Perfect Game Age Chart (2026)

Perfect Game determines youth age groups by a player's age on April 30 of the season year, the same May 1 cutoff as USSSA. The difference arrives at high school ages: from 14U up, PG divisions also carry a graduation-year standard, and a player qualifies by EITHER the birthdate or the grad year. That "either" is what makes PG age groups feel confusing, and it's actually the part that helps reclassified players.

Age on April 30, 2026 sets the group:

At the dual-standard ages, a player is eligible if they satisfy either column. A 2028 grad born in March 2009 misses the 16U birthdate window by two months but qualifies on grad year. Always confirm against the event's posted eligibility page, because individual PG events (WWBA vs BCS-style) can state their standard differently, and other circuits (Five Tool, for example) draw their grad-year lines one year differently from PG.

College recruiting runs on graduation years, not birthdays, so the showcase side of PG organizes teams the way college coaches scout them. The practical consequences: a reclassified player (repeating a grade for athletic or academic reasons) can move age groups without a birthday changing, and two players born the same week can be in different divisions if one reclassified. When a tournament roster gets protested at these ages, it's almost always a grad-year dispute, not a birthdate one; carry documentation for both.