Back to School: Top-100 Class of '24 prospects headed to campus
August 13, 2024
In sending off the 2024 class, Prep Baseball presents the Top-100 'On Campus' Rankings, but first, here are some notes regarding these inbound freshmen as they begin to integrate themselves into their new home dugouts:
- LSU plays the portal as well as any program right now, which balances out their expected losses in the MLB Draft. Though they got the cherries on top this offseason when three members of the Class of 2024 withdrew their names from the MLB Draft in July, ultimately committing their futures to Baton Rouge, bolstering this incoming prep class. They trail only the national champs in total number of top-100 commits (6), including the aforementioned trio ranked inside the top-25: No. 1-ranked RHP William Schmidt, No. 13 OF Derek Curiel, and No. 16 C Cade Arrambide. Schmidt is the gem of this entire class nationally, considering he was arguably the top-ranked prep arm in the Draft.
- The SEC remains the (obvious) top dog, collecting nearly half of all top-100 recruits, and Tennessee has 10 percent of the entire list on their own. The reigning champs expectedly lost some of their championship-winning roster to the Draft, and some prep products were plucked before they had the chance to make it in Knoxville, but the Vols will still welcome some premium talent: No. 4-ranked RHP Tegan Kuhns, No. 9 RHP Brayden Krenzel, No. 26 SS Manny Marin, and No. 28 RHP Anson Siebert headline the 10 incoming top-100s. Tennessee ultimately has five recruits making it to campus from the top-50 overall, which is more top-50 recuits the Big Ten's signed combined.
- Florida is bringing in some depth to blanket its roster in 2024-25, led by No. 20 RHP Jackson Barberi. He might be their lone top-25-ranked prep coming in, but they have four others headed to Gainesville where they'll join Barberi, three of whom are also prep righties.
- Auburn created an interesting collection of inbound prep products (4) for themselves, led by No. 9-ranked RHP Connor Gatwood, from Alabama; No. 37 C Chase Fralick is another top-50 recruit headed their way.
- Even though he's their lone top-100 incoming, Kentucky are still winners having held onto their top incoming prospect overall, No. 2 SS Tyler Bell, giving them a foundational up-the-middle piece to etch into their daily lineup.
- Outside of the SEC, Virginia landed four top-100 prospects, including southpaws No. 19 William Kirk and No. 48 Tomas Valincius. They were also able to retain No. 46 OF James Nunnallee despite being selected in the 14th round of the MLB Draft by Milwaukee.
- Wake Forest will get a tantalizing talent to work with on the mound in No. 7 RHP Chris Levonas, who was a Brewers second-round draft pick and he ultimately did not sign. They have two other top-40 incoming prospects headed their way in No. 32 SS Dalton Wentz and No. 38 RHP Duncan Marsten.
- Miami has a lot to be happy with, having secured three incoming top-100 prospects, led by No. 23 OF Fabio Peralta; RHP Lazaro Collera and OF Michael Torres will also be headed Coral Gables.
- It was successful haul for TCU too, bringing in two top-25-ranked players: OF Sawyer Strosnider and LHP Mason Brassfield. No. 43 OF Noah Franco is also headed to campus, and he was previously a highly regarded prospect who could certainly rebound into a Draft-type player inside the program.
- Outside of Tennessee, Florida State was the lone program to have two top-15 players headed to Tallahassee. 1B Myles Bailey and C Hunter Carns are both quality in-state gets for the 'Noles.
Top Incoming, By Conference:
+ SEC: 47 (players ranked in the top-100)
+ ACC: 26
+ Big XII: 8
+ Big Ten: 7
Top Incoming, By Program:
1. Tennessee (10 players ranked in the top-100)
2. LSU (6)
3. Florida (5)
T-4. Auburn (4)
T-4. Oklahoma (4)
T-4. Virgina (4)
TOP-100 'ON CAMPUS' RANKINGS
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