Last year was head coach Luke Miller’s first season at the helm of the East Central program. Tasked with a program retool at semester, the Falcons had a successful 2025 run, winning their section of Region 16 and securing a spot in their District tournament. 

A bulk majority of their key contributors from last season’s group are gone, but this East Central club has plenty of talent from top to bottom and will look to compete in Region 16 yet again. 

POSITION PLAYERS

It’s an infusion of new names for the East Central offense, with several everyday regulars and consistent contributors from last year’s group gone to graduation. That isn’t true with R-Soph OF/RHP Kannon Hibbs (Lindenwood) though, as the star right-handed hitter is back and has a real claim to be one of the top offensive threats in the region. Hibbs was nothing short of excellent in 2025, slashing .391/.488/.688 in 138 at-bats with 10 home runs, 44 RBI, and 30 free passes to 19 strikeouts. It’s as effortless raw power from the right side as you’ll find in the state, as he flicked line drive home runs on repeat in two BP rounds at our East Central Scout Day this past fall. Building off last year’s success at the plate for Hibbs will be crucial for the success of this offense and will help him put the finishing touches on an excellent JUCO career before he heads to in-state Lindenwood. 

Kannon Hibbs

After Hibbs, however, there’s a ton of newness to the position player group that East Central will roll out on the field in 2026. Two transfers that are expected to be everyday regulars are R-FR OF/C Brek Sloan and Sophomore C John Nisbet: 

+ Sloan was on the barrel with strength in BP at our scout day and he showed well in our game looks, sending a two-run home run over the left field wall at the SC JUCO Invite in early October. He’s versatile defensively with the ability to play a corner outfield spot or slide behind the plate, and he also ran a 6.96 60 at our event. 

Brek Sloan

+ Nisbet was also a consistent in-game performer when we saw East Central this fall, finding the barrel a handful of times. He showed easy pull-side juice in BP at our scout day, averaging 97.6 mph per batted ball with a peak mark at 102.7 mph and sending his furthest barrel 380 feet, per TrackMan. Nisbet’s best tool is his arm strength behind the plate, with easy carry from the chute and a chance to really control the running game. 

John Nisbet

RHP/CIF Jiter Montilla (Georgia Gwinnett) is a sophomore that returns after minimal playing time last season but is expected to take a major jump up in role and be one of this team’s top performers. Though his next-level excerpts are likely to be on the mound, Montilla is another right-handed hitter on this team with easy raw juice in BP. From a long, leveraged right-handed swing, Montilla worked gap-to-gap and averaged 100.6 mph per batted ball at our scout day, reaching a peak number at 104.9 mph. Translating that strength to gameplay will obviously be key, but the tools and impact are there. As for what he can do on the mound, Montilla’s fastball lives in the low-90s, climbing into the mid-90s at times this fall, with power sink. He throws four different secondaries, including two different breaking balls in the mid-to-upper-70s and a low-80s cutter, and he’s expected to be one of the Falcons top arms this upcoming season. 

Jiter Montilla

R-FR INF Connor Kepner was a name that stood out to us at our SC JUCO Invite event this fall for the energy and competitiveness that he brings to the field. A strong, athletic right-handed hitter with a high motor, Kepner screams top-of-the-lineup threat, putting consistently competitive at-bats that are sure to annoy opposing pitchers. Defensively, Kepner’s home is likely second base, but he also has a background as a catcher, giving the Falcons added versatility on that end. 

Connor Kepner

A few other names to know are R-FR OF Isaac Buhr, R-Soph MIF Jeffrey Lentz, and sophomore C/OF Sam Sailors. Buhr has a long, athletic frame that looks the part and has tools to match, running a 6.75 60 at our scout day this fall with notable batted ball metrics (94 mph average EV, 99.6 mph max EV, 395 ft. peak distance). Lentz showed sure-handed actions on the infield at the SC JUCO Invite and Sailors is another strong right-handed hitter that can move around the diamond defensively. 

Isaac Buhr

The success of their freshman class is likely the key to the Falcons’ season at the plate, with several newcomers to college baseball set to compete for everyday roles. 

1B/OF Jake Orf had a strong fall and is a physical left-handed hitter that consistently showed polish with advanced feel at the plate. OF Henry Berkstresser is another name that had a successful first fall and is viewed internally as an upside left-handed hitter with power to come. Two infielders, Mason Wall and Jacob Robinson, are sure-handed defensively and could see themselves playing on the left side of the diamond regularly. OF Austin Haas was an all-everything multi-sport star at Warrenton whose dynamic athleticism can impact the game in multiple ways and should earn him time this upcoming year. 

PITCHERS

Turning to the mound, East Central’s strength lies in their pitching staff, where they have a blend of talented, experienced arms and newcomers that can make an impact right from the jump. 

From a workload standpoint, sophomore RHP Zach Taylor led the Falcons’ staff last year with 58 ⅔ innings and is back for his final campaign at East Central. The strong, compact right-hander fills up the strike zone with a full pitch arsenal, starting with a mid-to-upper-80s fastball. He throws a firm, hard-running changeup and also has two breaking balls; a bendy, bigger shaped curveball, and a tighter, more firm slider. In Taylor, East Central has a bulldog-type, competitive arm that they can rely on to get outs and log innings. 

Zach Taylor

We touched on Montilla and his talents above, but another highly talented arm of note is R-FR RHP Eli Tritinger, who may have the highest ceiling and purest raw stuff of anyone on this staff. Committed to UTRGV, Tritinger’s fastball plays with a true sinker profile, sitting in the upper-80s to low-90s with more in the tank. His separator is the ability to spin a true sweeping slider in the low-80s that offers swing-and-miss potential, and he also turns over a diving changeup in the low-80s (3 VB, 16.2 HB). Whether it’s as a starter or reliever, Tritinger brings a dynamic arm to this East Central staff. 

Eli Tritinger

Two more physical arms on this staff are sophomore RHP Seungmin Song and sophomore RHP Wyatt Mammen, both of which have upper-80s fastballs and have shown the ability to climb into the low-90s in the past. 

Wyatt Mammen

Sophomore RHP Cody Fry is another physical right-hander, toeing the rubber at 6-foot-5, 230-pounds, that pitched down in the zone with his fastball at 86-87 mph at the SC JUCO Invite this fall. When healthy, sophomore RHP Ben Peth has a chance to be an impact arm for this staff. He’s an easy, athletic mover with a quick arm that pitched in the upper-80s with his fastball at the East Central Scout Day, spinning an upper-70s breaking ball for strikes and turning over a tumbling split changeup in the low-80s. R-FR RHP Peyton LaVasseur turned in a clean inning of work in front of our staff this fall, spinning a big breaking ball in the low-70s to pair with a fastball that played at 84 mph. 

Cody Fry

Similarly to their position player group, the Falcons have a multitude of freshman arms that will look to contribute early and often in 2026. RHP Noah Jones is a lean, long-levered athlete with a mid-to-upper-80s fastball and spin feel for a tight slider in the mid-to-upper-80s. Another upside right-handed arm is Michael Sievers, whose history of pounding the strike zone and an uptick in stuff this fall is noteworthy. LHP Drake Weber is hard to miss, toeing the rubber with a physical 6-foot-5 frame and a power mid-to-upper-80s fastball from the left side to pair. RHP Braiden Freeman has a multi-sport background and also pitches in the mid-to-upper-80s with his heater, and RHP Jonah Schmersahl throws four pitches for strikes, including a mid-to-upper-80s fastball.