2021 Power25 Countdown: No. 1 IMG Academy
February 5, 2021
Leading up to the start of the high school season, we will count down the Top 25 preseason teams every day as part of our comprehensive season coverage:
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| OF James Wood |
Team: IMG Academy
Preseason Rank: 1
2020 Record: 8-2
FHSAA Class: Independent
Head Coach: Kason Gabbard
TOP PLAYERS
Name, Position, Class (College Commitment)
James Wood, OF, 2021 (Mississippi State)
Drake Varnado, SS, 2021 (Arkansas)
Tommy White, 3B, 2021 (NC State)
Drew Gray, OF/LHP, 2021 (Arkansas)
Mason Albright, LHP, 2021 (Virginia Tech)
Sam Hunt, C, 2021 (Vanderbilt)
Elijah Green, OF, 2022 (Miami)
Davion Hickson, RHP, 2022 (Florida State)
Jackson Ferris, LHP, 2022 (Ole Miss)
Blaydon Plain, 1B, 2022 (Florida)
Stone Russell, INF, 2023 (Florida)
Brady Neal, C, 2023 (LSU)
X-FACTOR
James Wood
Team Strengths
14 Division 1 commits. Should be pretty strong on both sides of the ball. Four players in top 100 MLB Draft prospects.
OUTLOOK
IMG Academy might have the most talented roster in the country in 2021. The Ascenders are loaded with 14 D1 commits and several future top MLB Draft Picks. Both sides of the ball are filled with talent both returning from the 2020 team, but especially newcomers in 2021. Returning starters from last year are OF James Wood (Miss State), SS Drake Varnado (Arkansas), INF Stone Russell (Florida), and C Sam Hunt (Vanderbilt). IMG brings in a ton of high powered bats in 2021 with 3B Tommy White (NC State), OF Elijah Green (Miami), 1B Blaydon Plain (Florida), OF/LHP Drew Gray (Arkansas), and C Brady Neal (LSU). On the mound IMG is led by several newcomers in LHP Mason Albright (Virginia Tech), LHP Jackson Ferris (Ole Miss), RHP Davion Hickson (FSU), and Gray. A loaded team that expects to be dominant in 2021.
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