re: 2026 Louisiana HS Baseball Season

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Mid Major, especially good ones like Tech, USM, ULL etc they all have mother fricking dudes

even McNeese has fricking dudes. Look at what they did and Northeastern did to LSU.

At the D1 level, there are fricking dudes everywhere.

I heard it said best, it was a player from roughly 12-15 years ago that said NAIA is now what mid majors was 15 years ago. The P4 is what low AA ball was 15 years ago, Top of the SEC and ACC is now what pure AA ball was 15 years ago

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Agree 100%. The reduction in MLB draft rounds has led to a huge increase in the talent and overall skill level across the board in college ball. And as you said, it's not just the SEC/ACC. It trickles down and affects all level of college ball.

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prolly about to lose more and dont be surprised if the rule comes down that must be 21 or 3 years of college before you can declare for the draft, similar to football

now...those mother frickers better do the same for the international players too though.

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I don't think MLB and the owners will get this rule. They have other priorities well ahead of this one that will be front and center in the CBA negotiations next year. I think they walk away from this one.

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want to mess up the top teams...throw a kid that is 55-58 with a 48 mph curve...fricks them up bad.

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my son, who is floundering at the plate, hits the fastball fine. But struck out a week ago on five straight 64 mph change ups. Like wouldn’t have hit em w a tennis racket. God forbid a soft throwing lefty dumping a curve at his ankles gets on the bump. lol

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little blonde in a mini skirt

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My son's pitching coach told him the biggest dream killers are fumes...Exhaust Fumes and Perfumes

As soon as they get that drivers license and the little blondie a bunch of them are done

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yes they throw strikes and most land 3 pitches minimum for a strike, many are throwing 5 for a strike

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5 pitches for strikes at 12?

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and cooperstown is 50 feet, LL is 46.

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My mistake. I swear it used to be (2007 ish) 46 at Cooperstown. I could be wrong.

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and yea last year at PGI for 12u at 50 feet, there were about 12-15 kids throwing over 80 and 2 that were 85+

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Got it. To be clear - I meant like local LA USSSA tournaments. I know the more national tournaments are going to have kids throwing hard.

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and they are hittable, even last year if you came in just throwing gas only....you would get pounded. but if you can mix up the speeds and spin it....thats when it becomes unhittable

and you have to understand most of the kids playing in that are used to that kind of velo, doesnt freak them out. When they get to 60' full size mound, even 85 seems not that fast because they been seeing 60+ from 46' at 9/10, 70+ from 50' at 11/12, 75+ from 54' at 13

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Yeah, similar to how it used to be. Seems like the average velo is higher now though. From what I see (and I'm not saying I see everything) the top end stuff is still the top end stuff (At that age) that it's always been. There's just less teams who run out guys throwing 65 than there used to be. I know you're more invovled in that scene than I am, so you are likely more informed. I have not actually attending any sort of showcase/PG type event since 2013.

To be clear, this is not about the collegiate or professional level. More-so just talking about youth baseball. I know pitching at those levels is like light years better than it was 15 years ago.

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You going to be surprised when a lot of the 13u kids throwing 80 will be sitting 82/83 their junior year.

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Yep. Had a friend throwing mid-high 70s at 12. At 13 he went and played on a national travel team for a summer which ended up having 4-5 first round picks.

By 18, he was throwing 85 Just hit puberty early and, despite extensive training, never really was able to reach another level. To be clear, he was like fully grown and filled out at 12. Not a scrawny kid who had to grow into his body. Like a solid, coordinated, 6'2 195 at 12.

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and like Jacob Eason from BR...he is 12 but is a 7th grader going to catholic...He hit 82 on the bump in the houston 1000. Kid is an absolute stud.

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Is he a big kid? Just curious with how body type translates to it.
My son is 5’-3” as an 8 year old. He’s charting right now to grow to 6’-6.5” - 6’-8.5”. He’s currently consistently at 47 mph and has hit 49 mph. His pitching coach is confident he has a chance to get up to a very elite level of velocity as he ages with proper mechanics, continued growth and training.
Just curious how big of a kid the 12 year old throwing 80+ is

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he is like 5'7 140. Big kid but not close to the biggest in the age group nor is that why he throws that hard. Its elite athleticism and relative strength that gives him elite level explosiveness.

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Makes sense. Thanks. I’m early into this world. Just trying to figure it out earlier as I have two more way above average sized boys coming up behind my oldest as well.

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Now, when I umpire the two Super NITs that are local, especially the one in a couple weeks, they have teams from all over the country come in, and it’s some serious baseball talent. California, North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Texas. It’s awesome

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that one is in LC and lafayette area now. BR doesnt have any PG events anymore, only 2d. 2d is hosting a big super nit in BR the same weekend so many of the state teams will go to that one.

The PG NIT you are referring to will still have lots of big time teams coming in, but as of now, not as many as in the past.

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I would say majors is much better than it used to be, at least at the big tournaments, but AAA and below is very watered down.

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Interesting. My age group was really one of the first to get involved in travel ball and USSSA.

We played rec ball through all stars (Dixie Youth still had a competitive all star environment) and then moved into the travel season after that. Once we turned 11, we were done with rec entirely. There was a very, very competitive JPRD Babe Ruth league league for 13U, but that's a different conversation.

My travel team, all JPRD kids, was filled with eventual Catholic league kids. Had 4-5 play college baseball, and I think 11 of the 13 played high school baseball, 8 of which in the Catholic league. We were not some super star team, but we were good.

We were in AAA. There were only 2 Majors teams in the state - Lake Area Pirates (Jordan twins, Kennon Fontenot, Gunner Leger, and Trey Quinn) and the Thibodaux Terror. The Terror 13U team ended up being the best team, in my view, in the history of LA travel baseball. Outside of the traveling showcase teams of course.

But the AAA level was filled with D1 kids and had a good bit of eventual pros, with a handful of big leaguers.

Now, I feel like every team tries to play the majors level because they overestimate their children's abilities. Just my prospective as someone who does not have kids at that age yet.

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Also i would say kids enter high school much better prepared than ever before the only thing is the game is evolving fast with the trickle down and now high school play is better than ever and the physicality of it is changing similar to how it started changing in college couple years ago.

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I can see this 100%. The trainers we had back in the 2010s were light years ahead of the actual high school coaches. A ton of that old guard is out of the game now, which opens it up to younger guys who embrace the changes in the sport.