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PBRT Southern Illinois Fall Open: Takeaways

October 4, 2023
By: Diego Solares, Gavin Smith, and Isaiah Glidden
PBR Illinois Staff

This past weekend, on Saturday, September 30th and Sunday, October 1st, the PBR Illinois staff hosted the inaugural Southern Illinois Fall Open. This event featured 12 local travel teams, broken into an upperclass (2024 and 2025 grads) and underclass (2026 and 2027) division, with games taking place at various different venues in the Metro East.

For everything pertaining to the tournament - teams, rosters, results, and more - click HERE.

Now, with the weekend behind us, our staff has compiled our scout notes from across the tournament into these scout notes. Below you will find nuggets of information on a multitude of players from across the tournament, broken up by their age groups.

UPPERCLASS

Chase Alwardt, 1B, Edwardsville (IL), 2024
Uncommitted. Big, strong build at 6-foot-3, 200-pounds. Hit in the middle of Extreme Elite’s lineup across our looks. A left-handed hitter, showed a quick bat with power. Stays short to the ball, long through the zone; was a tough out for pitchers throughout the weekend, stayed on the barrel, producing multiple hits both days. Showed some speed on the base paths with multiple extra base hits.

Chase Alwardt


Carson Bauer, INF, O’Fallon (IL), 2026
5-foot-10, 150-pound high-waisted frame. Left-handed bat that hit towards the top of the GBA lineup for a majority of the weekend. Didn’t have his best results at the plate this weekend but showed a short, controlled, and balanced swing that will produce consistent contact as he continues to add strength. Soft hands defensively, feet work around the baseball.

Wyatt Beer, INF, Mascoutah (IL), 2024
Uncommitted. Sturdy, 5-foot-10, 200-pounds. Hit towards the top of the Bruins’ lineup for the weekend and played on the infield. Simple right-handed swing that was short to the ball with extension through the zone. Had easy power when contact was made, sent a ball to deep centerfield for an RBI sac fly. Steady, sure-handed glove on the dirt, too.

Wyatt Beer


Henry Cordes, RHP, MICDS (MO), 2024
Purdue Commit. Strength in his athletic 6-foot-2, 192-pound build. Working with a controlled delivery and a quick arm, Cordes ran his fastball up to 90 mph in his start, while sitting in the upper-80s throughout. Feel for his slider improved as the game went on, featuring tight cutting action in the high-70s. Also flashed a changeup with fading action that he maintained arm speed on.

Henry Cordes


Cy Craft, RHP, Du Quoin (IL), 2027
5-foot-11, 150-pounds. Played up two age levels for GBA, drew the start in their afternoon game on Saturday. Athletic mover downhill, strides in line with intent out front. Long continuous arm action with arm speed from a high ¾ slot. Fastball touched 84 mph early, played in the low-80s, comes out clean. Spun a low-70s breaking ball to pair with confidence and fastball intent, spotted it for strikes at times. A presently polished arm that also holds a noticeable ceiling on the mound, and is a name-to-know prospect in the Illinois’ 2027 group.

Cy Craft


Bauer Dalke, RHP, Althoff Catholic (IL), 2024
Uncommitted. High upside 6-foot-6, 185-pound frame with long levers and a high waist. Simple mover on the mound with a loose and whippy arm action from a ¾ slot. Worked in the low-80s and topped at 84 with his fastball that flashed sinking action. Showed feel for a changeup in the mid-70s that featured late depth with fade. Also flashed feel for a low-70s breaking ball with 11/5 action.

Bauer Dalke


Braxdon Decker, RHP, Highland (IL), 2025
Long 6-foot-2, 160-pound frame with plenty of projection within. Athletic and polished mover on the bump with a loose, quick arm. On Sunday, he ran his running fastball up to 88 mph in the beginning of his start and he settled in the low-to-mid-80s as his outing went on. Was also confident in a low-70s slider that played with late sweep and was able to spot it up in the zone, while also throwing it out for whiffs. It was a quality look at this uncommitted arm and is continuing to trend in the right direction after a couple of strong looks throughout the year.

