Ranking the 25 Best College Summer League Teams In 2020

1. Orlando Scorpions (Florida League)

Key players: Florida State OF Reese Albert, Florida OF Jud Fabian, Central Florida LHP Colton Gordon, Florida RHP Jack Leftwich, Florida RHP Tommy Mace, Florida State OF Robby Martin, Florida Southern 1B Jacob Teter

The Scorpions’ outfield alone would earn them a spot on this list—all three are well-established ACC or SEC players and Fabian and Martin are projected first-rounders. Add in a pitching staff that features two-thirds of Florida’s rotation and UCF’s ace, not to mention plenty more depth beyond those six standouts, and you have the best roster in summer ball.

2. Santa Barbara Foresters (Independent)

Key players: UCLA C Noah Cardenas, Arkansas OF Christian Franklin, Arizona OF Ryan Holgate, UCLA SS Matt McLain, UCLA RHP Nick Nastrini, Vanderbilt 1B/LHP Spencer Jones

The Foresters’ roster is highlighted by McLain, a potential top-five pick next year, and outfielder Christian Franklin (Arkansas), another potential 2021 first-rounder, while first baseman/lefthander Spencer Jones has that potential in 2022. There’s plenty of depth around them, especially in the lineup, from the likes of Cardenas and Holgate.

3. Tulsa Drillers (Texas Collegiate League)

Key players: Florida LHP Hunter Barco, Georgia Tech RHP Zach Maxwell, Oklahoma State INF Hueston Morrill, Southern California OF/3B Jamal O’Guinn, Oklahoma State RHP Bryce Osmond, Southern California SS Ben Ramirez, Florida RHP Brandon Sproat

The Drillers look like a Cape Cod League team and for good reason—manager Tom Holliday was able to bring some of the players he was slated to have in Chatham to Tulsa instead. Barco is an early favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in 2022, and there’s plenty of talent behind him on the mound. O’Guinn this spring was seemingly on his way to a breakout 2020 and anchors the lineup.

4. High Point-Thomasville HiToms (Coastal Plain League)

Key players: Wake Forest RHP Ryan Cusick, Virginia 3B Zack Gelof, Clemson OF Kier Meredith, Duke SS Ethan Murray, Wake Forest SS Michael Turconi, 

The HiToms undoubtedly benefited from local players needing a place to play this summer and put together a roster heavy on some of the best players in the area, including Wake Forest’s Ryan Cusick, who could be a first-round pick in the 2021 draft. 

5. Rockford Rivets (Northwoods League)

Key players: Iowa LHP Cam Baumann, Illinois SS Branden Comia, Wake Forest 1B Bobby Seymour, Kansas State RHP Carson Seymour, Kansas State LHP Jordan Wicks 

In righthander Carson Seymour and lefthander Jordan Wicks, Rockford boasts two-thirds of the Kansas State weekend rotation, which is part of a pitching staff that K-State coach Pete Hughes calls the most talented of his career. Wake Forest first baseman Bobby Seymour should also provide plenty of pop. 

6. North Shore Navigators (Futures League)

Key players: Boston College OF Sal Frelick, Boston College INF Cody Morissette

With the presence of Boston College teammates Frelick and Morissette alone, North Shore has the best roster in the Futures League. Both players have been productive in their BC careers and will go into the 2021 season as highly-touted prospects for the draft. 

7. Wisconsin Rapid Rafters (Northwoods League)

Key players: Pepperdine OF Billy Cook, Old Dominion OF Andy Garriola, Vanderbilt RHP Sam Hliboki, Virginia C Kyle Teel

The Rapid Rafters’ roster is filled with really talented players that have been overshadowed a bit for one reason or another, whether it’s because they’ve been on extremely talented pitching staffs with more famous teammates, like Hliboki, or because they play for a lower-profile program like Garriola or Cook at Old Dominion and Pepperdine, respectively. 

