At the end of September, the PBR Illinois team released its first edition of the state’s Class of 2022 Rankings. It’s an early endeavor to assess and rank the state’s best sophomores, but with the acceleration of college recruiting, it must be done. In fact, the top eight prospects in the state have already made college commitments.

Today, we expanded the board to a top-45, and we’ll go through the movement inside the top-10, as well as a handful of prospects worth noting outside of the top 10.

The order of the top three prospects in the state remains unchanged, with SS Logan Wagner (Home School), a Louisville commit, leading the way. Wagner has a strong, physically advanced frame, and is a switch-hitter with strong wrists, present bat speed, and an all-around polish to his game. Wagner has the skillset to stick at shortstop but as he continues to add quality strength to his frame, it would be easy to imagine him sliding over to third base.

Behind Wagner is C Zander Buchan (Maine South; No. 2) and OF/RHP Alex Stanwich (Lincoln-Way East; No. 3). Buchan, a switch-hitter committed to South Carolina, is one of the top offensive threats in the state and is an advanced receiver behind the plate. Stanwich, a Tennessee commit, is one of the top athletes in the class and has the tools to match. Offensively, he already has big power from the right-side of the plate, is a natural at roaming across the outfield and has a strong arm (93 mph high to home) that plays on the mound where he can run his fastball up to 88 mph.

Zander Buchan (3.4.18)

The biggest move in the class comes at the No. 4 spot, where LHP Noah Schultz (Oswego East), who recently committed to Vanderbilt, currently sits. Schultz has an extremely long and lean 6-foot-7, 180-pound frame, with a clean, easy arm and mid-80s velocity that jumps out of the hand. Schultz also has feel for a sweeping breaking ball with late bite and looks to be a putaway pitch moving forward. Schultz will be a fun one to watch develop over the coming years and look to be just scratching the surface of his immense potential.

The other riser within the top-10 is Julien Hachem (Mount Carmel; No. 8), another physically advanced left-hander with tremendous upside. Hachem, an Oklahoma commit, has a 6-foot-6, 220-pound, strong, wide-shouldered frame with a clean arm and he controls his body well for someone his size and age. This fall, Hachem went right after hitters with a fastball that sat anywhere from 83-86 mph. It would not be a shock to see Hachem continue to climb the board as he adds polish to his stuff over the next few years.

A newcomer to keep an eye on in the top-20 is RHP/1B Ysen Useni (Crystal Lake South; No. 19). Useni is harnessing yet another impressive frame inside this Illinois 2022 class. Useni is listed at 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, and he showed well as a two-way prospect at the Underclass Showcase this fall. On the mound, Useni was up to 87 mph on the mound, with much more in the tank. Offensively, he has easy bat strength and big power potential. He also showed feel around the first base bag defensively. 

Ysen Useni (10.20.19)

Two other newcomers to the rankings who showed well at events this fall were LHP Chase Newby (Steeleville; No. 27) and OF Angelo Luna (St. Rita; No. 32). Newby, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound, left-hander emerged at the St. Louis Open where he showed feel for three pitches and a fastball that sat 82-83 mph, touching 84. Luna was the No. 2 overall prospect at the Underclass Showcase, an event that featured some of his seriously talented classmates. The St. Rita outfielder has a well-proportioned 5-foot-11, 155-pound frame, and ran a 7.04 mark in the 60-yard dash. That footspeed helps him move around like a high-level defender already to go along with a strong, true arm that topped at 87 mph to home. Offensively, he has a quiet, repeatable right-handed swing with loose hands and uses the entire field. 

Angelo Luna (10.20.19)

UPDATED TOP 10

RANK	NAME	STATE	SCHOOL	CLASS	POS	COMMITMENT
1	Logan Wagner	IL	Home school	2022	SS	Louisville
2	Zander Buchan	IL	Maine South	2022	C	South Carolina
3	Alex Stanwich	IL	Lincoln-Way East	2022	OF	Tennessee
4	Noah Schultz	IL	Oswego East	2022	LHP	Vanderbilt
5	Nate Voss	IL	Marist	2022	C	Michigan
6	Ethan Patera	IL	Downers Grove South	2022	RHP	Louisville
7	Owen Murphy	IL	Riverside-Brookfield	2022	RHP	Notre Dame
8	Julien Hachem	IL	Mount Carmel	2022	LHP	Oklahoma
9	Hunter Pudlo	IL	Lakes	2022	RHP
10	Alex Alberico	IL	Providence Catholic	2022	RHP

CLICK HERE to take a look at the updated top-45 prospects in the Illinois 2022 class.

Stay tuned early next week as we take a look at some other notable newcomers and prospects who should be followed closely moving forward. 

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