On Saturday, Feb. 24th, the Prep Baseball Illinois staff will host it's premier event of the winter, the Preseason All-State: Upperclass at The MAX in McCook, Ill. This is an invitation-only event that features many of the top juniors across the state, especially it's top uncommitted 2025 talent. This event is limited and exclusive to the top prospects in Illinois and serves as a launching pad as we prepare to enter the high school season.

This event is particularly useful for our staff to find Class of 2025 prospects to invite to the Illinois State Games, as well as the inaugural 17u division of the Future Games this upcoming summer. 

To see which prospects are scheduled to attend, click here.

EVENT HISTORY

The 2023 Preseason All-State upperclass roster currently sits at 87 committed players, with 44 of those leading to Division 1 committments. 

Last year’s roster featured two players who would go on to represent the state at the inaugural Prep Baseball All-American Game that took place last September at American Family Field, home of the Milwaukee Brewers, with both SS Tyler Bell (Lincoln-Way East, 2024; Kentucky) and RHP Ryan Sloan (York, 2024; Wake Forest) being standout performers at the event.

Tyler Bell (9/21/23)

Ryan Sloan (9/21/23)

Last year's roster also featured five of the seven players from the state of Illinois that participated in this year's Super 60 event held earlier this month; including the previously mentioned Bell, RHP Aidan Hayse (Joliet Catholic, 2024; Tennessee), C Jimmy Janicki (Downers Grove North, 2024; Troy), SS Cooper Malamazian (Nazareth Academy, 2024; Indiana), and OF Brendan Tunink (Newman Central Catholic, 2024; Notre Dame). Hayse earned his Super 60 invite after showing well at the Illinois Preseason ProCase days earlier, where he showed a feel to spin during his 'pen with his fastball sitting 90-93 mph (T93.9) with over 2200+ rpm on average, as well as an 83-85 mph slider with an average spin rate of 2700+ rpm, rounding out his mix with an 86-88 mph changeup that showed late dive to the arm-side.

THIS YEAR’S ROSTER

Of the highly ranked already committed players participating in Saturday’s showcase, many stand out, and that’s including the No. 4-ranked junior in Illinois: 3B/OF CJ Deckinga (Minooka, 2025; Michigan State commit). Deckinga is a long-levered 6-foot-4, 173-pound prospect that has seen his stock rise, beginning this past summer where he was a standout for Team Illinois at the Future Games. 

CJ Deckinga (7/28/23)

A pair of right-handed arms to keep an eye on heading into the event are RHP Brady Rosenkranz (Stevenson, 2025; Missouri commit) and RHP Peter Thompson (Loyola Academy, 2025; Penn State commit).

Rosenkranz stands in at a physically imposing 6-foot-7, 227-pounds, and stood out at our Illinois State Games this past summer. He worked his fastball in the 83-86 mph range (T87) with ease and ride through the zone, while complementing that with two different breaking balls including a slider that played tightly with some depth at times and 2100+ avg rpm, while rounding it out with an 80-83 mph changeup.

Thompson was another member of the 2023 Future Games team, after emerging on the 2023 summer circuit. At an athletic 6-foot-4, 170-pounds, he can run his fastball up to 89 mph with two different breaking balls to pair, with the curveball playing with depth at 69-70 mph, and the horizontal-breaking slider at 72-76 mph. Thompson has also shown a changeup in the past at 76-78 mph to keep hitters off balance.  

Brady Rosenkranz (8/8/23)

Peter Thompson (7/28/23)

Some other committed members from Team Illinois that will be in attendance on Saturday include: OF Liam Arsich (Lincoln-Way Central, 2025; Toledo commit), C Zach Bava (Naperville North, 2025; Illinois State commit), RHP Caden Earing (Mundelein, 2025; Illinois commit), SS Brady Green (Oak Park-River Forest, 2025; Northern Illinois commit), OF/1B Trey Meyers (New Trier, 2025; Indiana commit), MIF Karlos Otero (Romeoville, 2025; Northern Illinois commit), CIF AJ Putty (Huntley, 2025; Illinois commit), OF Ben Toft (New Trier, 2025; Iowa commit), and SS/3B Gavin Triezenberg (Brother Rice, 2025; Arizona commit).

