In its second year, the Texas Scouts Association Games, powered by Five Tool, upgraded from a fun event with some senior talent and good teams to a loaded weekend featuring many of the top 2025 and 2024 teams and players from Texas. In addition to professional scouts, college coaches were also in attendance tracking top prospects at the Z-Plex Texas Sports Village in Melissa, Texas and nearby high schools. After capturing all the top action on video, we’re continue our coverage with analysis following the event. I’m going to begin with individual player observations (these are based primarily from what I saw in person… obviously, can’t be locked into each game at once) from the underclass portion of the TSA Games. 

(Unless otherwise noted the prospects discussed are in the 2025 class)

1) Among my favorite pitching prospects from the summer was College Station right-hander Holden Hering. After a loud performance during the AABC Don Mattingly World Series, Hering committed to Texas Tech. And the big, 6-5 power pitcher again looked the part of a major prospect. Up to 90 MPH with an overpowering fastball that occasionally included some natural arm side run, Hering dominated opposing hitters while also filling up the strike zone. While the stuff – 80 MPH changeup and short, true 75 MPH curveball with spin around 2300 RPM – stood out the ease of operation for a player as big as Hering caught my attention the most. He has all the ingredients to carry his stuff deep into the game as a weekend starter at the next level. 

5 Star Performance 2025 teammates Cade Stuckey (Hallsville), Mitchell Morton (Plano West; Xavier commit), and Ethan Downum (Reedy; Texas A&M commitment) also caught my attention. Stuckey, a skinny, 6-5 right-handed hitting outfielder and first baseman, had one of the best weekends during the underclass event. With a promising right-handed swing and barrel feel, Stuckey, who will add mass and strength to his frame in the future, blasted a homer and also smacked line drives around the yard. Morton showed his advanced skill on both sides of the ball, and Downum had one of the top left-handed swings. Also, keep an eye on Kolin Swindall, who was up to 89 MPH and showed nice pitching feel across 4.0 shutout, one-hit innings. 

2) If there were any hitters in the underclass games I enjoyed watching more than Dallas Tigers 2025 Cecil’s Reese Ogden, the list would be really, really small. Part of the appeal is Ogden is listed at 6-2, 200 pounds, makes the bat look light and small in his hands and still has some notable projection; he simply looks like a young player who is going to develop into a middle of the order masher, and he pulled a pitch foul that showed there might be some future above-average or more raw power lingering in his frame. The Lovejoy prospect steadily creates some hand separation as he times and does a good job of keeping a steady head while he unleashes his bat speed. In addition to the notable power projection, Ogden possesses some true hitting feel and barrel accuracy, too. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t continue to emerge as a major hitting prospect.

Defensively, Ogden spent some time behind the dish and presents a big target with some arm strength. Looking way ahead, I think he probably fits best as a first baseman long-term with a shot at corner outfield. 

3) I don’t think there was any player in the underclass games who was more productive than Ogden’s teammate, Ben Lindsey. In addition to showing some surprising strength through his barrel by mashing a no-doubt bomb, Lindsey also toed the rubber and punched out 12 across 5.1 dominant, scoreless frames. The righty from Wyle gave up just one hit and touched 88 MPH with a lively fastball. In addition, he mixed in a breaking ball that at times looked like a true slider around 76 MPH and other times more of a curveball with some tilt at 73 MPH. Also, Lindsey flashed one of the weekend’s best changeups at 77 MPH with spin around 1400 RPM and lively tumble towards his arm side. Lindsey’s operation did feature some effort, but he filled up the zone and confidently challenged hitters throughout this outing. He looked like a true two-way prospect poised for a big spring. 

Speaking of two-way prospects, Jailen Watkins (Sachse) was up to 85 MPH with some natural sink to his fastball and flashed really intriguing feel for spin with a curveball at 2718 RPM. A right-handed pitcher and hitter, Watkins showed his impressive athleticism in his delivery, on the turf defensively at shortstop and in the batter’s box. Watkins had impressive feel for playing shortstop, which he showed when he made a smart, instinctual move to back up to field a tough, hard one-hop and use his feet and arm strength to make a tough play look easy. Jameson Taylor (Marcus) stood out with his bat-to-ball ability from the left side, which led to a lot of quality contact and not many whiffs. Luke Douglas (Caddo Mills) and Jacob Mathewson (Wylie) also had some really loud moments with the bat. Up to 85 MPH with his fastball, Brayden Montes dominated opposing hitters with 11 strikeouts in 5.0 innings. A skinny 6-3 righty with a loose frame, Montes came at hitters with a slight crossfire look, executed his slider and rotated his shoulders well. 

4) Much like Lindsey, NTXBC Dirtbags 2025 – Navy right-handed pitcher and hitter Judd Nash (Waxahachie) was in the mix as one of the most impressive and productive players in the TSA Underclass Games. Up to 89 MPH with a true sinker-slider combo, Nash showed a quick arm and some feel for putting his fastball to his arm side and slider to his glove side. At times, the length in the back of Nash’s arm action might make getting to his stuff out front a tad difficult, but he showed a lot of signs that he’s going to continue throwing harder in the future with some stuff that can overpower hitters. In the batter’s box, Nash had one of the most impressive at-bats when he recognized spin out of the hand, kept his hands and weight back, and mashed a deep extra-base hit to the wall in center field. 

Davis Perkins (Southlake Carroll) was one of my favorite 2025 pitchers during the summer and he proved he’s a true two-way player with some impressive swings from the right side and promising ability with the leather at shortstop. On a slow roller, Perkins charged, fielded, and threw on the run accurately to make a tough play look routine and easy. Everything on the diamond seemingly comes naturally to him, he has plenty of projection physically and he is going to be one to track closely at his powerhouse high school program. Often sharing the middle infield with Perkins was Vanson Jones, a strong, aggressive right-handed hitter from Braswell. 

