After spending Thursday and part of Friday in Katy at the Texas Twelve Scout League, I made the drive north on I-45 to Sam Houston State to catch Friday and Saturday action at our SHSU event. It’s always enjoyable to take in a game at one of the best parks in Texas and surely one of the nicest participating players will play at as a prep player. Below are some notes from games: 

While there were, obviously, a ton of standouts and highlights from the entire event, these notes are based only on what I observed in person. Let’s begin with a national program who makes SHSU a summer stop and is always enjoyable to watch before shifting to some notable Texas performers. 

BPA 2026/2027
Up-and-down the lineup, BPA 2026/2027 was filled with interesting, projectable and skilled players with promising futures. I’m not exaggerating when I say the middle infield turned routine ground balls into outs better than many 6A varsity programs I see in Texas. Noah Wisneski played with good, easy actions on the turf defensively, hammered a double to left-center field and moved well. Thomas Glenn is a taller shortstop with some lean muscle but showed good bend and played shortstop cleanly. In the batter’s box, had used quick hands and some feel for the barrel to create loud impact. He’s a very intriguing prospect long-term and a player I could see growing into a tall infielder with a true chance to stick at shortstop.

Clearly, hitting runs in the family because 2027 right-handed hitter and Ole Miss commitment Quincy Pratt looks like he’s going to be a superstar hitting prospect, too. His older brother Cooper Pratt is a top MLB Draft prospect and Quincy already has a similar tall, lean look with impact bat-to-ball ability. While Cooper plays shortstop, Quincy looks like he’ll catch a lot of innings but could outgrow the position and profile as a power-hitting corner infielder. 

He didn’t have a loud event with the bat, but Carson Binder (Wiregrass Ranch; Florida) showed some very promising skill behind the dish. He caught a runner stealing with a 2.09-second in-game pop time and has a strong arm, especially for a 2026 prospect. Myles Johnson also caught and although his very projectable physical profile and athleticism probably profiles best somewhere else, he showed he could be a legitimate catching prospect too. The Poplar Bluff (Missouri) prospect kept a steady head in the box while taking aggressive hacks to make impact, and recognized spin well.

Among my favorite hitters to watch was left-handed hitting outfielder Cole Gregg. A product of Hernando High School in Mississippi, Gregg tracked pitches with an advanced feel, kept his weight back and pounded pitches like a future middle-of-the-order hitter. On the mound, right-handed pitcher Cassius Sisson looked like a future strike-thrower with early signs of promising control and command with an easy delivery. He threw a fastball (79-82 MPH), curveball with slider tilt (72-73 MPH) and changeup (74 MPH). 

Left-handed hitters Wilson Shaw (Lemon Bay; Florida) and Zion Martinez (Yucaipa; California) are 2027 (!!!) prospects who smashed homers during Sunday’s action and really impressed me with their at-bats and all-around skill Friday. Martinez has advanced bat speed and naturally leverages his lower half in his swing. He was also up to 82 MPH on the mound and overpowered hitters with a right-handed heater. Shaw has a classic left-handed swing with good rotation and barrel path. 

BPA 2024
Ben Escobar (Santa Margarita Catholic; California) stepped onto the mound at Sam Houston State and immediately established himself as a 2024 right-handed pitcher to track closely. An under-the-radar prospect because he doesn’t play for his high school team in the spring, Escobar, who is also returning from a non-arm injury, threw a lively fastball up to 88 MPH and a sharp, high-spin (2300-2500 RPM) curveball. 

Interestingly, Escobar featured a high-spin four-seamer that often had a lot of natural cut and other times his fastball would feature some notable arm side run. At around 6-4 and 200 pounds, Escobar profiles to throw harder in the future, especially as his release point becomes more consistent and increased reps on the mound help refine his delivery. Another intriguing arm BPA 2024 featured was right-hander Lukas Sarantos. His fastball sat 85-86 MPH but played up through the hitting zone, routinely beating hitters for whiffs even in fastball counts (seven strikeouts in 3.0 innings). His short 71-72 MPH curveball looked fine visually and is a quality second pitch that could improve. 

I left Sam Houston State a fan of Canyon (California) infielder Christian Tapia. A skilled gamer who impacts winning on both sides of the ball and showcased impressive IQ, Tapia had no issue making good contact from the right side and showed notable bat-to-ball ability. Simply, he’s a solid all-around infielder who can really play the game. On a do-or-die play in the infield in the seventh inning, Tapia confidently completed the play in a tight game to help preserve the win for his team. The best hitter in the lineup for BPA 2024 was uncommitted 2025 Santa Margarita prospect Hayden George, who hit .625/.769/.875 during the event with four walks and zero strikeouts. 

