ESPN

Baylor's Perry Jones III, a Duncanville product, talks with Chad Ford about his workouts and preparations for the NBA draft.

The new basketball recruiting season officially started this week when ESPN Recruiting Nation released its annual prospect rankings.

Plano Prestonwood Christian forward Julius Randle becomes the area's most coveted recruited, checking in at No. 2 in the nation on the 2013 ESPN 100 list.

Randle is joined in the top 10 by Dallas Kimball guard Keith Frazier, who checks in at No. 9.

Four other DFW players cracked the ESPN 100: 19. DeSoto guard Matt Jones; 28. Arlington Grace Prep center Karviar Shepherd; 41. Arlington Grace Prep forward Jordan Mickey; and 93. Richardson Berkner guard Kendal Harris.

Jones, who is committed to Duke, is the only ranked area player who has made his college choice.

Grace Prep's prime talent isn't limited to its senior class. Guard Emmanuel Mudiay is No. 5 on the 2104 ESPN 60 list. One other area player is on the ESPN 60: Garland Lakeview Centennial center Elbert Robinson at No. 59.

Two players who will be sophomores next year are on the 2015 ESPN 25 list. Prestonwood Christian forward Mickey Mitchell is No. 2, and Rockwall forward Elijah Thomas is No. 22.

A return trip to the Class 4A regional baseball semifinals did not seem to be in the cards for Waxahachie.

The Indians were faced with the daunting task of beating Corsicana in a best-of-3 regional quarterfinal series after losing twice to the 15-4A champion in district play. One of those defeats was a no-hitter in which Corsicana run-ruled Waxahachie, 10-0.

It appeared to be more of the same after the first game of the playoff series, a 3-2 Corsicana win. However, Waxahachie won the final two games in Corsicana to take the series.

"It's a different time of the year," Waxahachie coach Tracy Wood said. "We're playing better baseball. It came down to them making more mistakes when it was time. We'll take district losses to still be playing now."

While Waxahachie is making a second consecutive trip to the regional semifinals, it is by no means the same team that was knocked out by Rockwall-Heath just a round short of state. The Indians returned just four players from last year's squad.

The team has rallied around fundamentals, which Wood has stressed from Day 1, and depended on a committee of pitchers to make up for what they lacked in experience.

Wood started a different pitcher in the first game of every series Waxahachie has played so far this playoff season. David Marinelli, the starter in the opener of the last series, had just one start in the regular season.

"It was a gut feeling," Wood said. "Just a hunch I had and he did a good job. We have different guys getting it done for us for sure."

Waxahachie now has Frisco Wakeland in its sights. Wakeland knocked Highland Park out of the playoffs last week for the third consecutive season.

Wood says his team's success comes down to minimizing Wakeland standout Willie Schwanke in the series either on the mound or at the plate.

"He's their best player for sure," Wood said. "He's the guy you don't let beat you."

The series begins Thursday night in Waxahachie and will be completed Saturday at Frisco's Dr Pepper Ballpark.

Martin moves up in national rankings

Arlington Martin stands firm at No. 10 in the ESPNHS Fab 50 rankings, moving up two spots after its regional quarterfinal win over Lubbock Coronado.

Martin faces Hurst L.D. Bell in the regional semis this weekend.

Senior midfielder Jana Jeffrey of Ursuline Academy (Dallas) was named the 2011-12 Gatorade Texas Girls Soccer Player of the Year on Wednesday.

Jeffrey scored 32 goals and had 23 assists for TAPPS power Ursuline, which won its 22nd consecutive state championship (TAPPS is the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools).

The Boston College signee, who finished her high school career with 54 goals and 40 assists, is now a finalist for the Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year award.

Plano East and Hebron softball will finish a three-game series to decide who goes to state.

This isn’t the typical best-of-three series that many coaches elect to play in the playoffs, it’s simply the third time the two will meet this season after facing each other twice in district play.

“Our district is really one of the hardest districts in the state of Texas,” Hebron coach Staci Jackson said. “It proves it because East has already played Flower Mound, and we’ve already played Plano, and now here we are playing Plano East to go to state. If that doesn’t show you that our district is extremely strong, I don’t know what does.”

Instead of deciding the Class 5A regional final in a best-of-three series, the decision went to a coin toss, which was won by Jackson in favor of a one-and-done game.

Jackson said she believes that this late in the season, a one-game regional final does more to prepare the winning team for the single-elimination state tournament in Austin.

Hebron entered the playoffs as the final seed coming out of District 8-5A but has peaked when it mattered and eliminated two district champions and two runners-up in its journey to the region final.

