On Tuesday, June 23rd, ScoutConnect made the trip south to hold our annual Southern Illinois Summer Showcase at John A. Logan in Carterville, IL. This event hosted 50+ 2027-to-2029 grads that participated in a pro-style workout, collecting data measurables throughout to update their ‘Player Profiles’ and compete against their peers. 

 

For all of the statistics from this event, click HERE. To learn more about ScoutConnect events and what we offer, click HERE. 

 

Now that the event’s a little over a week behind us, our staff has compiled our notes from the day, highlighting several of the top prospects in attendance within this piece. Continue reading below to learn more about more than 25 players, all of whom are uncommitted, that showed well at this year’s Southern Illinois Summer Showcase. 

 

+ The biggest takeaway from this event was likely the power display that CIF Uriah Reardon (Veritas Christian, 2027) put on in BP. Built at a hulking 6-foot-4, 210-pounds with square shoulders and more strength to come, Reardon set a new event record for us, barreling his hardest ball up at 107.9 mph. He had several other 100+ mph exit velocities, all of which were to the backside – a testament to his ability to impact the baseball to all fields. At his size, he ran a 7.10 60, and moved well on the infield, opening the door for him to play either corner infield spot at the next level. The physicality and impact potential at the plate is immense, and Reardon will be one for coaches to keep an eye out throughout the rest of the summer, as well as into the fall. 

 

Uriah Reardon

 

+ CIF Max Zimmerman (DuQuoin, 2027) is another uncommitted incoming senior that continues to show above-average bat strength at our events. Compact with strength throughout his frame, Zimmerman’s ability to impact the baseball off his barrel really stands out. It’s a short, fast right-handed swing that stays flat through the zone, and he was flicking balls off his barrel at an average mark of 95.2 mph, peaking at 100.8 mph. He ran a 7.10 60 as well, an improvement from the 7.26 he ran at our Winter Showcase this past February.

 

Max Zimmerman

 

+ INF/RHP Ian Crabb (Harrisburg, 2027) left a positive mark on our staff in the spring and did so again at this event last week. Crabb’s BP round was amongst the day’s most polished – it’s a simple, yet strong, left-handed swing that stays in control, backspinning line drives to both gaps, though particularly the other way in this look. He will continue to grow into more strength as he gets older and that will translate in game given the simplicity to his swing. He hopped on the mound towards the end of the event and threw his fastball at the top of the zone at 83-84 mph, spinning a shorter, tighter breaking ball at 75-77 mph, while also showing a changeup at 77-79 mph. 

 

Ian Crabb

 

+ Two physically advanced uncommitted ‘27 grads of note from this look were 1B/RHP Collin Augustine (Columbia) and OF/LHP Jackson Ijames (Festus). Augustine was the first hitter of the day and wasted absolutely no time, ambushing baseballs frequently to the pull-side from a high intent, uphill left-handed stroke. His loudest batted ball was jolted – 96.9 mph EV, 366 feet – and he was on the barrel throughout his round, posting an average EV at 88.1 mph. Augustine also had the hardest max fastball of the event, touching 87.8, while sitting at 86-87 mph. Ijames has your prototypical left-handed picturesque swing – it’s long through the zone with an uphill finish that allows him to really drive the ball to the right-center field gap. He was one of the more physical bats on the day, posting a 98.3 mph peak EV, while sending his furthest batted ball 339 feet. He was also 88 mph from the outfield and pitched at 85-86 with his fastball, touching 87 mph. 

 

Collin Augustine

 

+ One of the day’s more intriguing athletes was OF Gavin Johnson (Carterville, 2028). A long-limbed, highly projectable left-handed hitter, Johnson glided to a 6.78 60, showing long, athletic strides that covered ground smoothly and will almost help that speed translate in game, but also likely lead to him running faster in the future. At the plate, it’s a short, steep path through the zone that, at its best, elevates to both gaps, and has the potential to hit for impact as he starts to control his levers more consistently. Given his frame and the athlete that he is, Johnson came away from last week’s event as one of the higher ceiling prospects in attendance. 

