it’s at its best, his curveball flashes plus potential, looking like a fastball out of his hand before falling off the table with sharp bite to miss bats.

Carson Messina, 2024 RHP, South Carolina

Messina’s final line from his start might not look inspiring—1.1 innings, five hits, five runs (three earned) with two walks and two strikeouts—but the raw stuff coming out of his hand stacks up with any 2024 pitcher in Jupiter. Messina has broad shoulders on a strong, physically mature frame for 16 at 6-foot-2, 215 pounds. The South Carolina commit touched 96 mph, giving him perhaps the best present velocity in the 2024 class, hitting 96 multiple times and pitching mostly at 91-94 mph. While Messina will have to tighten his control, he stood out for more than just raw arm strength. Messina mixed in a power curveball in the low 80s and was adept at driving it down in the zone, buckling some knees with its hard, sharp break as he got several empty swings in a short stint.

Mavrick Rizy, 2024 RHP, Massachusetts

With a skyscraper frame at 6-foot-8, 235 pounds, Rizy has impressive body control for his size, using a relatively low-effort delivery that helps him throw strikes at a good clip for his age. He showed that in Jupiter, where he threw three scoreless innings on one hit with one walk, a hit batsman and five strikeouts. The Connecticut commit has a cutter and a promising split-changeup in his repertoire, too, but he went with a fastball/curveball attack in this outing. He pitched at 89-92 mph and touched 93, pairing it with a 75-78 mph curve that has three-quarters break and could eventually morph into a slider.

Dean Moss, 2025 OF, California

A California native at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., Moss punctuated his time in Jupiter by going 3-for-3 with two doubles in his final game, with two of those hits coming against 88-89 mph fastballs. Before that, Moss drew five walks in his previous nine plate appearances and didn’t strike out during the tournament. At 5-foot-11, 175 pounds, Moss is one of the most polished hitters in the 2025 class with great feel for the strike zone and ability to manipulate the barrel. The Vanderbilt commit projects as a corner outfielder and has some of the better raw power in his class as well.

Ethan Puig, 2024 3B, Florida

No matter who is on the mound or what type of pitch is coming, there’s a good chance Puig is going to barrel it up. The Miami commit consistently puts together quality at-bats with a compact righthanded swing and some of the best bat control in the 2024 class. It’s an efficient stroke with good path into the hitting zone and the hand-eye coordination to consistently find the sweet spot against fastballs or offspeed stuff in different parts of the strike zone. At 6 feet, 195 pounds, Puig is an offensive-minded player with a hit-over-power profile, sending hard line drives to all fields. That’s what he did in Jupiter, going 2-for-6 with two walks and no strikeouts. He took an 89 mph fastball on the outer third the opposite way for a line-drive single and shot a slider for a single back up the middle for his other hit. Even of the four outs he made, one was an 0-2 slider he smoked for a line-drive out straight at the first baseman, while another was an outer-third fastball drilled right at the right fielder.

Samuel Cozart, 2025 RHP, North Carolina

Cozart is 16 and still a sophomore, but he could put on a Double-A team’s uniform and wouldn’t look out of place physically. He’s a gigantic 6-foot-7, 235 pounds already with a short arm stroke, tucking the ball behind his ear before releasing a fastball that was mostly 89-93 mph here. Cozart is an early physical mature power arm, but he’s more than just a thrower, with a track record of throwing strikes at a high clip that continued in Jupiter, where he went six innings with one hit and one run allowed with no walks and 11 strikeouts. Committed to Mississippi State, Cozart mostly went to his upper-70s slider when he needed an offspeed pitch, but his changeup was even more impressive. It’s a lively changeup with good sink and fade that he threw seven times, getting five swings and four whiffs, and it’s a pitch that should become a bigger weapon for him against more advanced hitters.

Cade Townsend, 2024 RHP, California

Townsend added to an encouraging 2022 with another strong outing in Jupiter, where he fired five shutout innings with nine strikeouts, no walks and just two hits allowed. A Mississippi commit, Townsend is 6-foot-1, 180 pounds with a fast arm and more strength projection remaining to add to a fastball that was mostly 88-93 mph here. Townsend has had outings before where his control comes and goes, but in Jupiter he filled the zone, throwing 70% strikes with his fastball and avoiding any walks. Townsend is especially intriguing because of his innate ability to spin the ball, which shows up on both his fastball and curveball. Townsend went with a fastball-heavy approach here and he’s still refining the shape and consistency of his curveball, but the raw spin and hard break when his curve is on makes it a potential out pitch for him.