Speaking of strength, Saxton Turnbough (Legacy) has a big arm behind the dish and Jaxon Wylie (Mansfield) created some really loud contact from the right side; he looks like a 6-3 outfielder prospect who is going to fill out and really impact the baseball with some solid athleticism to boost a corner outfield profile. Jack Fuller commanded his 83-85 MPH fastball effectively with a 68-70 curveball and had a future starter’s delivery and frame. He's going to be one to track closely because he looked like a future LHP prospect that is going to attract college attention.

Evan O’Conner established himself as a 2026 pitcher to follow. A Brock product, O’Conner was up to 86 MPH (1900 RPM) with a 63 MPH curveball (1900 RPM) and 79 MPH changeup that showed promise as a future offering to help him neutralize righties. Like most pitchers his age, O’Conner needs to get much stronger to better repeat his delivery on the mound but it’s not going to be a surprise if he becomes a really big contributor for Brock the next three seasons. 

5) A physical, strong right-handed hitter, Cooper Haygood’s (Whitney) bat speed and approach caught my attention for the DFW Twins 17U - Black. He kept a very steady head as he tracked and throughout his swing in addition to keeping his weight/energy back as he let pitches travel while trusting his quick hands. Caiden Hubbard (Weatherford) smacked pull side liners from the right side with relaxed, confident hands and Jackson Arnett (Granbury) showed notable all-around skill. On the mound, Grayson McKelvey (Southwest Christian School) didn’t throw as many strikes with the stuff we’ve seen in the past, but his outstanding mound makeup was again on display; he’s never rattled with runners on base and pitches with a very calm, slow heartbeat. 

6) GPS Legends 17U Wright Fall 2023’s Hudson Hartgrove had good feel for hitting and the barrel from the right side. A Cedar Ridge product who often plays shortstop and makes the routine play at a high level, Hartgrove routinely gets on plane with pitches and hits through the baseball, which results in hard line drives; his swing can get a little long at times, but the natural feel for making quality contact routinely shows. Hartgrove ran to first base in 4.7 seconds on the turn and has an instinctive all-around feel for playing the game. 

Big, strong, 6-4 left-handed hitter Jack Casteel showed some of the most notable raw power among underclass hitters. A Westlake product, Casteel can create really loud contact. It’ll be interesting to track the development of Cole Rhame, a Lake Travis product with all-around skill and physical projection. Recent Texas State commitment Connor Helms (Dripping Springs) showed he could still get the barrel on the baseball and impact it even when he didn’t get his best swing off. 

7) It was nice of Aiden McNulty (THESA) to open the underclass games in style with a loud three-hit performance for Impact Baseball Club – Worley during one of the weekend’s first games. A 6-1, 170-pound ballplayer who can profile several places defensively (he didn’t look out of place in center field when he was there this past week) and has infectious competitiveness, McNulty is an athletic right-handed hitter with bat speed. As McNulty racks up more at-bats and matures, he should be able to begin pulling the ball with more authority. 

Teammate Isaiah Hernandez (Bowie) was up to 85 MPH from the right side with a slider capable of missing bats. Strong, physical right-handed hitter Asher Martinez (Guyer) used a simple approach and bat speed to create some bright moments in the batter’s box. 

8) Friendswood produces big-time players routinely, and 2026 infielder Dawson Hinson looks like he’ll be part of the next wave. It’s easy to spot the athleticism, strength in the hands and all-around skill. We’ll probably be hearing about him for Marucci Elite Texas – Underclass for years to come. Teammate and Clear Brook prospect Logan Sariga is a true two-way talent who patrolled center field well with foot speed, swung the bat well from the right side and was up to 86 MPH on the mound with some intriguing feel for spinning a big curveball. There isn’t much length to Sariga’s swing and he naturally puts the barrel on the baseball while showing some signs for growth as he continues to grow into his frame and learns to leverage his physical gifts. He had the look of a prospect who might get a lot better in a hurry and was among the most consistent and productive hitters in the event. 

9) Enjoyed watching Hebron right-handed hitter Gavin Chaney for Texas Generals – Shelton. An impressive athlete, Chaney has an active approach to hitting with a lot of moving parts as he times pitches, but had no issue getting good swings off. As a catcher, he also threw out a runner trying to steal second base. While we’re on the subject of fun to watch, Dylan Rainey, a teammate of Chaney’s this weekend and in high school, was a treat to watch in center field. He made one of the top plays of the weekend when he tracked a deep fly ball well off the bat and made a sensational diving catch at the warning track. 

10) A high-waisted athlete with a good delivery, Dallas Patriots 17U right-hander Davin Seale (Guyer) ran his fastball up to 87 MPH with a quick arm. The righty held his stuff fairly deep into his outing, which helped him rack up nine strikeouts in 4.0 innings, and also attacked hitters with a sweeper/slider at 72-73 MPH. Seale did show some noticeable effort in his delivery but also has the type of frame that should get considerably stronger to aid his delivery. When teammate Ethan Bentley (West Plains) extended his hands, he covered the plate with a strong barrel and smacked some loud extra-base hits towards right-center. 

11) Ryan Castilleja, a 5-11, 200-pound prospect from Georgetown, was a consistent threat to put the barrel on the baseball from the right side and hit hard line drives to both left field and right field with extra-base pop. Canes Southwest Premier teammates Jacob Gayman (Round Rock) and Mateo Valenzuela (Vista Ridge) also had bright moments. Gayman routinely put the ball in play hard and had one of the top defensive highlights when he showed a strong arm from deep in the outfield to nail a runner trying to advance to third base. Valenzuela is an undersized, skilled gamer who plays with infectious energy and confidence. 

Dustin McComas
Senior Editor