“In our district, it doesn’t really matter what seed you are,” Jackson said. “As long as you make it in the top four, anything can happen in the postseason.”

Hebron must conquer the challenge of a Plano East team that has dominated the Hawks in their two meetings 8-1 and 11-1 this season.

Defense is Jackson’s key to turning the tables on East, which has made a name for itself this season in its ability to generate offense in many different ways.

Jackson said her team’s ability is there to create a different result, so the trip to Austin might come down to the team with the better focus on defense.

“It might be the first team that makes a mistake that loses,” Jackson said.

Forney eyes return bid to state tournament

Forney surprised many last season by not only making the state tournament, but also advancing to the Class 4A state final, only to lose 10-3 to Santa Fe.

Because of that success, it’s no secret anymore that the Jackrabbits can play some ball.

However, Forney again reaches the regional finals as an underdog to its own district 15-4A champion Ennis, who beat Forney twice in district play.

“My girls came out of both games thinking we should have had a good shot at it,” Forney coach Eric Montgomery said. “My girls are not overly confident, but they are confident that they can perform well this weekend.”

Forney graduated threes seniors since last season’s state tournament campaign, including starting pitcher Macie Tillery, but the tandem of Danielle Najera and Allison Brown has stepped in seamlessly, offering two contrasting looks to opposing hitters.

Montgomery wanted a best-of-three series and ended up winning the toss. He said he believes multiple games will allow his hitters time to figure out Ennis’ pitching.

“I’m hoping that over a three-game series that my girls will be able to figure them out,” Montgomery said. “The ability to change up pitchers will be able to keep them off-balance hopefully because they are a pretty good hitting team as well.”

This summer, ESPNHS will sit down with some of the nation's elite players to break down their game, talk about the inevitable comparisons to college and pro players and get their take on who they pattern their game after.

Player: Matt Jones
School: DeSoto (Texas)
Position: Shooting Guard
Height/Weight: 6-4/180
ESPN 60: No. 22

Who is Matt Jones?
Rated the No. 9 shooting guard in the Class of 2013, Jones is a stone-cold assassin. His 3-point shot is already developed at an NCAA level, and he's capable of exploding at any moment. As a junior, he led DeSoto to the regional finals of the Class 5A state tournament, averaging 18.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Jones has been just as good during the summer season. Going against some of the most talented AAU teams in the country during Nike Elite Youth Basketball League play, Jones is averaging 17.7 points per game and hitting 48 percent of his 3-point attempts. Jones has committed to Duke, and he seems destined to continue the Blue Devils' tradition of lights-out shooting guards (Trajan Langdon, J.J. Redick, Jon Scheyer, Austin Rivers).

Scouting Report
According to ESPN RecruitingNation, Jones has the prototypical build for a shooting guard. He's athletic enough to make plays in the open floor and around the rim, but his calling card is his sweet jumper. Jones might be the purest shooter in the country, with consistent catch-and-shoot range out to 20 feet.

"He's an extremely respected shooter," says Scott Pospichal, his AAU coach with the Texas Titans. "Teams know not to leave him. We run him off screens, and he's good at the pull-up, too. He can really shoot the ball."

Most frequent comparisons: Ray Allen, J.J. Redick

ESPNHS Comparison: Gordon Hayward
Jones' range and size make observers think of classic snipers like Ray Allen and J.J. Redick, but we see his game resembling that of up-and-coming Utah Jazz star Gordon Hayward. There is a size difference, as Hayward is one of the NBA's taller shooting guards at 6-foot-8, but everything else lines up. While Allen and Redick rely on deft footwork to curl around screens and pop long jumpers, Jones (like Hayward) is more of a spot-up shooter with less elevation on his release.

Jones also has enough length, athleticism and quickness to occasionally jump into passing lanes and disrupt things defensively. Gordon makes a living by deflecting passes, sneaking in for offensive putbacks and drilling 3-pointers (38.6 percent for his career), and we can see Jones evolving into the same type of player.

"I like to do a little bit of everything," says Jones. "I take pride in my defense. I can shoot off the dribble, and I have a quick first step. I try to contribute any way I can."

Matt’s Comparison: Ray Allen
Jones has been hearing the Ray Allen comparisons for a long time, and he takes it as a compliment.

"A lot of people like to compare me to Ray Allen or J.J. Redick," he says. "I just feel blessed and grateful to be compared to great shooters like that. Ray Allen is one of the greatest of all-time, so that's an honor to be mentioned with him."

Jones says he is trying to get stronger over the summer, and he's also working on his ball handling. Allen was an underrated slasher in his prime, so Jones will need to continue tightening his handle if he wants to be the next "Jesus Shuttlesworth."

