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Fall Tournament Notebook: LakePoint

October 5, 2023
PBR Georgia
Staff

Emerson, GA- Another summer is in the books as a we break for a couple weeks before we get things kicked off for the fall at LakePoint Sports. The fall is a time where we get to watch games, and see who we need to be going to see this spring. Many players are playing multiple sports right now, so the fall is always a good time to see who is developing and making adjustments from the summer. The fall season is fairly short, so we will continue to add notes to this "Fall Tournament Notebook" as each week goes by. 

Blake Bryant, RHP, 2026, (GA)
Clemson Commit. 6-foot-5, 165-pounds. The long/lanky right hander had an impressive performance Sunday at the PBR Fall Open. Bryant threw a complete game, only giving up 1 run off of 2 hits. He had great command of the zone with a good pitch mix between the FB and the SL. The FB had good late life that he was able to top out at 88. He mainly worked the bottom part of the zone but could elevate when needed. The slider was a good secondary pitch that he had great confidence in. He was able to pitch backwards and get ahead with the slider.

JR Zeimet, C/INF, 2026, (GA)
Uncommitted. 6-foot, 180-pounds. Zeimet has a strong/physical build that shows strong gap to gap power. Zeimet had a really productive weekend at the Fall Open with multiple hard hit balls. He has a good on-plane, staying through the ball well.

Jude Matthews, LHP, 2026 (GA)
Uncommitted. 6-foot, 170 pounds. Junior Future Games alumni. Tall, athletic frame that works well to his advantage to go deep into games. Since his JFG appearance last year, he’s added 7 mph to his fastball, running it up to 84 in his outing Sunday with spin in the 2200s. This is without sacrificing command for added velocity, as the command of the fastball was exceptional and located it wherever he wanted, filling up the zone. Used his curveball sparingly at 72-74, but getting a good amount of whiffs on it. Flashed a changeup a couple times, running at 76. Matthews sits well into his legs and has a medium tempo delivery with deceptive arm action as he hides the ball behind his backside, seemingly invisible. L3/4 arm slot. He had good command of all of his pitches and kept hitters off balance, all working well together to throw a 7-inning shutout in the final game of the tournament. He limited the opposition, quality opposition, to just 3 hits, allowing Complete Game to scratch by with a win with a 1-0 score. 

Steven Harshbarger, 3B/RHP, 2025 (GA)
Uncommitted. 6-foot, 185 pounds. Strong, large frame with noticeable athleticism. Narrow stance with a toe tap load. Very patient hitter that gets set quickly and has impressive launch quickness. The point from relaxed to impact is very short, the load can almost be missed and this consistent movement increases energy and momentum to create an explosive but compact swing. Fast twitch fibers and a controlled hand load with impressive hand speed. While I didn’t see him perform as a pitcher, it is important to note that he is an impressive two-way. 

Andrew Carter, CF, 2024 (GA)
Georgia Highlands College commit. 5-foot-9, 160 pounds. Carter committed to GHC just over a week ago and we congratulate him and wish him the best! Does really well from the lead-off spot with his medium, athletic frame with a strong lower half. Simple, repeatable swing with a well-balanced and smooth negative move. Steepens barrel angle late in path to lift the low fastball with ease for ideal launch angle. A/AVG speed that helps him to be a strong base-runner and have good range in center-field. Also has an impressive arm that assists him in being a complete defender. 

Braden Pearson, RHP, 2025 (WY)
Uncommitted. 5-foot-11, 175 pounds. Tall, athletic frame with impressive pitchability and strength. Pleasantly stunned by his outing. His fastball runs 87-90, hitting 90 many times. He has shown flashes in the past that he can throw 92 at just 16 years old. His command was good too, generating a lot of whiffs. It is shocking to me how little I could find on him online but it won’t be long before he starts turning some heads. Maybe the most impressive thing he did besides his velocity was his release height with his over-the-top arm slot which topped 6-foot-8, while he is 5-foot-11. This height creates a tough angle for hitters which stunned many hitters. He also had a curveball running 76-78 and a changeup running 80-81. Most certainly needs to be recognized.

Troy Ford, OF/SS, 2025 (GA)
Uncommitted. 5-foot-10, 140 pounds. Cracked the PBR 2025 National rankings. 2021 Junior Future Games alumni. A slender, medium frame that plays with electricity. Quick twitch athlete with A/AVG speed that plays well on the basepaths and in the two positions he primary plays, center and short. His speed was displayed on the basepaths in the game I watched him where he beat out a grounder the shortstop. Switch hitter with a quick, explosive swing and gets consistent barrels. A tought out with his contact skills, plate discipline, and speed. In 3 at-bats, Ford got on-base every time with a pair of singles and a walk. 

Branson Crawford, C/RHP, 2026, (GA)
Uncommitted. 5-foot-9, 165-pounds. Crawford is a strong two-way talent coming out of the 2026 class. During the Labor Day Challenge, He had a strong outing on the mound. He kept his pitch count low, allowing him to go deep into the game. Crawford had a high powered FB that got up to 87. While being able to flip in a sharp BB whenever he wanted to. He showed great command, and was confident in throwing any pitch in different counts.
 

Nathan Nance, OF/SS, 2025, (GA)
Uncommitted. 6-foot-1, 160-pounds. Nance is an athletic player that plays strong defense up the middle of the field. Offensively, he has a strong bat that can hit for contact and power. Nance is able to hit to all parts of the field. He shows great confidence at the plate. He has shown progressions from the beginning of the summer to now. 

Blake Harrington, RHP, 2026 (GA)

Uncommitted. 6-foot, 175 pounds. Large, athletic frame. Multi-sport athlete, also a football quarterback. There’s good history of the quarterback-pitcher profile and deserves more recognition, guys like Patrick Mahomes and ‘23 Future Gamer Matthew Pearch have this profile. It isn’t easy to do both and important to mention he played football this same week. Harrington is a 2021 Junior Future Games alumni himself. Has a FB that sat 81-84 and topped 86 and blew by hitters. Had strong command of it and got lots of whiffs on the high fastball. Also had a curveball he used when he wanted running 68-70. Quick and efficient delivery and hides ball well with deceptive arm action, allowing his pitches to play up. ¾ arm slot and held the opposition scoreless in his outing. 

Chase Alonso, SS/RHP, 2028 (GA)
Uncommitted. 6-foot, 170 pounds. 2023 Junior Future Games alumni. Alonso flat-out rakes, had a hot summer and has continued that into the fall. Tall, athletic frame with proportional strength. Small hand load with good hand speed and a toe tap in stride. Simple, repeatable swing. Alonso is simply a gamer and a can’t-miss hitter wherever he is. Also had an inside-the-park grand slam during the tournament! Looking forward to see Alonso continue to show out this fall. 

Justin Mills, RHP, 2027 (GA)
Uncommitted. 5-foot-11, 175 pounds. Strong frame with room to fill out. Really effortless delivery which allowed him to go deep into the game and hold velocity. Hides ball well with deceptive arm action, which plays up on hitters. Seemingly comes out of nowhere, really tough to track. ¾ arm slot. Fastball runs 79-81 and has displayed the ability to touch 82 but spun it up to 2450 rpms. His curveball is impressive too, running 69-70 but spinning up to 2600 rpms. He threw both of these with strong command. Mills put on quite the performance in the championship game with his pitchability, limiting the opposition to just 4 hits to throw a shut-out! To dominate like this in the championship under pressure really displays how good of a talent he is, especially with the control he had for such high-spin pitches at just 14 years old. Highly projectable arm, but he can hit too.