Triad has established itself as a force in the Metro East, and the Illinois’ 3A landscape as a whole, under the leadership of head coach Jesse Bugger. Year over year, the Knights enter the spring season as one of the area’s top teams, and they’ve been incredibly successful as of late. 

When it comes to this year’s collective, replicating the success that the Knights’ 2025 class had last spring will be an improbable, if not impossible, task. It was a special group in the history of the Triad baseball program, one that helped propel them to a 35-7 record and a third place finish in the IHSA 3A state playoffs. That group took both bulk (579 AB, 120 ⅔ IP) and production with them when they graduated, leaving nothing short but a positive mark on a program that’s been full of positives for the last decade. 

It’s hard not to start with RHP/INF Nolan Keller (2026; Kaskaskia) when looking at this year’s senior class. Keller enters the spring on a shortlist of the area’s top performers, and he’s an easy pick for Conference Player of the Year, if not our own ‘Metro East Player of the Year’ award. 

Keller took full control of the Knights’ pitching staff as a junior last spring, pitching to a 1.05 ERA over a 60 inning workload, including a 9-2 record with a pair of complete games. He doesn’t walk people, just 10 in that span last spring, and punched out 49 while posting a 0.85 WHIP. From a stuff standpoint, Keller pitches in the mid-to-high-80s with his fastball, can consistently land a short, tight breaking ball for strikes, and will also occasionally turn over a fading changeup. Expect him to be a main contributor offensively too, where he slashed .303/.324/.508 with four home runs, 15 doubles, and 35 RBI while mostly seeing time at third base. Keller’s as impactful and talented as any two-way in the area and we’re clearly expecting a huge spring from the Kaskaskia commit. 

Nolan Keller 

Another returner that burst onto the scene of sorts last spring was MIF/OF Carter Gaskill (2026; Illinois-Springfield). After getting called up to the varsity level halfway through the spring, Gaskill hit .400 in 45 at-bats with a .949 OPS and found himself in the lineup on a regular basis down the stretch. It’s a clean, picture-esque left-handed swing that consistently puts together tough at-bats and offers versatility defensively with his ability to play on the dirt, as well as in the outfield. 

Carter Gaskill

Sticking with their senior group, OF/INF Braxton Yates (2026) is another returner that was an everyday regular last spring and can move around the diamond defensively. Yates, who’s still uncommitted, hit .326 over 86 at-bats in 2025 and reached base at a .442 clip, posting 18 free passes to just 13 punchouts. He’s an above-average runner with strength in the barrel that can track it in the outfield and also slot on the infield if need be. 

Braxton Yates

Two senior arms that are likely to be key relief pieces for the Knights are RHP Grayson Yank (2026) and LHP Pearce Goodfield (2026; SWIC). Yank, who’s still uncommitted, pitches in the low-80s and has above-average feel to spin a big, bendy breaking ball with depth. Goodfield, a multi-sport athlete, pitches in the low-80s from a lower launch on average and spins a sweeping slider off it that’s especially tough in left/left matchups. 

Pearce Goodfield

If the Knights are going to make their way back to the state playoffs in early June, their junior class will likely be the driving force behind it. They have a mix of experience and fresh faces, but the common theme across the board with this group is they’re all talented. 

We’ll start with 1B Keegan Seipp (2027), one of the top offensive threats in the area, regardless of class. Plenty physical, and still uncommitted, Seipp was stellar for Triad in his first season with the program. He hit .359 with an OPS at 1.036 and zero shortage of power production at the plate; 14 doubles, six home runs, 44 RBI. Seipp’s a middle-of-the-order bat in every sense of the word and one of the biggest developments he had last spring was unlocking the ability to leverage the baseball to the pull-side, something that took his offensive outputs to the next level. Expect another monster spring from the power-packed left-handed bat, one that could yet again be among the Metro East’s most impactful. 

Keegan Seipp

Sticking with the Seipp family, MIF Kannon Seipp (2027; Jefferson JC) stepped in last spring after an injury and performed, earning second team All-Conference honors. In 64 at-bats, Seipp hit .328 and reached base at a .463 clip, walking (15) more than he struck out (11). He’s your prototypical gamer-type who plays the game hard, does the little things right, and can play multiple positions defensively. 

Kannon Seipp

RHP/OF Nathan Klucker (2027) and RHP/CIF Brody Hasquin (2027) are a pair of arms that have been contributors on varsity on the mound since their freshman years. Klucker pitched to a 3.14 ERA in 29 innings last spring, while Hasquin had a 3.38 ERA in his 18 ⅔ inning sample size. Both are similar in the way they go about things on the mound, pitching in the low-to-mid-80s with their fastballs and working in the zone consistently with their secondaries. 

Nathan Klucker

Turning to the newcomers, OF Auggie Bugger (2027) is a left-handed hitter that has a chance to impact this lineup from the jump. Bugger has shown well to our staff when we’ve seen him, whether in-game or a showcase setting, working on the barrel with strength at impact from the left side. Another name to know is C Kade Rocca (2027), who has a chance to be one of the more slug-driven hitters in this lineup. By that, we mean that he has the bat strength to hit for power somewhere in this lineup and could be the Knights’ starting catcher on opening day. INF Maddux Hunt (2027) fits that gamer-type mold we described earlier, as he’s capable of moving around the infield defensively with steady, sure-handed glovework to pair. OF Dawson Deatherage (2027) is a notable football recruit for the Knights, but he also swings an impact-packed left-handed barrel with the ability to hit for power. 

Auggie Bugger

Like they did last year, Triad is going to rely on a few youngsters to help them out at the varsity level, and a prime candidate to is RHP Matt Morris (2028). Morris got his feet wet as a freshman last spring and made the most of his opportunity, pitching to a 0.41 ERA in 17 innings on the hill, punching out 19. A clean, athletic mover down the mound, Morris pitched in the low-80s when we saw him last year, and his ability to throw both of his secondaries (CH/SL) for strikes stood out. It’s easy to see him taking an uptick from a staff standpoint this winter and there’s also a chance he finds himself pitching prominent innings for Triad in 2026. 

Matt Morris

Another popular name on our summer tournaments circuit was OF Nolan Miller (2028). Miller was all over the barrel for extra-base impact in our first tournament of the summer, and he continued to show our staff the ability to slug with consistency as the year went on. He’s a long-levered, athletic right-handed hitter with plenty of room to continue tacking on strength that we’re excited to see at our Winter Showcase – IL event in a few weeks. CIF/RHP Jack Vicik (2028), INF Brock Becker (2028) and INF Quinn Droy (2028) are three other talented youngsters to keep an eye on. 

Nolan Miller

Looking at their freshman class, INF/RHP Kody Anderson (2029) will be one to watch as a possible contributor this spring for Triad. He’s advanced athletically on both sides of the ball for his age, swinging a clean right-handed barrel and pitching in the low-80s on the mound with feel to spin his breaking ball for strikes. It’s unclear how much Anderson could impact this Knights’ team in particular in his first year of high school ball, but he’s certainly going to be a staple for this club moving forward. 

Kody Anderson