With winter training fully underway across the state, and the new year coming soon, our staff is going to dedicate some time to highlight a multitude of players that stood out to us throughout 2025. 

 

The next wave of prospects to come through the state is the 2028 class, as many of them will step in as sophomores and provide impacts to their varsity clubs this spring, if they didn’t already do so as freshman. 

 

The summer after sophomore year has long been viewed as an integral one for recruiting, and while the college landscape continues to change rather quickly, college coaches across the country are still formulating their lists of top prospects to know heading towards that August 1st date. 

 

Below we’ve highlighted 25 current sophomores in Missouri that caught our staff’s attention this year, whether it be at our events, during the high school season, or throughout our tournament cycle. For all information regarding ScoutConnect events, click HERE.

 

We also highlighted 25 prospects in the Illinois’ 2028 class to follow earlier this week, which you can find HERE. 

 

Continue reading below to learn more about 25 Missouri’ 2028 grads to know, listed alphabetically. 

 

Brady Rallo, OF, CBC
There’s plenty to like with Rallo, starting with the fact that he has a chance to be an impact left-handed bat, which doesn’t come along often. As a freshman for the Cadets this past spring, Rallo slashed .354/.494/.508 with a pair of home runs and 20 RBI. He blends advanced bat speed, barrel strength at impact, and minimal swing and miss, all of which tend to check the boxes of a high level offensive threat at the next level. 

 

Brady Rallo

 

Brady Hutchison, MIF, Lindbergh
Another talented sophomore for the Flyers, Hutchison was a flat-out performer at multiple ScoutConnect tournaments throughout the summer. It’s a clean, athletic right-handed swing that worked on the barrel consistently, and even flashed above-average raw bat strength at times. Additionally, Hutchison pairs his production at the plate with clean, up-the-middle actions on the infield. 

 

Brady Hutchison

 

Brody Akins, OF/MIF, Union
A fluid athlete that can move around the diamond defensively, Akins showed a true top-of-the-lineup profile this summer across multiple looks. He can use the whole field, doesn’t swing-and-miss much, and is an advanced runner for his age, particularly in the outfield. Akins was an All-Tournament Team selection for our Summer Kickoff, Underclass event and is talented enough to impact Union’s varsity club as a sophomore this spring. 

 

Brody Akins

 

Calvin Stanczyk, INF/RHP, Chaminade
Stanczyk was a main takeaway of ours from the Winter Showcase – IL event last February, emerging as a top prospect despite being one of the day’s youngest players in attendance. His round of BP was highly impressive, working on the barrel from a fast, rhythmic right-handed swing that lived gap-to-gap and produced highly impressive batted ball data for his age / size. Stanczyk led the entire event in average batted distance (299.75 ft.) and swatted his furthest ball 333.9 feet, which was top mark amongst 2028 grads in attendance. Additionally, his max exit velocity was 91.6 mph, and his average mark checked in at 86.5 mph, which is typically an indication of high barrel feel. Stanczyk ran one of the fastest 60 times of the entire event (6.98), a number that should only continue to rise, and his 88 mph arm across the infield was 10 mph faster than any other 2028 grad in attendance. After all of that, Stanczyk hopped on the mound and showed his two-way ability with a clean, crisp delivery and easy arm speed to pair. His fastball played for strikes at 83-84 mph and he spun a tight slider with late break around the zone in the low-70s off it. 

 

Calvin Stanczyk

 

Charlie Willie, CIF/RHP, DeSmet Jesuit 
Willie is another highly projectable athlete worth highlighting, listed at 6-foot-3, 195-pounds with long, lanky levers. We saw Willie a few times this summer at our events and he swings a long, leveraged right-handed barrel that will grow into more impact as he continues to add strength to his frame. Additionally, Willie did show some intrigue late in the summer on the mound with a low-to-mid-80s fastball that plays clean out the hand. 

 

Charlie Willie

 

Cooper Wagner, RHP, Logan-Rogersville
At 6-foot-3, 165-pounds, Wagner is one of the higher ceiling arms highlighted on this list. He’s a highly athletic arm with easy arm speed that has a simple, direct delivery downhill that he repeated consistently in our look early this summer. On that day, Wagner pitched at 82-84, touching 85 mph, with his fastball, and he spun a slurvy breaking ball at 73-75 mph. 

 

Cooper Wagner

 

Cory Hilzinger, LHP, Seckman
Bar none, Hilzinger was our staff’s favorite arm we saw this summer, dominating each time he toed the rubber in our looks. He did that in the spring for Seckman too, tossing 57 ⅓ innings with a 2.08 ERA, walking 14 and punching out 41. All Hilzinger does is pound the strike zone, working across his body to create deception with a low-80s fastball, touching 83 mph in a start this past summer. He spins a tight slider with late sweep in the low-70s, and his changeup at 72-74 mph has the potential to be his best pitch down the road, playing with late fade and depth. There’s so much to like with Hilzinger; left-handed, strike thrower, three pitches, more velocity to come soon. 