 

+ Another incoming junior to have an excellent showing at this event was OF Carson Miller (Freeburg, 2028). Miller played a role as a sophomore on varsity for a Freeburg club that made a run to the 2A state playoffs this past spring. He gave us our best look to date at this event, however, backspinning baseballs gap-to-gap from a strong right-handed swing that worked long through the zone on a leveraged, slightly uphill path. He had the second highest average exit velocity of the event (95.75 mph), the fourth highest max exit velocity (98.9 mph), and registered the furthest batted ball (367.9 ft.) of all players in attendance. On top of that, Miller ran a 6.94 60-yard dash, which was one of the day’s fastest times. 

 

Carson Miller

 

+ CIF Henry Brown (Festus, 2027) and INF Hayden Harriss (Marion, 2027) are a pair of uncommitted physical right-handed bats from the event. Both were towards the top of the average bat speed leaderboard and both also checked in towards the top of the max exit velocity leaderboard. Brown flashed easy strength off the barrel in BP, flicking three different 100+ mph exit velocities throughout his round. Harriss got his hacks off on repeat, working with length through the zone with barrel feel to the backside, posting a 95.6 mph max exit velocity while averaging 88.73 mph per batted ball.

 

Hayden Harriss

 

+ Two physical incoming junior bats that both took loud rounds of BP were CIF Bronx Hefner (Mt. Vernon, 2028) and CIF Kruz Koester (Benton, 2028). Hefner has strong hands with a short, uphill left-handed swing that wore out the middle/backside gap with barreled, elevated contact throughout his rounds. There’s intent behind it, and he’s not afraid to get his hacks off, but he controls his bat path well with above-average bat strength for his age – 94.8 mph max EV, 88 mph average. Koester was a name we’d heard positive things about heading into the event and the physical right-handed bat didn’t disappoint. It’s a simple all-around operation at the plate with strong hands that get on top of the baseball and flick his barrel through the zone, allowing him to backspin through the middle of the field. At his peak, Koester was one of the day’s strongest right-handed bats, producing a peak exit velocity of 96.8 mph. 

 

Bronx Hefner

 

+ C Kaden Merrick (Marshall County, 2027) made the trip over from neighboring Kentucky and was one of the top performers at the plate on the day. Merrick took one of the most consistent rounds of BP, backspinning line drives gap-to-gap from a short, compact, and flat right-handed swing. He has strong hands and controls the barrel well while working on it often, averaging 87 mph per batted ball with a max exit velocity of 94.3 mph. 

 

+ MIF Ryker Perigo (Mt. Vernon, 2027) is a name that has consistently shown well in our looks. Perigo was the day’s fastest runner, darting to a 6.67 time in the 60-yard dash. A switch-hitter, he repeated a simple, controlled, and direct swing from both sides of the plate that didn’t try and do too much, peppering line drives throughout. On the infield, Perigo showed well on the move, staying in rhythm and working clean to release. 

 

Ryker Perigo

 

+ Two uncommitted incoming senior arms from this event are RHP Carson Hardin (Seckman, 2027) and LHP Colton Langley (Harrisburg, 2027). Hardin threw a carry fastball from a short, tight arm action at 84-85 mph, pairing it with a changeup at 73-75 mph and two breaking balls, both of which played in the low-70s. Langley, who shouldered a bulk load on the mound for the Bulldogs this past spring, pumped a heavy fastball at 82-83 mph. Off that, he threw a low spin 74-76 mph changeup and a short, tight 72-73 mph slider.

 

+ MIF/RHP Abel Clark (Pinckeyville, 2027) is a lean, wiry two-way talent that will be one to follow over the next few years if he can add strength to his frame. Clark took a quality round of BP, spraying line drives to all fields, and showed clean actions on the infield as well. On the mound, it’s a quick arm from a longer slot that pitched in the low-80s with his fastball and was in the zone with two secondaries (CH/CB), the latter of the two flashing sharp spin off a 11/5 plane. 

 

+ OF Dawson Rueter (Breese Central, 2028) is a name that has continued to improve each time we’ve seen him. He’s more physical now than he was in the winter, growing a few inches while adding more lean strength. At the plate, Rueter was ready to go from the jump, barreling line drives middle/away from a left-handed barrel that plays with length through the zone on a level path. All of his batted ball metrics ticked up from the winter event he attended, and he also ran better (7.22 60). 