William Schmidt, 2024 RHP, Louisiana

Schmidt has a great build for a 17-year-old pitcher at 6-foot-3, 170 pounds with long limbs and a ton of space to fill out. He pitched at 88-91 mph and held his velocity throughout his outing of 4.1 innings as he allowed three hits, two runs (both unearned) with two walks and seven strikeouts. A Mississippi State commit, Schmidt has the projection indicators in place that suggest mid-90s or better velocity in his future. The potential separator for Schmidt is his mid-70s curveball, which has extremely tight rotation and should be a big swing-and-miss pitch for him once it’s more consistent. His changeup floated up on him at times, but he showed feel for that pitch with good separation off his fastball in the upper 70s, getting three whiffs the six times he threw it.

Austin Nye, 2024 RHP, California

A Vanderbilt commit, Nye made two appearances in Jupiter, throwing a combined 4.2 scoreless innings on one hit, one walk and six strikeouts. At 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, Nye pitches from a high three-quarters slot with some effort and a head whack in his mechanics, but it doesn’t impede his ability to throw strikes with a fastball that was up to 93 mph here. With advanced pitchability for 16, Nye was adept at landing his breaking stuff for strikes as well. He flashed a low-70s curveball with good shape and depth when it was on, as well as a mid-to-upper-70s slider that can blend into his curveball but got multiple swinging strikes. In previous looks, Nye has shown an excellent changeup that can catch hitters way out front with more than 10 mph of separation off his fastball, though he only threw it a couple of times here.

Schuyler Sandford, 2024 RHP, Florida

Sandford is 6-foot-4, 195 pounds with long limbs and more strength projection to add to a fastball that was 89-93 mph in Jupiter. Pitching from a crossfire delivery, Sandford is still learning to sync up his delivery to throw more strikes, but it’s an impressive fastball that plays up even beyond the velocity. He has a long stride that helps him get good extension out front and his fastball has good carry up in the zone, generating 10 whiffs on the 38 fastballs he threw. Sandford mixed in a handful of breaking balls, but the Florida commit pitched almost exclusively off his fastball here as he struck out three and walked two in two scoreless innings

Erik Parker, 2024 SS, Georgia

Scouts notice Parker right away because of his tall, lean, athletic build at 6-foot-3, 185 pounds with excellent strength projection. One of the younger players in the 2024 class, Parker is a plus runner who got on base in five of his eight plate appearances despite not swinging the bat much. He showed a patient approach, didn’t chase pitches outside the zone and worked three walks. A South Carolina commit, Parker also barreled an 88 mph fastball in a 2-2 count for a line-drive single to center field.

Michael Mullinax, 2024 OF, Georgia

The switch-hitting Mullinax reached base five times in 13 trips to the plate, with two hits and three walks. Both of the hits were line drives roped in the air to right field while batting lefthanded, and he took quality at-bats throughout the tournament with only two swings and misses during it. At 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, Mullinax is also an excellent athlete with plus speed and a strong arm in center field. He’s committed to Georgia.

Boston Bateman, 2024 LHP, California

Bateman is enormous. He’s 6-foot-7, 250 pounds and one of the hardest throwing lefties in the 2024 class. The Arizona State commit reached 93 mph this summer and was up to 92 here, pitching at 89-92 mph. Bateman also threw a hard curveball in the upper 70s, using it 11 times with hitters swinging at four of them and whiffing every time. Bateman struck out four of the 10 hitters he faced, but he did walk three as well, so like a lot of young, long-levered pitchers, he’s still learning to sync up his delivery to throw more consistent strikes.

Parker Lakey, 2025 RHP, North Carolina

Despite being a 2025, Lakey looked like a polished pitcher against the upperclassmen in Jupiter, throwing innings without allowing a hit or a walk, with just one run that was unearned against him and four strikeouts. Lakey is 6 feet, 180 pounds and pounded the zone with both his fastball and curveball, depositing 23 of his 32 pitches (71%) for strikes. He pitched at 88-92 mph and paired it with a low-70s curveball that had good depth that he commanded well, with a couple of swinging strikes of the seven he threw. He’s a North Carolina commit.

