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Top 10 Stories of 2013: #1 Story of the Year

January 3, 2014

By Greg Williams
PA Director of Scouting

Top 10 stories of 2013:  #1

Class of 2015 loaded with top end talent
- Note: Stories are in their original form from when they were written. This story ran on December 12 detailing the deep talent pool in the PA Class of 2015 and the impressive number of prospects that have already announced Division I commitments.

The number of highly ranked prospects that have already come off the board in the PA Class of 2015 continues to be a topic of discussion. This class certainly didn't sneak up on us, but the number of commitments and the speed at which they occurred was a bit of a shock. 

As recently as early September we reported on the fact that eight of the top 15 prospects in the class had announced commitments to ACC and SEC schools. In just three short months the number of Division I commits among the top 15 ranked prospects has ballooned to 13. Just No. 7 ranked C/3B Willie Burger and No. 14 ranked RHP Jake Potock have yet to announce a college decision.

The numbers become even more impressive as you move down the list a bit further. SS/RHP Chris Rabasco, a Midwest Future Games participant for Team PA, and RHP Brian Albert remain uncommitted at No. 22 and No. 25 respectively. Rabasco has made several unofficial visits and has received heavy interest following a strong showing for Team PA. Albert is coming of arm troubles that hampered him in 2013, but could become one of the most sought after pitchers in the class if he is able to return to form.

In total, 21 of the top 25 ranked prospects in the class have announced college plans as of today. With Rhett Jacoby announcing his verbal commitment to Penn State this week, the Nittany Lions lead the race in garnering the state's talent in this class. Penn State has received commitments from five prospects thus far outdistancing Virginia (3), Duke (2), Indiana (2), North Carolina (2) and Wake Forest (2).

The total number of commitments in the class sits at 30. With the NCAA Division I quiet period upon us, the flurry of announcements is likely to slow down for a period of time. Look for additional activity to begin in earnest early next summer. Following is a look at the current list of commitments in the class.

class 2015 commitments

Rank Name State School Class Pos Commitment
1 John Aiello PA Germantown Academy 2015 SS Wake Forest
2 Kyle Datres PA Loyalsock Township 2015 SS North Carolina
3 Jimmy Webb PA Loyalsock Township 2015 OF Wake Forest
4 Travis Blankenhorn PA Pottsville Area 2015 SS Kentucky
5 Jake McCarthy PA Scranton 2015 OF Virginia
6 Eli Nabholz PA Pottsville Area 2015 RHP Penn State
8 Mike Nikorak PA Stroudsburg 2015 RHP Alabama
9 Connor Higgins PA Parkland 2015 LHP Indiana
10 Culver Hughes PA West Chester East 2015 RHP Virginia Tech
11 Zach Wielgus PA William Penn Charter 2015 LHP East Carolina
12 Dylan Cyphert PA Cranberry 2015 LHP Penn State
13 Brendon Little PA Conestoga 2015 LHP North Carolina
15 Luke Glavin PA Loyalsock Township 2015 RHP Duke
16 Ben Dum PA West Perry 2015 RHP VCU
17 Joey Baran PA Hazleton Area 2015 LHP Boston College
18 Ryan Karstetter PA State College 2015 3B Virginia
19 Zach Guth PA Franklin 2015 LHP Indiana
20 David Yanni PA Central Bucks East 2015 SS Pitt
21 Cameron Simmons PA Spring-Ford 2015 OF Virginia
23 Jimmy Herron PA La Salle 2015 OF Duke
24 Ryan Sloniger PA Punxsutawney 2015 C Penn State
26 Brett Kinneman PA West York 2015 OF NC State
27 Nick Falso PA Wissahickon 2015 SS Ohio University
32 Connor Klemann PA Spring-Ford 2015 SS Penn State
33 Rhett Jacoby PA Parkland 2015 RHP Penn State
38 Cole German PA Council Rock North 2015 OF Maryland
40 Mark Gentilotti PA Malvern Prep 2015 SS Delaware
42 Jon Fisher PA Plymouth-Whitemarsh 2015 RHP James Madison
47 Tim Brennan PA Holy Ghost Prep 2015 RHP St. Joseph's
104 Zack Zoller PA Spring-Ford 2015 OF Temple


* Temple University announced it would be dropping seven sports, including baseball, at the end of the 2013-2014 school year.


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