Prep Baseball Report

Preseason All-State East: Blast Leaders


Patrick Johnson
North Carolina Assistant Scouting Director

The Preseason All-State events in North Carolina have quickly become the top winter events for the top players in the state to attend.  This year there are 3 Preseason All-State events with the East and West happening on February 3rd and 4th.  The Preseason All-State Central is scheduled for February 10th. These three events will see over 250 of North Carolina's top players, as they are ready to post numbers and go through a workout in preparation for the spring season.  Prep Baseball scouts were on hand to run the event verify stats, and evaluate the players involved.

The Preseason All-State has made Next Level Training Center in Greenville, NC its home for 4 years.  Next Level is a tremendous facility that offers a spacious workout facility.  Players had plenty or room to run a laser timed 30, while catchers, infielders, and outfielders were able to stretch their arms in their evaluation phase.  Pitchers threw off of indoor mounds.  During BP, players were able to see the ball fly over 100 feet off the bat with the setup at Next Level.

The Preseason All-State featured 73 of North Carolina's top talent, with a heavy leaning to those players that attend school in the Triangle area and east.  Below we take a data dive into the results of the workout.

CLICK HERE to see the full roster and statistical out put from the Preseason All-State East.

By The Numbers
+ 2 players recorded an exit velocity over 100mph
+ 28 hitters recorded an exit velocity of 90mph or higher
+ 40 hitters had a BLAST bat speed of 65mph of higher
+ 17 players ran a 4.00 or faster 30yd
+ 29 players hit 18mph while being tested
+ 25 players had a vertical jump test at 28in or higher
+ 11 pitchers had a fastball at 84mph or higher
+ 2 pitchers had their fastball spin recorded higher than 2400rpm
+ 3 pitchers had their breaking ball spin at 2400rpm or higher
+ 9 catchers recorded a pop time of 2.10 or better
+ 7 outfielders had arm strength at 88mph or better
+ 6 infielders tested with arm strength across the infield at 84mph or higher

PRESEASON ALL-STATE EAST: BLAST LEADERS

MAX HAND SPEED

Rank Name State School Class Pos Hand Speed (max)
1 Riley Cuddy NC Middle Creek High 2026 OF 26.0 mph
2 Dylan Palmer NC East Wake Academy 2026 OF 25.2 mph
3 Tommy Williams III NC Wake County Homeschool 2024 OF 25.1 mph
^ Tariq Stone NC East Wake 2026 OF 25.1 mph
4 Brandon Bush NC Hoggard 2027 OF 24.9 mph
5 Isaac Devine NC Overhills 2025 OF 24.4 mph
6 Harrison Corey NC D.H. Conley 2027 SS 23.9 mph
7 Brayden Taylor NC Bear Grass Charter 2024 OF 23.4 mph
8 Brandon Worsley NC South Central 2025 RHP 23.2 mph
9 Hodge Williams NC Holly Springs High 2026 C 23.1 mph
10 Matthew Vannoy NC Broughton 2025 2B 22.9 mph
^ Hayden Heath NC Millbrook 2025 OF 22.9 mph

AVERAGE HAND SPEED

Rank Name State School Class Pos Hand Speed (avg)
1 Riley Cuddy NC Middle Creek High 2026 OF 24.0 mph
2 Dylan Palmer NC East Wake Academy 2026 OF 23.9 mph
3 Tariq Stone NC East Wake 2026 OF 23.9 mph
4 Brandon Bush NC Hoggard 2027 OF 23.3 mph
5 Tommy Williams III NC Wake County Homeschool 2024 OF 23.2 mph
6 Hayden Heath NC Millbrook 2025 OF 22.0 mph
7 John Nelson McLamb NC Midway 2024 LHP 21.9 mph
8 Parker Watson NC Junius H Rose 2025 21.8 mph
9 Hodge Williams NC Holly Springs High 2026 C 21.6 mph
10 Robert Sasser III NC Pro5 Baseball Academy 2025 OF 21.5 mph