Jay O’Neal, 2025 RHP, Georgia

O’Neal has an impressive performance record when it comes to pounding the strike zone. That continued in Jupiter, where he didn’t walk anyone and struck out four in his four innings. An uncommitted righthander at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, O’Neal has a fairly simple, low-effort delivery for 16, pitching at 86-91 mph and peaking at 92. He pitched inside effectively, locating his fastball well to both sides of the plate. O’Neal also threw an upper-70s slider with short break that he commanded well down and away to righthanded hitters, and while his splitter was inconsistent, he showed feel for that pitch as well when he threw one that looked like a fastball in the zone out of his hand before it tumbled late and underneath the swing of a righthanded hitter.

Minjae Seo, 2025 RHP, Texas

Talent runs in the Seo family. His older brother, M.J. Seo, is a 2023 shortstop/righthander committed to LSU, and Minjae is a Vanderbilt commit with some of the better stuff in the 2025 class. At 6-foot-1, 165 pounds, Seo pitched at 87-91 mph in Jupiter, with the arm speed and physical projection for him to be sitting in the low 90s with more strength gains by this time next year. He showed feel for a 78-82 mph changeup that he went to often as well as a low-to-mid-70s breaking ball.

Noah Franco, 2025 LHP/OF, California

Franco, who attends IMG Academy in Florida, is one of the top players in the 2025 class both as a pitcher and an outfielder. He has a great frame for a young pitcher at 6-foot-3, 185 pounds with broad shoulders, a high waist and a ton of space to add good weight and add to a fastball that has already reached the low 90s. He pitched mostly at 87-90 mph in Jupiter and operated heavily off his fastball, throwing it nearly 90% of the time. The Mississippi State commit did run into some trouble when he walked three over four innings, allowing two runs, but he allowed just two hits that were both groundballs that snuck through the infield and struck out four with 11 swinging strikeouts on his fastball. Franco only threw one breaking ball in this outing, but he mixed in a changeup that had more separation off his fastball than it did during the summer.

Xavier Neyens, 2025 OF/RHP, Washington

At 15, Neyens was one of the youngest players in Jupiter. He came in to close out a 5-2 victory for a scoreless inning of relief by striking out the first hitter, hitting the next, then whiffing the next hitter on three straight fastballs for swinging strikes before getting a groundout on the next pitch to finish the game. Of his 14 pitches, Neyens mixed in a couple of sliders with one that hit a batter, the other an 81 mph breaker with two-plane depth for a swinging strike. He otherwise went after hitters mostly up in the zone with an 89-92 mph fastball, with lots of strength projection at 6-foot-2, 195 pounds to add more velocity. At the plate, Neyens had some swing and miss from the left side, but he also showed a patient approach and didn’t expand the strike zone much, which led to seven walks in 16 plate appearances.

Brayden Krenzel, 2024 RHP, Ohio

A Tennessee commit, Krenzel struck out four of the seven batters he faced in his quick two-inning stint, walking one with no hits or runs allowed. Krenzel has a lean, projectable frame at 6-foot-3, 185 pounds with room to grow into mid-90s velocity within the next couple of years. He’s already in the low 90s, attacking hitters up in the zone with a fastball that was mostly 87-92 mph coming from a long arm stroke in the back. Krenzel also flashed a sharp slider in the low 80s. He threw the pitch six times, once for a called strikeout to a lefty, then for swinging strikes against a lefty and a righty with two-plane depth to dive underneath barrels.

Elbert Craig, 2024 OF/1B, Texas

A Texas A&M commit, Craig has an extra-large 6-foot-4, 220-pound build, playing the corner outfield and first base. He went 5-for-10 with a triple, two doubles, three walks and no strikeouts in Jupiter, showing the ability to drive the ball for extra-base juice to both gaps when his righthanded swing was synced up. Craig got a 91 mph fastball at the top of the zone, kept his hands inside the ball to turn the barrel into the zone well and hammered it for a ground-rule double. Against a 91 mph fastball on the outer third from one of the better righthanders in the 2023 class, Chance Mako, Craig drove the ball to deep right field for a triple. Later in the game, he knocked a slider breaking down and away back up the middle for a single.

