Charlie Condon, Hagen Smith Highlight NCAA Week 2 Standouts (Hot Sheet)

Jake Books, OF, Coastal Carolina
Class: 2025

What He Did: 9-for-12 (.750), 4 R, 8 RBI, 2 HR, 1 3B, 2 BB, 1 K

The Chanticleers raked their way to a 3-0 weekend and Books was a key reason why. He set the tone on Friday by going 4-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs, before going 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs on both Saturday and Sunday. Books laced a triple in Saturday’s contest before belting his second home run of the weekend in Sunday’s finale. The sophomore outfielder has a strong, physical build and has flashed above-average power with the ability to drive the baseball with authority to all fields. Books has flashed a sound approach and has established himself as an every day member of a loaded Coastal Carolina lineup. -PF

Charlie Condon, OF, Georgia
Class: 2024

What He Did: 11-for-17 (.647), 9 R, 6 RBI, 3 HR, 1 3B, 1 2B, 3 BB, 2 K

Condon has been off to a scorching start this season and continued that in week two, where he tallied 11 hits including three home runs in four games. He has a multi-hit game in all seven games this season and currently has more extra-base hits (8) and walks (6) than strikeouts (3). He was named the SEC player of the week for his efforts and is in the mix to be one of the first players selected in the draft. –CC

Daniel Cuvet, 3B, Miami
Class: 2026

What He Did: 8-for-14 (.571), 7 R, 7 RBI, 3 HR, 1 3B, 1 2B, 4 BB, 2 K

Cuvet has been one of, if not the most impressive freshman in the country to this point. He somehow this weekend upstaged his opening weekend performance, homering in each of Miami’s three games against Long Island. Most notably, he turned in a three-hit, three-RBI performances on both Friday and Sunday. At 6-foot-3 and 237 pounds, Cuvet is a physical specimen with plenty of natural strength. He has an under control operation in the box with present bat speed and doesn’t sell out to get to his plus power. Cuvet hammers the baseball with authority to all fields and has been Miami’s leading and most productive hitter to this point. -PF

Edwin DeLaCruz, C, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Class: 2024

What He Did: 8-for-14 (.571), 5 R, 10 RBI, 1 HR, 1 3B, 2 2B, 2 BB, 3 K

The veteran backstop had an outstanding, 10-RBI weekend that propelled the Golden Lions to a sweep. On Friday, DeLaCruz went 2-for-3 with a double, triple and three RBIs before on Saturday turning in a 3-for-5 day with a double and four RBIs. DeLaCruz saved his best performance for last, though, and in Sunday’s finale he went a perfect 3-for-3 with a home run and three more RBIs. DeLaCruz totaled 41 RBIs between 2022 and 2023, but he could exceed that number just this season as in just six games he already has 13 RBIs to his name. -PF

Andrew Devine, RHP, Austin Peay
Class: 2024

What He Did: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 12 K

Divine threw a one-hit shutout in seven innings against Maryland East Shore last weekend. He struck out 12 batters and walked just one and retired the final 12 hitters he faced—including seven on strikeouts. He mostly worked off a low-90s fastball that touched 92 and used the heater to generate 14 misses and finish eight of his 12 strikeouts. Devine used a low-80s slider as his primary non-fastball offering and mixed in an occasional low-70s curveball and low-80s changeup. –CC

Riley Huge, LHP, Winthrop
Class: 2024

What He Did: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 13 K

Winthrop entered last Friday with an 0-4 record but Huge came up… well, huge… and pitched a seven-inning shutout to help the team to its first win of the season. He retired the first 12 hitters he faced and didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning while attacking the zone with a three-pitch mix. He averaged 89 mph on his fastball in this start and touched 91, but used a slider around 80 mph and a changeup a few ticks higher as his primary miss offerings. It was a strong bounce-back effort against Toledo after he allowed seven runs in 5.1 innings against Rutgers in his season debut. –CC

