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Kansas Fall Kickoff: Quick Hits

September 13, 2024
Eliott Wilk
Central Region Operations Director

On Sunday, September 1st, the Prep Baseball Kansas team hosted the first annual Kansas Fall Kickoff at Hoglund Ballpark on the campus of the University of Kansas in Lawrence. This event was open for all high school classes (2025-28), and gave our staff an ample look at the area's top players. 

For a full look at the players that attended, click HERE.

Shortly after the event, our staff compiled several of the day’s stat leaders inside our traditional ‘Stat Story’, which you can find HERE. 

Today, after combing through our notes from the day, we’ve compiled some of the event’s standouts below within these ‘Quick Hits’.

QUICK HITS

+ CIF Luke Nelson (Bishop Miege, 2026) is quietly emerging as one of the top power bats in the Sunflower State. Plenty physical at 6-foot-3, 225-pounds, Nelson put together one of the loudest rounds of BP at Sunday’s event, consistently driving balls with backspin to the pull side. Using a strong right-handed swing, Nelson led the event with a 90.3 mph average exit velocity while sending his best ball 370 feet at 100.6 mph into the pull side gap. That strength played in the infield as well where Nelson led all infielders with an 84 mph bullet across the diamond.

   

+ RHP Nolan Bell (Blue Valley, 2026) came away from Sunday’s event as a winner on the mound. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound junior filled up the zone with an impressive three pitch mix, commanding both sides of the plate. He ran his fastball up to 85.9 mph, consistently sitting between 84-85 mph with 2,300+ RPM of spin. Aside from his velocity which led the event, Bell’s fastball also played with slight ride and run through the zone. His most impressive pitch was his swing and miss slider which he spun at 75-76 mph with 2,350+ spin. He paired that with a low spin, tumbling changeup at 75-77 mph.

   

+ After putting together an impressive all around showing in this look, C Skyler Milheiser (Newton, 2025; IA) is an uncommitted senior to keep an eye on. As athletic as they come, Milheiser got the day started by running a 6.77 60, the top mark at the event, and posting a 30.7” vertical jump. At the plate, he showed a simple, compact, right-handed swing that worked line drives back through the middle of the field, producing a top exit velocity of 90.5 mph. Where Milheiser impressed the most was behind the plate where he produced 1.85-2.03 pop times thanks to a quick, clean transfer with an accurate 78 mph arm from the chute to pair.

  

+ As physical and strong as they come at 6-foot, 239-pounds, INF Aven Woods (Chapman, 2026) possesses some of the biggest power potential in the state. Throughout his round of BP, Woods used a quick, strong right-handed swing to pepper line drives to the pull side, barreling his best ball 93.5 mph with a peak distance of 355 feet. He also posted an impressive 88.2 mph average exit velocity while also showing athletic actions on the infield with a 78 mph top velocity to pair. As Woods continues to polish his skills, look for him to become a name to know, middle of the order power bat in the state. 

    

+ OF/LHP Wyatt Fulfer (Bishop Carroll, 2027) is a two-way name to keep an eye on from Sunday’s event. Long known to our staff, Fulfer continues to polish his skill set on both sides of the ball. The sophomore lefty, has started to come into his own on the mound, running his fastball up to 84 mph with more to come. Paired with that he spun a 68-70 mph curveball and turned over a low-spin changeup at 71-72 mph with 17+ inches of arm side fade. Sunday also saw Fulfer take a jump at the plate, posting a 91.8 mph top exit velocity, working back through the middle of the field with an intentful left-handed swing. He also paced all outfielders with a 85 mph mark on his firmest throw.

    

+ OF Everett Hash (Olathe Northwest, 2028) continued to impress at the plate with a loud round of BP in this look. The 2024 Junior Future Games alum worked from gap to gap throughout his round, driving the ball with authority with a short, inside-out stroke. His 94.8 mph exit velocity was good for the second best mark on the day. 

+ In his Prep Baseball debut on Sunday, OF/1B Jake Bartley (Abilene, 2027) put together a strong showing on both sides of the ball. At the plate, the 5-foot-10, 187-pound lefty showed a polished swing that found consistent barrels back through the middle of the field. His 92.6 mph exit velocity was among the top marks at the event. Defensively, Bartley showed the aptitude and athleticism to play the outfield as well as man first base, producing 80 mph and 77 mph velocities respectively. 

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