 

Dawson Rueter

 

+ Two left-handed bats from Teutopolis that looked the part in the spring and showed well at this event were OF/LHP Aidan Niemerg (2027) and 1B/RHP Nolan Schumacher (2027). Niemerg has a stronger, more compact from, flashing bat strength in BP (92.8 mph EV) from a strong, flat left-handed swing. He ran a 7.06 60, was 85 mph from the outfield, and pitched in the low-80s on the mound. Schumacher is more physical than his counterpart at 6-foot-3, 185-pounds with present strength and room to keep adding more. He got his hacks off in BP, swinging a long, level left-handed barrel with high intent throughout that, at peak, showed present strength and the ability to grow into more as he adds more muscle mass. On the mound, his fastball touched 84 mph, playing in the low-80s, while spinning two breaking balls; a bendier, more get-me-over type curveball in the low-70s, and a harder, tighter cutter at 78-79 mph. 

 

Aidan Niemerg

 

+ A pair of incoming junior arms for Marion that came away as winners were RHP/INF Abram Tarlton (2028) and RHP Brayden Bethel (2028). Tarlton has an athletic, up-tempo delivery with a short, quick arm stroke that was in the zone with three pitches. His fastball sat in the low-80s, touching 84 mph, with a 67-69 mph changeup that played more like a screwball at the bottom third of the zone, and also mixed in a big, high-arching curveball. Bethel takes the mound at 6-foot-4, 200-pounds and popped on our radar in a postseason look out of the ‘pen this past spring. His fastball played at 85-86 mph with natural cut, landing a curveball with big depth off it for strikes, while also throwing a 74-76 mph changeup to the arm side corner of the plate consistently. 

 

Brayden Bethel

 

+ OF Jack Dodson (Carterville, 2028) and INF Anson Anderson (Carterville, 2028) are two high school teammates that each showed well at this event. Dodson holds strength in a compact, athletic frame and showed plenty of intrigue in his round of BP. He was the event leader in average bat speed (74 mph) and also put up notable metrics from a batted ball standpoint – 94.9 mph max EV, 86.5 mph average. Anderson took a clean round of BP, working line drives back through the middle from a short, simple right-handed swing, while also showing clean, sure-handed actions on the infield. 

 

+ OF Laban Phelps (Harrisburg, 2027) was another intriguing athlete from southern Illinois in attendance. It’s a strong, well-proportioned frame with lean muscle mass and athleticism that has the potential to really fill out physically over the next few years. Phelps ran a 7.00 60 and elevated gap-to-gap throughout his round of BP, posting one of the highest average batted distances of the event (242 feet) with a max exit velocity of 92.4 mph. 

 

+ MIF/RHP Maddux Smothers (Harrisburg, 2027) was an uncommitted two-way from this event that showed well on both sides of the ball. Smothers worked backside line drives in BP, covering the plate with a short, direct, and controlled right-handed swing. His hands work on the infield, playing clean on the move with a short, quick trigger to release. He jumped on the mound afterwards and showed the ability to throw three pitches for strikes. 

 

+ MIF Tanner Hall (Herrin, 2027) and INF Brendan Smith (Salem, 2027) are two up-the-middle defenders with lean, athletic frames that showed short, simple right-handed swings in BP. 

 

+ The top incoming sophomore from the event was CIF/RHP Brady Hueter (Triad, 2029), who showed real power potential at the plate in his round of BP. At 6-foot-2, 190-pounds, Hueter looked to elevate the baseball from a long, steep right-handed swing, and showed easy juice off his barrel throughout his round. He had the closest standard deviation of the entire event between his max exit velocity (91.8 mph) and his average exit velocity (89.7 mph), which is a testament to his ability to work on the barrel with impact. Additionally, Hueter led the entire event in average batted distance (263.7 feet) and had the third highest max batted distance (354.8 feet) despite being one of the only 2029 grads in attendance. 

 

Brady Hueter