Best of 2025: Infielder Arm Velocity
January 27, 2026
Best of 2025: North Carolina Leaders
The Best of 2025 series serves as a comprehensive look back at the top performers across the Prep Baseball landscape in North Carolina throughout the 2025 calendar year. This collection pulls from every Prep Baseball event held in the state, along with national and regional events that featured Team North Carolina, creating a data-driven snapshot of the players who consistently stood out across the year.
2025 was a banner year for the state on the national stage. Team NC delivered strong performances at the Future Games, Jr. Future Games, Sr. Future Games, and the Super Sophomore Games, continuing to establish North Carolina as a reliable producer of high-end talent. The state was also represented by four players at the Super60, while two North Carolina prospects earned selections to the Prep Baseball All-American Game, highlighted by 2027 LHP Connor Salerno, who took home Most Valuable Pitcher honors.
That momentum carried over to the professional level, as North Carolina was well represented in the 2025 MLB Draft. With recent updates to the state rankings for the 2026 through 2029 classes, it’s clear that MLB scouts and college recruiters alike will continue to track the state closely in the years ahead.
The Best of 2025 leaderboards are built from the event analytics that power the Prep Baseball platform. Each event provides players with verified data, updated video, and measurable benchmarks that allow for direct comparison by position, class, and within the state. With over 1,000 college coaches and professional scouts subscribed, the platform serves as a vital tool for player evaluation, development tracking, and exposure—connecting North Carolina’s top performers with opportunities at the next level.
INF Arm Velocity | Best of 2025
The INF Arm Velocity leaderboards highlight throws recorded during 2025 Prep Baseball workouts, capturing arm strength from infielders throwing from third base, shortstop, and first base. Each throw was made with the intent to replicate a live game action, with players aware that arm velocity was being measured.
While infield arm velocity alone does not tell the full defensive story—factors like hands, exchange, release time, footwork, and accuracy all play critical roles—it does provide valuable insight into a player’s raw arm strength and defensive ceiling. This metric helps evaluate a defender’s potential to remain on the left side of the infield as the game speeds up.
Broken down by overall leaders and class-by-class standouts, this leaderboard identifies infielders who separated with above-average arm strength during the 2025 event cycle.
INFIELDER ARM VELOCITY
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | INF Velo |
| 1 | Landon Church | NC | West Forsyth | 2026 | SS | 92 |
| 2 | Caden Tarr | NC | Carmel Christian | 2026 | SS | 91 |
| 3 | Matt McKnight | NC | Charlotte Catholic | 2025 | SS | 90 |
| ^ | Evan Burroughs | NC | Watauga | 2026 | SS | 90 |
| ^ | Thomas Piscorik | NC | Wakefield | 2028 | SS | 90 |
| ^ | Jackson Stepp | NC | West Henderson High | 2027 | SS | 90 |
| 4 | Brady Holmes | NC | Person | 2027 | SS | 89 |
| ^ | Mac Corney | NC | Freedom Christian Academy | 2027 | SS | 89 |
| ^ | Mikey Papciak | NC | Wesleyan Christian Academy | 2028 | SS | 89 |
| ^ | Graysen Stafford | NC | Fayetteville Tech CC | 2025 | 1B | 89 |
| ^ | RJ Browning | NC | Topsail | 2027 | SS | 89 |
| 5 | Sebastian Rodriguez | NC | Grimsley | 2025 | SS | 88 |
| ^ | Benjamin Bernard | NC | Green Level | 2027 | 2B | 88 |
