On Saturday, February 14th, ScoutConnect hosted its annual Winter Showcase, IL event at the SportsBarn East in Wood River, IL. Now in its second year, this event saw 110+ uncommitted high school players representing the 2026-to-2029 grad classes in Illinois, with athletes from various parts of the state making their way to the Metro East. 

 

For all statistics, measurables, data, etc. from the day, click HERE. 

 

Now that we’re a few weeks removed from this year’s event, our staff has taken some time to digest the event in its entirety, and we’ve put some of our thoughts on the day’s top performers within these ‘Scout Notes’. Continue reading below to learn more about several uncommitted ‘26 and ‘27 grads that showed well to our staff at this year’s Winter Showcase, IL. 

 

POSITION PLAYERS

+ OF/INF Braxton Yates (Triad, 2026) gave our staff the best look we’ve gotten at him to date at this event and is an uncommitted senior from the Metro East. Yates was one of the fastest runners of the event (6.76 60) and was on the barrel with consistent line drive spray through the middle of the field throughout his round of BP – 84.5 mph average EV, 88.5 mph peak. Yates showed our staff an uptick in throwing velocity too, setting personal bests at our events in outfield throwing velocity (87 mph) and infield throwing velocity (84 mph). 

 

Braxton Yates

 

+ Another uncommitted senior at the event was C Asher Cantu (O’Fallon, 2026), who’s one of the Southwestern Conference’s more physical bats, regardless of class. At 6-foot-4, 225-pounds, Cantu looked to elevate to the pull-side as his BP went on, working on a longer, more uphill path to contact. His raw power certainly stood out amongst his peers, averaging 95.6 mph per batted ball, with a peak mark at 102.1 mph, and his furthest ball traveled 360 feet. Cantu’s average bat speed (73.1 mph) and average hand speed (21.6 mph) were amongst the highest numbers of the day. Defensively, Cantu showed above-average arm strength for his age, throwing his hardest bullet at 80 mph. 

 

Asher Cantu

 

+ One name that has done nothing but impress our staff consistently over the past year and continues to trend upward is C Beau Breyman (Freeburg, 2027). Breyman took arguably the most consistent, and polished, round of BP on the day, backspinning line drives off the barrel through the middle/pull part of the field with a strong, compact, and direct right-handed swing. He hit his hardest ball 100 mph – his personal best mark at ScoutConnect events, and one of the day’s hardest batted balls. Breyman also ran a 6.95 60, down from a 7.22 at the fall event of ours he attended, and his defensive workout was the best amongst the catching crop; 1.89 pop time, 83 mph arm strength, on the bag on all five throws from the crouch. Breyman is one of the top uncommitted prospects in the Metro East area and should firmly be on the collegiate radar. 

 

Beau Breyman

 

+ Another standout uncommitted junior who showed well in all areas of his workout was C/RHP Trey Conrod (Waterloo, 2027). Conrod’s clearly gotten more physical this winter, bulking up to 6-foot, 195-pounds with notable strength added throughout his frame. It’s a short, strong right-handed swing that works slightly uphill through contact and allows him to elevate gap-to-gap. Conrod was on the barrel as he went on, averaging 89.9 mph per batted ball, peaking at 95.6 mph, and driving the baseball with that level of impact – 279 ft. average batted distance, 338 ft. peak. Conrod’s Blast Motion metrics were also some of the day’s best, finishing at the top of the leaderboard in average bat speed (72.9 mph) and average hand speed (22.2 mph). His strength translates behind the plate too, where Conrod had the second-hardest catcher throwing velocity (82 mph) and popped a 1.97 on his best bullet from the chute. After all of that, Conrod jumped on the mound and pounded the strike zone with an 87-89 mph fastball that showed carry traits (17.7 VB, 7.1 HB). He showed three secondaries, the best of them being a short, hard, and aggressive slider at 78-80 mph (0.6 VB, -4 HB). Expect another excellent season at Waterloo for Conrod this spring and he’s another name from this event that college coaches across the region need to be familiar with. 

 

Trey Conrod

 

+ INF/RHP Ty Hunt (Edwardsville, 2027) was one of the top two-way talents of the event and came away an uncommitted junior to follow throughout the spring and summer. A football player, Hunt stands at 6-foot-2, 180-pounds with lean strength throughout a frame that’s almost certainly only going to get more physical in the coming years. He took a clean, polished round of BP, finding the barrel often (88.2 mph average EV) and spraying line drives gap-to-gap as he went on. Afterwards, Hunt jumped on the mound, pitching at 83-85, touching 86 mph on his best bullet, with a short, quick, and clean arm action. 