UNCOMMITTED 2025 PROSPECTS

Kolin Adams OF / LHP / Mount Carmel, IL / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 70 / POS: 13 From 9/12/23: “A speedy left-handed hitting centerfielder - Adams was on the barrel often due to a quick & balanced left-handed stroke with whip in the barrel. The athletic, 5-foot-10, 175 pounder with compact strength delivered barrel after barrel in my looks, looking the part of a potential top-of-the-order bat at the next level. A 6.84 runner, Adams also offers above average arm strength from the OF (88 mph OF Velo).”

Hayden Bernreuter OF / LHP / Triad, IL / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 95 / POS: 19 From 8/8/23: “Left/left OF/LHP Hayden Bernreuter (Triad, 2025) showed well on both sides of the ball at this event. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound junior flashed noticeable raw power in BP, swatting his furthest ball 363 feet with a 97.1 mph max exit velocity to pair. That juiced showed in game, as Bernreuter launched a no-doubt home run in his Wednesday morning contest. He hopped on the mound as well, running his fastball up to 85 mph, while pitching in the low-80s, and spinning a 69-70 mph slider with depth off it.”

Noah Brandt C / OF / Somonauk, IL / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 51 / POS: 6 From 10/6/23: “C Noah Brandt (Somonauk, 2025) looked the part over the weekend, currently coming in at No. 46 in the state. 5-foot-10, 160-pound frame with some lean strength throughout. The left-handed hitter sees the ball deep and works to stay on-time, using the whole field consistently with a line-drive approach. Clean catch/throw behind the plate, reaching as low as 1.90 for his pop-time in-event this past summer. Strong hands behind the plate that work to steal strikes, deadens the ball out front on blocks and moves well side-to-side.”

DaMaurion Butler SS / 2B / Kenwood Academy, IL / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 63 / POS: 17 From 10/3/22: “MIF DaMaurion Butler (Kenwood, 2025) continues to trend in the right direction. He continues to make improvements to his swing path to flatten out through the zone and he was consistently on balance and on the barrel during his round. He has a line drive gap to gap approach with feel for the barrel while consistently being on time. Defensively he has active feet, plays fast with a quick release and can make plays in all directions. His arm topped at 85 mph, playing easy and true.”

Eli Craft C / 2B / Monticello , IL / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 68 / POS: 8 From 8/8/23: “C Eli Craft (Monticello, 2025) has continued to really impress our staff this summer after seeing brief looks this spring. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound right-handed hitter may have some of the best catch and receive traits in the state’s 2025 class. Athletic and agile, Craft moves well behind the dish and has a high motor with leadership traits. He has an aggressive swing that remains in control with uphill tendencies, and as he continues to add strength, his power tool will naturally tick up. During gameplay, Craft turned around on an 86 mph fastball and sent it down the left field line for a single.”

Ryan Dabe OF / 3B / Huntley, IL / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 86 / POS: 16 From 2/10/24: “OF Ryan Dabe (Huntley, 2025) continues to trend in the right direction physically, now sporting a 6-foot-1, 190-pound frame with added strength in his upper-half. The right-handed hitter made loud contact throughout his round of BP, reaching up to 99.4 mph for his max EV which was good enough for third in attendance. He also posted a max distance of 349’, also the third farthest batted-ball of the day. The right-handed hitter has an intentful swing, working with quick/strong hands that stay through the ball up the middle and the other way, creating some whip through the zone. Defensively, Dabe attacks the baseball, working to get behind it and play through with intent topping at 88 mph from a crow hop.”