8. Waterloo Bucks (Northwoods League)

Key players: Kentucky OF Oraj Anu, Washington State 1B Tristan Peterson, Louisville OF Levi Usher

In Usher, Waterloo has one of the most dynamic players in college baseball. He’ll pair nicely in the lineup with Peterson, who this summer transferred to Washington State and will be eager to mash the way he did as a teammate of Nick Gonzales at New Mexico State. 

9. Blue Rocks (Honor the Game League)

Key players: Alabama LHP Brock Guffey, South Alabama INF Santiago Montiel, South Alabama C Reid Powers, South Alabama OF Ethan Wilson

If your roster is going to feature a handful of players from South Alabama, it’s hard to do better than Wilson, a top prospect for the 2021 draft, Montiel, a shortstop with pop, and Powers, a catcher who was hitting .339/.439/.500 when the 2020 season ended. 

10. Fond du Lac Dock Spiders (Northwoods League)

Key players: Mississippi RHP Derek Diamond, Iowa RHP Grant Leonard, Vanderbilt INF Parker Noland

Diamond heads up a strong contingent of four Ole Miss players spending the summer in Fond du Lac, which also includes slugger Tim Elko, catcher Knox Loposer and lefthander Ryan Duffy. Leonard is a veteran arm out of the bullpen (he’s Iowa’s closer) and Noland is coming off a spring in which he broke into Vanderbilt’s starting lineup as a freshman.

11. Lexington County Blowfish (Coastal Plain League)

Key players: South Carolina OF Brady Allen, Clemson RHP Mack Anglin, South Carolina RHP Brett Kerry, South Carolina INF Brennan Milone 

The Palmetto State influence is clear on the Blowfish roster, what with the presence of South Carolina standouts Kerry and Allen, plus Milone, whose freshman season was cut short. Anglin represents the other side of the rivalry on the roster. 

12. Rochester Honkers (Northwoods League)

Key players: Sacramento State RHP Stone Churby, Dallas Baptist RHP Kragen Krechely, Arkansas INF Robert Moore

Moore, who last winter graduated high school early to in January enroll at Arkansas, proved this spring to be one of the country’s most dynamic freshmen. Now, he’s brought that ability to Rochester, which also has some exciting talent on the mound. Churby and Krechely are two of the better relievers in the nation.

13. Amarillo Sod Squad (Texas Collegiate League)

Key players: Kansas State OF Chris Ceballos, Texas Tech OF Max Marusak, Florida International RHP Tyler Myrick, North Carolina State SS Jose Torres

In a summer that will feature lots of players staying close to home to play, the Sod Squad pulled in talent from all over, from the East Coast with the dynamic Torres, to the Midwest with the powerful Ceballos and close to home with Marusak, a burner in the outfield and on the base paths. 

14. Frisco Roughriders (Texas Collegiate League)

Key players: Texas Christian RHP Riley Cornelio, Dallas Baptist RHP Dominic Hamel, Texas Christian RHP Jacob Meador

Frisco should pitch well this summer thanks to a roster led by Cornelio and Meador, a pair of promising young TCU righthanders. Hamel led the Patriots with 27 strikeouts during the 2020 season. 

15. Sanford River Rats (Florida League)

Key players: Louisiana State OF Dylan Crews, South Carolina OF Brandon Fields, Wabash (Ill.) JC OF Hylan Hall

The trio of Crews, Fields and Hall are oozing with talent, though none of them has had much of an opportunity to prove it in college. Crews and Fields are both incoming freshmen who ranked in the top 150 of the BA 500 before they removed themselves from the draft. Hall was ranked in a similar spot in 2019, but played just 17 games for the Warriors in the abbreviated spring.

16. Local Legends (Grand Park League)

Key players: Miami (OH) RHP Sam Bachman, Louisville SS Tim Borden, Ball State RHP Chayce McDermott, Louisville RHP/2B Jared Poland

In a league heavy on talent from around Indianapolis, the Local Legends have some of the best of the bunch. Bachman and McDermott could be the next Mid-American Conference pitchers to turn into high draft picks, while Louisville teammates Borden and Poland have high-end upside.

