On Wednesday, June 24th ScoutConnect made the trip up to central Illinois to hold our inaugural Peoria Summer Showcase at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria, IL. This event hosted nearly 20 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 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 a handful of players, all of whom are uncommitted, that caught our eye at this year’s Peoria Summer Showcase. 

+ INF Brady Jones (Metamora, 2028) was the top prospect in attendance at this event and continues to look like a high-follow, must-know incoming junior for August 1st. A multi-sport star who’s also a highly regarded basketball prospect, Jones stands at a physical 6-foot-6, 210-pounds. The left-handed hitter showed effortless pull-side juce in BP, flicking baseballs on repeat from a fluid, uphill swing. Jones had a clean sweep atop our offensive leaderboard, leading the event in all six categories, measured through our Blast Motion and TrackMan devices. His TrackMan data, in particular, was rather intriguing – 90.96 mph average EV, 96.3 mph peak, 336.2 foot average distance, 367.2 foot max distance. The combination of advanced impact and advanced ball flight are absolutely noteworthy, especially given the strength projection left to come on his frame. Jones will be a highly sought after prospect in the state at the Power Four level, and he may pop on some MLB Draft radars down the road as well. 

Brady Jones

+ C Gunnar Larner (Maroa-Forsyth, 2028) was another incoming junior making his ScoutConnect debut that showed well in our trip to Peoria. A muscled-up multi-sport athlete with a football background, Larner got his hacks off in BP, showing strong hands with the ability to elevate gap-to-gap from a high-intent, leveraged right-handed swing. Larner was the top catch-and-throw defender behind the plate on the day, working on the bag consistently from a short, quick release that peaked at 76 mph, and popped 1.96 on his quickest throw to the bag. 

Gunnar Larner

+ CIF Braxton Hightower (Dunlap, 2028) has quieted his swing and made improvements to all areas of his game since we saw him in the winter. It’s a cleaner, more controlled operation at the plate, using a toe-tap as his timing trigger to work on a linear, direct path to contact, as opposed to spinning off with his higher leg kick. As a result, Hightower’s best batted ball events at this event came through the middle side of the field, and he was able to elevate on the barrel to the pull-side gap as well. Hightower’s hardest batted ball came off his bat at 93.3 mph, while his average bat speed (69.9 mph) and average hand speed (20.1 mph) each climbed two ticks from the winter. 

Braxton Hightower

+ One of the day’s top left-handed bats was C Preston Jones (East Peoria, 2028). The first player to hit, Jones took a clean, polished round of BP, repeating a strong left-handed swing with some lift through the zone and balance through contact that worked line drives middle/away. He worked around the bag on his throws out of the chute in his defensive workout as well. 

Preston Jones

+ OF/RHP Braden Davis (Galesburg) came away from this event as a prospect to follow in the Illinois’ 2029 class. Long and lean with wiry levers that will continue to get stronger as he gets older, Davis took one of the day’s cleanest BP rounds. He stayed in control of an athletic, repeatable right-handed swing that sprayed line drives gap-to-gap and worked on the barrel throughout. Once he gets more physical, Davis’ feel for the barrel will result in more consistently backspun, elevated contact deep to both gaps. He showed a long, clean arm swing on the mound as well, pitching in the low-80s with his fastball. 

Braden Davis

+ INF/OF Drew Peterson (Alleman, 2027) is a physical uncommitted right-handed hitter that took a quality round of BP at this event. Unafraid to get his hacks off, Peterson was aggressive throughout, impacting the baseball consistently from a strong right-handed barrel – 87.2 mph average EV, 90.7 mph max. 

Drew Peterson

+ 1B/OF Nash Donnan (Porta, 2027) is a lanky, long-limbed 6-foot-3, 170-pound athlete with upside in his frame. Donnan ran a 7.14 60-yard dash with long, loose strides that will help him run a sub-7.00 quickly as he gets stronger. He controlled his levers well in BP, spraying line drives back through the middle of the field. 

+ RHP/INF Asher Warner (Triad, 2028) was the top arm in attendance at this event. Warner’s fastball played in the low-80s for strikes from a long arm swing that worked out of a ¾ slot. He threw two different breaking balls for strikes – a shorter, tighter cutter in the low-70s and a big, high-arching curveball at 2500+ RPM in the low-60s. 

Asher Warner

+ C Leighton Lambert (Macomb, 2027) and C Paxson O’Malley (Mahomet-Seymour, 2027) are two uncommitted senior backstops of note. Lambert’s barrel worked long through the zone, flashing bat strength at times with the ability to elevate gap-to-gap. O’Malley showed a shorter, more compact right-handed swing that worked on top of the baseball and sprayed middle/pull line drives. Both of them peaked at 74 mph from the crouch, and they both popped a 2.00 flat at best as well. 

Leighton Lambert

+ C/INF Carter Olson (Richwoods, 2028) and 1B/LHP Landon Halcomb (Dunlap, 2027) were two other names to follow from the event. Olson sprayed pull-side line drives throughout his round of BP from a wiry, athletic right-handed swing that has a chance to grow into more impact as he gets more physical. Halcomb’s physicality is present, holding strength throughout a well-proportioned frame and showing a strong left-handed swing in BP that was on the barrel to the pull-side. 

Carter Olson