Sam Driscoll OF / LHP / Mt. Zion, IL / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 81 / POS: 15 From 5/13/23: “Lean, athletic 5-foot-10, 160-pound frame. Took the mound for the Braves in a conference game against a tough Mahomet-Seymour squad, not allowing an earned run over four innings of work. Athletic and controlled operation, hands rock over head to start, sits into his backside and stays on it downhill. Short strider, works closed and across his body some. Long arm swing finishes out of a loose, easy high ¾ slot. Fastball comes out clean, touching 85 mph a few times early, pitching in the low-to-mid-80s throughout with late arm-side run. Confident in both his secondaries, landed a slurvey breaking ball for strikes at 69-72 and turned over a changeup to right-handed hitters at 74-76 mph. Threw all three of his pitches for strikes. Also a varsity basketball player and golfer at Mt. Zion. An athletic sophomore southpaw to follow that recently debuted inside our updated 2025 rankings.”

Ryne Dzierzynski SS / 2B / Grant , IL / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 59 / POS: 15 From 3/1/23: “INF Ryne Dzierzynski (Grant, 2025) has long been known for his fundamentally sound, highly-repeatable, simple swing that is in the zone a long time with all kinds of polish and barrel-feel attached to it. The 5-foot-11, 172-pound, well-proportioned right-handed hitter wont wow you with the measurables but there is sneaky jump off the barrel and his average exit velocity of 88.9 mph is within three mph of his T93, indicating he was routinely finding hard barrels throughout his round. He also showed steady defensive actions with developing arm strength, now topping at 84 mph (up from 80 mph in 2022).”

Josh Fleming SS / OF / York, IL / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 41 / POS: 8 From 7/13/23: “Fleming emerged as one of the top hitters in the ‘25 class this past spring as he was named to the PBR Illinois second team All-State. Easy swing with strength in the hands, Advanced bat-speed at the plate with feel for the zone. Aggressive approach, swinging with intent early in the count. Went 2-for-3 on Thursday night with a deep triple to centerfield. Defensively, flashed an advanced glove while making some impressive plays in which he had to range to his right. Also made a couple diving plays with above-average arm strength.”

Aadden Guerrero SS / RHP / St. Laurence, IL / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 83 / POS: 22 From 10/8/23: “After putting together a number of impressive performances across the summer circuit, highlighted by a standout one at the Illinois State games, INF Aadden Guerrero (St. Laurence, 2025) continued that trend during our time in McCook. Standing at an athletic 5-foot-10, 170-pounds, Guerrero started his day by registering a 6.98 in the 60-yard dash. At the plate, Guerrero features an aggressive but controlled right-handed swing that works direct to the ball and shoots it to all fields with intent. Throughout his round, Guerrero reached exit velocity highs of 90.1 mph and also averaged 86.2 mph. During the infield portion of the event, Guerrero’s athleticism was on full display, as he is a quick mover from side-to-side with sure-handed actions and an arm that topped at 84 mph across the diamond.”

Kannon Kamp SS / 2B / Father McGivney, IL / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 64 / POS: 18 From 2/11/24: “Another uncommitted junior from Illinois that showed well on both sides of the ball was MIF/RHP Kannon Kamp (Father McGivney, IL, 2025). Kamp swung a simple and direct left-handed barrel in BP that sprayed line drive contact to all fields. He was sure-handed on the infield with an arm that played accurately across the infield, peaking at 84 mph on his hardest throw. Kamp threw three pitches for strikes on the mound, starting with his fastball at 83-84 mph. His changeup showed true sink at 70-71 mph and he spun a bendy breaking ball with depth at 71-72 mph as well.”

Tucker King RHP / OF / Lyons Township, IL / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 12 / POS: 3 OverallRank: 459 / POS: 138 From 2/11/24: “Recent Prep Baseball Future Games attendee, RHP Tucker King (Lyons Township, 2025) made for yet another high-end look during Sunday’s showcase. Built at a long 6-foot-4, 207-pounds with plenty more room to fill out, King is an easy and athletic mover downhill. He pairs it with a clean and loose arm action that produced the day’s top velocities. His hardest sinker of the day came in at 89.7 mph while playing with heavy life to his armside, over 15” on average. As for offspeeds, his slider showed some out-pitch potential during his ‘pen as it featured some sweep at times with nearly 2,300 RPM on average and he showed the ability to spot up to both sides of the plate. A changeup rounded out his three-pitch mix, as he effectively killed spin (1,763 RPM avg.) and featured late fade/depth while consistently throwing in the lower part of the zone. Overall, it was yet another productive showing from King and he continued to assert himself as one of the state’s top uncommitted talents heading into the spring.”

