SC Preseason All-State South: Blast Leaders
February 8, 2024
On Saturday January 27th PBR of South Carolina was on hand at The Shipyard Park in Mount Pleasent, SC for our Preseason All-State South Event. The event featured players from the 2024-2028 grad classes.
On a beautiful sunny day day the day started with pitchers throwing a controlled bullpen with Trackman collecting data analytics along with jump testing, grip strength, and height and weight measurments, followed by BP on the cages with Trackman collecting ball flight data followed the defensive evaluations along with a laser timed 60, jump testing, grip strength, and height and weight measurments.
Below we begin our breakdown of the players in attendance.
Click Here for full roster and stats
BLAST LEADERS
MAX HAND SPEED
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Hand Speed (max) |
| 1 | Will Watson | SC | Pinewood Prep | 2026 | OF | 24.9 mph |
| ^ | Riles Morris | SC | Lucy Beckham | 2026 | 1B | 24.9 mph |
| 2 | Brayden Brogdon | SC | Rock Hill High | 2027 | OF | 24.7 mph |
| 3 | Taj Marchand | SC | James Island | 2026 | SS | 24.2 mph |
| ^ | J'Qwan Crosby | SC | Stratford | 2026 | OF | 24.2 mph |
| 4 | Peter Fulton | SC | Bishop England | 2025 | 3B | 24.1 mph |
| ^ | Blayne Edwards | SC | Lake City | 2025 | 3B | 24.1 mph |
| 5 | Gavin Squires | SC | Spartanburg High | 2025 | C | 23.7 mph |
| ^ | Paiden Mergo | SC | Brookland-Cayce | 2027 | RHP | 23.7 mph |
| 6 | Sawyer Smith | SC | North Myrtle Beach | 2026 | SS | 23.6 mph |
| ^ | Jonathan Waldrop | SC | Lexington High | 2026 | OF | 23.6 mph |
| ^ | Alexander Romanski | SC | Bishop Enlgland | 2026 | OF | 23.6 mph |
| 7 | Campbell Whitener | SC | Dorman | 2024 | 3B | 23.4 mph |
| ^ | Banks Knight | SC | Summerville High | 2025 | OF | 23.4 mph |
| 8 | Hayes Clark | SC | Green Sea Floyds | 2026 | RHP | 23.3 mph |
| ^ | Braden Richardson | SC | Fort Mill High | 2027 | 2B | 23.3 mph |
| ^ | Breon Earle | SC | Dreher | 2025 | 2B | 23.3 mph |
| ^ | Gabe Johnson | SC | Lucy Garrett Beckham | 2026 | LHP | 23.3 mph |
| ^ | Seth Eckroth | SC | P27 Academy | 2026 | 2B | 23.3 mph |
| 9 | Evan Smith | SC | AC Flora | 2024 | OF | 23.2 mph |
| 10 | Alex Blanchette | SC | Indian Land | 2025 | 1B | 23.1 mph |
| ^ | Carsten Hamilton | SC | Oceanside Collegiate Academy | 2026 | SS | 23.1 mph |
| ^ | Jeremy Powell | SC | White Knoll High | 2026 | LHP | 23.1 mph |
| ^ | Zechariah Haney | SC | Camden High | 2025 | C | 23.1 mph |
AVERAGE HAND SPEED
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Hand Speed (avg) |
| 1 | Will Watson | SC | Pinewood Prep | 2026 | OF | 23.9 mph |
| 2 | Riles Morris | SC | Lucy Beckham | 2026 | 1B | 23.9 mph |
| 3 | Brayden Brogdon | SC | Rock Hill High | 2027 | OF | 23.2 mph |
| 4 | Peter Fulton | SC | Bishop England | 2025 | 3B | 22.9 mph |
| 5 | J'Qwan Crosby | SC | Stratford | 2026 | OF | 22.8 mph |
| 6 | Campbell Whitener | SC | Dorman | 2024 | 3B | 22.6 mph |
| 7 | Jonathan Waldrop | SC | Lexington High | 2026 | OF | 22.4 mph |
| 8 | Sawyer Smith | SC | North Myrtle Beach | 2026 | SS | 22.3 mph |
| 9 | Evan Smith | SC | AC Flora | 2024 | OF | 22.3 mph |
| 10 | Jacob Amman | SC | James Island Charter High | 2025 | 3B | 22.3 mph |
PEAK BAT SPEED
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Bat Speed (max) |
| 1 | Alexander Romanski | SC | Bishop Enlgland | 2026 | OF | 82.0 mph |
| 2 | Wiley Waring | SC | Summerville | 2025 | 1B | 80.9 mph |
| ^ | Gavin Squires | SC | Spartanburg High | 2025 | C | 80.9 mph |
| 3 | Jayden Williams | SC | Spring Valley | 2025 | OF | 80.8 mph |
