By Nathan Rode
National Supervisor

With a brief spat of spring-like weather last week, I was able to finally get out and see my first live high school games of the season. I took in two games: Jordan HS at Panther Creek HS and Cardinal Gibbons HS at Jordan—all North Carolina schools of course. I’ve seen a lot of Jordan and Cardinal Gibbons the last few years. Both are within 20 minutes of my house and have had a good run of Division I players recently. Cardinal Gibbons has alums in Max Schrock, an infielder at South Carolina, and Robbie Thorburn, an infielder at UNC Wilmington. Jordan has also churned out a couple infielders with Alex Raburn and Wood Myers both currently at North Carolina.

The talent hasn’t stopped either as both teams have at least one Division I player on the roster this year. Junior 3B Steven Oakley (Jordan HS, NC) is verbally committed to North Carolina State and has a big, lean frame with broad shoulders. He showed good hands at third base and a strong arm. Across the two games, he went 2-for-6 with a double in the left-center field gap and home run to right field. A right-handed hitter, he has a wide stance and doesn’t stride much, but has solid bat speed and a slightly uphill path to the ball. For Cardinal Gibbons, there are two players to watch—junior C/OF Stephen Scott and freshman MIF Noah Campbell.