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Missouri State Preseason ID: Quick Hits

January 24, 2023
By: Diego Solares
Area Scout, Illinois & Missouri

On Sunday, January 22nd, the PBR Missouri staff traveled to Hammons Field, home of the Missouri State University baseball program and Springfield Cardinals, to host the inaugural Missouri State Preseason ID. This event featured roughly 30 players from the 2023-to-2026 classes across Missouri and it served as an early identifier for future invite-only events, such as the Preseason All-State or the PBR Future Games. It also allowed our staff an opportunity to check in on players from this area of the state prior to the high school season commencing.

To see all of the players that attended this event, click HERE. For a full look at the statistics collected from Sunday, click HERE.

Now, at the event’s conclusion, our staff has compiled our scout notes and produced these ‘Quick Hits’ to highlight some of the day’s standouts. We’ll have several other content pieces related to this event, including a full statistical analysis and fuller data dives.

For now, read below to learn more about the players who turned heads at this year’s Missouri State Preseason ID.

QUICK HITS

+ Perhaps the day’s biggest standout was OF Wyatt Vincent (Nixa; Missouri State commit), as he thoroughly impressed in his PBR debut. Vincent, who’s slotted within the top-15 overall players on our state’s 2025 rankings, offers plenty of physical projection to come on a lean, lanky 5-foot-11, 172-pound frame. He stayed up the middle almost exclusively throughout BP, staying flat through the zone and peppering line drives from a loose, upside right-handed stroke. Vincent’s proven he can hit in-game previously as well, batting .375 with five home runs as a freshman for a 32-win Nixa squad last spring. Another thing to note is Vincent’s athleticism - he swiped 25 bags during the high school season and jumped 32.3” during our vertical test, which is a well above average mark for someone his age. We’re expecting more positive things from Vincent throughout 2023 and he certainly started his year off on a positive note.


+ Another name that really impressed on Sunday was C/INF Kendall Hagedorn (Smith-Cotton, 2026). Despite being one of the youngest prospects in attendance, Hagedorn repeatedly got off some of the day’s hardest hacks, staying exclusively up the middle throughout. He swings a quick and loose right-handed barrel, generating acceleration out of his load relatively easily. Hagedorn certainly emerged from this event as a name-to-know in Missouri’s 2026 class.


+ C/RHP Brody Crane (Neosho) was another 2026 graduate to make a name for himself at this event. Though still fully gaining a feel for himself and his levers at the plate, Crane flashed bat strength from a quick, loose right-handed swing, barreling his furthest ball up at 339 ft. with a 90 mph peak exit velocity to pair. He showed initial arm strength behind the plate defensively, recording an event-high 77 mph max from the chute. Crane hopped on the mound later on in the workout, pitching at 84-85 mph with his fastball during his ‘pen. Crane’s tools are loud and we’re eager to watch the strides he’ll take throughout the year.


+ RHP Trent Gallagher (Knob Noster, 2025) showed arguably the day’s loudest stuff on the mound. A lanky 5-foot-11, 140-pound athlete with wiry strength and lean levers, Gallagher recorded the day’s firmest fastball, topping at 85.7 mph. He pitched at 84-85 mph with his heater, spinning it at 2500+ RPM and averaging 19.2 inches of vertical carry from a tighter arm window. Gallagher ripped off his breaking ball with conviction and intent, also spinning it at 2500+ RPM in the 67-71 mph velocity band. He slightly decelerated his arm speed when throwing his 73-75 mph changeup, yet it flashed effectiveness to the arm-side of the plate when spotted down. Gallagher’s live stuff and physical projection have him on the rise in Missouri’s 2025 class.


+ An uncommitted senior from this event that stood out at this event was RHP Parker Lambeth (Kickapoo, 2023). Standing at a lean 6-foot, 160-pounds with plenty of room to fill out, Lambeth showed five pitches in his ‘pen, starting with a low-80s fastball that peaked at 82.5 mph. The two secondaries that stood out were his curveball and splitter, both of which flashed above-average. He spun a tighter breaking ball with subtle depth and downer spin at 71-74 mph. Lambeth limited spin on his 76-77 mph splitter (1200 RPM avg) and worked it beneath the zone, flashing late fade on occasion. He also featured a 74-77 mph slider with slightly more horizontal spin than his curveball and his changeup generated more arm-side run than his splitter while playing at 78-79 mph. With his physical upside and feel for the mound, Lambeth remains one of the state’s top uncommitted senior arms heading into the spring season.


+ RHP/OF Cole Schoen (Springfield Catholic, 2024) impressed our staff on both sides of the ball at Sunday’s event. Schoen, who’s 6-foot-1, 190-pounds with strength, showed off his physicality early on in the workout. He averaged 87.4 mph per batted ball, including an 80% sweet-spot rate, with a 92.5 mph peak. His ability to stay on the barrel and work line drives at a high rate (80%) is worth noting, too. Schoen toed the rubber later in his workout and stayed around the zone with his fastball at 82-84 mph while showing an advanced raw aptitude to spin the baseball. Both of Schoen’s breaking balls, a curveball and slider, peaked at 2500+ RPM while working in similar velocity bands (68-71 mph) as each other. It was a strong two-way showing from Schoen, who’ll look to contribute for a Springfield Catholic squad that we’re expecting big things from this spring.