 

Ty Hunt

 

+ CIF Dane Johnson (Freeburg, 2027) has done nothing but hit when we’ve seen him in game looks and it’s no surprise that he took one of the more consistently polished BP rounds of the event. Johnson’s feel for the barrel is advanced, as evidenced by his average exit velocity (91.5 mph) sticking close to his peak number (96.7 mph). He was one of four players, out of nearly 100, at this event to have an average exit velocity over 90 mph with a max output above 96 mph. He doesn’t try to do too much at the plate, working on top of the baseball with a short, direct, and controlled right-handed swing. Expect Johnson to have an excellent offensive season for Freeburg and to ride that momentum into what figures to be a productive summer circuit. 

 

Dane Johnson 

 

+ OF Parker Wells (Belleville West, 2027) immediately stood out at this event for the amount of physicality he added this winter. He’s easily tacked on 15-to-20 pounds of muscle mass that’s resulted in an all-around uptick in impact at the plate. Wells’ ability to stay short to contact but keep his barrel through the zone stands out, and that added strength aided him in jumping up in peak exit velocity by nearly five ticks (95.9 mph) from a year ago. On top of that, Wells was near the top of both the average bat speed (74.2 mph) and average hand speed (24.3 mph) leaderboards, and he also ran a 7.07 60-yard dash. A proven in-game performer at our events in the past, Wells will be one to follow closely for the Maroons this upcoming spring. 

 

Parker Wells

 

+ MIF Jack Rolves (Father McGivney, 2027) continues to intrigue our staff with his present skill set and future projection on the diamond. Rolves, who appears to have gotten taller and added strength, has a lanky, lean-levered frame with plenty of room to continue adding mass as he keeps maturing. His glove is one of the more advanced in the Metro East’s junior class, showing clean glove-to-hand, fluid footwork, and the ability to stay in rhythm on the move. At the plate, Rolves controls his levers well, staying short to contact with the ability to work backside consistently in this look. Rolves’ talents on the defensive end are next-level ready and he will only continue to grow into more impact at the plate as he gets stronger. 

 

Jack Rolves

 

+ One name that made the trip up from southern Illinois who we had heard positive things about going into the event was INF Hayden Harriss (Marion, 2027). Harriss didn’t disappoint, staying on the barrel with controlled intent as he went on in BP. He had one of the highest peak exit velocities (96.5 mph) of the entire event, averaging 87.53 mph per batted ball, and he also had some of the highest bat speed, on average, on the day (72.3 mph). 

 

Hayden Harriss

 

+ A physical right-handed bat that made the trip up for the event was CIF Aidan Gusta (Carterville, 2027). The 6-foot-5, 220-pound uncommitted junior showed easy pull-side juice with consistent feel for lifting the baseball and keeping a long, uphill barrel through the zone. Gusta’s average exit velocity (89.5 mph) was near his peak (93 mph) and he sent his furthest ball 346 feet, with an average batted distance of 266 feet. 

 

+ C Benjamin Tillman (Collinsville, 2027) came away from this event as a noteworthy takeaway, improving his measurables across the board from a year ago. A strong, compact athlete that has always played the game with a high motor and energy, Tillman’s batted ball data all took a step up. His peak exit velocity climbed three miles per hour (86.5 mph -> 89.9 mph) and his average mark also saw a notable increase (78.8 mph -> 83.6 mph). Tillman’s furthest batted ball on this day traveled 347 feet, up 40 feet from a year ago, and he improved his catcher throwing velocity by five miles per hour (75 mph -> 80 mph). 

 

Ben Tillman

 

+ C/CIF Brody Lindemann (Belleville East, 2027) has a strong, physical 6-foot-1, 185-pound frame with projection and room to continue adding strength. At this event, Lindemann flashed pull-side barrel feel and juice that way in BP, keeping a long, level barrel through the hitting zone. Lindemann showed above-average arm strength behind the plate, reaching 78 mph from the crouch with a 1.98 top pop time. 

 

+ 1B Tanner Chamberlain (Waterloo, 2027) is a power-packed right-handed hitter that showed our staff more consistent bat strength than we’d seen in the past. Chamberlain’s always had above-average raw power, but he tapped into it more regularly in this look, finding the barrel often in BP. His hardest ball came off his bat at 97.3 mph, with an average mark of 91.5 mph, and he swatted his furthest ball 351 feet, per TrackMan. For context, all of those are upticks from Chamberlain’s marks at this same event last year – 83.3 mph average EV, 93.9 mph peak EV, 334 ft. max distance. 

