Madison, MS - The South Mississippi Rising Stars ID was held on Saturday, March 25th at the Southern Performance Institute in Madison, MS. This event was an open event that consisted of some of the top prospects from the 2027-2028 classes. These players went through extended pro-style workout that included batting practice using Trackman, ran the 30 yard dash using Swift Performance, and much more. Pitchers were able to throw in simulated bullpens during the workout and were able to get numbers and metrics. There were some players who showed up and continued to build off of prior performances, but there were also some new names who jumped onto our radar with a strong showing on Saturday.

Kicking off our post-event coverage for this event, we take a look back at some of the top performers and standouts from Saturday. Continuing over the course of the next week or so, we will release different statistical leaderboards for the event along with other pieces of content.

View all positional stats HERE.

 

QUICK HITS

+ RHP/INF Rece Atkinson (Leake Academy, 2027) showed some advanced ability on the mound on Saturday. The tall, wiry right hander worked his fastball 80-83 mph with very good arm side run. His fastball could be considered a sinker with the action he gets, which should produce tons of weak contact and ground balls. Atkinson doesn't throw a breaking ball yet though uses a change up that mimics his fastball well with similar movement. 

+ 1B Deuce Jenkins (Northwest Rankin, 2027) continues to establish himself as an up and coming power prospect in the state. The left handed hitting Jenkins was a PBR Junior Future participant last summer and has continued to develop with exit velocities around 90 mph during his batting practice round on Saturday. Jenkins also has gained arm strength with a 76 infield veto, up from 68 a year ago. 

+ C Sawyer Pettit (Tri-County Academy, 2027) was invited to the PBR Junior Future Games last summer but an injury kept him from attending. He seems to have recovered and had a solid showing this weekend. Petit is a still developing catcher with upside at the position, though his swing is fairly advanced with good leverage, extension into contact, and a line drive approach all fields approach. 

+ 3B/RHP Sullivan Reed (Meridian, 2027) showed advanced power for his age with several exit velocities into the low 90’s. The big right handed hitter has power to all fields though looks to pull with aggression into contact. His bat, along with a solid corner infield glove and strong arm should make Reed a hot commodity on the recruitment front in the very near future. 

+ C Ford Wade (Oxford, 2027) is another very big 8th grader from the event with plenty of juice in his bat. Wade led all hitters this weekend with a 95 mph exit velocity though had several other low 90 mph swings. The 3B/C is still developing as a position player though is already an intimidating presence in the box. 

+ LHP Deacon Cicero (Little Rock Christian Academy - ARK, 2028) had some intriguing spin from the left side. The 7th grader from Little Rock used a fastball that settled in around 75, with plenty more on the way, but for a 7th grader showed unusual feel and command of his slider that stayed around 2500 spin rate. Cicero is definitely an arm to keep up with moving forward. 

+ RHP/OF Tucker Rice (Madison Central, 2027) made his presence known flashing an event best 88 mph throw across the diamond on Saturday. The wiry 8th grader from Madison Central then stepped on the mound and worked his fastball in the 81-83 mph range with solid feel for the strike zone and developing secondary stuff including a next level change up. 

+ INF/RHP Ross Harden Beavers (Madison Central, 2027) was a late addition to one of our PBR Junior Future Games teams last summer and looks to have continued his development since the event. Beavers is a solid all around player on the diamond with the ability to produce both offensively and on the mound. His fastball settles in around 78 though should see an increase soon. He’s a sure handed defender and uses a line drive, all fields approach at the plate. Coaches would love to have several Ross Harden Beavers on their team!

+ OF/LHP Pierce Anderson (Madison Ridgeland Academy, 2027) has improved progressively over the past couple of years we have seen him. The stocky switch hitter has a little more pop from the left side, though his swing from both sides of the plate has developed nicely. Anderson also has upside on the mound as the lefty runs his fastball into the mid 70’s at the moments with good feel for his breaking ball and developing change up.

+ 1B Jones Roberson (Washington, 2027) was in attendance last year at our March event and has added a little juice to his swing. Roberson had multiple 90 mph exit velocities while working the middle of the field with consistency. He also added more arm velocity over the past year with a 79 mph throw to 3rd from his first base position. 

+ OF Reed Sandberg (Madison Central, 2027) had an impressive PBR Junior Future Games tourney last summer. The sweet swinging Sandberg has continued his development and even added a little more power to his swing though the bat path still is pretty level and produces tons of line drives. The left handed hitting Sandberg works the middle of the field and backside very well, though with the ability to turn on the inside pitch, he’s a nightmare for opposing pitchers. 

 

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Upcoming Events

SHOWCASE	DATE	LOCATION
North Mississippi Rising Stars ID	4/1	The Gatorade Fieldhouse (Elevate) - (Hernando, MS)
Oxford Open	5/31	The Farm (Athletic Performance Center) - (Oxford, MS)
Hattiesburg Open	6/6	University of Southern Miss - (Hattiesburg, MS)
New Orleans Summer Open	6/6	Tulane University
Magnolia State Games	6/13	University of Southern Miss - (Hattiesburg, MS)
Gulf Coast Open	7/11	Mississippi Gulf Coast CC - (Perkinston, MS)
Gulf Coast Rising Stars ID	7/11	Mississippi Gulf Coast CC - (Perkinston, MS)

 

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