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. 

 

This upcoming season, both spring and summer, will be integral for the state’s 2027 class. The age increase in college baseball, coupled with the growing popularity of junior college and the transfer portal, has directly impacted the high school recruiting scene, perhaps no group more than the 2025, 2026, and 2027 classes. 

 

While colleges certainly are in tune with who’s who in this current junior class, their attention is now dispersed through multiple other channels – JUCO, transfer portal, college summer leagues, and the high school athlete. It’s never been harder for a high school athlete to reach the collegiate ranks, making it that much more important for each individual player to stand out, in one way or another. 

 

We will continue to do our best, at ScoutConnect, to highlight as many players as possible throughout Illinois and Missouri. Last week, we highlighted 25 sophomores to know in Illinois, which you can find HERE, and 25 sophomores to know in Missouri, found HERE. 

 

Over the next few days, our staff will turn our attention to this 2027 class, starting in Illinois and working our way to Missouri. We’ve highlighted 20 current juniors that caught our attention this year on the mound, whether it be at ScoutConnect events, during the high school season, or throughout our tournament cycle. For all information regarding ScoutConnect events, click HERE. 

 

Listed alphabetically, continue reading below to gain some more insight on these names, all of whom are still uncommitted.

 

Aiden Willis, RHP, Father McGivney
Willis figures to be a key arm for Father McGivney this upcoming spring season. The strong, physical right-hander pitched in the low-80s in our two looks this past year and can land a big, bendy 69-71 mph curveball for strikes. 

 

Aiden Willis

 

Alex Athmer, RHP, Breese Central
Another highly intriguing arm from the state’s southern parts, Athmer is a prime candidate to come out of this winter as a big winner. His long, lanky levers offer all sorts of projection, and there’s plenty to like about his athletic background too; multi-sport athlete, older brother was a Division I pitcher. This past year, our staff saw Athmer touch 85, pitching at 82-84 mph, with a mid-70s slider. 

 

Alex Athmer

 

Anderson Boss, RHP, Morton
Boss popped onto our radar this fall after he turned in a strong outing during one of our fall tournaments. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound really gets down the mound, working across his body to create a tough angle with advanced extension of note. On that day, Boss pitched at 82-84, touching 85 mph with his fastball. 

 

Anderson Boss

 

Carson Mitchell, LHP, Morton
Mitchell is another name on this list to show well at one of our ScoutConnect tournaments, turning in a strong outing at our Fall Invite, Upperclass event. He’s an athletic, up-tempo mover down the mound with a clean, quick arm. In our look, Mitchell’s fastball played in the low-80s and he showed feel for two secondaries; a top-to-bottom curveball with depth and a hard fading split-changeup. 

 

Carson Mitchell

 

Carter Braddy, LHP/OF, Effingham
Easily one of our staff favorites, Braddy has a chance to come away from this winter a major follow prospect in Illinois’ current junior class, if he already isn’t. His upside on the mound is tantalizing, as the athletic left-hander has already been up to 86 mph and has the movement patterns to suggest there’s more to come quick. He can create depth and sharp spin on a mid-70s slider, while his changeup has a chance to be his true put-away pitch. Braddy is no slouch at the plate either, routinely working on the barrel in our looks and serving as a top-of-the-lineup bat for his travel club this past summer.

 

Carter Braddy

 

Charley Spour, RHP, St. Anthony
Spour was a main takeaway from our Summer Games in June, bursting onto the scene as a live-armed prospect in the state’s 2027 class. It’s a fast, athletic arm stroke that pitched at 88-91 mph on that day, and did so again a month later at one of our summer tournaments. Finding more consistency and further developing his slider will be key for Spour’s ultimate ceiling, but he has the potential to be a triple-digit arm some day, and those are far and few between. 

 

Charley Spour

 

Collin Augustine, RHP/CIF, Columbia 
Augustine has advanced arm strength for his age, touching 86 mph at a tournament this past summer, pitching in the mid-80s. He also has a long, level left-handed swing that showed strength off the barrel in our looks. 

 

Collin Augustine

 

Collin Grosenheider, RHP, Williamsville
Grosenheider came away from our Summer Showcase – Central Illinois event a big winner. He’s a fast mover down the mound with a long, loose, and athletic arm swing, pumping his fastball at 85-86 mph. Both of his secondaries flashed; he spun a tight 73-74 mph and a harder, cutter/slider hybrid at 75-76 mph. 

 

Collin Grosenheider

 

Connor Fox, RHP, Mt. Zion
Fox was another main takeaway from our Summer Showcase – Central Illinois event. The 6-foot, 170-pound right-hander has a short, quick, athletic arm stroke that pitched at 84-85 mph with arm-side run. His best secondary in this look was a tight 75-76 mph slider that he threw for strikes, and he also flashed a changeup at 75-77 mph. 

 

Connor Fox

 

Cy Craft, RHP, Du Quoin 
A strong, compact right-hander, Craft’s fastball has climbed into the upper-80s before, pitching at 83-86 mph when we saw him at Northern Illinois this past summer. He’s always been a strike thrower, spinning a short, tight mid-70s slider and also turning over a upper-70s changeup. 

