Alumni Roundup: Week Six

March 26, 2024


As we enter the middle portion of the collegiate season, the theme among Top Tier alums seems to be the long ball. Last week, Luke Napleton hit three homers in a game in his ACC opener and was awarded our Alum of the Week.

This week, Blake Wright stole the show. In an overly impressive five games, Wright totaled six home runs with 21 runs driven in. It’s not so much the numbers alone that are impressive but the timeliness is what stands out the most. He hit two grand slams on the weekend with one being a game-tying blast in the bottom of the ninth. The Tigers faced a large deficit against Florida State. On the comeback trail, Wright tied the game in the bottom of the ninth with a round-tripper which eventually led to an extra-innings win for Clemson.

Then Sunday, with the Tigers trailing again. Wright launched another grand slam to put the Tigers ahead in what would eventually result in another Clemson victory.

It’s hard to express the impact Wright had on college baseball this weekend, but if you scroll through social media, nearly every big outlet was privy to his performance. See below for the chatter around Wright over the past few days.


And of course, a video put together by Clemson Baseball making Wright’s game-tying grand slam on Saturday a cinematic masterpiece.


Notable Performances


Brendan Summerhill continues to have an exceptional season in his second year at Arizona. Summerhill has hit safely in five games with three multi-hit games in that stretch. Sunday, at Oregon, Summerhill drove in seven runs. Four of those seven came on a grand slam to extend a big lead in the series finale.


Vytas Valincius (Illinois) had a productive weekend in a series against Indiana collecting four hits and driving in three runs. He’s hit safely in seven of his last eight with a pair of multi-hit games in that stretch. He helped lift the Fighting Illini to a victory over the Hoosiers on Friday with a 3-for-5 showing including three RBIs and a double.


Luke Napleton (Louisville) was our alum of the week last week, and he put together another respectable few games to follow it up. On Friday, Napleton hit a grand slam at Wake Forest, which, at the time, tied the game up at five apiece. The Cardinals eventually dropped the contest and the series but Napleton added his seventh homer of the season with that blast. He’s among conference leaders in that category, along with batting average sporting a .389 avg.

Peyton Olejnik (Miami-OH) begins to find his stride with a 5.2 inning outing at Northern Illinois. Olejnik K’d nine and didn’t allow a run to cross. He threw a season-high 91 pitches in the outing and earned his third victory of the season.


Jackson Kent (Arizona), like his teammate Summerhill, has been a massive bright spot for the Wildcats. Kent put together yet another outstanding outing this past Friday at Oregon. Despite receiving the loss, Kent pitched seven innings and allowed just two runs on five hits and a pair of walks. The Wildcats dropped the opener, 2-1, but Kent continues to pitch well in series openers like a true ace.


Florida’s Liam Peterson and Cade Kurland were big contributors to a Gators series win over LSU. Peterson pitched in Saturday’s win and threw four innings and allowed four runs. The Gators eventually held on to win 6-4. Kurland homered in Sunday’s win and drove in two.


Hank Liss (Belmont) earned a save this weekend in his only outing. Against UIC, Liss held the flames to two hits and two walks in three innings of work. He helped shut the door on a 4-3 victory for the Bruins.


Daniel Pacella (Illinois State) and Noah Edders (Bradley) squared off against one another in an MVC battle. Bradley took two of three to win the set. Edders threw seven innings and allowed five to cross. He didn’t earn the decision but kept things in check for the Braves’ 9-8 victory. Pacella had two multi-hit games in the series and drove in four. He’s hitting .333 on the season.

Shane Curtin (Creighton) added his second save to his season total. He secured the win for the Jays against Stanford on Saturday.

Khyle Radcliffe (Southern) continues to have an outstanding season. This weekend, he upped his average to .431 going 2-for-5, 4-for-5 and 5-for-5 consecutively against Alcorn State. He added three steals and six RBI in his 5-for-5 performance.


Chase Centala (UCF) picked up a save against Kansas pitching 2.1 innings. He struck out three in his outing.

Graham Mastros (Saint Louis) collected five hits this weekend against Cincinnati. He belted a homer in the series finale on Sunday. The freshman sports a .338 average through 22 games played.

In his first MiLB Spring Training game, Aidan Miller (Phillies) belts a homer against the Tigers.


Luke Brabham (Morton College) went 5-for-7 on the weekend with seven RBI and a homer. He walked it off for Morton College on Thursday.

Colin Husko (Dubuque) sits among conference leaders in nearly every offensive category. He's hit safely in all 17 games he's played this season with nine multi-hit games, good for a .391 average. 

Colin Tarr (John A. Logan) has a 3-0 record on the mound and has struck out 27 over 29 innings. On Saturday against Kaskaskia College, Tarr picked up a win going five innings and allowing just a single run. Vols took the game, 2-1. 

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