Prep Baseball Report

TrackMan Leaders: NC/SC Border Battle Hitters


Brandon Hall
Mid-Atlantic Scouting Director

Over 115 of the top players from North Carolina and South Carolina converged on UNC Charlotte’s Robert & Mariam Hayes Stadium on June 28, 2023 for the PBR NC/SC Border Battle.  In front of over 30 college and professional coaches and scouts, players from each state went through a pre-game workout and then played 9+ innings in a controlled scrimmage.

Position players opened the day with an offensive workout, taking live BP on the field.  TrackMan and Blast were used to track pre-swing and ball-flight analytics.  Players then went through a defensive workout at their position, allowing coaches and scouts to get a feel for their athleticism, movement, and arm strength. 

After the workout, North Carolina took on South Carolina in game play.  Pitchers threw to live hitters in a controlled environment, allowing PBR Scouts to control pitch count and stress of each inning.  Hitters got live looks at pitchers, allowing the coaches and scouts in attendance to further their evaluations after BP, in the live setting.

One of the marquee events of the summer, the 2023 NC/SC Border Battle did not disappoint.  Several players boosted their profiles, while others solidified their spot as one of the top prospects in the Carolinas.

Below we break down some of the numbers from the event.  To see a player’s full profile, simply click on his name.  To see the NC/SC Border Battle roster, full stat page, plus analytics from the event, CLICK HERE.


TrackMan Hitting Leaders

 

PEAK EXIT VELOCITY

TrackMan is able to track every ball hit into fair territory, throughout the BP sessions.  Below are the exit velocities produced by individual players.

Rank Name State School Class Pos Exit Velocity (max)
1 Gunner Jordan SC Cheraw 2024 1B 105.6 mph
2 Jake Mathis NC PRO5 Baseball Academy 2024 OF 98.0 mph
3 Tommy Williams III NC Wake County Homeschool 2024 OF 97.3 mph
4 Amare Burrus NC Durham Academy 2025 OF 97.3 mph
5 Cooper Godsave SC Ashley Ridge 2024 1B 97.0 mph
6 Wiley Waring SC Summerville 2025 1B 96.7 mph
7 Joey McGovern SC Seneca High 2025 OF 96.5 mph
8 Blaize Johnson NC Northwest Guilford 2024 C 96.3 mph
9 Will Burgess SC Lexington 2024 3B 96.2 mph
10 J.R. Struk SC Oceanside Collegiate 2025 2B 95.9 mph
11 Thatcher Baughman SC Ben Lippen 2024 3B 95.8 mph
12 Trey Spees NC East Lincoln 2024 3B 95.5 mph
13 Brayden Renfrow SC Greenville 2024 OF 95.2 mph
14 Cade Gardner NC A.C. Reynolds 2024 SS 95.0 mph
15 Ethan Offing SC Dutch Fork High 2026 SS 94.8 mph



AVERAGE EXIT VELOCITY

The average exit velocity measures a players ability to consistently produce hard contact.  The average was taken based on every ball tracked by TrackMan throughout the player's BP session.

Rank Name State School Class Pos Exit Velocity (avg)
1 Gunner Jordan SC Cheraw 2024 1B 94.0 mph
2 Jake Mathis NC PRO5 Baseball Academy 2024 OF 91.3 mph
3 Justin Sheffield SC Atlantic Collegiate 2025 OF 91.1 mph
4 Blaize Johnson NC Northwest Guilford 2024 C 91.0 mph
5 Will Burgess SC Lexington 2024 3B 90.7 mph
6 Trey Spees NC East Lincoln 2024 3B 90.6 mph
7 Cooper Godsave SC Ashley Ridge 2024 1B 89.9 mph
8 Ethan Offing SC Dutch Fork High 2026 SS 89.6 mph
9 Owen Pridgen SC Laurens 2024 1B 89.2 mph
10 Tommy Williams III NC Wake County Homeschool 2024 OF 88.9 mph
11 Shane Bernhardt NC Holly Springs 2024 LHP 88.8 mph
12 Brayden Renfrow SC Greenville 2024 OF 88.7 mph
13 Logan Ponnett NC Hoggard 2024 SS 88.4 mph
14 Dylan Pasternak NC Leesville Road 2024 SS 88.3 mph
15 Logan Lowe NC C.E. Jordan 2024 SS 88.0 mph



DISTANCE OFF THE BAT


TrackMan is able to measure and track the ball while in the air.  For every fair ball put in play it will display the distance the hit traveled.


Peak Distance - Best of the Hitter’s Session


Rank Name State School Class Pos Distance (max)
1 Gunner Jordan SC Cheraw 2024 1B 399 ft
2 Tommy Williams III NC Wake County Homeschool 2024 OF 378 ft
3 Wiley Waring SC Summerville 2025 1B 376 ft
4 Trey Spees NC East Lincoln 2024 3B 370 ft
5 Cooper Godsave SC Ashley Ridge 2024 1B 369 ft
6 Langston Rupert NC Combine Academy 2024 OF 365 ft
7 Dylan Pasternak NC Leesville Road 2024 SS 365 ft
8 Joey McGovern SC Seneca High 2025 OF 365 ft
9 Jabari Lee NC Jack Britt 2024 OF 363 ft
10 Brayden Renfrow SC Greenville 2024 OF 359 ft
11 Levi Brown NC Pro5 Academy 2024 SS 357 ft
12 Macon Leppert SC Blythewood 2025 C 352 ft
13 Logan Lowe NC C.E. Jordan 2024 SS 352 ft
14 Ayden Wall NC Ledford 2025 C 351 ft
15 Owen Pridgen SC Laurens 2024 1B 350 ft