Connor Shouse, 2024 RHP, Georgia

Shouse played first base for the ECB/Padres Scout Team at Jupiter, but he hopped on the mound for one inning of relief and showed some of the best velocity of any pitcher in Jupiter regardless of class. Shouse topped out at 95 mph, with several 94s as he pitched at 91-94 mph. Shouse struck out two but also had two walks and one hit allowed, so the strikes were scattered, with his fastball his predominant pitch ahead of his curveball and firm changeup. But the 6-foot, 165-pound righthander is already reaching the mid 90s at 17, making him one of the hardest throwers in the 2024 class.

Rustan Rigdon, 2024 SS, Georgia

Rigdon has a mature offensive approach for 16. He doesn’t expand the zone much, consistently working the count and putting together quality at-bats. A switch-hitter at 5-foot-11, 165 pounds, Rigdon’s seven walks were among the most in the tournament, with an offensive game that’s more about on-base skills than power. He’s a Vanderbilt commit.

Jake Gregor, 2024 RHP, Kentucky

Gregor came on in relief in a playoff game, throwing three innings with two runs (one earned), one hit, no walks and four strikeouts to close out a 5-3 victory. It wasn’t a typical outing for Gregor, who threw fastballs on 39 of his 40 pitches with one changeup mixed in against the final batter he faced. A Louisville commit, Gregor has a big frame (6-foot-4, 210 pounds) and a strong fastball for his age that was 90-94 mph. It’s hard to give a fuller evaluation of Gregor from this look since he threw almost all fastballs, but he typically does go with a fastball-heavy approach and has shown feel for a changeup in previous looks.

Tate Carey, 2024 RHP, Canada

Carey was an intriguing pop-up arm, throwing three innings with two runs, four hits, one walk and four strikeouts. An uncommitted 16-year-old righthander, Carey has a compact build (6 feet, 180 pounds) and pitched at 88-92 mph. He showed some feel to spin a mid-70s curveball as well and looks to be one of the better pitchers out of Canada from the 2024 class.

Matt Brown, 2024 RHP, Canada

An uncommitted righthander, Brown made two appearances, combining for 4.1 innings with three runs (one earned) on three hits, one walk and five strikeouts. Brown sticks out right away with his long, gangly build (6-foot-5, 185 pounds) bursting with physical projection for him to gain velocity after he packs on another 30-plus pounds. In Brown’s first outing, he mostly pitched at 88-92 mph in his first inning, then settled in around 86-90 mph the next two innings, mixing in a short, upper-70s breaking ball as well.

Aidan Paradine, 2024 C, New Jersey

Paradine, who is from New Jersey but attends Pro5 Baseball Academy in Virginia, is a Georgia Tech commit with the components in place to get on base at a good clip for a catcher. He’s a high-contact hitter from the right side with a good sense for the strike zone, skills he showed in Jupiter as he went 6-for-9 with two doubles, five walks and no strikeouts. At 6 feet, 190 pounds, Paradine has quiet hands from the right side of the plate and only swung and missed once the entire event. Paradine also fared well against good velocity, barreling a 92 mph fastball for an opposite-field double and lining a single to right-center against a 92 mph pitch.

Jaxon Walker, 2024 OF, Tennessee

The speedy Walker has the athleticism, burst and range that consistently shows up in center field. In Jupiter, the lefthanded Georgia commit also impressed offensively, going 3-for-8 with two doubles and two walks. At 5-foot-11, 175 pounds, Walker caught a high fastball out front that he pulled in the air for a double. When he got a fastball down in the zone, he dropped the bat head on it to pull another double. Then he adjusted his swing to barrel a fastball down in the zone for a line-drive single to the pull side.

Brendon Bennett, 2024 LHP, Michigan

Bennett has bat-missing stuff that was evident in Jupiter. The Clemson commit is 6-foot-2, 200 pounds and pitched at 88-92 mph. When he needed a putaway pitch, Bennett went to his big-breaking curveball, a low-70s bender with lots of depth. He threw it seven times, got swing and miss twice and was comfortable landing it in the zone for an early-count strike as well. Bennett struck out three in 2.1 innings, but he did walk three and gave up three runs (two earned), so he will need to sharpen his fastball command, but it’s some of the better stuff in the country for a 2024 lefty.

