On Saturday, February 1st, the ScoutConnect staff traveled to the SportsBarn West in Wentzville, Missouri, to host the East Central CC Scout Day. More than 20 players from the Falcons’ junior college program participated in a workout with our staff, grabbing up-to-date metrics and evaluation throughout the process. 

For all of the statistics collected at this event, and video, click HERE. For all information on the East Central College 2025 team, including schedule, statistics, rosters, and more, click HERE. 

Interested in a JUCO event with ScoutConnect or want more information on what we can provide to your program? Please reach out to Diego.solares@sportsbarn.org

Below you will find our scout notes, and video, on all of the players our staff saw from this event. 

POSITION PLAYERS

+ INF/RHP Henry Kufa (Sophomore) has the potential to be a dynamic impact for the Falcons this upcoming season after transferring in from St. Charles CC, where he slashed .286/.392/.467 over 105 at-bats. Kufa was at, or near, the top of our Diamond Kinetics’ bat sensor data in peak average bat speed (71 mph), peak average hand speed (26 mph), and peak average acceleration (36 g). Perhaps most impressive was the fact that it didn’t take Kufa much effort to create that level of force from his right-handed swing, staying balanced and in control throughout both of his BP rounds. Kufa matched that with above-average bat strength, squaring his hardest ball up at 97.9 mph, while averaging 90.67 mph outputs, and his furthest ball traveled 353 feet. Kufa ran the second fastest 30-yard dash (3.75 seconds) on the day and took a clean, athletic round of infield defense where he showed capable of playing in control on the move, especially up the middle. The uncommitted sophomore from Carlinville figures to be one of the top prospects in Missouri’s JUCO scene. 

+ CIF Jack Holubowski (Sophomore) is a strong-bodied, muscle-bound athlete that should slot comfortably into the middle of the East Central lineup throughout his sophomore spring. Both of Holubowski’s BP rounds were impressive, as he showed easy hand and bat strength while keeping a still quiet head and controlled intent throughout. Holubowski covered the plate, spraying line drives to both gaps from a low-effort, low-pulse operation. He averaged 89.16 mph per batted ball, peaking at 96.8 mph, and he drove his deepest ball 356 feet straight into the left-center gap. 

+ INF Cody Kantz (Sophomore) put together one of our staff’s favorite BP rounds of the event. Kantz, who had the highest peak average hand speed (28 mph) consistently got off his ‘A’ swing, maintaining balance throughout and backspinning baseballs off his barrel to both gaps. With that, Kantz had one of the event’s highest peak exit velocities (97.8 mph) and he produced the day’s furthest batted ball (374 ft.) as well. Look for Kantz to be a quality piece to the East Central lineup this spring. 

+ 1B Adam Hanan (Sophomore) steps into the batter’s box with a hard-to-miss 6-foot-4 frame. Hanan doesn’t get cheated, getting off some of the day’s loudest hacks, and producing high-end bat speed (71 mph) and hand speed (24 mph) on average, per Diamond Kinetics. Hanan’s swing stays short to contact and works on an uphill plane, backspinning baseballs to the left-center gap with juice to match – 88.5 mph average exit velocity, 95 mph max. 

+ OF Sam Bruno (Sophomore) took a quality round of BP, backspinning baseballs to the middle-pull side of the field from a strong, compact right-handed swing. Bruno squared his hardest ball up at 93.4 mph, lifted a 343.9 ft. output for his deepest batted ball, and he was also up to 89 mph from the outfield. 

+ Two other names to watch are INF/OF Saul Valdez (Sophomore) and OF Gabriel Contreras (Sophomore). Valdez is a fluid, loose-bodied athlete that ran the fastest 30-yard dash (3.72) of the day and showed a clean, direct right-handed bat path that sprayed line drives to all fields throughout BP. He’s a versatile defender that can play multiple spots on the infield, as well as the outfield, where he was up to 89 mph on his firmest throw to home. Contreras has long, lean levers that he controls well, staying inside the baseball at the plate with backspin feel off the barrel. He moved freely around the outfield as well and peaked at 85 mph on his hardest throw to the bag. 

+ C Brayden Roberts (Sophomore) really impressed behind the plate in multiple areas of the event. Roberts received the ball well during bullpens, working down-to-up with soft hands and the ability to present pitches on his glove side for strikes. He was on the bag often from a catch-and-throw perspective with a quick release and short, compact arm path that produced pop times in the 1.89-to-2.03 range. At the plate, Roberts favored the pull-side and flashed juice that way from a long, uphill right-handed swing. 