Derek Kubek C / SS / Oswego East, IL / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 89 / POS: 9 From 8/8/23: “C/INF Derek Kubek (Oswego East, 2025) was a winner during the workout portion of the event, showcasing well in the box and behind the dish. At the plate, Kubek worked from a quiet, easy setup into an easy, loose swing from the left side that worked through an uphill path to a balanced finish. Defensively, he displayed position versatility during gameplay when he started the final game behind the plate before later moving to shortstop. Behind the plate, Kubek was quick out of the crouch (2.01-2.09 pop time) and had a quick, accurate arm with a max velocity of 76 mph.”

Vance Kurokawa SS / OF / DePaul College Prep, IL / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 42 / POS: 9 From 6/2/23: “Uncommitted. Ranked No. 34 in the state’s class of 2025. Started at shortstop and batted second. Defensively, Kurkokawa showed smooth and fluid actions, moving well to both sides, soft hands with a quick and clean transfer, with a strong and accurate arm. At the plate, a right-handed hitter, simple approach, showed quick hands with above-average bat speed, direct with slightly uphill bat path, barrelled the baseball with line drives. Went 1-for-3 in the Rams semifinal game.”

Nathan Matoush LHP / Hillsboro, IL / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 80 / POS: 8 From 9/26/23: “Another arm to know from this event is LHP Nathan Matoush (Hillsboro, 2025), who showed well at Creekside earlier this summer and pounded the zone over his two innings of work at this event. The strong, physically built 6-foot-2, 195-pound southpaw pitched at 84-86, touching 87 mph, with his fastball, and it played up too, working from a tighter, deceptive arm window. Matoush spun a 68-72 mph breaking ball for strikes and he turned over a firm 77-81 mph changeup, too.”

Eddie Olszta SS / 3B / Providence Catholic, IL / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 98 / POS: 25 From 6/6/23: “INF/RHP Eddie Olszta (Providence Catholic, 2025) helped his stock coming out of the event after running a 6.76 60, taking a repeatable, athletic round of BP and showing actions that can stick on the infield moving forward. The 5-foot-9, 170-pound right-handed hitter has a loose, handsy swing that lived on the barrel throughout BP, highlighted by his average exit velocity (88.9 mph) being just 1.2 mph off his max exit velocity (T90.1 mph). Defensively he showed fluid, athletic actions, showing range to both sides with a strong and quick arm (86 mph). On the mound he showed a three-pitch mix with a fastball that sat 81-82 mph, feel to spin a upper-60s curveball with depth and 2433 average rpm. His changeup played in the mid-70s with 11.7 inches of horizontal movement on average.”

Russell Oros OF / RHP / Downers Grove North, IL / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 96 / POS: 20 From 2/24/23: “Russell Oros (Downers Grove North, 2025) is another outfielder who has made big gains since our last look in 2022. He has grown an inch and gained 10 pounds since last August and has seen his average bat speed tick up five mph. He was on time and on the barrel throughout his round and the ball was jumping off the barrel at times; he registered a peak exit velocity of 94 mph which is up nine mph from last August. Uncommitted 2025 right-handed hitter trending in the right direction.”

Mason Orton LHP / OF / Mahomet-Seymour, IL / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 93 / POS: 9 From 7/18/23: “LHP Mason Orton (Mahomet-Seymour, 2025) was arguably the top southpaw in attendance. Currently ranked No. 65 in the state, the 6-foot, 158-pound Orton shows a simple, easy delivery from the left side paired with a long arm action that plays from a low ¾ slot. Orton worked a four-pitch mix, with his fastball sitting 83-84 mph, topping out at 85.7 mph flashing life and run to the arm side. Playing off his fastball was a cutter that sat 77-78 with slight horizontal movement. Orton rounded out his repertoire with a sweeping curveball and a developing changeup that had a similar profile to his fastball.”