| 4 | Taj Marchand | SC | James Island | 2026 | SS | 79.1 mph |
| 5 | Jacob Amman | SC | James Island Charter High | 2025 | 3B | 78.6 mph |
| 6 | Aidan Brusman | SC | Oceanside Collegiate | 2025 | 3B | 78.5 mph |
| 7 | Breon Earle | SC | Dreher | 2025 | 2B | 78.4 mph |
| 8 | Evan Smith | SC | AC Flora | 2024 | OF | 78.3 mph |
| 9 | Banks Knight | SC | Summerville High | 2025 | OF | 77.7 mph |
| ^ | J'Qwan Crosby | SC | Stratford | 2026 | OF | 77.7 mph |
| 10 | Peter Fulton | SC | Bishop England | 2025 | 3B | 77.4 mph |
AVERAGE BAT SPEED
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Bat Speed (avg) |
| 1 | Wiley Waring | SC | Summerville | 2025 | 1B | 76.7 mph |
| 2 | Jacob Amman | SC | James Island Charter High | 2025 | 3B | 76.4 mph |
| 3 | Jayden Williams | SC | Spring Valley | 2025 | OF | 75.4 mph |
| 4 | J'Qwan Crosby | SC | Stratford | 2026 | OF | 74.0 mph |
| 5 | Peter Fulton | SC | Bishop England | 2025 | 3B | 73.9 mph |
| 6 | Zechariah Haney | SC | Camden High | 2025 | C | 73.5 mph |
| 7 | Alexander Romanski | SC | Bishop Enlgland | 2026 | OF | 73.4 mph |
| 8 | John Collins | SC | Blythewood High | 2026 | SS | 73.1 mph |
| 9 | Evan Smith | SC | AC Flora | 2024 | OF | 72.9 mph |
| 10 | Taj Marchand | SC | James Island | 2026 | SS | 72.7 mph |
MAX ROTATIONAL ACCELERATION
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Rot. Acc (max) |
| 1 | Caleb Black | SC | Mid-Carolina High | 2025 | OF | 27.7 g |
| 2 | Paiden Mergo | SC | Brookland-Cayce | 2027 | RHP | 26.4 g |
| 3 | John Risk | SC | Fort Mill | 2025 | 2B | 25.4 g |
| ^ | Alexander Romanski | SC | Bishop Enlgland | 2026 | OF | 25.4 g |
| 4 | Finlay Pratt | SC | James Island Charter High | 2026 | C | 25.2 g |
| 5 | Maddux Medeiros | SC | Brookland Cayce | 2027 | 3B | 23.5 g |
| 6 | Jonathan Waldrop | SC | Lexington High | 2026 | OF | 23.1 g |
| 7 | Nolan Peacock | SC | Wando | 2026 | OF | 22.8 g |
| 8 | Taj Marchand | SC | James Island | 2026 | SS | 22.7 g |
| 9 | Gabe Johnson | SC | Lucy Garrett Beckham | 2026 | LHP | 22.4 g |
| 10 | Sawyer Smith | SC | North Myrtle Beach | 2026 | SS | 22.2 g |
AVERAGE ROTATIONAL ACCELERATION
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Rot. Acc (avg) |
| 1 | Caleb Black | SC | Mid-Carolina High | 2025 | OF | 23.6 g |
| 2 | Alexander Romanski | SC | Bishop Enlgland | 2026 | OF | 20.6 g |
| 3 | Maddux Medeiros | SC | Brookland Cayce | 2027 | 3B | 20.5 g |
| 4 | Paiden Mergo | SC | Brookland-Cayce | 2027 | RHP | 19.7 g |
| 5 | Jalen Collins | SC | Carolina Forest High | 2025 | 3B | 19.1 g |
| 6 | Jonathan Waldrop | SC | Lexington High | 2026 | OF | 18.5 g |
| 7 | Campbell Whitener | SC | Dorman | 2024 | 3B | 18.4 g |
| 8 | Alex Carreiro | SC | Fort Mill | 2025 | OF | 18.1 g |
| 9 | Taj Marchand | SC | James Island | 2026 | SS | 18.1 g |
| 10 | J'Qwan Crosby | SC | Stratford | 2026 | OF | 17.8 g |
AVERAGE ON PLANE EFFICIENCY
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | On Plane Eff (avg) |
| 1 | Evan Johnson | SC | Wando | 2027 | 1B | 94 % |
| 2 | J. Watson Harvley | SC | Lugoff-Elgin | 2025 | 2B | 88 % |
| 3 | Nolan Peacock | SC | Wando | 2026 | OF | 87 % |
| 4 | Fredo Hernandez | SC | James Island Charter | 2028 | RHP | 86 % |
| 5 | Finn Kucaba | SC | Oceanside | 2027 | OF | 85 % |
| 6 | Tyler Kneece | SC | Batesburg-Leesville | 2026 | OF | 84 % |
| 7 | Caleb Black | SC | Mid-Carolina High | 2025 | OF | 84 % |
| 8 | Diego Patrick | SC | Waccamaw High | 2025 | LHP | 84 % |
| 9 | Finlay Pratt | SC | James Island Charter High | 2026 | C | 81 % |
| 10 | Jeremy Powell | SC | White Knoll High | 2026 | LHP | 81 % |