Braxdon Decker


Gus Dilorenzo, RHP, Webster Groves (MO), 2024
Uncommitted. Athletic, well-proportioned frame, threw well for the Recruits Baseball Club in the afternoon slot on Saturday. Quick arm that worked from a ¾ window. Fastball played in the low-80s, paired it with a slider at 71-73 mph that spun at 2400-2500 RPM. Turned over a changeup to left-handed hitters too, some feel for the bottom of the zone, 75-77 mph.


Noah Emge, RHP, Belleville West (IL), 2024
Uncommitted. 6-foot-5, 175-pound high-waisted frame with long, lean limbs. Arm plays with length on the backside, finishes from an over-the-top slot. Fastball played at 81-83 mph, spun a gradual slider off it, 71-73 mph.

Bo Gomric, INF, Althoff Catholic (IL), 2025
5-foot-10, 160-pound frame, with strength in the lower half. Athletic and loose right-handed swing that was on the barrel during Sunday morning’s game, collecting a pair of hits from the leadoff spot for the Gateway Bruins. At second base, he is a quick mover side-to-side and pairs it with sure-handed actions that look the part of a lockdown defender up-the-middle.

Bo Gomric


Maxx Grieme, C, Taylorville (IL), 2026
Athletic build with strength at 5-foot-10, 170-pounds. Played up an age level this weekend, competed and looked the part. Really impressed our staff with his actions behind the dish, athletic and agile mover with quality receiving traits, also showed a strong arm on throws down to second, throwing runners out. At the plate, a right-handed hitter, has a simple, fluid load with a short bat path that stays through the zone. Created a lot of hard contact showing the ability to barrel the baseball against older competition. A name-to-know moving forward in Illinois’ 2026 class.

Maxx Grieme


Tyler Gurski, C, Chatham-Glenwood (IL), 2025
5-foot-11, 165-pounds with athleticism and strength. Impressed defensively on Sunday, athletic with soft blocking actions, hard worker behind the plate with a strong arm. Right-handed hitter at the plate, easy, simple swing with control and balance, recorded a hit to the left side in our look on Sunday.

Tyler Gurski


Dane Keeven, LHP, Father McGivney (IL), 2025
6-foot-4, 165-pound long-limbed southpaw with lean strength though has room to add on plenty more. Threw well in the tournament’s opening slot for his Extreme Elite Metro squad, punching out five in six innings of work. Long arm draw finishes from an over-the-top slot. Fastball played in the upper-70s, lowered slot slightly on a mid-60s breaking ball with subtle lateral action.

Dane Keeven


Chase Knebel, LHP/1B, Highland (IL), 2025
6-foot, 175-pounds. Was a winner from this past weekend despite not having much results to show for. Hitterish feel at the plate, short compact swing with barrel accuracy to pair with minimal swing-and-miss.

Trey Koishor, INF, Highland (IL), 2024
Uncommitted. 5-foot-10, 165-pounds. Advanced infield defender, looked every bit the part of an up-the-middle asset on the dirt at the next level. Soft hands, comfortable on the move. Made a play to his backhand in the 6.5 hole, picked it, and fired an accurate throw across the infield to record an out. Some hand strength at the plate, short and direct bat path, belted a double into the left-center gap on Saturday afternoon.

Trey Koishor


Colin LeMarr, RHP, Southwestern Piasa (IL), 2024
Uncommitted. Stands in a strong 5-foot-10, 180-pound frame. A simple delivery on the mound, medium leg lift with some tuck and coil, drop/drive delivery and works in-line. Has a long, loose arm out of a 3/4 slot. His fastball sat 87-89 mph, in a brief, one inning look. He mixed in a curveball that sat 76-77 mph with 11/5 shape and a swing-and-miss changeup with feel for the zone.

Colin LeMarr


Bryce Lemp, OF/LHP, Collinsville (IL), 2024
Uncommitted. Strong, 5-foot-11, 195-pounds. Hit second and played outfield and first base throughout the weekend. A left-handed hitter, showed a smooth swing with some power to the pull-side. Some speed out of the box which translated to the outfield. A strong arm defensively which also showed well on the mound, some effort in the delivery, fastball sat in the low-80s, topping out at 84 mph with natural cut. Threw a curveball in the mid-70s with depth at times.