+ Another Springfield Catholic junior to know is RHP Jack Schoen (2024). Schoen showed well on the mound at this event, working the zone at 83-84 mph with his fastball. He also spun a 73-74 mph fastball with depth at nearly 2400 RPM on average. The 6-foot, 175-pound junior rounded out his arsenal with a firm 80-81 mph changeup that resembled a sinker, spinning at a lower rate on average and averaging 14.8 inches of horizontal movement.


+ UTL Cameron Lee (Father Tolton Catholic, 2024) oozes projection attached to a lean, high-waisted frame with lanky limbs. Lee utilized his levers to whip deep batted balls off his barrel, elevating to the pull-side throughout BP. His highest exit velocity (93.6 mph) and furthest batted ball (321 ft.) were amongst the day’s highest marks. Those marks are likely to keep trending upward as Lee fills out his frame, too. Lee took reps on both the infield and outfield defensively, showing arm strength from the latter with an 85 mph high. He’s certainly one to watch for the reigning 3A state champions this spring.


+ RHP Hunter Jones (Branson, 2024) put together a quality ‘pen in his PBR event debut. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound junior pitched at 83-84 mph with his fastball, cutting it slightly from a short arm slot and working with intent to a loose ¾ release. Jones flashed feel to land a 69-71 mph curveball with depth around the zone, spinning it at 2200+ RPM on average, and he also worked in a more firm 73-76 mph slider too. Jones also generated hard elevated contact throughout BP, peaking at 93.8 mph with an average batted distance of 267 ft., which was the event's highest mark.


+ INF Austin Marsh (Lee’s Summit West, 2024) is an upside athlete who had a strong showing at this event. Marsh packs quick twitch within his 5-foot-10, 150-pound frame, jumping 33.5” on the vertical test at this event. He translated that wiry strength to BP, where Marsh blasted one of the day’s furthest batted balls (334 ft.) and regularly produced upper-80s exit velocities in batting practice. He took an athletic round of infield defense as well, showing a quick first step and rhythmic feet throughout.


+ C/INF Braedan Barbee (Lee’s Summit West, 2024) showed a similar skill-set to what we had seen from him at the MO Fall Upperclass Games at this event. A strong, compact 5-foot-9, 170-pound athlete, Barbee worked the middle of the field with line drives during BP from a simple right-handed swing. He improved on his arm strength behind the plate by five ticks (73 mph) from our latest look and worked accurately from the crouch, posting a 2.02 pop time on his quickest bullet.

+ MIF Peyton Cooper (West Plains, 2024) can really run, posting the day's fastest 30-yard dash time (3.22) while also reaching an event-high 20.7 mph peak speed and jumping 30.3 inches on our vertical test. He swings an athletic right-handed bat with a knack for the barrel, finding the sweet spot 72.7% of the time while exclusively working middle-away throughout his round of BP.

+ A switch-hitting backstop, C Chase Robertson (Galena, 2024) displayed above-average bat strength from both sides of the plate during BP. Built physically at 6-foot-1, 205-pounds, Robertson sent at least one ball more than 315 ft. with both of his swings, including a 334 ft. peak right-handed. He swung with an intent to elevate from both sides, tracking an uphill barrel through the zone with extension through contact.


+ RHP Jack Burckhardt (Lafayette, 2024) looked the part of a quality arm to follow from Sunday’s event. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound junior showed above-average feel for the zone with his fastball, pumping strikes at 83-84 mph. He spun two breaking balls, a curveball and slider, that worked in similar velocity bands yet featured different pitch action. The former worked more vertically through the zone, showing little-to-no horizontal movement, while the latter averaged 11 inches of sweep, per TrackMan. Burckhardt rounded out his arsenal with a firm 79-80 mph slider that he killed spin on (1444 RPM).

+ 1B/RHP Matthew States (Father Tolton Catholic, 2025) started the new year off with a quality showing at Sunday’s event. A 6-foot-1, 190-pound well-proportioned athlete, States lined balls back up the middle during BP, keeping his barrel through the zone on a level plane. He hopped on the mound later in his workout, pitching in the low-80s with his fastball.

+ RHP Colin Kelley (Nixa, 2025) featured an impressive slider on Sunday, passing both the eye test and the metric one, too. Kelley created natural horizontal action on the pitch, sweeping it at 67-68 mph. He averaged nearly 2400 RPM too and 11 inches of horizontal movement from a lower release height (4.2 ft.) on average. Kelley’s fastball played in the low-80s and he effectively killed spin (1499 RPM) while creating run (14.8 inches avg) on a low-70s changeup, too.

+ 1B Grayson Harris (Fort Osage, 2025) regularly repeated hard contact on Sunday, leading this event in average exit velocity (89.1 mph) and recording one of the day’s highest peak marks (92 mph) as well. Harris posted an 87.5% sweet-spot rate, 75% line drive rate, and a 50% hard-hit rate - all of which were amongst the day’s best. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound sophomore also ran a 3.92 30-yard dash and got off the line quickly, posting a 1.66 10-yard split.

+ C Zane Hunter II (Logan-Rogersville, 2024) recorded the day’s quickest pop time (1.98) of the entire event, displaying a short, accurate arm throughout his round of catcher defense. He showed loose easy hands and maintained rhythm at the plate, elevating easily to the pull-side at times. It’s easy to project on Hunter’s right-handed swing, especially as he fills out a lean 6-foot, 170-pound frame. He’ll look to make an impact this spring for one of the top high school programs at the 4A level in Missouri.

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