 

Cory Hilzinger

 

Donavan Douglas, OF/RHP, Fort Zumwalt West
Douglas has room for all sorts of physical projection on a 6-foot, 140-pound frame with long, lean levers. Five of his 10 batted balls in BP came off his bat at 88+ mph, including a 91.4 mph high, and those outputs could greatly rise as he continues to add strength. He led all outfielders in peak throwing velocity, topping at 86 mph with a long, loose arm swing that played true out the hand. Douglas jumped on the mound afterwards and showed plenty of intrigue, pumping a low-80s sinker with hard, late run (7.4 VB, 19.3 HB) and complimenting it with a sharp, sweeping slider at 69-71 mph (-10.6 VB, -15.1 HB). 

 

Donavan Douglas

 

Easton Benz, RHP/INF, Vianney
Another winner from that Fall Showcase, Missouri event was Benz, who put together one of the more impressive bullpens of the day. At 5-foot-9, 145-pounds with plenty of room for continued physical maturity, Benz is an athletic mover down the mound and his arm works on a short, clean path. He pounded the zone with his fastball at 82-83 mph, though it’s easy to project a rather quick climb in velocity with a productive off-season in the weight room. Benz flashed strike feel on a tight slider at 69-71 mph (-2.3 VB/-7.5 HB), and his ability to spot a fading changeup with depth to the arm-side at 74-76 mph stood out as well. At the plate, Benz worked line drives through the middle of the field from a short, level right-handed swing that was on the barrel and should hit for consistent impact as he continues to get more physical. All in all, the talented two-way from Vianney is a name-to-know in Missouri’s sophomore class. 

Easton Benz

Eli Strinni, MIF, Herculaneum
Another athletic right-handed bat that consistently performed in our looks this summer, Strinni swings a short, compact right-handed barrel that did nothing but produce from the top of his travel clubs’ lineup. He, like his counterparts, can also really pick it on the infield, and is an above-average in-game runner to pair. 

 

Eli Strinni

 

Eliyah Powell, C, MICDS
Powell showed well in front of our staff in one of our fall tournaments this September and looks the part of a strong, physical left-handed presence that could profile nicely in the middle of an order. His hands work behind the plate and his arm played accurate in our in-game looks. 

 

Eliyah Powell

 

Jace Bateman, INF, Lutheran North
Bateman is a lean, lanky athlete with long levers that are plenty easy to project on in the future. He was a performer at the plate during our Fall Invite, Underclass event this past September, working to the pull-side with developing power that way as he continues to add strength to his frame. 

 

Jace Bateman

 

Jack Bogard, MIF, Francis Howell
It’s not often a freshman gets more than 100 plate appearances at Francis Howell, but Bogard did so in the 2025 season, and he was actually really good in that sample size. Bogard hit .349 and reached base at a .455 clip, striking out six times while walking 11 – a pretty impressive mark, given the caliber of competition Francis Howell is facing on a week to week basis. Bogard’s bat-to-ball skills are advanced for his age, but he can also flat-out pick it at shortstop and should be viewed as a lock to stick up the middle at the next level. Bogard is one of the top ‘28 grads in the St. Louis area and should field plenty of phone calls next August 1st. 

 

Jack Bogard

 

Jackson Leonard, OF/RHP, Eureka
There may not be a louder blend of physicality and tools than Leonard, whose massive 6-foot-5, 215-pound frame is packed with all sorts of juice. His bat speed and strength are plenty advanced for his age, and he was punishing baseballs repeatedly at our Summer Kickoff, Underclass event in early June. We didn’t see Leonard pitch at that event, but we’ve heard he’s climbed up into the upper-80s with his fastball, which isn’t surprising given the magnitude of the rest of his skill set. Look for Leonard to play a notable role for Eureka this upcoming spring, one that would certainly be a welcomed addition for another top 6A club in the city.  

 

Jackson Leonard

 

Jack Sutherland, MIF, Logan-Rogersville
From the southwest part of the state, Sutherland is the younger brother of Missouri State’s Curry Sutherland, who homered nine times for the Bears as a sophomore last year. He was plenty impressive in our up-close look this past summer, showing a smooth, fluid left-handed swing that was on the barrel through the middle consistently. There’s a high chance Sutherland follows in his brother’s footsteps and hits at a high level moving forward, and he’ll only continue to hit for more impact as he gets stronger. 