Tate Strickland, 2024 RHP, Georgia

Strickland has a lot of projection arrows pointing in the right direction. The Tennessee commit is an athletic righthander with a lot of physical upside remaining in his lanky 6-foot-3, 170-pound frame to help him grow a fastball that has been up to 93 mph before and touched 92 in Jupiter. Strickland appeared in one game at the event, striking out five of the nine batters he faced over two innings with one walk and one hit allowed. His best secondary pitch was a hard slider in the low 80s, a pitch that on three occasions he started on the outer third of the plate to a righthanded hitter before it broke away and they chased it for a swinging strike. He also closed out the game with a slider for a called strike three.

Dylan Jordan, 2024 RHP, Florida

A Florida State commit, Jordan has a projectable frame (6-foot-2, 180 pounds) with a fastball that has been trending up. With long, whippy arm action, Jordan threw strikes with a fastball that parked at 88-90 mph and touched 91. He leaned heavily on his upper-70s slider, getting seven swings and misses in his four innings in which he allowed only one run (unearned) on two hits with four strikeouts and no walks. Jordan had one of the better sliders of any pitcher in Jupiter, consistently keeping it down and sweeping away from righthanded hitters to miss bats.

Josh Hammond, 2025 RHP, North Carolina

The results weren’t there for Hammond in his 2.1 innings, with four runs on three hits and four walks with three strikeouts. But at 16 and as a 2025, he was one of the youngest players at the tournament with promising stuff for his age. A Wake Forest commit, Hammond is 6-foot-1, 200 pounds and pitched off a lively 89-93 mph fastball that touched 94, making him one of the hardest throwers in the 2025 class. He backed it up with a slider that he’s still refining but has feel to spin and could become a bigger swing-and-miss pitch for him in time.

Cole Nelson, 2024 RHP, North Carolina

Nelson popped up as a sleeper to watch in Jupiter, where he struck out two in a 1-2-3 inning of relief after giving up two runs (one earned) with a couple of walks in his appearance out of the bullpen two days prior. Nelson will need to sharpen his control, but he has a projectable pitcher’s frame at 6-foot-2, 175 pounds and ran his fastball up to 93 mph. There should be mid-90s velocity coming soon. Nelson’s fastball was his best pitch, but he did show some feel to spin a 75-79 mph curveball as well.

Dalton Wentz, 2024 SS/RHP, Virginia

A South Carolina commit, Wentz is one of the better two-way talents in the country for 2024. He’s a strongly built 6-foot-2, 210 pounds with an aggressive delivery and a fastball that was 89-93 mph from his three-quarters slot over two innings. The strikes were scattered but he didn’t allow a run, issuing one walk with one hit and two strikeouts. Wentz threw a few sliders at 77-80 mph that broke like a hard slurve and three changeups at 79-81 mph that had solid fade at times. At the plate, the switch-hitting Wentz went 3-for-12 with a double, four walks and three strikeouts, showing some swing and miss but with a quick, compact stroke from the left side with some steepness to the path, getting the bat head out to single on a 91 mph fastball.

Nash Wagner, 2024 RHP, Indiana

Wagner moved his fastball in and out against both lefties and righties in impressive fashion, allowing only one hit and one walk over three scoreless innings with seven strikeouts. At 6-foot-5, 210 pounds, Wagner sticks out right away for his size, with good arm speed that should lead to an uptick in velocity. The Alabama commit touched 92 mph in Jupiter, avoiding the heart of the plate with his fastball as he located well to the corners. Wagner’s fastball was his predominant pitch, mixing in an upper-70s slider and an occasional changeup.

Zion Theophilus, 2025 RHP, Ohio

After throwing a 1-2-3 inning in an exhibition game, Theophilus started his next outing with a leadoff single and a walk. He then proceeded to strike out the next five hitters he faced, then retired the next batter to close his day. A Duke commit, Theophilus is 6-foot-1, 180 pounds with a delivery that has some effort to it and a head whack, but he has a fast arm and reached 90 mph in Jupiter. Theophilus worked in an upper-70s breaking ball that he used for a swinging strikeout, but he mostly carved through hitters with his fastball.

Mark Brissey, 2025 RHP, Arkansas

Brissey threw just 10 pitches in Jupiter, but it was enough to see why he’s committed to Arkansas at 15. Already 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, Brissey has a sturdy, powerful frame with a strong lower half, running his fastball up to 92 mph in a 1-2-3 inning. He threw one curveball and it was a good one, showing feel to spin the ball at 75 mph for a swinging strikeout.