Average Distance - Average of each ball tracked in the Session


Rank Name State School Class Pos Distance (avg)
1 Justin Sheffield SC Atlantic Collegiate 2025 OF 315 ft
2 Gunner Jordan SC Cheraw 2024 1B 305 ft
3 Landon Penfield SC Blythewood 2024 3B 291 ft
4 Trey Spees NC East Lincoln 2024 3B 281 ft
5 Jackson Gordon SC Legion Collegiate Academy 2025 OF 276 ft
6 Wiley Waring SC Summerville 2025 1B 274 ft
7 Macon Leppert SC Blythewood 2025 C 270 ft
8 Camden Ashe NC South Point 2024 C 265 ft
9 Dylan Pasternak NC Leesville Road 2024 SS 264 ft
10 Caden Davidson NC TC Roberson 2025 1B 255 ft
11 Tanner Ferguson NC Pro5 Baseball Academy 2025 SS 254 ft
12 Owen Pridgen SC Laurens 2024 1B 252 ft
13 Tommy Williams III NC Wake County Homeschool 2024 OF 249 ft
14 Brayden Renfrow SC Greenville 2024 OF 248 ft
15 Cooper Godsave SC Ashley Ridge 2024 1B 247 ft



HARD HIT PERCENTAGE

TrackMan is able to track and follow exit velocities of each hitter.  Based on the individual's top exit velocity, TrackMan is able to give us a percentage of hard hit balls.  This percentage is based off of each individual hitter's top exit velocity.

Rank Name State School Class Pos Hard Hit %
1 Gunner Jordan SC Cheraw 2024 1B 80 %
2 Cooper Godsave SC Ashley Ridge 2024 1B 69 %
3 Will Burgess SC Lexington 2024 3B 63 %
4 Trey Spees NC East Lincoln 2024 3B 61 %
5 Jake Mathis NC PRO5 Baseball Academy 2024 OF 60 %
6 Logan Lowe NC C.E. Jordan 2024 SS 58 %
^ Tommy Williams III NC Wake County Homeschool 2024 OF 58 %
7 Blaize Johnson NC Northwest Guilford 2024 C 58 %
8 Shane Bernhardt NC Holly Springs 2024 LHP 57 %
9 Joey McGovern SC Seneca High 2025 OF 53 %
10 Justin Sheffield SC Atlantic Collegiate 2025 OF 50 %
^ Owen Pridgen SC Laurens 2024 1B 50 %
^ Amare Burrus NC Durham Academy 2025 OF 50 %
^ Ethan Offing SC Dutch Fork High 2026 SS 50 %
^ Cade Gardner NC A.C. Reynolds 2024 SS 50 %
^ Dylan Pasternak NC Leesville Road 2024 SS 50 %
^ Brayden Renfrow SC Greenville 2024 OF 50 %
11 Noah McGarity SC Dorman 2024 OF 45 %
12 Logan Ponnett NC Hoggard 2024 SS 40 %
^ Spencer Conn SC Daniel 2025 C 40 %
13 Jabari Lee NC Jack Britt 2024 OF 35 %
14 Bennett Edwards SC Laurens District 55 High 2025 C 33 %
15 Tanner Ferguson NC Pro5 Baseball Academy 2025 SS 31 %



LAUNCH ANGLE PERCENTAGE

Based on the ball flight, TrackMan is able to identify each hit as a ground ball, line drive, or fly ball.  While there are many factors as to why a hitter may approach each pitch in a certain way, the overall groupings of BP can give some insight to each hitter's approach.

Line Drive %


Rank Name State School Class Pos Line Drive %
1 Logan Ponnett NC Hoggard 2024 SS 80 %
2 Cameron Guentensberger NC Orange 2024 OF 72 %
3 Camden Ashe NC South Point 2024 C 63 %
^ Will Burgess SC Lexington 2024 3B 63 %
4 Ian Williams NC Wake Forest 2025 OF 60 %
5 Ayden Clay SC Pendleton High 2025 SS 58 %



Fly Ball %


Rank Name State School Class Pos Fly Ball %
1 Justin Sheffield SC Atlantic Collegiate 2025 OF 100.0 %
2 Ayden Wall NC Ledford 2025 C 75.0 %
3 Macon Leppert SC Blythewood 2025 C 71.4 %
4 Landon Penfield SC Blythewood 2024 3B 69.2 %
5 Jackson Gordon SC Legion Collegiate Academy 2025 OF 66.7 %



Ground Ball %


Rank Name State School Class Pos Ground Ball %
1 Aidan Smith NC Apex Friendship 2024 OF 75 %
2 Gavin Edens SC Berkeley 2024 2B 66 %
3 Jack Luthren SC Ben Lippen 2024 1B 63 %
4 Hunter Gomes SC Hanahan 2024 RHP 58 %
5 Shane Bernhardt NC Holly Springs 2024 LHP 57 %



 




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