PEORIA, Ariz.—The Arizona Senior Fall Classic kicked off Thursday, bringing hundreds of scouts and college coaches to the spring training complex of the Padres and Mariners. The four-day event features 61 travel and scout teams, primarily from the West.

While coaches and scouts intermingle throughout the 12 fields, there is one event at the tournament geared more for the college coaches: the All Academic Game. The game shines a spotlight on the players with the best grades and test scores, and about 75 college recruiting coordinators showed up to the game Thursday night.

"For a school like us, academics is an important piece," Duke recruiting coordinator Edwin Thompson said. "So having them be able to get the best of the best that are here in one spot helps us out for the rest of the weekend."

Thompson said this All Academic Game is one-of-a-kind.

"It's a benefit for us because instead of looking through all the rosters, you know all these guys have the grades to be able to get into Ivy League or other high academic schools," he said.

A handful of players stood out at the event. The best pitchers were righthanders Aaron Sandefur and Jeremy Witt. Sandefur, from Newport High in Bellevue, Wash. was 85-87 mph with his fastball. He mixed in a 71 mph 12-to-6 curveball and an 80 mph cutter. Witt, from Santa Margarita Catholic High in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., was also 85-87 and mixed in a 77 mph curveball.

The position players that caught my eye were outfielder Austin Singer from Chaparral High in Scottsdale, Ariz., and shortstops Mason Novak from El Camino Real High in Los Angeles and Teddy Turner from Kingwood (Texas) High.

Turner has a good frame at 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds. He showed nice actions at shortstop, a strong arm across the diamond and he played with a lot of pep. Singer stands 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds. He bats and throws lefthanded, showed a smooth stroke and great hustle.

Novak, who is contemplating studying pre-med or business, said he has been contacted by Dartmouth and UC San Diego. He has a physical 6-foot-2, 180-pound frame with broad shoulders, and he moves well for his size. Novak went 1-for-3 with a triple in the game.

"It was an awesome experience," Novak said after the game. "This game has always been kind of like a legend to my scout team because it seems like everybody that comes to this game ends up going to a great college."