Latest news with #GatoradePlayerOfTheYear
New York Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
MLB Draft Combine: Kayson Cunningham eager to compete; Bruin Agbayani flashes speed, hit tool
PHOENIX — One of the best pure hitters among the high school prospects in the 2025 draft class, Kayson Cunningham came to the MLB Draft Combine with very little to prove to evaluators. But don't tell him that. The 5-foot-10, 170 pound shortstop out of Johnson High School in San Antonio is currently ranked as the No. 20 prospect in the class by The Athletic's Keith Law. He and Purvis (Miss.) High School shortstop JoJo Parker were the only two top-25 prospects on Law's list to perform in the on-field workouts on Day 1 of the combine. With one of the best hit tools in the class, Cunningham put on a show in batting practice, posting an exit velocity of 99 mph or higher on 14 of his 27 hits. He topped out at 107.2. Advertisement The scouting consensus is that Cunningham will hit as a pro. The Texas Gatorade Player of the Year hit .509 as a senior. The biggest question is whether he will be able to generate any power from his smaller, though well built, frame. Cunningham hit two balls in BP over 400 feet, including a 420-foot blast. The session was impressive but probably didn't show scouts anything they didn't already know about Cunningham based on his high school track record. So why did Cunningham feel it was necessary to compete in on-field workouts, something many of the top prospects opt out of? 'I'm a ballplayer,' he said. His mom, Olivia, noted that her son had been antsy since his season ended and that getting back out on the field was like a lifeline for him. The family is planning a vacation for after the combine and Cunningham was already asking where he could do baseball workouts on the trip. Not surprisingly, Cunningham plans to put himself to the test again later in the combine when he runs the 30-yard dash. Bruin Agbayani, a shortstop from St. Louis High School in Honolulu and son of longtime big-leaguer Benny Agbayani, starred in the high school game that took place at the end of Day 1 of the combine. He showed plus speed on a triple and excellent at-bats overall. Agbayani hit .365 as a senior and also competed in the MLB Draft League for Frederick earlier this summer, collecting six hits in 35 at-bats as one of the youngest players in the league. He's committed to Michigan. Agbayani wasn't the only familiar name among the combine participants. Carsten Sabathia III, son of newly elected Hall of Famer CC Sabathia, had a solid round of batting practice. Sabathia, a junior first baseman from the University of Houston, hit one ball 420 feet and maxed out at 109.2 with his exit velocity. He hit .235/.333/.370 with two homers in 27 games for Houston this season. He also competed in the Draft League, hitting .171/.302/.304 for Trenton. Advertisement Manny Ramirez, Jr. (guess whose son he is) hit a 410-foot blast and maxed out at 104.8 with his exit velocity during his session. Ramirez hit .299/.435/,495 as a freshman for East Los Angeles Junior College this season. Perhaps the most intriguing 'bloodlines' prospect to participate in Day 1 of the combine was Quentin Young, nephew of former MLB outfielders Delmon and Dmitri Young. Young, who ranked 52nd in Law's latest ranking, hit 18 balls 100 mph or harder, maxing out at 115.4 mph. One drive went 426 feet. Quentin Young — nephew of Dmitri and Delmon — has the best hair at this Combine so far. Some BP from him: [image or embed] — Melissa Lockard (@ June 17, 2025 at 10:13 AM — Arizona State outfielder Brandon Compton generated significant buzz, hitting every ball except one at least 101 mph. His longest hit was 460 feet. Compton hit .271/.379/.486 with nine homers in 59 games for the Sun Devils this season. He had a .903 OPS in the Cape Cod League last summer. He was ranked 68th on Law's latest ranking. — Shortstop JoJo Parker hit back-to-back with his twin brother Jacob in batting practice. JoJo, who projects as a potential top-10 pick, hit all of his non-bunts at least 90 mph and topped out at 105.2 exit velocity. Jacob, a center fielder, is known more for his in-game power than his brother, who has one of the top hit tools in the class. Jacob hit all of his non-bunts 95 mph or higher except for one. He hit one ball 416 feet and topped out at 110.1 mph. — Switch-hitting catcher Taitn Gray, a high school prospect from Dallas-Center Grimes High School in Iowa who has been gaining helium leading into the draft, had an impressive batting practice from both sides of the plate. The 6-4, 220 pound slugger hit nine balls 110 mph or higher and had six home runs further than 400 feet. He's ranked 58th on Law's list. — The only home run hit in the high school game on Tuesday night was off the bat of Nathan Eisfelder, a product of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., who is committed to Tennessee. (Photo of Cunningham: Tracy Proffitt / Four Seam Images via Associated Press)
CBS News