Mike Grimala covers high school sports for ESPNHS. Be sure to follow him on Twitter (@MGrimalaESPN).

West Mesquite defensive back Kameron Miles verbally committed to Tennessee on Monday, picking the Vols over Stanford, Penn State and Arkansas.

Miles explained to ESPN Recruiting's Damon Sayles that Mark Barron's play at Alabama steered him toward Tennessee. Read about Miles' decision here (Insider).

CEDAR HILL, Texas -- A friendly reminder to those trying to frustrate Fort Worth (Texas) Southwest's Robbie Rhodes with trash talk: Don't.

While you might think your verbal jabs are working, all you are really doing is hyping up one of the fastest and most explosive receivers in Texas. And you'll end up eating your words real soon.

"People talk trash but they are just making it harder on their defense," Rhodes said. "God bless them."

Dallas Skyline sophomore linebacker Cameron Hampton was the latest to figure that out during pool play of the Dallas Under Armour Sevens on Saturday.

Hampton, one of the state's top sophomores, engaged in a little friendly banter with Rhodes throughout the 30-minute game. Rhodes barked back a few times but made his biggest statement with three touchdowns in Southwest's victory.

Read the full story here.

Region 1 and 2 quarterfinal results and semifinal pairings of the UIL state baseball playoffs:

CLASS 5A REGION 1
Quarterfinal results
Arlington Martin d. Lubbock Coronado, 9-3, 5-1
Hurst L.D. Bell d. Plano East, 7-3, 0-5, 2-1
El Paso Montwood d. El Paso Americas, 4-1, 10-3
Southlake Carroll 3, Flower Mound 0
Semifinal matchups
Arlington Martin vs. Hurst L.D. Bell
El Paso Montwood vs. Southlake Carroll

CLASS 5A REGION 2
Quarterfinal results
Bryan d. Belton, 4-2, 6-5
Round Rock McNeil d. Round Rock
College Station A&M Consolidated d. Temple, 10-0, 10-7
Tomball d. Klein
Semifinal matchups
Bryan vs. Round Rock McNeil
College Station A&M Consolidated vs. Tomball

CLASS 4A REGION 1
Quarterfinal results
Denton Ryan d. Lake Dallas
Waco Midway d. Crowley, 8-5, 5-0
Wichita Falls Rider d. Canyon Randall, 4-1, 5-4
Cleburne d. Stephenville, 3-2, 4-5, 7-0
Semifinal matchups
Denton Ryan vs. Waco Midway
Wichita Falls Rider vs. Cleburne

CLASS 4A REGION 2
Quarterfinal results
Rockwall-Heath d. Frisco Centennial, 7-2, 16-3
Whitehouse d. Red Oak, 10-0, 9-0
Frisco Wakeland d. Highland Park
Waxahachie d. Corsicana
Semifinal matchups
Rockwall-Heath vs. Whitehouse
Frisco Wakeland vs. Waxahachie

Regional results and pairings for the UIL Class 4A and 5A softball playoffs. Winners of each region advance to the state tournament May 30-June 2.

CLASS 5A REGION 1
Semifinal results
Plano East d. Lubbock Coronado, 9-0, 13-1
Hebron d. El Paso Americas, 7-0, 6-2
Final
Plano East vs. Hebron

CLASS 5A REGION 2
Semifinal results
The Woodlands 7, Temple 0
Klein Collins d. Bryan, 3-1, 7-4
Final
The Woodlands vs. Klein Collins

CLASS 5A REGION 3
Semifinal results
Pearland d. Houston Bellaire, 2-1, 7-0
Deer Park 2, Katy 1
Final
Pearland vs. Deer Park

CLASS 5A REGION 4
Semifinal results
Northside Holmes d. Edinburg North, 8-3, 7-6
Northside O'Connor d. Edinburg, 15-0, 3-0
Final
Northside Holmes vs. Northside O'Connor

CLASS 4A REGION 1
Semifinal results
Midway d. Wichita Falls Rider, 5-6, 1-0, 10-0
Birdville d. Wolfforth Frenship, 7-4, 2-1
Final
Midway vs. Birdville

CLASS 4A REGION 2
Semifinal results
Forney d. Rockwall, 8-1, 8-2
Ennis d. Frisco Wakeland, 2-3, 4-3, 9-8
Final
Forney vs. Ennis

CLASS 4A REGION 3
Semifinal results
Montgomery d. Manvel, 8-5, 9-5
Little Cypress-Mauriceville d. Richmond Foster, 2-1, 3-5, 2-0
Final
Montgomery vs. Little Cypress-Mauriceville

CLASS 4A REGION 4
Semifinal results
Canyon d. Corpus Christi Moody, 10-0, 14-4
Spring Branch Smithson Valley d. Alice, 8-1, 14-5
Final
Canyon vs. Spring Branch Smithson Valley

Highland Park and Frisco Wakeland’s meetings in the UIL Class 4A baseball playoffs have become a tradition like no other.

