On Sunday, February 15th, ScoutConnect hosted its inaugural Winter Showcase, MO event at the SportsBarn West in Wentzville, MO. In its first year, this event saw 50+ uncommitted high school players representing the 2026-to-2029 grad classes in Illinois, with athletes from various parts of Missouri in attendance. 

 

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 of the top 2027 grads who showed well at this event. 

 

SCOUT NOTES: ‘27 GRADS

+ MIF Tyler Sweeney (Eureka, 2027) continues to solidify himself as a high-follow prospect in Missouri’s junior class and was the top all-around prospect in attendance at this event. Sweeney, who’s long and lanky with plenty of projection still to come, made his way up to Wentzville right in the middle of basketball season. Sweeney gave us his best look to date, controlling his levers better and keeping his barrel in the zone longer with an uptick in repeatability, bat speed, and impact off the barrel. His hardest ball jumped off his bat at 97.4 mph, up from 91.6 mph from when he came to an event in June of 2025. His average exit velocity climbed up three miles per hour to 89.2 mph, and his furthest batted ball at this event was a missile into the left-center gap at 364 feet. Sweeney also showed a three miles per hour increase in average bat speed (73.2 mph) than when we’d seen him before, and his average hand speed jumped up four miles per hour (24.1 mph) as well. He ran a 6.92 60 and continued to show his fluid, in-rhythm actions on the infield, taking arguably the day’s cleanest round, and working an 86 mph high across. Already known for his polish and maturity, Sweeney’s tools are starting to trend up, and we’re comfortable tabbing him as a must-see prospect for college coaches this spring and summer. 

 

Tyler Sweeney

 

+ The top arm in attendance at this event was RHP Grant Brown (Jackson, 2027), a physical uncommitted right-hander from southeast Missouri. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Brown pumped his fastball without much effort out the hand at 88-89 mph. For his secondaries, Brown killed spin (1391 RPM) and lift (4.8 VB) on his changeup at 79-80 mph, and he also spun a slider at 77-78 mph (2.3 VB, -11.3 HB) that showed sharp, late break at times, and has the potential to be a swing-and-miss pitch at the next level if it can climb up a few ticks from a velocity standpoint. Brown should form a nice one-two punch at the top of Jackson’s rotation and is an uncommitted arm college coaches should familiarize themselves with, if they haven’t already. 

 

Grant Brown

 

+ CIF Uriah Reardon (Veritas Christian, 2027) was the most physical bat in attendance at this event and one of, if not the, more impactful right-handed hitters we saw in our winter cycle. At 6-foot-4, 210-pounds, Reardon’s barrel was in the zone with length, repeating a fluid, leveraged path that showed easy jump at contact. His hardest ball came off his bat at 101.5 mph, with an average exit velocity at 93.1 mph, and a max batted distance of 371 feet, per TrackMan. Additionally, Reardon was near the top of the event leaderboard in average bat speed (73.2 mph) and average hand speed (23 mph). The uncommitted slugger from the St. Louis’ area with middle-of-the-order bat strength will be one to follow this spring and summer. 

 

Uriah Reardon

 

+ A high-follow uncommitted prospect from this event that showed well on both sides of the ball was INF/RHP Liam Decker (O’Fallon, 2027), who made the trip over to Wentzville from across the river in Illinois. Decker has done nothing but trend upward over the past year or so, tacking on lean muscle mass to a frame that’s still wiry and packed with athleticism. He took one of the best BP rounds of the event, repeating a loose, athletic, and level right-handed swing while finding the barrel often gap-to-gap. His hardest hit ball came off his bat at 95.4 mph, one of the day’s top marks, and there’s room for him to continue to grow into more impact as he gets stronger. On the infield, Decker’s sure-handed with the arm strength to stick on the left side, whipping his hardest bullet across the infield at 88 mph. Perhaps the most intriguing part of his overall profile is his work on the mound, where he was up to 88 with his fastball, pitching at 86-87 mph, and spinning a 72-73 mph curveball at 2500+ RPM, while also spotting his 77-79 mph changeup in the zone. Plenty talented with the ability to impact the game on both sides of the ball, Decker has a chance to slide himself into a key role for an O’Fallon club that should be one of the top 4A teams in Illinois. 

 

Liam Decker

 

+ It’s hard to miss 6-foot-2, 200-pound OF/LHP Jackson Ijames (Festus, 2027) when he walks in the room, as the uncommitted two-way talent was one of the more physically imposing athletes at this event. Ijames didn’t get cheated whatsoever in his round of BP, finding backside barrels consistently from a long, steep path through the zone, with a max exit velocity of 94.9 mph, and an average mark at 87.4 mph. Ijames led the entire event in throwing velocity from the outfield (90 mph) and he had the second-highest max fastball velocity on the day, pumping his heater at 86-87, touching 88.5 mph. His best secondary in this look showed to be a late fading changeup that played on the arm-side corner of the plate at 81-83 mph (5.2 VB, -13.6 HB) and he also showed a slider with some sweep at 73-74 mph. 

