Rankings: Inside the 2026 Top 50
December 9, 2024
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The end of the fall season gives the scouting staffs at Prep Baseball a chance to do a quick clean of their class rankings. This week will feature the Juniors in high school, the 2026 grads. The class expanded to the top 265 players in the state with several players making small moves within the rankings based on what our scouting staff saw this fall season. Events like the Open IDs and the Top Prospect Games allowed our scouting staff to hone in on players with their eyes and the full analytical package, detailing players strengths and giving some feel for what their future could hold as they continue to develop.
The process of rankings players can be somewhat simple but it does take a ton of time and effort. For every player the Prep Baseball scouting staff in NC sees, they work to put a player grade on the player and a confidence rating on the grade. The confidence rating can be related to the number of times a player is seen, and the number of different ways that player is evaluated. Once ready, the database is sorted blindly, with all player information hidden outside the player grade, confidence rating, and tool grades. When the data base is sorted by player grade, the tool grades are used to flush out players with similar overall grades. As the sorting process is finished, the rankings are basically set. Our scouting staff will go through the list to see if there are any outliers, where the grade may have been off for one reason or another. As this process is finished, the rankings are ready to post.
The recruiting world of high school baseball players has seemed to slow down a bit. While the 2025 class is seeing a fairly normal amount of early signing period commits, many came late in the fall period. For the 2026 class, many schools are in a holding pattern on their high school recruiting process. They are working to manage the new roster limit of 34, the new scholarship process, and the transfer portal. Much of the recruiting world will be quarter by quarter as teams work to constantly fill their roster with talent, depth, and balance. The 2026 class is the first class seeing these changes affect their entire recruiting cycle. We do expect a ton of attention on the 2026 class through the winter and into the spring as the winter transfer period closes and recruiting coordinators work to get a grasp on the talent as they are able to watch games in the spring, leading to a big summer period.
Below we begin the process of breaking down the top talent in the 2026 class. The NC 2026 class has a lot of talent, but more importantly, it has a lot of players that have a lot of development ahead of them. These rankings will evolve and adjust with the first big adjustment period coming after the winter sessions as we head into the spring season. The entire class of 2026 Rankings update, expanding it to the top 265 players in North Carolina, can be seen HERE.
2026 Rankings: Inside the Top 50
Uncommitted
The 2026 class has seen the recruiting world shift in the middle of their recruitment process. For players inside the top 50, several went off the board prior to new rules being in place. As the August 1 contact date, after their JR year, went into effect, we saw a majority of the 2026 class halt their process and wait for visits, calls, and texts until after August 1st. Through the fall season we several top prospects completed their process, selecting the school of their future. It is still very early for this class and there will be some very good gets for schools coming in the next 6 months.
15 players in the Top 50 remain uncommitted. Below are 5 names college coaches will be working to see this spring as they begin to dial in their college commitment.
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Charlie Shaver RHP / North Stanly High, NC / 2026High level pitcher who has seen his overall stuff continue to bump as he has continued to fill out his frame.
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Addison Rowland C / SS / palisades high school, NC / 2026Athlete that can catch... Rowland will provide instant depth to a roster with a very high ceiling due to an explosive tool set. |
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Colton Haire RHP / OF / Pro5 Baseball Academy, NC / 2026Potential two-way talent will impact quickly on the bump with a breaking ball that will create issues for top end hitters. |
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Cole Blevins OF / RHP / West Rowan High, NC / 2026Rankings StateRank: 30 / POS: 8
Sweet swinging left handed hitter is on the barrel a lot, showing an ability to handle high end arms while punishing pitchers without an out pitch. |
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Noah Rhoades LHP / OF / Holly Springs High, NC / 2026Rankings StateRank: 31 / POS: 1
Left handed arm that can produce outs with his fastball. Powerful lower half, Rhoades has a chance to be an explosive mover down the hill as he continues to mature. |
Positional Breakdown
Throughout our rankings process, North Carolina typically sees the positional breakdown of ranked players ease toward a set median. The same number of pitchers, catchers, infielders, and outfielders tend to be ranked by the time we get to the class' Junior year. Below we see how the top 50 of the 2026 class is spaced out by position.
Right Handed Pitchers: 17
Left Handed Pitchers: 4
Catchers: 4
Corner Infielders: 5
Middle Infielders:6
Outfielders: 14
Commitment Tracker
35 players in the Top 50 have made their choices. While the recruiting world is changing, and some of the commitments will more than likely change with the new roster limits in place, we are able to see how schools are still attacking high school players. Typically the state of North Carolina will see 450, or so, commitments in each graduating class. We can see the class of 2026 is on track see similar numbers by their graduation date.
Below is a conference breakdown of the top 50 commits in North Carolina as well as in-state vs. out-of-state.
American Athletic Conference: 2
Atlantic Coast Conference: 26
Big South: 1
Big XII: 1
Coastal Athletic Association: 3
Southeastern Conference: 2
In-State Commits: 21
Out-of-State Commits: 14
See the entire Class of 2026 Rankings Here.