Physical and tall, George has a way of making the bat look and seem small with a right-handed swing that’s fairly short and uses a strong barrel to deliver pull-side damage. On two separate occasions, George hammered doubles to the left field wall, but he did so on different pitches – one on a fastball up and the other on a fastball down. On a bunt, I had right-handed hitting outfielder and infielder Mario Mira (Santa Margarita Catholic; California) at 4.0 down the line and he swung the bat with strength through his hands and wrists. 

Carlsbad (California) center fielder Tedros Hemberger played defense well and opposing coaches saw early on they shouldn’t test his arm. Maybe my favorite left-handed swing I saw came courtesy of Gardner Young. A Mississippi prospect who attends Jackson Preparatory School, Young hit a couple of very loud outs off the bat, including a screaming rocket right at the center fielder. A shortstop who played the position with good bend and is a high-waisted athlete with some present physicality, Young looked and moved like a promising 2025 prospect. 

BPA 2025
It must be nice to coach at Santa Margarita Catholic because the California program is loaded with players. Left-handed hitter Delmar Perez had one of the quickest swings with the best rotation for BPA 2025 and it created some loud impact off the bat. Early in the morning when it was easy to give away a pitch or two in an at-bat, Perez was locked in from the jump and refused to let his focus in the batter’s box waver, which turned into some high-level at-bats. 

Although he’s tall for a catcher, Aramis Perez handled the position well and showcased a strong arm when he easily threw out a runner trying to steal second base. In the batter’s box, he showed some strength. Colin Carlson is a physical right-handed hitter with a compact, sturdy frame who demolished a double off the left field wall on the fly and ended up hitting .429/.667/.714 during the event. 

He didn’t light up the radar gun with big velocity, but left-hander Felix Stork (San Luis Obispo; California) racked up the whiffs with a promising fastball, curveball and changeup mix. In particular, his changeup really flashed and overwhelmed right-handed hitters and his overhand hook had good shape. He nearly threw a no-hitter and ended up striking out seven across 6.2 innings. 

Right-hander and Capistrano Valley (California) prospect Reeves Barnard overpowered the opposition with a lively fastball that had some natural arm side run and a sharp slider he executed down and to the glove side against right-handers. He finished the event with eight strikeouts in 7.0 innings. 

C2 Baseball Texas Scout 2025
Probably the most physical lineup I saw at Sam Houston State, C2 Baseball Texas Scout 2025 started to really mash once it settled in offensively. The main standout, at least in the game I saw, was Friendswood left-handed hitting Justin Holcomb. After smashing a line drive triple into the gap, Holcomb burned the center fielder with another blast and motored around the bases for an inside-the-park home run. He ran a 6.84 60-yard dash at the C2 Baseball Scout Day and could be a middle-of-the-order-type of bat at Friendswood in the future. 

Nolan Klinger, a Clear Lake prospect who spent some time in center field, utilized a simple, repeatable approach in the batter’s box with a short-armed, short swing that led to a lot of quality contact in different areas of the hitting zone. He hit .714/.778/1.143 and made putting the bat on the ball look easy. 

He didn’t have a big event with the bat, but shortstop Kaenan Kierfer (Deer Park) made a really impressive play on a slow chopper that required him to make a tough, athletic throw to get the runner at first. His high school and summer teammate Miguel Benavides swung the bat well thanks in large part to some quick, dangerous hands; Benavides is a big, strong right-handed hitter in the bat-first, first baseman mold who generates rotation and bat speed from a spread, crouched stance and gets the barrel into the zone quick. In addition to swinging the bat well, right-handed hitter Max Martinez showed he can impact games on the bases. He was a good, instinctive, aggressive base runner. Ryan Duncan (Friendswood) and Jackson Higgins (Sante Fe) also had some really bright moments with the bat.

Texas Twelve 2026 Gold
When big left-handed hitter Bryce Krenek (Katy Taylor) is in the batter’s box, you’ll typically hear some loud impact. He burned the center fielder for a RBI triple in one at-bat and then hammered a loud single to right field. Krenek, a bat-first first baseman, tracked pitches well and is unafraid to let it rip in the batter’s box. With quick hands and a loose, projectable frame, Luke Sheeren (The Woodlands) created some surprising impact off the bat; this bodes well for his future as a hitter once he undoubtedly begins to fill out and add strength. He did come up empty at times, but when Christian Luna (Paetrow) makes contact, the ball really jumps off his bat. 

