Young players head to the Appalachian League – a summer collegiate wood-bat circuit since 2021 – to put themselves on the map, both for their schools and future editions of the MLB Draft. This week, Appy Leaguers will get a tremendous opportunity to measure themselves against some of the best collegians in the sport.

Select Appalachian League teams from the East and West Divisions will take on USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team in a pair of games this week. The West Select Team matches up against the CNT squad at 7 p.m. ET at TVA Credit Union Ballpark in Johnson City, Tenn. The game can be streamed live on the Appy League site.

The East side was highlighted by one of the Appy League’s best overall hitters this summer in Burlington catcher Ryan McCrystal. The East Carolina star leads the summer loop in average (.400) and ranks second in slugging percentage (.644) and OPS (1.070) through his first 10 games with the Sock Puppets. This marks McCrystal’s third straight season in Burlington, and he’s posted at least a .900 OPS in each of those campaigns.

Austen Jaslove (Arkansas State) ranks second on the River Turtles in both hits (19) and RBIs (12), and delivered the game's lone roundtripper. Alexander Wright (George Washington) didn't start the contest, but ended it with a walk-off single in the ninth.

The West will bring their share of boppers to the table. Bristol corner infielder Tyler Zedalis (South Carolina) leads the Appy League with five homers, nine extra-base hits and ranks second with 39 total bases through his first 19 games of the summer, while Johnson City second baseman Gunner Boree sits atop the league OBP and OPS leaderboards with .552 and 1.165 marks respectively. Outfielder Colby Backus – a Johnson City native fresh off a national title run with Tennessee – brings a taste of Omaha to the West as well.

• Subscribe to the MLB Pipeline Newsletter

For anyone looking to do advance scouting, keep an eye on a pair of recently graduated high-schoolers who will join in this week’s exhibitions. Missouri commit Trey Lawrence (Palmetto, FL HS) joins the East as a two-way player, while future Vanderbilt infielder Brodie Johnston (Boyd Buchanan, TN HS) takes to the dirt for the West.

USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team named its Summer League Tour roster over the weekend ahead of a separate trip to the Coastal Plain League. Gavin Grahovac – star of national runner-up Texas A&M – was among the big names included, as was left-hander Dylan Loy, who posted a 2.37 ERA as a reliever for the national champion Tennessee Volunteers.

The school with the most representatives on the Summer League Tour roster is Vanderbilt with three players -- Miller Green, LHP, Ethan McElvain, LHP and Brennan Seiber, RHP.