| ^ | Harrison Mears | NC | South Brunswick | 2027 | C | 88 |
| ^ | Adrian Gonzalez | NC | Apex | 2025 | 3B | 88 |
| ^ | Owen Shirey | NC | Providence Day School | 2027 | SS | 88 |
| 6 | Meridian Leffew | NC | Gaston Christian | 2025 | SS | 87 |
| ^ | Dylan Stacks | NC | North Brunswick | 2026 | RHP | 87 |
| ^ | Jerry Sims | NC | Southeast Alamance | 2026 | SS | 87 |
| ^ | Graham Virag | NC | Cardinal Gibbons | 2028 | SS | 87 |
| ^ | Grant Helms | NC | Hickory Ridge | 2027 | 1B | 87 |
| ^ | Gibson Todd | NC | Topsail | 2026 | SS | 87 |
| ^ | Brandon Bush | NC | Hoggard | 2027 | OF | 87 |
| 7 | Brody Brannan | NC | South Central | 2027 | OF | 86 |
| ^ | Drew Bonhag | NC | Cox Mill | 2025 | 2B | 86 |
| ^ | Aaron Frink | NC | Overhills High | 2028 | 3B | 86 |
| ^ | Evan Howard | NC | Myers Park | 2027 | SS | 86 |
| ^ | Evan Hogg | NC | Southlake Christian Academy | 2026 | SS | 86 |
| ^ | Cooper Wilson | NC | West Brunswick high school | 2026 | RHP | 86 |
| ^ | Jarrin Swead | NC | North Lincoln | 2026 | 2B | 86 |
| ^ | Morgan Jones | NC | Weddington | 2026 | OF | 86 |
| ^ | Kaiwi Sharp | NC | First Flight High School | 2029 | SS | 86 |
| 8 | Calvin Tourville | NC | Wake County Warriors | 2027 | SS | 85 |
| ^ | Carter Huff | NC | Reagan | 2027 | SS | 85 |
| ^ | Trent Baker | NC | North Raleigh Christian Academy | 2027 | SS | 85 |
| ^ | Brady Marshall | NC | Reagan | 2026 | 3B | 85 |
| ^ | Jackson Semanisin | NC | Fuquay-Varina High | 2026 | SS | 85 |
| ^ | Brax Thompson | NC | Providence | 2028 | SS | 85 |
| ^ | Dylan Rodkin | NC | Stuart W. Cramer | 2027 | RHP | 85 |
| ^ | Jackson Mocny | NC | pro5 baseball academy | 2028 | C | 85 |
| ^ | Grant McGuffey | NC | Cedar Ridge High | 2026 | 2B | 85 |
| ^ | Cooper Marks | NC | Walter M Williams | 2027 | SS | 85 |
| ^ | Ruito Kobayashi | NC | Pro5 Academy | 2026 | 2B | 85 |
| ^ | Braxton Faulkner | NC | Reagan | 2029 | RHP | 85 |
| 9 | Tae Trantham | NC | Asheville | 2026 | SS | 84 |
| ^ | Jacob Watson | NC | Falls Lake Academy | 2026 | 3B | 84 |
| ^ | Gabriel Diaz | NC | Carmel Christian | 2027 | 3B | 84 |
| ^ | Caden Nolan | NC | Richmond Senior | 2026 | 3B | 84 |
| ^ | Carter Beck | NC | North Davidson High | 2027 | 2B | 84 |
| ^ | Mason Hawkins | NC | Needham Broughton | 2027 | 3B | 84 |
| ^ | JohnPaul Rodio | NC | Northern High | 2027 | SS | 84 |
| ^ | Matthew Wright | NC | West Forsyth High | 2028 | SS | 84 |
| ^ | Kayden Bradsher | NC | Orange | 2027 | SS | 84 |
| ^ | Brayden Mottola | NC | Pro5 Academy | 2026 | RHP | 84 |
| ^ | Austin Baxter | NC | Hopewell | 2028 | 2B | 84 |
| ^ | Zeke Adwaters III | NC | Roberson | 2026 | SS | 84 |
| ^ | Alex Hampton | NC | Marvin Ridge | 2028 | 1B | 84 |
| ^ | Dylan Hancock | NC | Cuthbertson | 2028 | SS | 84 |
| ^ | Andrew Mohler | NC | Cary | 2026 | 3B | 84 |
| ^ | Joseph Fiore | NC | Weddington | 2026 | OF | 84 |
| ^ | Matthew Winser | NC | Homeschool (NC) | 2027 | 2B | 84 |
| 10 | Giovanni Buccino | NC | West Forsyth | 2027 | 1B | 83 |
| ^ | Cole Bowman | NC | Wesleyan Christian Academy | 2027 | C | 83 |
| ^ | Henry Geiser | NC | Green Level | 2026 | 3B | 83 |
| ^ | Kellen Rogers | NC | Wake Forest | 2027 | SS | 83 |
| ^ | Eli Cash | NC | Corinth Holders | 2027 | RHP | 83 |
| ^ | Parker Filipek | NC | TC Roberson | 2027 | C | 83 |
| ^ | Preston Smith | NC | Hoggard | 2026 | 3B | 83 |
| ^ | Justin Iannetto | NC | Sun Valley | 2026 | 2B | 83 |
| ^ | Caleb Neal | NC | Wake Forest | 2027 | 2B | 83 |
| ^ | Cameron (Cam) Small | NC | Heritage | 2028 | RHP | 83 |
| ^ | Jacob Raisig | NC | Reagan | 2026 | RHP | 83 |