The teams have met in the playoffs the last two years, and each best-of-three series was decided in Wakeland's favor the final inning of the third game.

This weekend, the tradition continues for the third consecutive year in the regional quarterfinal round.

All of the pressure lies with Highland Park, which has been on the short end of two heartbreaking defeats at the hands of a group of current seniors who have taken part in both Wakeland wins.

“They have three that are definitely killers and that’s (Willie) Schwanke, (Justin) Swanner and (Hayden) Nixon and we’ve faced them the last three years,” Highland Park coach Frank Oliver said. “There’s still three names that are still around and they’re still a good ball club.”

Wakeland was the undefeated champion of District 9-4A. Highland Park finished second in 10-4A, turning its season around after a 1-4 start in district play. Since that sixth game of the district slate, Highland Park has lost just one game.

This will be Highland Park’s first best-of-three series in this playoff run as the Scots look to advance past the regional quarterfinal round for the first time in four years.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if it goes three games again,” Oliver said.

Area teams wiped from 5A Region II

Any hope of a DFW title coming from Class 5A Region II was eliminated in the area round last weekend.

The Metroplex’s chance at gold now lies in the hands of five teams in Region I, four of are facing off.

Southlake Carroll has one of the toughest challenges against District 8-5A runner up Flower Mound in a one-and-done match 7:30 p.m. Friday at Colleyville Heritage.

Two third-place finishers play in the other area pairing between Hurst L.D. Bell and Plano East.

Arlington Martin rounds up the five, continuing it’s West Texas travel to face Lubbock Coronado in the regional quarterfinal.

Lake Highlands playoff run goes viral

Seen the Harvard baseball team’s dance to Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” that recently took YouTube by storm?

If not, click here and check out the goofy dance that has tallied over 7 million views.

Well, the Class 5A area round might not have been all fun and games for the Lake Highlands baseball squad on the diamond -- Temple swept the series in two games -- but the Wildcats sure made the best of their bus ride to the Hill Country.

Here is the Wildcats' rebuttal to Harvard to the tune of Wham's “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”.

To say the Flower Mound softball team had a rough week would be a terrible understatement.

The team thought it had Saturday's one-game Class 5A regional quarterfinal against Plano East in the bag on a walk-off hit that scored a runner from second base in the bottom of the seventh.

The play appeared to end when the runner slid past a tag from the Plano East catcher, eliciting a safe signal from the home plate umpire.

But the runner was tagged during the Flower Mound celebration and was called out for not touching home plate.

The controversy boiled down to a small difference in rules between softball and baseball as mandated by the National High School Federation.

Rule 2, section 1, article 9 of the NHSF rule book states: “If a runner misses home plate and the catcher misses the tag, the umpire should hesitate slightly. If no tag is made, the umpire should declare the runner safe. If an appeal play is then made by tagging either the runner or home plate, the umpire should then make a decision on this appeal play.”

In baseball, umpires are instructed to hold position and refrain from making any call if no tag is made on a play and the runner misses the plate.

“The intention of the rule was probably meant to be good but in this situation it was not,” Flower Mound coach Mark Larriba said.

Flower Mound failed to plate any more runners in the seventh and could not come from behind in the eighth after Plano East took a 3-2 lead, ending the Lady Jaguars’ season in a crushing fashion.

And it came while the team was already dealing with tragedy.

Earlier in the week, Flower Mound catcher Christy Lisenby's father died in a car accident. The team did not practice Wednesday and had a memorial service to attend after the Saturday's game.

“There was a lot of emotion going around and then to have that happen,” Larriba said. “It was difficult to tell the girls the right thing. We realized softball is like life – it’s not fair. Sometimes things go against you but how you react to adversity is what coaches teach you and we really had to apply that.”

Larriba said he has no hard feelings toward the umpire, whom he said was trying to do his job to the best of his abilities, and wished Plano East the best of luck in their journey deeper in to the playoffs.

He just chalks it up to the human element to the game – which includes those who write the rules.

“The lesson is that people make mistakes. If we never forgave people for making mistakes, the world would be a hateful place,” Larriba said.