 

Jackson Ijames

 

+ Another uncommitted junior from Festus that had an impressive showing at the event was MIF Brayden Good (2027). Good took some time this winter to get in the weight room, adding more muscle mass and strength to his 6-foot, 185-pound frame. He impacted the baseball with added authority in BP as a result, squaring his hardest ball up at 100.2 mph, up six ticks from his previous peak at one of our events last fall. His average exit velocity jumped up three miles per hour (87.7 mph) and he also saw an increase in average bat speed (70 mph) as well as average hand speed (21.4 mph). Good showed a much more intentful right-handed swing in this look, working his barrel with length through the zone and finishing out front with leverage. Good also cut his 60-time down by multiple tenths of a second, running a 6.95 on this day, with his previous best at ScoutConnect events being a 7.18. 

 

Brayden Good

 

+ A physical, uncommitted three-sport athlete from south county that showed well in multiple areas of his workout was INF/RHP Brody Kube (Seckman, 2027). At the plate, Kube has strong hands and a heavy barrel that carries gap-to-gap in BP, averaging 90.6 mph per batted ball, peaking at 95 mph. He was also 85 mph across the infield and pitched at 84-86 mph on the mound with his fastball, landing a 72-73 mph curveball for strikes in his ‘pen. 

 

Brody Kube

 

+ Arguably the day’s top catching prospect was C Blake Hollrah (Orchard Farm, 2027), a physical right-handed hitter that’s been making an impact at Orchard Farm since his freshman year. Hollrah was on the barrel to the pull-side consistently in his BP round, looking to elevate the baseball that way from a leveraged swing with fluidity throughout that has middle-of-the-order upside.

 

Blake Hollrah

 

+ At 6-foot-3, 180-pounds, RHP Walter McCourt (Affton, 2027) gave us an intriguing look on the mound at this event. The long-levered uncommitted right-hander really gets down the mound, launching his fastball from a lower release with above-average extension at 84-85, touching 86 mph. He flashed arm-side feel for a running changeup at 78-80 mph that averaged 19 inches of horizontal break, and he also spun a tight, top-to-bottom curveball at 73-74 mph. 

 

Walter McCourt

 

+ Another physical right-handed arm in attendance was 6-foot-4, 210-pound RHP Nathan Rutz (Eureka, 2027). At his size, Rutz moves well down the mound, staying stacked on his backside and closed to his target to footstrike, while also repeating a controlled, up-tempo pace. He threw two fastballs, a two-seam and four-seam, both of them at 84-85, touching 86 mph, that played with more run (18.7 HB) than lift (9.5 VB) on average. Rutz spun a shorter slider with some depth at 75-76 mph, and he showed a 77-78 mph changeup with hard dive and fade (4 VB, 20.5 HB) at times. 

 

Nathan Rutz

 

+ LHP Andrew Heskett (Parkway South, 2027) is a 6-foot-3, 190-pound southpaw with a track record of throwing strikes in game that filled up the zone with three pitch feel at this event. Heskett’s fastball played at 82-83, touching 84 mph, from a short, continuous arm path. His best secondary at this event was a sweeping slider (0.5 VB, 12.6 HB) with bigger shape at 73-74 mph that he landed in the zone consistently for strikes. To complete his arsenal, Heskett turned over a changeup at 75-77 mph that played on the arm-side corner of the plate. 

 

Andrew Heskett

 

+ LHP Jackson Sindelar (Vianney, 2027) was another uncommitted southpaw to keep tabs on from this event. Working slightly across his body with a longer arm swing on the backside, Sindelar pitched at 83-84 mph with his fastball, and paired it nicely with consistent feel for a 77-78 mph changeup. He also spun two breaking balls; a bigger curveball at 71-72 mph with higher shape to it, and a tighter, more horizontal slider at 74-75 mph. 

 

Jackson Sindelar

 

+ RHP Grady Arnold (Westminster Christian, 2027) was in the zone often with his fastball at 83-84 mph that showed true two-seam traits at times (5.7 VB, 15.4 HB). Arnold’s a loose, fluid mover down the mound with a repeatable, athletic delivery and a clean arm swing that works out of a high ¾ slot. He threw a tight, hard slider at 77-78 mph that flashed sharp tilt on the glove side of the plate, and he also turned over a 77-78 mph changeup (5.3 VB, 16.4 HB) with low spin (1324 RPM) that showed similar movement traits to his fastball. 

 

Grady Arnold

 

+ Two other physical uncommitted juniors of note were 1B/LHP Ryan Whitworth (Duchesne, 2027) and OF Nick Weidler (Seckman, 2027). Whitworth was on the barrel to the pull-side in BP, peaking at 91.3 mph, with an average mark of 84.9 mph. He also had some of the highest average bat speed (73.2 mph) on the day, and actually tied for the highest average hand speed (24.1 mph) as well. Weidler’s swing worked long through the zone and on an uphill path, elevating backside in BP with a 94.4 mph max exit velocity. He also ran a 6.95 60-yard dash and was up to 87 mph from the outfield. 

 

+ Two up-the-middle defenders that showed well at this event were MIF/RHP Carson Rolf (Fox, 2027) and MIF Jack Feraro (Lafayette, 2027). Both showed clean, athletic actions on the infield and utilized the middle of the field in BP. 

 

+ LHP Braden Cox (Troy, 2027) is an athletic left-handed arm with a short, quick, and clean arm stroke that pitched in the low-80s with his fastball and consistently landed a sweeping upper-60s breaking ball in the zone. 

 

+ Three other names to know that showed well in aspects of their workout were C/RHP Liam Watts (Springfield, 2027), INF Drew Haley (Fort Zumwalt East, 2027), and UTL Tyler Brashear (Oran, 2027).