| ^ | Nicholas Trogdon | NC | Northwest Guilford | 2027 | RHP | 83 |
| ^ | Elijah Martin | NC | Green Hope | 2027 | 3B | 83 |
| ^ | Gunnar Johnson | NC | Alexander Central | 2028 | SS | 83 |
| ^ | Jacob Cesarz | NC | Pro 5 Baseball academy | 2026 | SS | 83 |
| ^ | Gavin Jackson | NC | American Leadership Academy - Johnston | 2026 | 1B | 83 |
| ^ | Tyler Wright | NC | Hickory Grove Christian | 2027 | RHP | 83 |
| ^ | Camden Walton | NC | Garner | 2026 | SS | 83 |
| ^ | Devan Welch | NC | Heritage | 2028 | 2B | 83 |
| ^ | Ryder Anderson | NC | DH Conley | 2028 | 3B | 83 |
| ^ | Mason Ridings | NC | West Forsyth | 2026 | 2B | 83 |
| ^ | Aiden Harrist | NC | Metrolina Academy | 2028 | RHP | 83 |
| ^ | Tucker Wingard | NC | Parkwood | 2028 | SS | 83 |
| ^ | James Price | NC | Mount Tabor | 2027 | 3B | 83 |
| ^ | Chase Collins | NC | Providence Grove | 2028 | C | 83 |
| ^ | Weston Sykes | NC | Page | 2027 | SS | 83 |
| ^ | Jacob Barlett | NC | Wakefield | 2027 | SS | 83 |
| ^ | Parker Wallace | NC | Cape Fear High | 2027 | 3B | 83 |
| ^ | Fisher Taylor | NC | Topsail | 2028 | SS | 83 |
| ^ | Chase Leonard | NC | New Hanover | 2027 | 3B | 83 |
| ^ | Jack May | NC | Western Alamance | 2028 | C | 83 |
2026 GRADS
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | INF Velo |
| 1 | Landon Church | NC | West Forsyth | 2026 | SS | 92 |
| 2 | Caden Tarr | NC | Carmel Christian | 2026 | SS | 91 |
| 3 | Evan Burroughs | NC | Watauga | 2026 | SS | 90 |
| 4 | Dylan Stacks | NC | North Brunswick | 2026 | RHP | 87 |
| ^ | Jerry Sims | NC | Southeast Alamance | 2026 | SS | 87 |
| ^ | Gibson Todd | NC | Topsail | 2026 | SS | 87 |
| 5 | Evan Hogg | NC | Southlake Christian Academy | 2026 | SS | 86 |
| ^ | Cooper Wilson | NC | West Brunswick high school | 2026 | RHP | 86 |
| ^ | Jarrin Swead | NC | North Lincoln | 2026 | 2B | 86 |
| ^ | Morgan Jones | NC | Weddington | 2026 | OF | 86 |
2027 GRADS
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | INF Velo |
| 1 | Jackson Stepp | NC | West Henderson High | 2027 | SS | 90 |
| 2 | Brady Holmes | NC | Person | 2027 | SS | 89 |
| ^ | Mac Corney | NC | Freedom Christian Academy | 2027 | SS | 89 |
| ^ | RJ Browning | NC | Topsail | 2027 | SS | 89 |
| 3 | Benjamin Bernard | NC | Green Level | 2027 | 2B | 88 |
| ^ | Harrison Mears | NC | South Brunswick | 2027 | C | 88 |
| ^ | Owen Shirey | NC | Providence Day School | 2027 | SS | 88 |
| 4 | Grant Helms | NC | Hickory Ridge | 2027 | 1B | 87 |
| ^ | Brandon Bush | NC | Hoggard | 2027 | OF | 87 |
| 5 | Brody Brannan | NC | South Central | 2027 | OF | 86 |
| ^ | Evan Howard | NC | Myers Park | 2027 | SS | 86 |
2028 GRADS
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | INF Velo |
| 1 | Thomas Piscorik | NC | Wakefield | 2028 | SS | 90 |
| 2 | Mikey Papciak | NC | Wesleyan Christian Academy | 2028 | SS | 89 |
| 3 | Graham Virag | NC | Cardinal Gibbons | 2028 | SS | 87 |
| 4 | Aaron Frink | NC | Overhills High | 2028 | 3B | 86 |
| 5 | Brax Thompson | NC | Providence | 2028 | SS | 85 |
| ^ | Jackson Mocny | NC | pro5 baseball academy | 2028 | C | 85 |
2029 GRADS
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | INF Velo |
| 1 | Kaiwi Sharp | NC | First Flight High School | 2029 | SS | 86 |
| 2 | Braxton Faulkner | NC | Reagan | 2029 | RHP | 85 |
| 3 | Aiden Kirkland | NC | High Point Christian Academy | 2029 | SS | 82 |
| 4 | Sam Piscorik | NC | Wakefield | 2029 | 3B | 81 |
| ^ | Ryder Sheffield | NC | North Stanly | 2029 | SS | 81 |
| 5 | Karsen Dodd | NC | Providence | 2029 | SS | 80 |
| ^ | Austin Tack | NC | Apex | 2029 | 3B | 80 |

