Prep Baseball Report

Preseason All-State Central: Blast Leaders


Patrick Johnson
North Carolina Assistant Scouting Director

The Preseason All-State events in North Carolina have quickly become the top winter events for the top players in the state to attend.  This year there are 3 Preseason All-State events with the East and West happening on February 3rd and 4th.  The Preseason All-State Central is scheduled for February 10th. These three events will see over 250 of North Carolina's top players, as they are ready to post numbers and go through a workout in preparation for the spring season.  Prep Baseball scouts were on hand to run the event verify stats, and evaluate the players involved.

The Preseason All-State has made Diamond Xtreme in Kernersville, NC its home for the Central event for 5 years.  Diamond Xtreme is a tremendous facility that offers a spacious workout facility, featuring a 3/4 size infield setting that allows for full catcher pop times and for infielders to field true ground balls.  During BP, Prep Baseball splits the big cage in half, allowing hitters to see the ball fly, while working through the BP session in a very efficient fashion. 

The Preseason All-State Central featured over 70 of North Carolina's top talent.  Players came from the beach, the Triangle, the Triad, and the Charlotte area.  Below we take a data dive into the results of the workout.

CLICK HERE to see the full roster and statistical out put from the Preseason All-State Central.

By The Numbers
+ 2 Players posted exit velocities in BP of 100mph or greater
+ 30 hitters recorded an exit velocity of 90mph or higher
+ 34 hitters had a BLAST bat speed of 70mph of higher
+ 21 players ran a 4.00 or faster 30yd
+ 7 players hit 18mph while being tested
+ 22 players had a vertical jump test at 28in or higher
+ 9 pitchers had a fastball at 88mph or higher
+ 17 arms touched 84 or better with their fastball
+ 6 pitchers had their fastball spin recorded higher than 2400rpm
+ 8 pitchers had their breaking ball spin at 2400rpm or higher
+ 9 catchers recorded a pop time of 2.05 or better
+ 6 outfielders had arm strength at 85mph or better
+ 9 infielders tested with arm strength across the infield at 84mph or higher

PRESEASON ALL-STATE CENTRAL: BLAST LEADERS

MAX HAND SPEED

Rank Name State School Class Pos Hand Speed (max)
1 Seth Tickel NC Rocky Mount Academy 2025 3B 26.2 mph
2 Davis Phillips NC THE BURLINGTON SCHOOL 2025 C 26.0 mph
3 Maximus Wearing NC Palisades 2026 1B 24.6 mph
4 Jack Kerley McGrath NC Charlotte Christian 2026 C 24.5 mph
5 Corbin Spilliards NC Christ School 2027 SS 23.8 mph
6 Jaylen Witherspoon NC West Forsyth 2027 OF 23.5 mph
^ Adrian Gonzalez NC Apex High 2025 3B 23.5 mph
7 Tanner Ferguson NC Pro5 Baseball Academy 2025 SS 23.4 mph
8 Christian Xavier Romine NC Union Pines 2027 3B 23.3 mph
^ Cooper Summerlin NC Gaston Christian 2026 LHP 23.3 mph
9 Andrew Pegram NC South Rowan 2026 1B 23.2 mph
10 Colton Haire NC Pro5 Baseball Academy 2026 RHP 22.8 mph

AVERAGE HAND SPEED

Rank Name State School Class Pos Hand Speed (avg)
1 Seth Tickel NC Rocky Mount Academy 2025 3B 25.5 mph
2 Davis Phillips NC THE BURLINGTON SCHOOL 2025 C 24.3 mph
3 Maximus Wearing NC Palisades 2026 1B 23.3 mph
4 Cooper Summerlin NC Gaston Christian 2026 LHP 22.7 mph
5 Jaylen Witherspoon NC West Forsyth 2027 OF 22.3 mph
6 Andrew Pegram NC South Rowan 2026 1B 22.2 mph
7 Jack Kerley McGrath NC Charlotte Christian 2026 C 22.1 mph
8 Tanner Ferguson NC Pro5 Baseball Academy 2025 SS 22.1 mph
9 Christian Xavier Romine NC Union Pines 2027 3B 22.0 mph
10 Noah Genna NC Apex Friendship High 2025 OF 21.6 mph

