Chris Elwell
Staff Writer
The list grows on. Aiden Kearney, the number five overall player in the class of 2028, is officially the newest member of the Baseball Lifestyle 101 featured athlete roster. Kearney, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound middle infielder from Orlando, Fla., has top-of-the-scale tools on both sides of the field that helped him burst on the scene with an eye-opening summer season against premier talent across the country in 2024.
Kearney attends Hagerty High School and will certainly be one of the top players on a young team that went 29-7-1 and started the season with a 16-game winning streak. He credited the team’s 13 seniors with bringing out his competitive edge, enabling him to compete for a spot while still being a team player and picking up his teammates when necessary.
“Nothing is going to be given to you, no matter if you’re number one in the state or number 100 in the state,” said Kearney. “You still have to compete for the same spot.”
As a top-five player in the country for the Class of 2028, Kearney came into the season with high expectations. On the first pitch he saw in his high school career, he hit a home run to the top of his school’s batting cage facility to live up to those expectations and start his season off in the best way.
“Outstanding ‘24 summer, 12 HR across biggest events, top of class bat speed/barrel whip; upper 80s on bump too, MVP at PG National 14u Elite,” according to Perfect Game.
Kearney has reached up to 90 mph on the mound with good actions in his delivery, but his bat is the calling card with some of the best bat speed and exit velocities in his class. Primarily a shortstop that moves very well around the ball, he has shown the ability to move around the field and put his athleticism and arm strength on full display.
Kearney has played for some of the premier travel teams in the country, including the Pottstown Scout Team and the FTB Phillies 2027 Scout Team, where he has established himself as one of the top players in the country and is certainly a player to watch as he approaches professional baseball.
Photo Courtesy of Instagram/@aiden_kearney47
At the 2025 Perfect Game WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Fla., Kearney played for the Phillies Scout Team alongside top players from the 2026 and 2027 graduating classes. Although Kearney was two years younger than most competitors, coaches Nelly Gonzalez and CJ Lauriello specifically recruited him for the roster.
“That was definitely one of the biggest tournaments from start to finish that I’ve ever played in,” said Kearney. “Being a [20]28 out there with the [20]26s, he [Nelly] trusted my abilities to go out there and play with them.”
During his recent trip to New York to meet the Baseball Lifestyle staff, Kearney sat down for a full interview at Lauriello’s facility, Home Team, in Queens, N.Y., now live on Baseball Lifestyle’s official YouTube channel. Kearney discussed how he manages the expectations that come with being the #1 player in Florida and one of the top players in the country, facts about himself, and what it means to live the Baseball Lifestyle.
“For me, [the Baseball Lifestyle] means grinding out every single day, and it’s brought me to where I am today,” said Kearney.
Kearney gave an insight into how he became affiliated with Baseball Lifestyle when he started receiving influencer boxes and supported the brand in all of its collections. He then reached back out to see if a deal could be made to make him an official featured athlete, which led to a deal being agreed upon that made him the newest Baseball Lifestyle featured athlete.
Kearney visited Baseball Lifestyle headquarters, where he was a part of short-form video content, had the chance to go to Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, for a stadium tour, and played a round of golf at Topgolf, where he talked about his passion for golf when he’s not on the baseball field.
"We are thrilled to have Aiden as a part of our organization, and we can’t wait to see what he will accomplish on the field and as a representative of Baseball Lifestyle," said Baseball Lifestyle's Chief Content Officer, Josh Gerson. "His journey as a Baseball Lifestyle athlete is just beginning, and as he continues to grow in the industry, his opportunity for growth and gaining name recognition will become a major part of his life on his path to the highest levels of success baseball has to offer."