North Carolina's Top 25 Exit Velocities of 2018
January 11, 2019
The New Year is here and the high school season is just around the corner. In preparation for the 2019 spring season, PBR will run several events in January and February, allowing our scouts to get updates on players, and allowing players to continue their process of prep for the spring while connecting to the college coaches and pro scouts that follow PBR.
Before we turn the page on 2018, lets look back at some of the statistically dominant performances of last year. At PBR events, PBR scouts are able to collect some analytical data and add it to PBR Player Profile pages. With over 8 million PBR Player Profile page views in 2018, PBR has created a one-stop-shop for college coaches and pro scouts to view a prospect’s notes, evaluations, video, statistics, and more.
Our first category to review is Exit Velocity. Offensive players at PBR events will have their exit velocity tested off the bat in a controlled cage environment. Players will take multiple swings off a tee with a radar gun reading the exit velocity of the ball off the barrel. We have found that the more a player performs this drill, the more control they have on the number they produce and while this number does not reflect a hitter’s overall ability, it does give evaluators a glimpse at a hitter’s strength level with the bat at impact.
Top Exit Velocities of 2018
The top three exit velocities of 2018 came from the PBR Future Games in Indianapolis in early August. PBR of NC and SC combined forces to send a team and compete against other regions of PBR over four days. During the workout day, Team Carolina caught the eyes of the 250+ college coaches in attendance with the physical nature of the team’s hitters. Nick Neal (1B, Randleman HS, 2020) set an event record with an exit velocity of 104 mph. Teammates Trey Truitt (OF, East Mecklenburg HS, 2020) and Preston Hall (3B, Myers Park HS, 2020) were not far behind at 102 and 101 respectively.
The North Carolina ProCase in February saw 30 of the most talented 2018 graduates in the state workout for over 40 professional scouts at Kernersville’s Diamond Xtreme facility. Four hitters make the top 25 top exit velocities, each working at or above 94 mph. Xavier Bussey (OF, Garner HS, 2018) led the event with an exit velocity of 99 mph. Bussey is currently a Freshman at South Carolina.
Filling out the Top 25 list were 10 players from the PBR Top Prospect Games in August, 6 from organizational scout days, and 2 from the Preseason All-State last January. Ronald Evans (3B, Pro5 Academy, 2019) and Nick Leonard (1B, Reagan HS, 2018) each appear on the list twice. Evans peaked at 99 mph at the PBR Top Prospect Games after showing a 98 at the Preseason All-State. Leonard was up 4 mph from his 94 at the PBR Southern Academic Games, when he posted a 98 at the PBR Top Prospect Games.
Below is the complete list of players in the Top 25 from 2018. Exit velocities in the list range from 94 – 104 mph.
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