 

Cy Craft

 

Darren Klein, RHP, Mascoutah
Klein regained his form as the high school season came to a close for Mascoutah, bumping his velocity back up and showing spurts of his dominant self. We tabbed him as a high-follow prospect in the Metro East coming out of the winter, and nobody on our end has gone away from that, as the strong, physical right-hander is primed for a huge junior year for the Indians. In 2025, our staff saw Klein run his fastball up to 87 mph, pitching in the low-to-mid-80s, with advanced feel for both his changeup and slider. 

 

Darren Klein

 

Jonathan Barlow, LHP, Freeburg
At 6-foot-1, 160-pounds with long, lean limbs, Barlow’s physical projection is rather easy, and it’s what lands him on this list. His arm works long and loose on the backside, and he doesn’t move down the mound with much effort, controlling his levers well. As he continues to add on mass and create more functional strength, Barlow’s ability to sync up consistently will improve, and he’ll not only take a jump velocity wise, but also be able to raise his ceiling on the mound as a whole. Right now, his fastball plays in the low-80s and he spins a sweeping slider in the low-to-mid-70s. 

 

Jonathan Barlow

 

Jonathon Caudle, RHP, O’Fallon
Caudle continued to perform well at our events, parlaying a successful Summer Games outing in June into an even better one in September at our Fall Games. On that day, Caudle twirled a scoreless frame, punching out three straight in his only inning of work. His fastball played in the low-80s and he showed consistent strike feel for a short, low-70s slider. 

 

Jonathon Caudle

 

Landon Workman, RHP, Mt. Zion
Workman is a name our staff became plenty familiar with this past year, checking in on him over a handful of events and in-game summer tournament looks. Most recently, we saw him at our Fall Games in September at SIUE, where the 6-foot-6, 200-pound right-hander threw well. On that day, Workman’s fastball played at 83-85, touching 86 mph. Off that, he flashed feel to land a 68-71 mph slider with depth at times for strikes and was in the zone with both pitches throughout his inning of work. 

 

Landon Workman

 

Liam Scaiefe, RHP, Freeburg
Scaiefe is another physical right-handed arm from southern Illinois that our staff has grown plenty accustomed to over this past year. His most dynamic look to date, thus far, came at the Fall Games this September, where he punched out a pair and did nothing but fill up the strike zone. He controlled his levers well and repeated his delivery consistently with a loose, clean arm that worked from a ¾ slot. Scaiefe showed plenty of confidence in a sharp slider with depth at 73-75 mph in that look, throwing it more often than his fastball with the ability to land it for strikes and also get swing-and-miss. His heater worked at 83-85 mph (2400+ RPM) and he also showed a changeup at 77-78 mph. 

 

Liam Scaiefe

 

Lucas Womack, LHP, Belleville West
Womack was an All-Tournament team selection at our 16U Summer Series in late June, helping lead his summer club to a tournament championship that weekend. He creates deception on the backside with a slightly crossfire delivery and short, tight arm stroke, working his fastball in the low-80s and spinning a short slider. 

 

Lucas Womack

 

Mathew Crownhart, LHP/OF, Father McGivney
Crownhart is one of the more talented two-ways in southern Illinois, joining a loaded Father McGivney club for this upcoming spring season. At our last look, Crownhart’s fastball played in the low-80s, but it came out so clean and so effortlessly out of his hand that it’s highly likely he’ll continue to climb from that standpoint. Much of the same can be said about his offensive efforts, as he swings a long, fluid left-handed barrel that should continue to add impact as he gets stronger. 

 

Mathew Crownhart

 

Matthias Rudolph, LHP, Monticello
Rudolph popped up on our staff’s radar in a playoff game this past spring, where he came out of the ‘pen as a sophomore in a big spot and held his own. We saw him again a few months later at one of our summer showcase events, where his fastball played at 82-83 mph, an uptick from what we’d seen before. He showed feel to spin both a slider and curveball, the former being a few miles per hour harder than the latter. Rudolph also ran a 6.97 60, a testament to his athleticism, and we’ve heard reports that he’s already taken a jump in velocity this winter, making the left-hander from central Illinois that much more interesting. 

 

Matthias Rudolph

 

Nathan Klucker, RHP/OF, Triad
A strong 6-foot-1, 190-pound athlete, Klucker has shown well in front of our staff over multiple looks this past year, most recently at our Fall Showcase, Illinois event. On the mound, Klucker’s fastball plays in the low-80s and he can pitch backwards, working both his curveball and changeup for strikes consistently. Offensively, Klucker swings a strong, flat right-handed swing that worked on the barrel through the middle of the field. 

 

Nathan Klucker

 

Trevor McClure, INF/RHP, Mt. Vernon
McClure missed a majority of this past year with an injury, but the 6-foot-1, 195-pound junior is back and primed for a big bounceback in 2026. A true two-way talent with the ability to do both at the next level, McClure’s fastball has been up to 89 mph in the past, sitting in the mid-80s, with a sharp, power slider to pair. Offensively, he holds advanced bat strength inside a simple, balanced right-handed swing, and his ability to get to it in game has already proven true. His actions on the infield are polished and advanced for his age, giving him a greater chance than not to stick on the infield at the next level. McClure is a name that should firmly be on college radars and he will only supplement that once this winter rolls around. 

 

Trevor McClure