At least one area team destined for Austin

All that remain in the Class 4A Region II bracket are four strong teams from the Metroplex, meaning one will earn a bid to the state tournament in Austin.

Defending state finalist Forney returns to the regional semifinal to face a hot Rockwall squad that has yet to face much of a challenge in its playoff run. The first two games will be held at Forney on Thursday and Rockwall on Friday, with a rubber match Saturday at Plano West if necessary.

The winner of that series has either Frisco Wakeland or Ennis to look forward to in the region final.

Wakeland has been impressive, outscoring opponents 53-2 through four games in the first three rounds of play.

In 4A Region I, Birdville is the only area team still alive.

Hebron ousts Plano in regional quarterfinal

Plano will not make a return trip to Austin after falling to Hebron 4-2 in a one-game Class 5A regional quarterfinal Saturday.

That leaves just Plano East and Hebron representing the area in the 5A bracket, both in Region I. Plano East faces Lubbock Coronado and Hebron takes on El Paso Americas in the regional semis this weekend.

Three area athletes are among those highlighted in the ESPNHS NEXT feature, which spotlights players destined for greatness.

Aledo running back Johnathan Gray, who is headed for Texas, is on the list. So are Seth Jones and Kellyn Acosta of Plano.

Here's what ESPNHS has to say about these future stars:

Kellyn Acosta, soccer
Acosta is part of the next generation for U.S. soccer. The athletic defender from Plano, Texas, is rated as the nation's top player in the Class of 2013, and he has already proved he can produce on the biggest stages. Acosta made the U.S. U-17 men's national team last season and worked his way into the starting lineup for the Under-17 World Cup in Mexico, and it may only be a matter of time before he's starring for the men's national team at the 2018 World Cup. Or maybe even 2014 …

Johnathan Gray, football
Texas Longhorns fans are getting antsy. A 13-12 record over the past two years for a team used to greatness will do that. But there is a silver -- or should we say Gray? -- lining to all this. The down years didn't scare off Gray, the record-setting running back from Aledo (Aledo, Texas). The No. 2 player in the 2012 ESPN 150, Gray became the nation's all-time leader in touchdowns scored with 205. Expect him to be Texas' most dynamic playmaker since Vince Young. Can a trip back to a BCS bowl be far behind?

Seth Jones, ice hockey
Jones is built like a basketball player (6-foot-3) -- his dad, after all, is former NBA stalwart Popeye Jones. But Seth prefers to do work on the ice. A member of Team USA's Under-18 Worlds squad and one of North America's top prospects, Jones decided last week to bypass college and play for the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League. In 2013, the two-way defenseman could potentially be selected first overall in the NHL draft. The 17-year-old from Plano, Texas, might be raising the Stanley Cup before long.

Plano senior midfielder Tony Santibanez was named the 2011-12 Gatorade Texas Boys Soccer Player of the Year on Tuesday.

Santibanez becomes a finalist for the Gatorade National Boys Soccer Player of the Year award to be announced in later this month.

The District 8-5A MVP scored 11 goals and had nine assists for the Wildcats, who reached the Class 5A Region 1 semifinals this season.

“Tony always had an impact on the game,” Monte Pace, coach of rival Hebron, said in a news release announcing the award. “He was good on possession, able to attack with great speed and was a good finisher. He was a player that you always had to account for. Even then, you could only hope to contain and slow him down. You could never truly stop him.”

Santibanez, who is signed to play at Furman University, is the third Plano player to win the state award, joining Corben Bone (2006-07) and Dillon Powers (2008-09).

Results for UIL softball regional quarterfinal playoff matchups (Regions 1 and 2):

CLASS 5A REGION 1

• Lubbock Coronado over Midland Lee (2-0, 6-1)
• Plano East 3, Flower Mound 2
• El Paso Americas over El Paso Hanks (13-3, 4-9, 14-10)
• Hebron 4, Plano 2

CLASS 5A REGION 2

• Temple 7, McKinney Boyd 2
• The Woodlands 12, Tomball 5
• Bryan over Belton (11-7, 3-4, 11-2)
• Klein Collins 10, Conroe Oak Ridge 0

CLASS 4A REGION 1

• Wichita Falls Rider 9, Canyon Randall 0
• Waco Midway over Fort Worth Western Hills (4-3, 3-2)
• Wolfforth Frenship 4, El Paso Chapin 3
• Birdville 3, Burleson 1

CLASS 4A REGION 2

• Rockwall 6, McKinney 4
• Forney over Elgin (10-5, 7-6)
• Frisco Wakeland 10, Wylie 0
• Ennis over Pflugerville Hendrickson (0-4, 3-1, 8-2)