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Instant Analysis: Underclass Invitational

January 5, 2014

By Sean McCann and Shon Plack
Prep Baseball Report Kansas and Missouri

On Saturday, January 4, 2014, Prep Baseball Report Kansas and Missouri hosted the first-ever Underclass Invitational at 68's Inside Sports in Overland Park, Kansas. A talented group of 46 players from across the two states participated in the event.  Over the next several weeks we will be posting player videos, feature stories, scouting reports and player rankings from this event.  For now, we have a few instant analysis notes to get the ball rolling:

+ Having covered the KC area as a college baseball recruiting coordinator for several years its becoming more apparent with each event we attend that the class of 2016 has an exceptionally high number of players that are on the path to becoming major college baseball prospects.

+ Among the group of players in this event were 15 left-handed or switch-hitting position players, another high number.  This is good news for area colleges that value left-handed hitting and normally have to travel outside the area to find a stable of these types of players.

+ In the stat category rankings below Staley HS (MO) has four different players among the leaders, the most of any high school.  Clearly they are a program that needs to be followed closely in coming years.

+ Class of 2017 prospect Nolan Williams (Turner HS), a switch-hitting infielder, posted the top hitting exit velocity in camp at 93 mph - this is also the top velocity of all players that have participated in PBR Kansas events this year.

Below are the top performers in the stat categories:

Hitter Exit Velocity
93 Nolan Williams, Turner HS (KS), 2017
89 Andrew McEwen, Marquette (MO), 2016
87 McCae Allen, Bishop Carroll (KS), 2016
86 Tyler James, Lee’s Summit West (MO) 2016

Outfield Throwing Velocity
85 Hunter Swift, Staley HS (MO), 2016
83 Jack Duffy, Staley HS (MO), 2016
81 Corey Thomas, Topeka HS (KS), 2017
81 AJ Knight, Mill Valley HS (KS), 2016

Infield Throwing Velocity
84 Tyler Benninghoff, Rockhurst (MO), 2016
82 Nolan Williams, Turner HS (KS), 2017
80 Ross Messina, Staley HS (MO), 2016
79 Avery Jennings, Rock Bridge HS (MO), 2016

Catcher Throwing Velocity
77 Sean Cooley, Staley HS (MO), 2016
77 River Wright, Bucklin HS (MO), 2017
74 Dalton Dinkel, Eisenhower HS (KS), 2016
73 Kobe Gelles, Blue Valley HS (KS), 2016

Catcher Pop Times
2.06 Dalton Dinkel, Eisenhower HS (KS), 2016
2.08 Reid Briney, Blue Valley West HS (KS), 2017
2.08 Kobe Gelles, Blue Valley HS (KS), 2016
2.09 River Wright, Bucklin HS (MO), 2017

RHP Fastball Velocity
86 Tyler Benninghoff, Rockhurst HS (MO), 2016
85 Braden Minor, Eisenhower HS (KS), 2016
84 McCae Allen, Bishop Carroll HS (KS), 2016
84 Reid Briney, Blue Valley West (KS), 2017

LHP Fastball Velocity
82 Hunter Swift, Staley HS (MO), 2016
79 AJ Knight, Mill Valley HS (KS), 2016
78 Vincent Vilott, Olathe South HS (KS), 2017
77 Jack Riney, Lafayette HS (MO), 2017

For a complete list of all participants stats, click here.

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