 

Tanner Chamberlain

 

+ MIF Jude Parnham (Morton, 2027) made the trip down from central Illinois and showed well on both sides of the ball. At the plate, Parnham repeated elevated contact to the left-center gap from a strong, uphill right-handed swing. He showed clean, sure-handed actions on the infield and covered ground on the move in rhythm, while also running a 7.14 60-yard dash. 

 

Jude Parnham 

 

+ A strong 6-foot-2, 195-pound left-handed hitter, 1B Burke Wilson (Harrisburg, 2027) consistently elevated the baseball to the pull-side throughout his round of BP. Wilson’s barrel works on a longer, more leveraged path through the zone, catching the baseball up front and backspinning to right-center field as he went on. He had one of the highest average batted distances on the day (300 ft.) and sent his furthest ball 348 feet, with a 91.7 mph max exit velocity. 

 

Burke Wilson

 

+ Another physical left-handed bat in the Metro East’s junior class to know from this event was 1B Jaxson Vaughan (Edwardsville, 2027). In this BP look, Vaughan showed us the ability to drive the baseball more in the air, jumping his average batted distance (263 ft.) up by nearly 50 feet from the last ScoutConnect event he attended. He keeps his barrel through the zone on a level plane and finishes with leverage through extension, hitting his hardest ball at 92.1 mph on this day. 

 

+ A pair of strong up-the-middle defenders that both ran sub-7.00 60s and are both uncommitted are MIF Ryker Perigo (Mt. Vernon, 2027) and MIF Rhett Lambert (Centralia, 2027). Perigo, a switch-hitter, sprayed line drives gap-to-gap from both sides of the plate, repeating a simple, short, and direct swing. Lambert’s best barrels came to the pull-side, as his hands work loose with a short, compact path through the zone from the right side. 

 

Ryker Perigo

 

+ Two uncommitted juniors that play in the Southwestern Conference who saw their measurables improve considerably are OF/LHP David Acosta (O’Fallon, 2027) and CIF/RHP Roman Pomerantz (Collinsville, 2027). Acosta’s gotten more physical, which resulted in a jump up in max exit velocity (83.6 mph -> 89.9 mph), peak batted distance (258 ft. -> 323 ft.), max outfield velocity (80 mph -> 85 mph) and top fastball velocity (74.6 mph -> 80.1 mph) from when we saw him at one of our events in the fall. Pomerantz has tacked on strength as well, and he set personal bests at ScoutConnect events in max exit velocity (95.2 mph), average exit velocity (86.4 mph), top fastball velocity (83.4 mph), and his peak velocity across the infield (87 mph). 

 

Roman Pomerantz

 

+ Three physical right-handed hitting catchers worth highlighting are C/OF Luka Freidenberg (O’Fallon, 2027), C Kade Rocca (Triad, 2027), and C CJ Epps (Mascoutah, 2027). Freidenberg, who has a football background, ran one of the fastest 60 times of the event (6.84) and has a strong right-handed swing that found the barrel often through the middle of the field, while also showing 79 mph arm strength from the chute. Rocca has a steeper bat path that’s engineered to elevate the baseball and was also up to 79 mph on his hardest throw from the crouch. Epps is the most physical of the trio with a strong, shorter uphill path through the zone that flashed carry off the barrel in his BP round (85.6 mph average EV, 94.4 mph max).

 

Luka Freidenberg

 

+ Another catcher to show well at this event was Sutton Leas (Edwardsville, 2027). The athletic right-handed hitter repeated a simple, flat, and direct right-handed swing as his round of BP went on, spraying line drives back through the middle of the field off his barrel. Leas was around the bag in his catch-and-throw workout, popping a 2.03 on his quickest bullet with 74 mph arm strength at peak. 

 

Sutton Leas

 

+ OF/RHP Frank Stefano (Rochester, 2027) showed a polished right-handed swing with the ability to consistently spray line drives gap-to-gap off his barrel in BP. Stefano’s hardest hit ball registered at 93.1 mph on our TrackMan unit with an average mark at 86.9 mph, and a max distance of 337 feet. He was 86 mph from the outfield at peak, which was one of the day’s hardest throws, and pitched in the low-80s on the mound while spinning an upper-60s curveball at upwards of 2700+ RPM. 