+ INF Toby Goodwin (Sophomore) is a strong, compact right-handed hitter that flashed tools in BP in this look. Goodwin tied for the event lead in peak average bat speed (71 mph) while also having one of the highest exit velocities (96.8 mph) and peak batted distances (350 ft.). 

+ OF Hayden Cook (Sophomore), C Matis Crouwel (Sophomore), OF Dylan Michaelson (Sophomore), and OF Aidan Gaither (Sophomore) are all right-handed bats to follow for East Central. 

PITCHERS 

+ RHP/INF Kannon Hibbs (Sophomore) was the lone two-way prospect at the event and had a strong showing on both sides of the ball. Where Hibbs ultimate home lies is up in the air still but, right now, his ceiling on the mound looks to be a bit higher. He played catch at 87-88 mph with a fastball that averaged 2521 RPM, peaking at 2604 RPM. Hibbs’ separator is his ability to spin his breaking ball, a 75-77 mph offering with big depth that averaged 3023 RPM, topping at 3126 RPM, both of which are outliers. Hibbs rounded out his arsenal with a straight changeup at 83-84 mph and a sinker that he threw at 86-87 mph. At the plate, Hibbs had the highest average (91.72 mph) and peak (100 mph) exit velocities of the day, and he finished second on our leaderboard in peak average hand speed (27 mph). 

+ RHP Keagan Lawlor (Sophomore) kicked our event off as the first arm to take the mound and was one of the day’s top arms. Lawlor worked in the zone with a fastball that played at 88-89 mph while averaging 15.3 inches of vertical break, per TrackMan. He flashed some arm-side feel for a 82-83 mph changeup that he killed spin (1714 RPM) on and also threw a tight, bullet-like (-2 IVB, -3.9 HB) slider at 78-79 mph to complete his arsenal. Lawlor should be one of the top arms on this East Central staff in 2025. 

+ RHP Parker Anderson (Sophomore) has a starter profile to match a large, physical, and strong-bodied frame that should eat up innings for this Falcons’ staff. Anderson had the day’s firmest bullet, topping at 90 mph on his final fastball of the day, while sitting 88-89 mph throughout his ‘pen, and averaging 17.8 inches of vertical break on the pitch. Anderson threw two different breaking balls; a sharp, power-type curveball at 74-75 mph that played with more top-to-bottom drop and a tighter, more lateral slider at 76-78 mph. He also showed a 82-83 mph changeup that he threw from a similar release angle to his fastball and played with big horizontal movement (16.3”) to the arm side. 

+ RHP Andrew Sharpe (Sophomore) backspun a straight, four-seam fastball (15.3 IVB”, 5.5 HB”) for strikes at exclusively 89 mph, topping at 89.6 mph, throughout his bullpen. He showed two breaking balls; a slider that spun on a 10/4 plane at 79-81 mph and a more-arching, yet still tight, curveball at 76-78 mph. Sharpe is a high-intent arm that looks the part of an impact bullpen piece for East Central. 

+ Another power arm to keep an eye on for the Falcons is RHP Will Mentz (Sophomore). A strong, physical right-hander with a thick lower half, Mentz backspun his fastball at the top of the zone, pitching at 87-89 mph while averaging 16 inches of vertical break. His best secondary in this look was a diving changeup at 80-81 mph that he placed at the bottom of the zone consistently, and he also showed a 79-81 mph slider with slight horizontal action. 

+ The only freshman in attendance, RHP Zach Taylor showed a four-pitch mix in this look. His fastball played in the zone at 85-87 mph and matched it with a 75-77 mph splitter that showed to be his best secondary pitch at this event. Taylor threw the pitch from a near identical release height to his fastball, matching planes with the pitch with late drop at the bottom of the zone. He also consistently landed his slider for strikes at 76-77 mph and showed a 71-73 mph curveball as well. 

+ RHP Jack Meyer (Sophomore) is a key returner for the Falcons, logging 47 innings with just 14 walks in 2024. The lean, long-limbed 6-foot-3, 160-pound right-hander put together the event’s most polished ‘pen, filling up the strike zone with all four of his pitches, starting with a 83-84 mph fastball that he put on both corners of the plate. Meyer threw two breaking balls – a curveball and slider – that played with similar action and depth at 70-71 mph. He consistently spotted his changeup in the lower arm-side quadrant of the zone at 73-74 mph as well. 

+ RHP Brock Hendrix (Sophomore) and RHP Ayden Gates (Sophomore) are two other arms that threw at this event. Hendrix is a long, lean-levered athlete that pitched in the low-80s, touching 84.9 mph with a fastball that flashed late arm-side action. Gates has strength throughout his frame and returns a 2.45 ERA in 11 innings last spring, sitting in the low-80s in this look.