If in the hours since the official release of MLB The Show 25, you¡¯ve been taking countless virtual hacks in hopes of that one flawless perfect-perfect swing, you¡¯re not alone.
The only difference between you and Oklahoma State junior right fielder Nolan Schubart is that he nailed the perfect-perfect approach in game action. And sent a ball out a reported 517 feet while doing so.
The No. 30 Draft prospect in the 2025 class is equipped with ¡°prodigious left-handed power,¡± evidenced by the fact that Schubart's gargantuan tape-measure shot was to the opposite field. (There were winds in Stillwater, Okla., on Tuesday night tracked as high as 38 mph, which could certainly have played a part in aiding balls launched into the air.)
It¡¯s worth noting that, yes, the collegiate game uses non-wood bats. And all NCAA parks aren¡¯t equipped with the same technology as MLB parks, so the ¡°official¡± distance of Schubart¡¯s blast remains up in the air. But there¡¯s no debate that the ball -- which cleared literally everything in the stadium -- was demolished. Walloped, or creamed, or mashed.
Less than three years ago another Oklahoma State Cowboy, Griffin Doersching, put himself on the national landscape with a resounding 513-foot shot. Much like that one, Schubart¡¯s followed a legitimate trajectory with a 34-degree launch angle coupled with an 108 mph exit velocity.
Just last season, Jac Caglianone, now MLB¡¯s No. 22 overall prospect, clobbered his own brain-meltingly long roundtripper at 516 feet for the Florida Gators as part of a streak in which he tied the NCAA record with a homer in nine straight games.
For fuller context, the longest measured home run during big league action since 2015 came courtesy of Texas¡¯ Nomar Mazara in June 21, 2019, at 505 feet.
If Schubart¡¯s name rings a bell, it might be because of his four-homers-in-six-innings performance last April. He finished his sophomore campaign with a .370/.513/.838 slash line and roundtrippers accounted for 67.6 percent of his extra-base hits. The left-handed-hitting masher has been off to a similarly scorching start in 2025 with 25 hits and 21 RBIs in 18 games.
Any long ball sailing beyond 500 feet begins to enter a different stratosphere, one that invites a splitting of hairs despite the jaw-dropping feat. It's probably best to just sit back and watch the ball travel.