14-06-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Reading 'Swamp Boy' McCafferty's named Gatorade Massachusetts Baseball Player of the Year
A junior at Austin Prep in Reading will be touring the country playing baseball, and he's hoping it will someday lead to Fenway Park. The Swamp Boys A long line of D-1 college baseball players has emerged from a field in Reading, affectionately called "The Swamp." "We refer to ourselves as the Swamp Boys, and that's a nod to the players that came before this current generation who played down here when it was a swamp," said Austin Prep Baseball Coach JP Pollard Of all Austin Prep's "Swamp Boys," Bradley McCafferty is the only one who has been named the Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year for Massachusetts. "Every moment of every day, when I was little, I wanted to play baseball. It took me where I am today. So I love the game," McCaffery said. Most days, McCaffery dedicates himself to working on his craft as a catcher. "Every play, you're back there commanding the game. So that's, I think, why I fell in love with it. Never a moment where you can't be locked in. I'm a competitor. The rising senior has been a standout behind home plate, says Austin Prep alum Evan Blanco, who's now a Major League Baseball draft prospect out of the University of Virginia. "Bradley's a stud. I remember him catching me when he was in middle school before he came to Austin Prep. I even knew that he was something special back then," Blanco said. A student of the game McCafferty said he takes notes from guys like Blanco who've been there before. "It's always just valuable because those guys have another insight - I haven't been there yet," McCafferty said. He's helped lead Austin Prep to a 20-2 record this season, batting .367 and averaging one RBI per game. "He's come a very long way as a catcher, and as a hitter he's night and day. He is a well-rounded hitter that has power potential, but can hit to all fields, can shorten up and hit in two-strike counts. He's a future pro," Pollard said. McCafferty's already gotten a taste of the big leagues over the past two years, spending time on the Red Sox and Yankees scout teams. "It's pretty surreal playing for those great organizations. I go to places like Fenway. I like to go to ballparks a lot. I try to envision myself on that field. What would it look like? ... I see it happening. That's the goal at least," McCafferty said. This summer, he'll be crossing the country playing ball, eventually serving as captain for Team Massachusetts in Omaha. "I wasn't a good Little League player. ... When I do my coaching stuff, I tell the young kids, 'I never hit a home run in Little League, and, like, look where I am now.' It doesn't matter about how you are when you're young. When I was young, I was confident in my ability, but I never thought I'd have the chance - maybe have the chance - to go to college or to go pro to play baseball. It's all about work ethic and goals. Your skill is never a complacent thing. ... You gotta keep working at it."
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Purvis' Parker Twins Say Real Reward of Success is Brotherhood, With Each Other and Their Teammates
Twins. On the same team. With almost the same stats. Committed to the same college. The first pair to ever both win the highest award in their sport in the same classification from the MHSAA, both named Mr. 4A Baseball. Sports Director David Edelstein shows us how JoJo (also Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year) and Jacob Parker say it's not about the award of recognition given to them; it's about the reward of success and brotherhood they've created themselves along the way. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Stillwater's Ethan Holliday named 2025 Gatorade Oklahoma Baseball Player of the Year
Stillwater High School's Ethan Holliday is the 2025 Gatorade Oklahoma Baseball Player of the Year, the company announced Tuesday. The top-ranked prospect for the upcoming MLB draft according to Holliday helped Stillwater reach the Class 6A state tournament and finished his senior season with a .611 batting average, 19 home runs and 64 RBIs. Advertisement The 6-foot-4, 215-pound shortstop also had a 1.295 slugging percentage and scored 57 runs as Stillwater finished with a 25-8 record. Holliday, the son of former big leaguer Matt Holliday, is signed with Oklahoma State. He is the younger brother of Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday, who won the Gatorade award in 2022 before getting selected first overall in the draft. More: Meet The Oklahoman's 2025 All-City high school boys tennis first team Nick Sardis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at nsardis@ or on Twitter at @nicksardis . Sign up for The Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Nick's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at . This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Ethan Holliday named 2025 Gatorade Oklahoma Baseball Player of Year