Karim Patterson 1B / OF / Latin School of Chicago, IL / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 97 / POS: 4 From 8/8/23: “OF/1B Karim Patterson (Latin School of Chicago, 2025) is a left-handed hitting outfielder that exhibited real power potential at the plate. Patterson took a loud round of BP, which led to him being towards the top of the leaderboard in multiple categories. He was all over the barrel, using a slightly uphill swing to generate a peak distance of 379 feet. To pair, Patterson also had one of the highest peak exit velocities at 99.3 mph. Patterson also showed off an above-average arm in the outfield, touching 85 mph.”

Toby Peterson LHP / OF / Palatine, IL / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 30 / POS: 5 From 7/26/23: “A lean, lanky 6-foot-2, 170-pound athlete, LHP Toby Peterson (Palatine, 2025) showed plenty of upside in two different outings at the Future Games. Peterson bumped his fastball up to 88 mph, pitching in the mid-80s, from a fast, athletic ¾ slot with natural sink at times. His primary secondary was a 78-79 mph slider that he threw with intent and conviction, generating natural sweep while spinning it around the zone. Peterson appears to just be scratching the surface of what his future entails on the mound.”

Brady Schallmoser OF / 1B / Downers Grove North, IL / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 43 / POS: 8 From 8/8/23: “OF Brady Schallmoser (Downers Grove North, 2025) continues to look the part as a polished left-handed bat in the state. Showed well in his round of BP, averaging 85.4 mph for his exit velocity with a max EV of 96.2 mph and max distance of 342’. Finished the week 2-for-5 with a double, three RBIs and two runs scored. Looks to be trending upwards defensively with improved actions and footwork.”

Wyatt Wawro OF / LHP / Downers Grove South, IL / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 14 / POS: 2 OverallRank: 469 / POS: 87 From 7/26/23: “PBR Future Games: OF Wyatt Wawro (Downers Grove South, 2025) was another major winner for Team Illinois at the Future Games. On the workout day, Wawro ran a 6.95 60, reached a peak run speed of 20 mph, and generated noticeable bat speed (76.3 mph) in BP. Wawro is a highly competitive and hitterish top-of-the-order left-handed bat that started his event off on a high note, earning ‘Player of the Game’ honors in game one after swatting a three-run home run and driving in four runs total. He followed that up by ambushing the first pitch of game two down the right field line for a leadoff double and stealing third moments afterwards. Wawro constantly found himself on base, drawing three walks and getting hit by a pitch twice, too. He’s a scrappy, gamer-type that seems to always be on the barrel with sneaky gap-to-gap power.”

Davis Weeks SS / RHP / Dunlap, IL / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 65 / POS: 19 From 9/20/23: “SS Davis Weeks (Dunlap, 2025) is a 6-foot-2, 175-pound, two-way prospect, who spent much of the weekend holding down the shortstop position for Top Tier South/Central. Weeks has a 6-foot-2, 175-pound, high-waisted, athletic frame with more physicality to come and he played a smooth shortstop in every look. His arm plays easy and loose across the diamond. Offensively, he has a simple, repeatable swing and looks to control the barrel.”

We’re excited for our latest look at this Class of 2025 as a whole, and this event will go a long way toward our effort in doing so. Follow us on Twitter at @PBRIllinois to see the biggest takeaways of the day, and we’ll have plenty of post-event highlights on the site next week.

ITINERARY

+ Check-in Times:

• All Position Players: 2:00 p.m.
• Pitchers-only: 3:00 p.m.
• Catchers will stay for both sessions.

MORE EVENT DETAILS

Click here to learn more about our tech partners that have enhanced our players showcase experience. Partners like TrackMan, Vizual Edge, Blast Motion, and Swift Performance have helped both our in-event evaluation process, as well the compilation of our post-event scouting reports – and they're also a tool for our players to learn more about their measured and collected data, that can be applied to improve upon their game. Finally, wear baseball clothes; assigned and numbered PBR jerseys will be provided.

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