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NC Diamond Notes: Week 5

April 2, 2026
Sean Smith
Mid-Atlantic Operations Manager

Comprehensive Coverage of the 2026 North Carolina High School Baseball Season

Throughout the 2026 North Carolina high school baseball season, Prep Baseball NC and its dedicated staff will provide extensive coverage of all aspects of the sport across the state. Our coverage will feature Inside the Box, a daily scoreboard, live scouting at high school games, a maintained Heat Sheet, and ongoing tracking of standout player performances.

Each week, our scouting staff will analyze box scores, consult with high school coaches, college recruiters, and professional scouts to select the Player and Pitcher of the Week. Coaches will have the opportunity to nominate players from their teams for consideration. The recipients of these awards will be announced every Tuesday throughout the spring season.  Each player submitted and considered for the Player of the Week Award will be recognized in the weekly Diamond Notes release.  This list of players will allow fans, coaches, and scouts a place each week to follow some of the best performances weekly in North Carolina.

2026 Prep Baseball NC High School Coverage

PITCHERS

Jess Bowling, RHP, South Brunswick, 2027

  • Pitcher of the Week
  • No-hitter: 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 13 K
  • Faced 21 hitters throwing 83 pitches with 56 for strikes (67%)
  • Week Record: 3-0

Mason Cardwell, RHP, North Wilkes High School, 2027

  • 6.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 17 K in win vs Ashe County
  • Season: 30.2 IP, 14 H, 2 ER, 68 K, 0.45 ERA;
  • Week Record: 3-0

Holt Gaston, RHP, TC Roberson, 2027

  • Win: 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 7 K
  • Week Record: 2-0

Sid Dale, LHP, South Brunswick, 2027

  • 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 K

Zack Wester, RHP, Pisgah, 2027

  • 0 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 17 K
  • 73 strikes on 98 pitches, 24 batters faced
  • Season: 60 K, 0.538 ERA
  • Week Record: 2-0

Jack Beard, RHP, Charlotte Christian, 2026

  • 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 8 K in win vs Covenant Day
  • Week Record: 3-0

Braydon Sampson, LHP, West Wilkes, 2026

  • 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K (ND) vs East Surry

Additional Pitching Performances

Jesse Covington, RHP, Wesleyan Christian Acad, 2028

  • CG Win: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K

Beckett Howie, RHP, Metrolina Christian Acad, 2026

  • Campbell commit
  • CG Win (shortened): 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K

Parks Rhyne, RHP, Providence, 2026

  • CG Win: 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 11 K

Cooper Crisco, RHP, West Stanly, 2026

  • Catawba commit
  • CG Win: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K

Anaan Rahming, LHP, Grace Christian, 2026

  • South Florida commit
  • Win: 4 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K
  • Combined no-hitter

Bryan Hadder, East Carteret

  • Win: 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 10 K

Will Doll, Wilson Hunt

  • Win: 4.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 11 K

Kaden Morgan, SW Guilford, 2026

  • Win: 5 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 10 K

Crawford Elrod, Westchester Country Day

  • Win: 6.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 11 K

Jude Carter, RHP, Alexander Central, 2027

  • Kennessaw State commit
  • CG Win: 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 15 K

POSITION PLAYERS

Brody Zsuppan, 2B, Northwood High School, 2028

  • 7-10, 3 2B, 3 RBI, 8 R, 2 SB, 1 BB
  • Week Record: 3-0

Beckett Rinkus, OF, North Lincoln, 2027

  • 4-7, 3 HR, 1 2B, 7 RBI, 4 R
  • .571 OBP, 2.571 OPS, 2.000 SLG
  • Week Record: 2-0

Tucker Sigmon, 3B, North Lincoln, 2026

  • 5-6, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 5 R
  • .714 OBP, 2.714 OPS, 2.000 SLG

Chappy Smith, SS, TC Roberson, 2027

  • 5-9, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 3 R

Kaegan Radford, C, TC Roberson, 2027

  • 3-5, 2 HR, 2B, 4 RBI

Parker Filipek, C, TC Roberson, 2027

  • 4-5, 2B, 6 RBI, 4 R
  • Week Record: 2-0

Gunner Marsh, OF, South Brunswick, 2026

  • 4-7, 2B, 4 RBI, 3 R, 2 BB

Grady Sotriffer, SS, South Brunswick, 2026

  • Catawba commit
  • 4-9, 2 2B, 6 RBI, 5 R, 1 BB, 3 HBP, 3 SB
  • 1.282 OPS
  • Week Record: 3-0

Liam Edmonds, 3B, South Brunswick, 2028

  • 3-7, 2B, 2 BB, 1.171 OPS

Gavin Templeman, OF, South Brunswick, 2026

  • 2-6, 4 R, 4 BB, 2 SB

Harrison Mears, 2B, South Brunswick, 2027

  • 3-9, 2B, HR, 8 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB
  • 1.239 OPS
  • Week Record: 3-0

Chase Smith, 1B, East Forsyth, 2026

  • Player of the Week
  • Caldwell CC commit
  • 7-9 (.778), 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 6 R, 3 BB
  • Week Record: 3-1

Dean Brown, 3B, Cleveland HS, 2029

  • 5-7, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K
  • Week Record: 2-1

Hayden Gentry, 1B, West Wilkes, 2026

  • .400 AVG, 2 HR, 8 RBI across 3 wins
  • Walk-off sac fly vs East Surry; 2 HR in sweep of Alleghany
  • Week Record: 3-0

Cohen Taylor, SS, West Wilkes, 2028

  • .417 AVG, 5 H, 2 3B, 5 RBI, 5 R, 3 SB

Additional Offensive Performances

Jackson Pierce, Metrolina Christian Acad, 2026

  • Wingate commit
  • 6-8, 2B, HR, 7 R, 7 RBI
  • Team Record: 3-1

Jacob Seamon, SS/OF, Metrolina Christian Acad, 2027

  • LSU commit
  • Multiple multi-hit games; 2B, HR, 5 R, 3 RBI
  • Team Record: 3-1

Levi Ponder, Grimsley HS, 2026

  • Elon commit
  • 5-12, 2B, HR, 3 R, 8 RBI
  • Team Record: 3-0

DUAL PERFORMERS

Will Valente, 1B, Bishop McGuinness, 2026

  • At the plate: .444 AVG, 2B, HR, 8 RBI
  • On the mound: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 6 K
  • Week Record: 3-0

Dalton Davsko, RHP, East Forsyth, 2026

  • At the plate: 5-10, 2 2B, 7 RBI, 6 R, 2 BB
  • On the mound: CG Win, 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K

Tai Richmond, LHP/OF, Grimsley, 2026

  • South Carolina Sumter JC commit
  • At the plate: 3-8, HR, 1 R, 2 RBI
  • On the mound: Win, 3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 5 K
  • Team Record: 3-0

NC High School Coverage