Tyler Bell, 2024 SS, Illinois

A switch-hitter at 6-foot-1, 175 pounds, Bell’s bat-to-ball skills stood out in Jupiter, where he went 6-for-18 (.333) with a walk and only swung and missed once. Committed to Pittsburgh, Bell took most of his at-bats lefthanded, showing a compact, accurate swing and an approach geared to hit line drives to all fields with a hit-over-power offensive game. Four of those hits came against fastballs in the 88-92 mph range.

Levi Clark, 2024 C, Georgia

A Tennessee commit, Clark went 4-for-7 with a walk and a strikeout. All four hits came against offspeed pitches with two of them off two-strike curveballs, one of which was an 0-2 curve with good depth that he adjusted well to get the barrel on at the bottom of the zone for a line drive up the middle. He also showed a strong arm behind the plate on a couple of throws, with a 2.0-second pop time and another where he nearly back picked a runner at second base at 1.94 seconds.

Gabriel Tirado, 2024 C, Connecticut

At 5-foot-8, 205 pounds, Tirado won’t jump out immediately, but he has one of the better offensive games in the country for a 2024 catcher. He loads his lefthanded swing with a leg kick, maintains his balance and generates good torque to whip the barrel through the zone with high-end bat speed, an aggressive approach and short arms that help him keep his swing compact. He went 6-for-15 (.400) in Jupiter with two doubles, one on a curveball and another on an 89 mph fastball he smashed the opposite way into the left-center field gap. Tirado’s bat is his calling card, but he also blocked well in Jupiter and caught a runner stealing at second base.

Mateo Gray, 2024 INF/OF, Florida

Gray is 6-foot-3, 205 pounds with a good track record of driving the ball for extra-base damage in games. He added to that in Jupiter, where he went 3-for-9 with two walks and got an 89 mph fastball up in the zone that he turned on for a home run. The Central Florida commit also showed arm strength by getting on the mound and reaching 89 mph.

Ariston Veasey, 2024 C, Georgia

In terms of pure arm strength, Veasey stacks up with any 2024 catcher in the country, something he showed on the limited times where runners tried to steal against him. At 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, Veasey has a good catcher’s frame and moved well behind the plate, deadening several offspeed pitches in front of him that he blocked. The righthanded-hitting Georgia commit performed well at the plate, too, going 5-for-10 with two doubles, three walks and four strikeouts. He stayed back on a curveball on the outside corner for a single to right field and hit one of his doubles off a fastball to deep right-center field.

Ira Jefferies, 2024 SS, Georgia

Jefferies, a Missouri commit, went 4-for-9 with three doubles, two walks and two strikeouts in Jupiter. He’s 6-foot-1, 180 pounds and, while there is some swing and miss to his game, he does have a short swing from the left side where he gets most of his plate appearances. Two of those hits came on fastballs at 90 and 92 mph.

Jason DeCaro, 2024 RHP, New York

DeCaro walked the first batter he faced in his start, then the rest of the way gave up only one hit while striking out four in three shutout innings. DeCaro has a tall, projectable frame at 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, pitching at 87-91 mph with the strength projection to pitch in the low 90s or better eventually. The North Carolina commit has feel for a low-to-mid-70s curveball as well that’s his primary offspeed weapon.

Kale Fountain, 2024 3B, Nebraska

Fountain has a big, physical frame at 6-foot-5, 225 pounds and a strength-based game. He showed off his righthanded power in game, pulling a fastball down the left field line for a home run. Fountain finished Jupiter 5-for-16 with one walk and two strikeouts, with four of those hits against 88-90 mph fastballs. He committed to LSU after the tournament.

William Maginnis, 2024 3B, Georgia

An intriguing sleeper to follow from Jupiter, Maginnis is a Georgia State commit who went 3-for-7 with a triple, a double, four walks and one strikeout. Maginnis stands out more in games than he does in a workout setting. He has good hand-eye coordination and demonstrated a selective approach here, rarely chasing and only swinging through one pitch during the event. Maginnis isn’t a big power threat now from the right side, but his lanky 6-foot-3, 175-pound frame has ample room for him to pack on more size and strength in the future.

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50 Standouts For 2024, 2025 Class From WWBA In Jupiter (2024)
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