 

Jack Sutherland

 

James Weitekamp, OF/RHP, Kirkwood
Weitekamp took one of the more impressive BP rounds at the SBA Scout Day in February this past winter. He’s a wiry athlete with lean strength and plenty room for more, showing twitchy hand speed and working on the barrel gap-to-gap throughout his round. 

 

James Weitekamp

 

Jacob Hornburg, RHP/INF, DeSmet 
Hornburg first caught our staff’s eyes at a P3 event in late February, and he was equally as impressive on both sides of the ball at our Fall Showcase, Missouri event in mid-October. On the mound, Hornburg’s ability to backspin his four-seam fastball is an outlier for his age, carrying clean out the hand at 80-81 mph (15.1 VB, 2.9 HB) with plenty of room to continue trending upward. He showed above-average feel for a 71-73 mph changeup with fade/depth and threw both of his breaking balls in the upper-60s; his curveball had a slightly larger movement profile than his slider, but the shape of the two pitches blended together for a majority of his bullpen. Offensively, Hornburg elevated middle/pull from a long, leveraged right-handed swing that produced the highest average batted distance of the day (276 feet) and has a chance to really impact the baseball as he continues to get more physical. 

 

Jacob Hornburg

 

Jon Calcaterra, RHP, Lindbergh
Calcaterra is a name our staff became plenty familiar with this summer, as the 6-foot-4, 200-pound sophomore is one of the area’s top ‘28 arms. As a freshman for Class 6 Lindbergh this past spring, Calcaterra pitched to a 2.79 ERA in 32 ⅔ innings. His upside on the mound is tantalizing, controlling his physical frame well down the mound with a simple, in-line delivery. Calcaterra plays catch in the low-to-mid-80s, touching 86 mph in a start at one of our events this summer, and the ease in which he works downhill suggests there’s plenty more in the tank. Off that, the physical right-hander spins a low-70s breaking ball with depth that should benefit from a climb in velocity, and can also turn over a changeup at 74-76 mph. 

 

Jon Calcaterra

 

Jonah Bates, C, Lindbergh
Our staff’s first look at Bates came this fall at our Fall Showcase, Illinois event, where he came away a winner and name to follow in Missouri’s sophomore class. He was on the barrel middle/pull for almost the entirety of his two BP rounds, averaging 84.6 mph per batted ball with a peak mark at 90.8 mph. Bates’ barrel worked long through the zone with leverage out front, allowing him to backspin to the pull-side and produce the second-furthest batted ball (343 ft.) of the event. He was also tied for the event lead in highest average hand speed (22 mph) and showed 75 mph arm strength from the crouch, popping a 2.15 on his quickest throw to the bag. 

 

Jonah Bates

 

Luke Welby, UTL, CBC
A strong, compact athlete, Welby left a positive impression on our staff this past fall at our final tournament of the year. His arm strength, in particular, stood out, as he jumped on the mound in a relief role and pitched in the mid-80s, touching 86 mph. Welby also swung a strong, flat right-handed barrel and showed sure-handed actions on the infield. 

 

Memphis Mooneyham, INF/OF, Aurora
Mooneyham holds one of the more advanced hit tools on this list. He holds a track record of nothing but success in game from an offensive standpoint, and he broke his school’s single season hits record this spring as a freshman. Mooneyham controls a short, compact left-handed barrel and is comfortable using the whole field, missing rarely when he swings in-zone. 

 

Memphis Mooneyham

 

Owen Wilde, RHP, Helias Catholic
Wilde popped onto our staff’s radar at a P3 event in late February last winter, running his fastball up to 87, pitching at 85-86. He’s an athletic, efficient mover with fluid arm speed that also showed a 71-74 mph curveball and 77-78 mph changeup in that look. 

 

Owen Wilde

 

Ryan Maloney, RHP, Mehlville
Maloney provided our staff with a plenty intriguing look on the mound at an event this summer. He’s a strong, athletic sophomore with a loose, clean arm that was up to 82 mph on that day, though it’s highly easy to see him take a big jump quickly. On that day, Maloney showed advanced feel to spin a sharp, tight breaking ball for strikes at 68-71 mph. 

 

Ryan Maloney

 

Sam Deibel, RHP, MICDS
Another takeaway from that late-February P3 event this year, Deibel showed notable arm speed and projection to our staff. It’s a long swing on the backside with arm speed out front through release, and he pitched at 82-84 mph on the day, showing feel for both his curveball and changeup as well. 

 

Sam Deibel

 

Tyler Fischer, RHP, Jackson
Fischer popped to our staff in a quick look this spring on a trip down to southeast Missouri when the strong, athletic right-hander ran his fastball up to 87 mph out of the ‘pen. We’ve heard he’s been higher than that since then and he’s a highly talented arm to keep tabs on for Jackson this upcoming spring season. 

 

Tyler Fischer