QUICK HITTERS
- Left-handed hitting Texas Scorpions Red catcher Easton Dean (St. Pius X) caught Five Tool Texas’ eye during the regular season and certainly grabbed my attention at Sam Houston State. You can hear his bat speed from the on-deck circle and he’s in excellent shape physically with room to continue filling out with mass through the upper half. 

Dean swung the bat very well, which included timing a good first-pitch fastball his first at-bat I saw and smoking it up the middle. He had a 2.09 in-game pop time on a touch pitch to throw on and confidently showed a strong arm with sneaky-good receiving hands. Very intriguing prospect and perhaps a hidden gem right now. 

- Cooperstown Cobras 16U Kleckner performed very well and finished 4-0 in the event. Offensively, it was led by my favorite player to watch in the event – physical, athletic right-handed hitter Joseph Frazier. In addition to looking like the type of linebacker you don’t want to see blitzing from the blind side, Frazier can really, really run. On a routine chopper into the hole at shortstop, he busted out of the batter’s box and beat the throw with a 4.10 time down the line. 

Each time he puts the ball in play, he puts pressure on the defense with his speed, hustle and competitiveness. And he can hit the ball really hard, too. In a clutch moment late in the game, Frazier turned on a pitch and smacked a hard line drive down the left field line, which turned into a two-RBI triple. Frazier, who attends V. R. Eaton High School, served as the designated hitter in the game I saw but is definitely athletic and fast enough to play in the outfield. Frazier hit .545/.643/.909 with four doubles. 

The smooth left-handed swing of Mak Lerma (Boswell) helped carry the load offensively, also had a big outfield arm, along with contact hitter Brody Bradley (Boswell) and summer and high school teammate Coby McBride, a talented, skilled switch-hitter who can really run. On the mound, McBride was up to 83 MPH with a changeup at 70 MPH and a curveball at 68 MPH. Center fielder Casey Kennimer ran well, covered ground in center field and set the table with competitive at-bats. 

- In was a very short look, but liked what I saw on the mound from Wildcatters 16U Fuentes right-handed pitcher Mason Walls. A skilled prospect who also catches, Walls threw 84-85 MPH in relief. He has a skinny, loose frame and a loose, quick arm, which suggests there’s a lot more velocity to come. Teammates Jailen Monegan (solid work at shortstop, interesting projection) and Nick Santos (notable right-handed bat speed) caught my eye, too. 

- Houston Heat 2025 scout right-handed hitting catcher Brady Flauaus took big hacks and projects to fill out as a middle-of-the-order type of bat with some pop. His teammate Alejandro Pena smacked a hard two-RBI single back up the middle and was one of the team’s most consistent and productive hitters. 

- A couple shortstops caught my attention with their glovework: Texas Oilers 15U Rodriguez’s Abdiel Ruiz (Mesquite) didn’t have a strong event with the bat, but he played shortstop very well; Texas Twelve 2025 Silver’s Connor Daley (Anderson-Shiro) made playing the position look easy with good bend, agility, baseball clock and a quick release with enough arm across the diamond. 

- Texas Twelve 2025 Silver right-handed pitcher Brady Quinn (Midway) won’t be a first-round pick as a quarterback from Notre Dame, but he did look like he has a future as a physical, strike-thrower in the mold of a future innings-eater. He sat 79-82 MPH with his fastball and spun a quality curve at 69-72 MPH with a surprisingly easy delivery given his age and size. 

- Don’t let his size fool you because undersized catcher Ryan Cox (Barbers Hill) of Trosky Texas Scout Team 2025 – Ina/Tanguma is a baller. He worked his tail off defensively with a strong, accurate arm behind the dish and while his offensive numbers don’t show it, he hammered the ball right at defenders multiple times. 

I also left a fan of 2026 right-handed hitter Avery Bell (Klein Collins), who can play in the outfield and possibly at shortstop, too. He created some surprising carry off the bat and his athletic/physical profile suggests he has a really bright future ahead. Once Landon Davis (Barbers Hill) and Diego Gonzalez started to get going in the batter’s box, this lineup really had some imposing length. 

- The weather gods were especially cruel to North Texas Longhorns – Williams, but from the little I did see, I thought it was absolutely one of the most talented, best-coached teams top-to-bottom in the event. Andrew Curry (Walnut Grove) was an intriguing two-way talent with major “ballplayer” vibes; tall right-handed hitter Trevor Ellis (Prosper) looked like a future slugger with some pop; Nathan Robson is a left-handed hitting catcher with some skill; Cannon Webb (Prosper) and Case Chelf (Celina) both are promising right-handed hitters with some barrel feel and ability to create extra-base impact.

Dustin McComas
Senior Editor