PEAK BAT SPEED

Rank Name State School Class Pos Bat Speed (max)
1 Riley Cuddy NC Middle Creek High 2026 OF 89.4 mph
2 Peyton Clay NC Northern Nash 2024 OF 83.4 mph
3 Dylan Palmer NC East Wake Academy 2026 OF 82.2 mph
4 Robert Sasser III NC Pro5 Baseball Academy 2025 OF 80.4 mph
5 Tommy Williams III NC Wake County Homeschool 2024 OF 80.1 mph
6 Brayden Taylor NC Bear Grass Charter 2024 OF 79.3 mph
7 Isaac Devine NC Overhills 2025 OF 78.1 mph
^ Wyatt Lytle NC Middle Creek 2027 C 78.1 mph
8 Tyce Thompson NC South Central 2027 C 77.5 mph
9 Tanner Pope NC Garner 2026 LHP 77.3 mph
10 Joshua Anderson II NC Willow Spring 2025 RHP 76.3 mph

AVERAGE BAT SPEED

Rank Name State School Class Pos Bat Speed (avg)
1 Riley Cuddy NC Middle Creek High 2026 OF 83.9 mph
2 Dylan Palmer NC East Wake Academy 2026 OF 79.3 mph
3 Tommy Williams III NC Wake County Homeschool 2024 OF 74.3 mph
4 Tyce Thompson NC South Central 2027 C 74.0 mph
5 Brayden Taylor NC Bear Grass Charter 2024 OF 73.6 mph
6 Tanner Pope NC Garner 2026 LHP 73.6 mph
7 Robert Sasser III NC Pro5 Baseball Academy 2025 OF 73.2 mph
8 Peyton Clay NC Northern Nash 2024 OF 72.9 mph
9 Taco Ferguson NC Corinth Holders 2025 OF 72.5 mph
10 John Nelson McLamb NC Midway 2024 LHP 72.4 mph

MAX ROTATIONAL ACCELERATION

Rank Name State School Class Pos Rot. Acc (max)
1 Matthew Vannoy NC Broughton 2025 2B 31.2 g
2 Hayden Heath NC Millbrook 2025 OF 30.2 g
3 Brandon Bush NC Hoggard 2027 OF 30.0 g
4 Tariq Stone NC East Wake 2026 OF 29.1 g
5 Brandon Worsley NC South Central 2025 RHP 27.5 g
6 Riley Cuddy NC Middle Creek High 2026 OF 26.8 g
7 Dylan Palmer NC East Wake Academy 2026 OF 25.6 g
8 Tommy Williams III NC Wake County Homeschool 2024 OF 24.4 g
9 Caden Barth NC Currituck County 2025 3B 24.3 g
10 Tate Nelson NC New Hanover 2026 SS 23.0 g

AVERAGE ROTATIONAL ACCELERATION

Rank Name State School Class Pos Rot. Acc (avg)
1 Matthew Vannoy NC Broughton 2025 2B 26.5 g
2 Tariq Stone NC East Wake 2026 OF 25.7 g
3 Brandon Bush NC Hoggard 2027 OF 24.7 g
4 Riley Cuddy NC Middle Creek High 2026 OF 24.6 g
5 Hayden Heath NC Millbrook 2025 OF 22.3 g
6 Dylan Palmer NC East Wake Academy 2026 OF 21.4 g
7 Tommy Williams III NC Wake County Homeschool 2024 OF 20.4 g
8 Tate Nelson NC New Hanover 2026 SS 18.2 g
9 Ian Roseboro NC Hickory Ridge 2027 2B 18.1 g
10 James Robinson NC DH Conley 2025 2B 16.2 g

AVERAGE ON PLANE EFFICIENCY

Rank Name State School Class Pos On Plane Eff (avg)
1 Collin Elias NC Roanoke Rapids 2025 SS 86 %
2 Vincent Pannutti NC East Surry High 2026 C 81 %
3 Davis Bradley NC DH Conley 2025 SS 80 %
4 Brayden Taylor NC Bear Grass Charter 2024 OF 80 %
5 Parker Simo NC JH Rose 2027 LHP 78 %
6 Ethan Simmons NC JH Rose 2025 3B 78 %
7 Austin Fletcher NC Willow Spring 2025 LHP 77 %
8 Cole Roberts NC Camden County 2025 LHP 76 %
9 Tariq Stone NC East Wake 2026 OF 76 %
10 Tate Nelson NC New Hanover 2026 SS 75 %