Lebarron Johnson Jr., RHP, Texas
Class: 2024

What He Did: 8 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K

Johnson came one inning short of a complete game shutout against Cal Poly last Friday. He generated whiffs with both a mid-90s fastball that touched 97 and a mid-80s slider. Johnson has a sinking fastball and attacks from a higher release point so it was nice to see him dominate the bottom of the strike zone consistently in this look. Just one of the whiffs he generated came in the top third of the strike zone or higher, and his ability to keep the ball down also led to 14 groundouts compared to just one fly out. He managed a 76% ground ball rate in this game. –CC

Ryan Johnson, RHP, Dallas Baptist
Class: 2024

What He Did: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 13 K

Johnson struck out a career-best 13 batters against Central Michigan last Friday and moved into eighth on DBU’s all-time strikeout leaderboard in the process. It was a strong bounce-back effort from an opening weekend start against Southeast Missouri State where he allowed eight hits and five runs in 5.1 innings. He tossed seven shutout innings and retired 14 consecutive batters after allowing a one out single in the top of the third inning. –CC

Gage Miller, 3B, Alabama
Class: 2024

What He Did: 9-for-20 (.450), 10 R, 12 RBI, 4 HR, 1 2B, 1 BB, 6 K

The Bishop State (Ala.) JC transfer is off to an excellent start for the Crimson Tide, recording at least one hit in each of his last seven games. This weekend, Miller belted a home run in each of his three games and his five home runs this season are tied for the team lead. His most productive game came in the series opener, as he crushed a three-run home run and laced a two-run double, but Miller this weekend had at least two hits and two RBIs in every contest. In the box, Miller has some quickness in his hands with above-average thump to the pull side, and a physical lower-half that he uses well. -PF

DJ Newman, RHP, Bowling Green
Class: 2025

What He Did: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11 K

Newman this weekend bounced back nicely from a rough opening day start and spun seven shutout innings in which he allowed just two hits, one walk and notched 11 strikeouts. He features a quality three-pitch mix in a low-90s fastball, a big, mid-70s curveball with some downward teeth and an effective mid-70s changeup that plays nicely off his heater and flashes late tumbling life. Newman attacks from a near over-the-top slot and both his curveball and changeup could each eventually grade out as above-average. Newman is also the team’s best hitter to the tune of a .423/.500/.692 slash line with two home runs and seven RBIs. He is one of the most intriguing prospects in the MAC, and figures to be an eventual top-10 round draft choice. -PF

TJ Pompey, SS, Texas Tech
Class: 2026

What He Did: 11-for-24 (.458), 11 R, 11 RBI, 2 HR, 2 2B, 2 BB, 1 K

Texas Tech this weekend exploded for 68 runs across three games, including a new single-game program record 32 runs in Friday’s series opener. However, Pompey was the team’s most impressive hitter and notched a pair of four-hit performances, headlined by a 4-for-5, five-RBI game on Saturday. Pompey is someone the Red Raiders staff is high on, and it’s easy to see why. The long, lean infielder has a twitchy operation in the box with some hand speed and budding impact and barrel skills. Pompey has already made quite the impression in year one, and it is exciting to think about what he will look like in a year or two. He has eventual top-two round upside. -PF

Jace Rinehart, OF, South Carolina-Upstate
Class: 2024

What He Did: 10-for-18 (.556), 9 R, 11 RBI, 5 HR, 1 3B, 2 2B

Rinehart has hit the ground running after an impressive 2023 season in which he hit .310/.396/.535 with 15 extra-base hits and 32 RBIs. Following a quiet opening weekend against a tough Kentucky team, Rinehart got his week started with a bang, going 2-for-5 with two home runs and four RBIs against Western Carolina. He had at least one extra-base hit and one RBI in each of his first two games this weekend, but on Sunday he went an impressive 5-for-6 with two doubles, two home runs and five RBIs. It’s still incredibly early, but Rinehart could be on his way to a career year. -PF