17. Jets (San Diego League)

Key players: California 1B/RHP Grant Holman, San Diego RHP Jake Miller, San Diego C Caleb Ricketts 

The Jets have some solid 2021 draft talent in Holman, Miller and Ricketts. Holman has true two-way ability and is playing both roles this summer. Miller and Ricketts have already built strong track records at USD and could take further steps forward still.

18. The A-Team (Grand Park League)

Key players: Indiana 3B Cole Barr, Louisville LHP Michael Prosecky, Indiana OF Grant Richardson

The A-Team lives up to its name with talents like Barr, Prosecky and Richardson. Richardson this spring was off to a superb start, hitting .424/.453/.797, and Barr also packs a powerful bat. Prosecky is expected to move into Louisville’s rotation in 2021 after serving as its midweek starter.

19. West Linn (Wild Wild West League)

Key players: Oregon State INF Jake Dukart, Oregon State RHP Jake Pfennings, Oregon LHP Cole Stringer, Stanford SS Tim Tawa

The Wild Wild West League sprung up after the West Coast League was canceled and West Linn put together the most exciting roster. Dukart and Pfennings will have key roles next season in Corvallis, while Stringer and Tawa are Pac-12 veterans. 

20. Lugnuts (Honor the Game League)

Key players: Samford 1B Sonny DiChara, Auburn RHP Richard Fitts, Alabama LHP Antoine Jean, Alabama C Sam Praytor

Nearly the whole Lugnuts roster plays for a school in Alabama and that includes some of the state’s best, most exciting players. DiChara and Praytor both have powerful bats, while Fitts and Jean both are key pitchers on SEC staffs.

21. Winter Garden Squeeze (Florida League)

Key players: Louisville INF Lucas Dunn, Florida State RHP Carson Montgomery

Montgomery, an incoming freshman at Florida State, is the highest-ranked player on the BA 500 to go undrafted and end up on campus for next season. Dunn missed most of the 2020 season due to injury, but in 2019, served as a catalyst in the Louisville lineup. 

22. Snapping Turtles (Grand Park League)

Key players: Louisville RHP Jack Perkins, Dayton 3B Riley Tirotta

Perkins is one of the best 2021 draft-eligible pitchers in action this summer, at least in terms of upside. He missed this spring while he recovered from Tommy John surgery but has first-round potential. Tirotta had some draft buzz coming into the spring, but hadn’t gotten on track when the season was halted, though his upside remains considerable.

23. Macon Bacon (Coastal Plain League)

Key players: Pennsylvania SS Josh Hood, Indiana RHP Connor Manous, Central Florida RHP Jack Sinclair, Mercer SS R.J. Yeager

Macon boasts a diverse roster full of talented players, including Hood, one of the best players in the Ivy League, Yeager, a productive player, and pitchers in Manous and Sinclair who had dominant seasons interrupted in 2020. 

24. Phipps Park Barracudas (South Florida League)

Key players: Louisiana State SS Zach Arnold, Louisiana State 1B Cade Beloso, Seton Hall 3B Casey Dana

The Barracudas have an intriguing roster, starting with Beloso’s powerful bat in the heart of the order. Arnold missed this spring at LSU due to injury, but was expected to return and possibly step right into the starting shortstop job as a true freshman had the season not been halted. Dana this spring was off to his best start in three years at Seton Hall, and gives Phipps Park another powerful bat.

25. Long Boarders (San Diego League)

Key players: San Diego State C Wyatt Hendrie, UCLA INF Mikey Perez, Cal Poly 1B/3B Tate Samuelson

The Long Boarders have one of the most exciting lineups in the league with the powerful bats of Hendrie and Samuelson leading the way. Perez is a different kind of hitter, but this spring at UCLA showed how much he has to offer.