Bryce Lemp


Collin Lovelady, INF/RHP, Francis Howell (MO), 2025
5-foot-9, 160-pounds. Highly competitive athlete, was one of the weekend’s top performers. Doubled both on Saturday and Sunday with a pair of singles as well; simple and level right-handed swing, doesn’t try to do too much. Sure-handed glove on the infield, made an impressive body control play at second base on Saturday. Toed the rubber on Sunday afternoon to close out a win for GBA. Quick arm, fastball played in the low-80s, touching 84 mph, and he spun a downer upper-60s breaking ball with depth off it.

Collin Lovelady


Evan Mager, RHP, Webster Groves (MO), 2025
6-foot-3, 195-pounds. On the mound, has a high leg kick, gets into backside at balance, controlled, tall/fall delivery with effort. Clean arm with looseness in the back, quickness out front. Fastball sat 82-84 mph with carry through the zone. Mixed in a true, 12/6 breaking ball from the same slot, when he landed the pitch it created a tough look for hitters.

Evan Mager


Alec Marchetto, RHP, Edwardsville (IL), 2024
Uncommitted. 6-foot-2, 195-pounds. Represented Team Illinois at the PBR Future Games in the summer of 2022. Also helped Edwardsville capture back to back state championships this past IHSA season, closing out the 4A title game. Fastball played at 83-86 mph in Sunday’s look, challenged hitters and was effective best to the glove-side. Has been up to 89 mph in past looks, like in that aforementioned state championship appearance. Showed a low spin (T1300 RPM) changeup at 77-78 mph, also spun a tight curveball at 72-73 mph.

Alec Marchetto


Blaine Martinez, RHP, Collinsville (IL), 2024
Uncommitted. Wiry frame with athleticism. Worked out of the ‘pen on Saturday morning. Showed an athletic and repeatable delivery with control and minimal effort, creates extension down the mound. Has a long, loose arm with clear acceleration out front. Threw a fastball in the low-80s that topped out at 85 mph early, but mostly sat in the low-80s throughout. Maintained the same arm slot for his low-70s curveball, created swing-and-misses in and out of the zone and showed confidence in the pitch in any count.


Ethan Mazzola, 1B/RHP, Fox (MO), 2025
Large and highly physical 6-foot-5, 208-pound frame. Showed well on both sides of the ball in Saturday’s look. Started his day off by banging a double off the left-center wall, got off a few loud hacks in the game, including a beaming foul ball that comfortably cleared the left field wall. Hopped on the mound in the seventh inning with the bases loaded and nobody out, proceeding to strike out the side to secure a win for his St. Louis Redbirds team. Low-effort mover down the mound, controls his levers well for his size. Challenged in zone with a low-80s fastball often, spun a few breaking balls at 71-73 mph as a change of pace pitch.

Ethan Mazzola


Cooper Montgomery, 1B, St. Dominic (MO), 2026
5-foot-11, 190-pound physical left/left athlete. Played up an age level in the upperclass bracket with GBA and was all over the barrel across multiple looks. Strong hands with bat speed, notable raw power. Belted a loud double in his first at-bat of the weekend, totaled a few more hits as the event went on. A name-to-know left-handed bat in Missouri’s sophomore class with middle of the order upside at the next level.

Cooper Montgomery


Evan Moore, RHP/OF, Edwardsville (IL), 2024
Uncommitted. Athletic and projectable 5-foot-11, 160-pounds. Controlled and repeatable with quality tempo on the mound; easy and fluid actions throughout. Loose and whippy arm out of a ¾ slot. He pounded the zone for strikes with three pitches. Fastball sat 84-86 mph, topping out at 87 mph. Threw a slider and changeup with the both sitting in the upper-70s, slider kept hitters off balance with a quick, short break.

Evan Moore


Drew Patrick, RHP, Webster Grove (MO), 2024
Strong 6-foot-2, 175-pound frame. Worked with tempo in Sunday. Aggressive mover down hill with a loose arm action from a ¾ slot. Fastball sat in the low-80s, touching 83 mph a handful of times with heavy sinking action to the armside. Mixed in a horizontal breaking ball in the mid-70s that earned some whiffs. Rounded out his three-pitch mix with a fading changeup that flashed depth, too.