Jackson Ross, 1B, Ole Miss
Class: 2024

What He Did: 8-for-11 (.727), 8 R, 11 RBI, 4 HR, 5 BB, 1 K

Ross was one of a bevy of transfers head coach Mike Bianco brought in, and to this point he has been the team’s most productive hitter. The former Florida Atlantic Owl this week recorded multiple hits in three different games and homered in each of the Rebels’ three games against High Point. Most notably, Ross on Saturday went 2-for-3 with two home runs and five RBIs. He has a simple, yet explosive swing with above-average bat and hand speed with present thump to the pull side. Ross this year has flashed an advanced approach with above-average bat-to-ball skills, and feasts especially on heaters. -PF

Jonathan Santucci, LHP, Duke
Class: 2024

What He Did: 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 10 K

Santucci threw six shutout innings against Northwestern last Friday and his latest outing gave him a second straight start to begin the season without allowing a run. In 11 innings he fanned 17 batters and walked five. He relied heavily on a plus mid-80s slider that features impressive bite and is a swing-and-miss pitch to both lefties and righties. He’ll frequently pitch backwards and use the slider to establish the zone and get ahead in counts before looking for a punchout with an elevated fastball, though he finished nine of his 10 strikeouts with the breaking ball. –CC

Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas
Class: 2024

What He Did: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 17 K

Smith turned in a historic start for Arkansas last Friday when he dominated Oregon State and struck out a program-tying 17 batters in a game. The pure strikeout numbers are impressive enough, but Smith’s efficiency in getting to those strikeouts is maybe moreso: he needed just 78 pitches to do so. Smith faced 22 batters and needed just 3.5 pitches per batter in this outing which tops FSU RHP Cam Leiter’s 13-strikeout week one start for the loudest yet of the young 2024 college season. –CC

Devin Taylor, OF, Indiana
Class: 2025

What He Did: 10-for-15 (.667), 10 R, 6 RBI, 3 HR, 1 2B, 5 BB, 2 K

Taylor has picked up right where he left off after last year taking home Big Ten freshman of the year honors. The star sophomore has notched multiple hits in six of his first seven games, and at least one RBI in five of them. Taylor this season had yet to hit a home run through Friday’s contest, but he walloped three between Saturday and Sunday. Sunday was his best performance of the week, and he went 3-for-5 with a pair of long balls and four RBIs. Taylor has no shortage of bat speed, and his barrel zooms through the zone. He has plus power and routinely generates quality contact while flashing an advanced feel for the barrel. Taylor in 2025 could be one of the first college players off the board. -PF

Derek Vartanian, RHP, Campbell
Class: 2024

What He Did: 6 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11 K

Vartanian got hit around in his first start against UC Santa Barbara but bounced back in a big way against Ohio last Friday when he threw six shutout innings and struck out 11. A former junior college pitcher with Gaston (N.C.) JC, Vartanian did a nice job throwing strikes with a solid three-pitch mix. He sits in the low 90s with his fastball and touched 95 and went to a mid-80s slider and 78-82 mph curveball at a similar clip with the former being a better swing-and-miss offering and the latter used more as an offspeed option against lefthanded hitters. –CC

Jacob Walsh, 1B, Oregon
Class: 2024

What He Did: 8-for-16 (.500), 3 R, 8 RBI, 2 HR, 2 2B, 1 BB, 3 K

Walsh had a lukewarm opening series in Arlington at the Shriners college showdown, but exploded in a four-game series against Lafayette where he went 8-for-16 with three multi-hit games and a pair of home runs. Both his homers went to the pull side when he took advantage of a pair of upper-80s fastballs at the bottom of the zone, but he also just missed a homer to the opposite field and instead had to settle for a standup double. After the series Walsh is hitting .333/.364/.633 with two home runs and three doubles. –CC

Trey Yesavage, RHP, East Carolina
Class: 2024
What He Did: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 K

Yesavage has pitched well in both his first two starts of the season. After striking out eight batters in four innings against Rider he struck out 11 in six innings against UNC this past weekend. Yesavage allowed just one earned run on four hits and a walk while showing a sound four-pitch mix. He averaged 94 mph and touched 97 in this game, while showing a potentially plus changeup in the low-to-mid 80s that he sells with great arm speed and using both a mid-80s slider and a less frequent curveball in the upper 70s. The slider is ahead of the curve, but the diverse pitch mix should help him turn over a college lineup throughout the season. –CC