 

Frank Stefano

 

+ An uncommitted junior with intriguing athleticism from this event is MIF Gabe James (Mascoutah, 2027), a 6-foot-1, 185-pound athlete with lean strength that should only continue to tack on more muscle mass to his frame. James did not run the 60-yard dash at this event, but we’ve seen him run as fast as a 6.81 at our events in the past, and we’re confident he will reach into the 6.7 range in the future. On the infield, James’ feet break down in rhythm and get around the baseball, and he’s comfortable playing in pace on the move, particularly up the middle of the field. He showed sure-handed glovework and a short, compact arm stroke, finishing from a high ¾ slot. At the plate, James’ swing works with some length through the zone and on an uphill plane, elevating to the backside gap throughout his round at this event.

 

Gabe James

 

+ A pair of high school teammates who both showed well at the event were INF JJ Cates (Belleville East, 2027) and CIF Logan Walter (Belleville East, 2027). Cates’ peppered line drives back up the middle of the field from a short, simple right-handed swing and showed steady, sure-handed actions on the infield. Walter is a physical right-handed bat that posted a 94.8 mph max exit velocity in BP.

 

PITCHERS

+ Two uncommitted senior arms from this event are RHP Jack Puent (Alton, 2026) and RHP Evan Lear (Madisonville North Hopkins). Puent was one of the day’s bigger takeaways, pumping his fastball at 85-87, touching 88 mph on his firmest bullet – a notable jump up in power production than what we have seen from him in the past. He also threw a changeup with big fade and depth (5 VB, 23 HB) and spun a bigger, sweepier breaking ball at 74-75 mph. Lear pounded the strike zone with three pitches, including a low-80s fastball, 70-71 mph curveball, and 73-74 mph changeup. 

 

Jack Puent

 

RHP Liam Scaiefe (Freeburg, 2027) and RHP Alex Athmer (Breese Central, 2027) both came away from this event as must-follow uncommitted arms from the Metro East area:

 

+ Scaiefe has always pounded the strike zone when we’ve seen him, and the penciled-in ace of Freeburg’s pitching staff has taken a big jump up in power production this winter. At 6-foot-4, 210-pounds, Scaiefe’s arm works so free and easy from a true ¾ slot, accelerating out front through release. His fastball sat 88-89 mph (11.6 VB, 18.2 HB) without much effort and easily projects to continue adding velocity given the ease at which his arm works. Scaiefe’s always had feel to spin a bigger slider at 75-76 mph in zone for strikes, but he debuted a shorter, harder, and together cutter at 82-83 mph in this look that allows him to give hitters a different look off the same plane. To round out his arsenal, Scaiefe turned over a changeup at 80-81 mph that he kills lift on (6.8 VB) and creates plenty of horizontal action (21.1 HB) on which has the potential to be really effective out of his arm slot with consistency. Scaiefe appears to just be scratching the surface of what his potential could be on the mound, and we’re eager to follow his progression as the spring and summer months roll on. 

 

Liam Scaiefe

 

+ Athmer has long been a favorite of our staff, popping up first at this event last spring and parlaying that into a strong sophomore spring for a Breese Central club that found themselves playing in a 2A sectional semi-final. He’s gotten taller, and more physical, since then, toeing the rubber with all sorts of levers and future projection to come. A multi-sport athlete, Athmer worked down the mound with rhythm and pace, pitching at 88-89 mph with both a four-seam and sinker mix. The latter really intrigued us from a data standpoint, limiting lift (4.9 VB) on the pitch while also showing the ability to create nearly 17 inches of horizontal break in that velocity range. Athmer showed two breaking balls; a tight, firm cutter at 83-84 mph that stayed on a shorter plane and a bigger, slightly sweepy slider at 78-80 mph. Athmer’s frame, athleticism, bloodlines – his older brother pitched at Division I SIUE – and stuff all equate to a highly intriguing profile for the uncommitted junior arm out of Breese. 

 

Alex Athmer

 

+ Right off the jump, RHP Anderson Boss (Morton, 2027) was unquestionably one of the more intriguing prospects to take the mound at this event a few weeks ago. Packed with physicality inside a 6-foot-3, 205-pound frame, Boss was in the zone without much effort at 86-87, touching 88 mph at peak, with cut (12.5 VB, 5.9 HB). He flashed sharp spin and depth at times on his curveball at 74-76 mph and was in the zone with his changeup at 78-80 mph. At his size, and strength, Boss ran an impressive 7.09 60-yard dash, had advanced Blast Motion swing metrics, and was also 86 mph from the outfield – a testament to his overall athletic profile. Boss is an arm out of central Illinois that should firmly be on college coaches’ radars. 