Drew Patrick


Ty Reaka, LHP, Belleville East (IL), 2024
Uncommitted. Strong, 6-foot-3, 210-pound. Had a brief appearance on the mound, up-tempo delivery, medium leg lift with tuck, tall/fall that works in-line. Short arm action out of a ¾ slot, has noticeable acceleration out front. In this outing, fastball sat 82-84 mph with some armside run, also mixed in a breaking ball with 2400 RPM. Sprayed around the zone in this look, but the upside is there on the Southern Illinois southpaw.

Grant Reinneck, C, Mascoutah (IL), 2024
Strong, well-proportioned 6-foot-2, 195-pound frame. Really impressed behind the plate defensively. Highly advanced blocker, interchanges his hips and routinely chests up the baseball with confidence, relentless worker. Long, level right-handed swing, was on the barrel to the middle of the field a few times, including a sacrifice fly to center field.

Grant Reinneck


Deklan Riggs, 1B, Highland (IL), 2024
Uncommitted. 6-foot-1, 210-pound left-handed hitter with juice to pair, slotted in the middle of the Gateway Bruins’ order as the weekend went on. Strong hands, some length to contact. Collected a pair of hits in these looks, covered the plate confidently and on the barrel for an opposite field double on Sunday afternoon.

Brody Signorelli, OF, Fort Zumwalt West (MO), 2025
Wiry 5-foot-11, 170-pound left/left prospect with advanced athleticism and plenty of upside. Saw time in center field for GBA’s Upperclass team and spent a majority of the weekend towards the top of the lineup. Quick whip out of load, stays inside the baseball, on the barrel to the pull-side a few times as the event rolled on. Made a highlight reel type of grab in center field too, going over his back shoulder to take away extra bases. A high level athlete that’s seemingly just starting to scratch his surface on the diamond.

Jake Stedman, MIF, Belleville West (IL), 2024
Strength in his 5-foot-11, 185-pound frame. Was a lockdown defender up-the-middle for Metro Xplosion on Sunday, ranging to both sides to make a number of tough plays and also featured a strong arm across the infield. Offensively, he works with wide base and features a small, controlled load, working direct to the ball. Finished with a pairs of hits in Metro Xplosion’s two games on Sunday.

Nolan Veto, RHP, Waterloo (IL), 2024
Uncommitted. 6-foot-1, 170-pounds, strong lower half. Hurled four clean innings in a start for the Gateway Bruins on Saturday morning. Simple mover, stays in line to target and finishes square. Fastball played in the low-80s, touched 84 mph, with backspin up in the zone. Bend/depth on a mid-to-upper-60s curveball, flashed feel to land it for strikes.

Nolan Veto


Gabe Vojak, OF, Mascoutah (IL), 2024
Uncommitted. 5-foot-10, 165-pound frame with athleticism and strength. Continues to trend upward, earned MVP honors at the Illinois State Games and showed well in a brief look this past weekend. Hit leadoff for the Gateway Bruins on Saturday, picking up three hits - two sprayed singles and a bunt down the third base line. Athletic left-handed hitter, long and level barrel through the zone.

UNDERCLASS

Omar Avalos, OF, Father McGivney (IL), 2027
Athletic and strong 5-foot-7, 150-pound frame. The LHH swings a dynamic barrel that is able to adjust to pitches all around the zone and send line drives all across the field. Batting leadoff, Avalos ripped a first-pitch triple on Saturday and followed it up with a single that he turned into a double with some savvy and smart base running. He kept hitting on Sunday, barreling a triple to straightaway center field, and gliding around the bases effortlessly as a result. In the outfield, Avalos covered a lot of ground and made a number of tough plays look easy throughout the weekend.

