Five Class of 2026 South Florida Baseball players to follow

High School on SI singles out five players from the 2026 graduating class to pay attention to during the baseball season

Gulliver Prep shortstop Jacob Lombard is widely considered the top junior in the state of Florida, as well as one of the top players in his class in the country. / Joe Frisaro

No matter the age group, you can find top-level baseball talent spread throughout South Florida.

The Class of 2025 projects to have several players selected in the upcoming MLB Draft, as well as many players who will move on to play at the Division I college level.

But as deep as the player pool is in the area, many professional area scouts will tell you that that 2026 graduating class is one of the deepest South Florida has seen in years.

High School on SI will periodically spotlight players in all classes. We’ll roll these out periodically.

Today, we turn our attention to the 2026 class, and highlight five area players to follow. Worth noting, I’m simply listing five, and not necessarily ranking these five as the top players in their class. Those not mention now likely will be during the course of the season. We’re entering week two.

Five 2026 Class players to follow:

Jacob Lombard, SS, Gulliver Prep

Widely considered the best junior in the state of Florida, Lombard also is considered among the best in the nation in his class. The younger brother of George Lombard Jr. (currently in the New York Yankees’ farm system), Jacob has the chance to be special. We're talking potential top 10 in the MLB Draft worthy.

Lombard also is a star soccer player. For now, he’s playing both sports. With it being early in the baseball season, the Gulliver Prep baseball coaches are managing his time actually playing in the field. That's why he's being used mostly as a designated hitter right now. That was his role on Tuesday in a 5-1 loss at NSU University, although Lombard did play shortstop in the last inning, and he made a sensational defensive play. At the plate, Lombard hit two balls hard with nothing to show for it. Twice, he was robbed of hits by University School third baseman Rocco Rovetto.

Gio Rojas, LHP, Marjory Stoneman Douglas

A year ago, Rojas was shut down as a pitcher due to an arm injury. Thus far, the left-hander has been sensational, with his fastball clocked as high as 95 mph.

Rojas took the mound on Tuesday in a big rivalry game against North Broward Prep. On the road, the southpaw dominated, striking out 11 in four innings in Stoneman Douglas’ 6-2 win.

Rojas is committed to Miami.

Jimmy Huard, RHP, Western

In terms of pure talent, Huard has tremendous potential. The Vanderbilt recruit has a 95-mph fastball, and plus breaking pitches. While Huard sometimes has issues with his control, there’s no questioning his pure “stuff.”

Western is monitoring Huard’s workload and innings. In his first start, the hard-throwing right-hander struck out five batters in three innings.

Yodelkis Quevedo, INF, Mater Academy Charter

A physical presence, Quevedo is listed at 6-foot-3, 207-pounds, and he possesses tremendous power. A starter at third base since his freshman season, the Florida State commit batted .415 as a sophomore with three doubles and two home runs in 16 games.

Ethan Lindor, CF, West Broward

A difference maker at the plate and in the field, Lindor impacts games with his speed, defense and baserunning. Make a mistake to him, and the junior can drive the ball out of the park. Committed to Missouri State, Lindor is one of a several standout juniors on West Broward.  

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