Prep Baseball Report

2024 Rankings Week


Shooter Hunt
Vice President, Scouting

Our rankings system is the heartbeat of the Prep Baseball Report. Our staff of over 100 scouts scour the country on a daily basis, from showcase events, high school baseball seasons, summer tournaments and more to find and evaluate the best prospects across the country. Our team is second to none, and with our expansive reach we have the ability to rank more players through intimate knowledge of their skill sets better than anyone.

Starting August 22 our states will begin to roll out individual state rankings for the 2024 class. Below is an outline of the week ahead and what to expect and look for as we countdown to the Overall Rankings release on Friday, August 26.

Monday

August 22

Alabama | Arkansas | Florida | Georgia | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maryland | MississippiTennessee | Virginia

Monday's release of states is highlighted by the standout performance of SS Carter Johnson (Oxford HS, AL) at this year's Future Games. Johnson may have walked away as one of the biggest winners from the event. In Louisiana, RHP/SS Ethan Judice (Hanson Memorial HS, LA) was 87-89 at the Top Prospect Games early in the summer and then ran his fastball up to 92 at the 16U National Championships. OF Dominic Moats (Gilman School, MD) took over the top spot in Maryland.

Tuesday

August 23

Colorado | Kansas | Minnesota | Missouri | Nebraska | Oklahoma | Texas | Utah | North Carolina | South Carolina

The new number one ranked player in Colorado was the Most Valuable Pitcher at the 2022 Future Games (2 IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 5K), Mitch Haythorn (Eaton HS, CO), with a fastball at 86-89, top 90. RHP Casan Evans (St. Pius X, TX) holds down the top spot in Texas with electric stuff on the mound and may be one of the top 2024 prospects in the country still available. Naulivou Lauki Jr. (Springville HS, UT) made a big splash at the Future Games and on the Utah state rankings. Jumping up to No. 2 in the state, the big RHP committed to Oregon shortly after the event. Anderson Nance (Morehead HS, NC) headlines a loaded list of pitchers in the North Carolina ‘24 class, and up to the No.1 spot in the state. Nance was dominant at the PBR Future Games, working up to 92, he featured a mature 3 pitch mix with the feel for attacking hitters with the fastball at the bottom and top of the zone.

Wednesday

August 24

Illinois | Indiana | Michigan | New England | New Jersey | New York | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Wisconsin

There’s a fresh face at the top of Illinois' 2024 class, as RHP Ryan Sloan (York, 2024; Wake Forest) climbs one spot to No. 1 overall. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Demon Deacons’ recruit thoroughly impressed at the Underclass Area Code Games, running his fastball up to 93 mph with a potential swing-and-miss breaking ball. LHP Brayton Thomas (Bishop Dwenger HS, IN) takes over the top spot in Indiana’s 2024 class. The 6-foot-4, 220 pound Indiana recruit ran his fastball up to 93 mph at the Area Code Underclass Games and has been into the low-90s on multiple occasions. Another Area Code Game standout and likely impact on the overall ranks is Wisconsin's No. 1 prospect SS JD Dix (Whitefish Bay HS, WI). Dix might end up being the best player in the country before this ‘24 group graduates, and was fun to watch him display a clear "it factor" in all that he does on the diamond.

Thursday

August 25

Arizona | California | Canada | Nevada | Oregon | Washington

Austin “Max” Charles (Liberty, AZ) takes over the No. 1 spot in Arizona after continuously showing he’s just a different type of prospect. Charles is coming off a very successful summer playing on the national circuit, facing the top competition around the country, and taking care of his business. The switch hitting/ambidextrous thrower has shown power potential from both sides of the plate, and arm strength with the right and left arm. It’s business as usual for California's top prospect SS Bryce Rainer (Harvard Westlake, CA) who continued to scorch balls all summer at major events across the country. In Oregon, the top two prospects in the state both hail from West Linn HS, C Ryan VandenBrink and OF/RHP Gabe Howard. RHP Zach Swanson (Toutle Lake, WA) not only grabs the No. 1 spot in the state of Washington for the first time but also looks poised to be a big riser in the national rankings. Built as a durable starter at 6-foot-3, 185-pounds, he's been up to 93 mph at Underclass Area Codes with a hammer CB at 76-79 and feel for a faded CH.

Friday

August 26

2024 Overall Rankings 

A remarkable summer slate packed with action from coast to coast has allowed the hundreds of scouts in PBR’s boots-on-the-ground forces to get out and evaluate the 2024 class. From the National Program Invitational (NPI) in June straight through the PBR Future Games and beyond, the games and workouts have hardly ceased, and thus provided a clearer picture as to what this new group of prospects will deliver to amateur baseball over the next two years.

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