PEAK BAT SPEED

Rank Name State School Class Pos Bat Speed (max)
1 Chase Kiker NC Metrolina Christian Academy 2026 RHP 82.8 mph
2 Adrian Gonzalez NC Apex High 2025 3B 82.1 mph
3 Gavin Gibson NC South Point 2025 1B 79.8 mph
4 Maximus Wearing NC Palisades 2026 1B 79.5 mph
5 Christian Xavier Romine NC Union Pines 2027 3B 79.2 mph
6 Jack Kerley McGrath NC Charlotte Christian 2026 C 78.2 mph
7 Davis Phillips NC THE BURLINGTON SCHOOL 2025 C 76.9 mph
8 Alex Hoffman NC Charlotte Catholic 2026 C 76.2 mph
9 Austin Federspiel NC East Forsyth 2025 RHP 75.6 mph
^ Jabari Lee NC Jack Britt 2024 OF 75.6 mph
10 Aubrey Stanley NC Cleveland 2025 1B 75.3 mph

AVERAGE BAT SPEED

Rank Name State School Class Pos Bat Speed (avg)
1 Gavin Gibson NC South Point 2025 1B 76.9 mph
2 Davis Phillips NC THE BURLINGTON SCHOOL 2025 C 74.5 mph
3 Adrian Gonzalez NC Apex High 2025 3B 74.1 mph
4 Christian Xavier Romine NC Union Pines 2027 3B 72.6 mph
5 Zack Scruggs NC Southwestern Randolph 2025 SS 72.3 mph
6 Maximus Wearing NC Palisades 2026 1B 72.3 mph
7 Noah Genna NC Apex Friendship High 2025 OF 72.3 mph
8 Aubrey Stanley NC Cleveland 2025 1B 72.1 mph
9 Tanner Berry NC Eugene Ashley 2025 C 71.6 mph
10 Chase Kiker NC Metrolina Christian Academy 2026 RHP 71.4 mph

MAX ROTATIONAL ACCELERATION

Rank Name State School Class Pos Rot. Acc (max)
1 Seth Tickel NC Rocky Mount Academy 2025 3B 38.7 g
2 Jack Kerley McGrath NC Charlotte Christian 2026 C 30.5 g
3 Chase Kiker NC Metrolina Christian Academy 2026 RHP 27.1 g
^ Zack Scruggs NC Southwestern Randolph 2025 SS 27.1 g
4 Davis Phillips NC THE BURLINGTON SCHOOL 2025 C 25.9 g
5 Corbin Spilliards NC Christ School 2027 SS 24.3 g
6 Zeb Swangim NC TC Roberson 2025 3B 24.1 g
7 Jack McGeehan NC Pro5 2024 OF 22.2 g
8 Luke Talley NC Green Level High 2027 1B 22.0 g
9 Maximus Wearing NC Palisades 2026 1B 21.2 g
10 Jahdier Rodriguez NC CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL 2025 C 20.9 g

AVERAGE ROTATIONAL ACCELERATION

Rank Name State School Class Pos Rot. Acc (avg)
1 Seth Tickel NC Rocky Mount Academy 2025 3B 34.4 g
2 Jack Kerley McGrath NC Charlotte Christian 2026 C 22.9 g
3 Davis Phillips NC THE BURLINGTON SCHOOL 2025 C 20.4 g
4 Zack Scruggs NC Southwestern Randolph 2025 SS 19.2 g
5 Jack McGeehan NC Pro5 2024 OF 19.0 g
6 Luke Talley NC Green Level High 2027 1B 18.8 g
7 Jahdier Rodriguez NC CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL 2025 C 18.3 g
8 Maximus Wearing NC Palisades 2026 1B 18.3 g
9 Zeb Swangim NC TC Roberson 2025 3B 17.9 g
10 Alex Hoffman NC Charlotte Catholic 2026 C 17.5 g

AVERAGE ON PLANE EFFICIENCY

Rank Name State School Class Pos On Plane Eff (avg)
1 Alex Hoffman NC Charlotte Catholic 2026 C 88 %
2 Coleman Cross NC Eugene Ashley 2025 2B 83 %
3 Luke Talley NC Green Level High 2027 1B 81 %
^ Jaylen Witherspoon NC West Forsyth 2027 OF 81 %
4 Colton Haire NC Pro5 Baseball Academy 2026 RHP 80 %
5 Corbin Spilliards NC Christ School 2027 SS 78 %
6 Andrew Pegram NC South Rowan 2026 1B 77 %
7 Hudson Tuttle NC Ronald Wilson Reagan 2027 C 73 %
8 Jacob Cesarz NC CARY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL 2026 SS 71 %
9 Judson Friese NC John M Morehead 2027 C 70 %
10 Christian Gentrup NC Northwest Guilford 2026 2B 69 %