By Sean Duncan
Executive Director

The landscape of the updated overall Class of 2016 player rankings have changed dramatically, chiefly because the landscape of the Prep Baseball Report state-specific coverage area has expanded since the last update.

It is important to note that the PBR overall rankings only reflect the states that we intimately know from our boots-on-the-ground scouting staff. States that we are not currently in – and even new states that we are in, but don’t have a proper handle on all the prospects – are not included in the overall rankings.

The updated and expanded Top 350 Class of 2016 rankings now includes Tennessee, Virginia, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Ontario, in addition to our long-established states. Florida prospects are not yet included in the PBR overall rankings.

Over the last three months, many prospects have made significant improvements on the regional and national levels. While there were many big risers in the updated rankings, the top three hold firm.

RHP Riley Pint (St. Thomas Aquinas HS, KS) had a relatively quiet fall, but he made enough noise in the summer to clearly hold the No. 1 spot. The highly athletic 6-foot-3 LSU recruit pitches in the 92-94 range, and has been up to 97. The scary thing is Pint appears to have more in the tank, as he pitches with little effort and has yet to fill into his frame. Pint’s breaking ball, which has been up to 87, is also a plus offering.

LHP Jeff Belge (Henninger HS, NY) and C/1B T.J. Collett (Terre Haute North Vigo HS, IN) remain at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Belge is a physically imposing presence on the mound with premium velocity, while Collett is arguably the top left-handed power bat in the 2016 class.

One of the biggest risers in the overall 2016 rankings is RHP Ian Anderson (Shenendehowa HS, NY), who catapults up to No. 4. The long and loose 6-foot-3, 170-pound Vanderbilt recruit looks to have only begun scratching the surface of his potential, which is impressive given his current dominant stuff that includes an easy low-90s fastball and upper-70s slider.

Anderson is one of three Vanderbilt recruits in the top 10, joining RHP Drake Fellows (Joliet Catholic Academy HS, IL) and RHP/SS Chris Machamer (Massillon Washington HS, OH). Both Fellows and Machamer have been fixtures in the top 10 for the last 18 months. Vanderbilt, in fact, has six recruits in the top 25.

Illinois has a bumper crop of high-level prospects in the 2016 class. Fellows is one of three Illinois players in the top 10, along with C Cooper Johnson (Carmel HS, IL) and RHP Brenden Heiss (Jacobs HS, IL). Heiss, who topped at 95 mph at the PBR Future Games last August, is the top uncommitted 2016 prospect on the list. Only three top 20 prospects are uncommitted currently: LHP Zack Thompson (Wapahani HS, IN), 3B/RHP Cal Coughlin (Lake Forest HS, IL) and Heiss.

New to the top 10 is a pair of dominant right-handers: Zach Linginfelter (Sevier County HS, TN) and Bobby Nicholson (St. Anne’s-Bellfield, VA). The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Linginfelter, who is committed to Tennessee, emerged as one of the top right-handers in the country this fall. The 6-foot-3 Nicholson is one of three Virginia recruits in the top 20.

Enough reading about it. See for yourself.

A look at the top 10:

Rank	Name	State	School	Class	Pos	Commitment
1	Riley Pint	KS	St. Thomas Aquinas	2016	RHP	LSU
2	Jeff Belge	NY	Henninger	2016	LHP	St. John's
3	T.J. Collett	IN	Terre Haute North Vigo	2016	C	Kentucky
4	Ian Anderson	NY	Shenendehowa	2016	RHP	Vanderbilt
5	Drake Fellows	IL	Joliet Catholic Academy	2016	RHP	Vanderbilt
6	Zach Linginfelter	TN	Sevier County	2016	RHP	Tennessee
7	Cooper Johnson	IL	Carmel Catholic	2016	C	Mississippi
8	Christopher Machamer	OH	Massillon Washington	2016	RHP	Vanderbilt
9	Brenden Heiss	IL	Jacobs	2016	RHP
10	Bobby Nicholson	VA	St. Anne's-Belfield	2016	RHP	Virginia

 
> Complete Top 350 Overall Rankings