 

Anderson Boss

 

+ LHP/OF Carter Braddy (Effingham) may have been the top left-handed arm in attendance and continued to solidify his status as one of the top uncommitted arms in the Illinois’ 2027 class. Braddy’s a fluid, athletic, and in-rhythm mover down the mound with a loose, fast arm that finishes with controlled intent through footstrike. His fastball sat 85-86 mph, though he will continue to tick up as the year goes on, and he turned over a heavy fading changeup at 80-81 mph that we’ve seen be one of the better left-handed secondaries in the area. Perhaps the biggest takeaway from Braddy is that he improved his raw ability to spin the breaking ball, creating sharper, bigger, and more actionable spin to his slider at 75-76 mph. From a position player standpoint, Braddy swings an impact-potential left-handed barrel that reached a peak exit velocity of 96 mph, averaging 90.5 mph per batted ball, at this event. He also ran a 7.02 60-yard dash and was 93 mph from the outfield. 

 

Carter Braddy

 

+ Another top-end left-handed arm from this event that’s still uncommitted is LHP Jonathan Barlow (Freeburg, 2027), who’s done nothing but improve this winter. Barlow has always been known to our staff as a long, lanky athlete with clean movement patterns down the mound and a loose arm, but we’ve been waiting for him to take that next step up from a velocity standpoint. He appears to have done so, pitching at 84-85 mph at this event, and sitting 86-87 mph when we saw him earlier this summer. On top of that, he’s starting to control his levers more consistently and is working in the zone on a more consistent basis than we’ve seen in the past. Barlow also has two secondaries that have the potential to be above-average; he spins a big, sweeping breaking ball from that lower ¾ slot at 69-71 mph that has big break, and throws a hard diving changeup (5 VB, -18.6 HB) at 77-78 mph that really has a chance to be his putaway pitch. If Barlow’s repeatability and consistency can continue, his ceiling is as high as anyone on this list. 

 

Jonathan Barlow

 

+ Another high level athlete to have a strong two-way showing from this event was RHP/OF Cannon Richard (Waterloo, 2027). At 6-foot-2, 200-pounds, Richard ran one of the fastest 60s of the day (6.82), had a 96.5 mph max exit velocity, and was 91 mph from the outfield, which was also amongst the highest numbers of the day. He was perhaps most impressive on the mound, where he pumped his fastball at 87-88 mph with a low-effort delivery and long, loose arm swing. Off that heater, Richard spun a 75-76 mph slider with some sweep and also flashed a 81-82 mph splitter. A football in the fall, expect Richard to have a strong season for a Waterloo club that should be one of the top high school teams in the Metro East. 

 

Cannon Richard

 

+ This event was the first time our staff was able to see INF/RHP Max Zimmerman (Du Quoin, 2027) in person and the 6-foot, 185-pound junior from southern Illinois didn’t disappoint. Zimmerman showed some of the more consistently impactful batted ball outputs of the event, barreling his hardest ball up at 98.7 mph, with an average exit velocity of 91.6 mph. Zimmerman’s average bat speed (73.3 mph) was also one of the highest marks of the day, and his furthest batted ball traveled 349 feet. Additionally, Zimmerman showed 88 mph arm strength across the diamond and jumped on the mound after, sitting 85-86 mph with one of the day’s better sliders (80-81 mph, 3.3 VB, -0.3 HB). 

 

Max Zimmerman

 

+ RHP/INF Nathan Klucker (Triad, 2027) was another junior that saw an uptick in his measurables across the board. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound two-way recorded a 95.1 mph max exit velocity, averaging 90.3 mph per batted ball, both of which were personal bests at our events by a notable margin. Klucker also pitched at 84-85, touching 86 mph, on the mound, which are the highest marks we’ve seen him at, and he was in the zone with his heater. Always known as a strike-thrower with above-average feel for both his secondaries, Klucker landed a low-70s curveball (0.8 VB, -16.8 HB) for strikes and showed consistent feel for a hard-running changeup (6.4 VB, 18.7 HB) at 75-76 mph. 

 

Nathan Klucker

 

+ Three other arms worth highlighting are RHP Landon Dippel (O’Fallon, 2027), RHP Jonathon Caudle (O’Fallon, 2027) and RHP Chase Dorris (St. Anthony, 2027). The more physical of the three, Dippel pitched at 84-85, touching 86 mph with his fastball, and showed the potential for two quality secondaries; 77-79 mph changeup (5.1 VB, 15.6 HB) with a 2400+ RPM slider at 73-75 mph. Caudle pitched at 83-84 mph and continues to show advanced feel to spin his short slider (0 VB, -2.4 HB) in the zone for strikes. Dorris sat 82-83 mph with feel for both a 74-75 mph changeup and a low-70s curveball with big shape and depth. 

 

Landon Dippel