Omar Avalos


Hunter Baugh, INF/RHP, Edwardsville (IL), 2026
5-foot-10, 140-pound thin-levered athlete with plenty of physical projection left to come. Really impressed our staff on both sides of the ball Sunday morning. Polished at the plate, accurate right-handed barrel that knows how to use the whole field. Shortened up with two strikes in his first at-bat of the day, spraying a single to right field. Worked to the pull-side in Sunday’s second game, driving one to left field for a sacrifice fly. Also a highly intriguing follow on the mound. Loose clean arm, high ¾ slot. Athletic mover that consistently repeated his delivery, stayed on his backside and worked downhill in-line. Attacked hitters often, struck out the side in two of his five innings of work. Fastball played in the low-80s, touching 83 mph, and showed some carry up in the zone at times. Subtle spin on a low-70s breaking ball, used it sparingly, gradual break off an 11/5 plane. One of the tournament’s top prospects and a high-end follow in the Illinois’ 2026 class.

Hunter Baugh


Beau Breyman, C, Freeburg (IL), 2027
5-foot-9, 170-pounds. Looked the part defensively behind the plate. Glove worked down to up at gather. Willing blocker, chests up the baseball. Strong right-handed barrel with balance through contact. Backside approach, comfortable working the other way.

Beau Breyman


Robby Cox, OF, SLUH (MO), 2026
Athletic left/left prospect that showed well at the plate over multiple at-bats on Saturday and Sunday. Short compact swing, worked direct and on the barrel to all fields.

Robby Cox


Landen Deckard, INF, Northwest R1 (MO), 2027
5-foot-9, 180-pounds, looks the part at the plate. Got off a handful of aggressive hacks this past weekend at the plate; intentful right-handed swing that stays balanced through contact and worked gap-to-gap.

Ty Etcheson, RHP, Father McGivney (IL), 2026
Lean, lanky 6-foot-1, 150-pounds frame. Clean and continuous arm path with some length on the backside, loose out front with arm speed. Simple in-line delivery, controlled his levers well. Fastball played at 78-81 mph, plenty more to come as he continues to get older. Landed a curveball for strikes, 65-67 mph.

Ty Etcheson


Drake Luedeman, INF, Waterloo (IL), 2026
5-foot-10, 135-pound high waisted athlete with plenty room to add. On Saturday, Leuedeman was all over the barrel in the Gateway Bruins’ two games of the day. At the plate, Leuedeman swings a simple and controlled right-handed bat that shot line drives to all parts of the field throughout the weekend, highlighted by a deep double to his pull side that brought home a run in the Bruins’ first game of the weekend.

Drake Luedeman


Cole Mann, LHP, Seckman (MO), 2027
5-foot-9, 160-pounds. Aggressive, yet controlled, mover down the mound. Loose quick arm that worked from a ¾ slot. Fastball touched 77 mph early, showed a mid-60s breaking ball with 10/4 shape.

Reid Murray, RHP, Alton (IL), 2025
5-foot-9, 155-pounds. Started for the St. Louis Redbirds on Sunday morning. Hybrid start, quick compact arm circle, high ¾ finish. Simple strider, weight carries out front. Fastball played at 80-83 mph. Some feel to spin his breaking ball around the zone, 70-72 mph.

Reid Murray


Ben Sink, LHP, Father McGivney (IL), 2026
5-foot-10, 160-pound frame with long levers. Simple and controlled delivery, pairing it with a quick arm that releases the ball from a lower ¾ slot. In his out on Saturday Sink dominated utilizing a fastball in the 77-80 mph range. As for his offspeeds, he was confident in tight, low-70s breaking ball with 1/7 action and he also flashed a changeup to right-handed hitters, too.

Ben Sink


Ethan Thomas, OF, Edwardsville (IL), 2026
Physical 6-foot-2, 170-pound left-handed hitter with present strength and room to add more. Worked on the barrel to the middle of the field in Sunday’s look.

Ethan Thomas


Isaac Wendler, 1B, Father McGivney (IL), 2026
Clear physicality on a 6-foot-1, 195-pound frame; broad shoulders, barrel chest, thick lower half. Middle of the order type bat that offers a blend of feel to hit as well as above-average raw power. Strong hands, swing plays long through the zone with some leverage. Covered the lower/outer quadrant of the plate for a barreled up single on Sunday morning in a two-strike count, drove one deep to left-center in the same look, too. Hopped on the mound and showed above-average arm strength for his age too, pitching at 81-83, touching 84 mph, with his fastball. Also landed a 67-71 mph curveball with high arch and depth for strikes.

Isaac Wendler

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