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Updated Class of 2025 Player Rankings (August)

Throughout the summer we were all over the state, scouting numerous prospects and seeing many new names came to the forefront of the recruiting scene. With that information, we are updating each of our class rankings based off what we have seen. We start with the Class of 2025.

As school gets underway and the fall sports season kicks off, we will take a look at "What's New at the Top", "Notable Newcomers”, "Summer Showcase Standouts", "Prospects College Coaches Need To Circle Back To" and a look some of the top uncommitted prospects by position, and a close look at the Top 10.

To view the Class Rankings, click below:

• Class of 2025 | Class of 2026 | Class of 2027

To view the Prospect Reports, click below:

• Uncommitted Spotlights | Commitment Insider | Overall News

To view the entire Class of 2025 rankings, please click here.

What's New At The Top

Zion Theophilus RHP / OF / Archbishop Moeller, OH / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 1 / POS: 1 OverallRank: 123 / POS: 38 Report: Zion remains at the top of the class after a stellar spring season. The RHP sat 92-94 T96 most of the spring and will look to cap off an incredible high school career this upcoming season before heading to LSU.

Taylor Belza C / 3B / P27 Academy, OH / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 2 / POS: 1 OverallRank: 244 / POS: 20 Report: Belza holds his spot at #2 after a strong summer with Canes Midwest National highlighted by a walk-off to win the 17u National Championship at LakePoint.

Matthew Major 3B / SS / Troy Christian, OH / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 50 / POS: 8 StateRank: 9 / POS: 1 Report: Entering the top ten is Matthew Major. The Tulane commit opened eyes on the summer circuit, displaying the power and consistency against the top competition in the country.

Notable Newcomers

Chase Luebbe OF / RHP / BADIN, OH / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 106 / POS: 18 Report: A top 5 hitter in the GCL Co-ed, Chase hit in the 2-hole for Badin and was a key offensive piece to their state runner-up campaign in the spring. Coaches are starting to take notice of the left-handed hitting outfielder with above average bat to ball skills, 6.88 speed, and 88 mph arm strength. Chase enters the rankings within the top 125.

Henry Bradley RHP / SS / Loveland, OH / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 112 / POS: 40 Report: Bradley made some noise this spring at Loveland and established himself as a name to follow. He continued to climb throughout the summer turning in some outstanding performances with CBC National. Loose arm with multiple secondary offerings for strikes. 86-88 mph fastball that can top out at 90. Henry jumps into the rankings inside the top 125.

Shane Jones OF / RHP / New Riegel, OH / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 156 / POS: 26 Report: Shane popped up on our radar this spring after an eye popping junior season at New Riegel. His success carried over into a strong summer performance with the Sandusky Bay Scrappers. He’s a left-handed hitting outfielder with gap-to-gap ability and a sub 7 runner. 87 mph from the outfield and mid 8’s on the mound. Shane joins the rankings as a top 200 player in the state.

Summer Showcase Standouts

Chandler Wright RHP / SS / Lakota West, OH / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 91 / POS: 35 Report: Chandler jumped onto our radar at the Ohio Unsigned Senior Games at Wright State. He got innings for Lakota West last spring but went quietly under the radar. Some adjustments took a slow loopy curveball and turned it into a 77-78 mph late biting slider, paired with his 86-88 T89 mph ride and run fastball. He's a dangerous two pitch mix guy right now who should shoot up recruiting boards late.

AJ Gundler OF / SS / Archbishop Mcnicholas, OH / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 133 / POS: 22 Report: AJ turned in a standout performance at this year's Top Prospect Games, showing why he’s one of the top rising left handed bats in the class. The outfield prospect turned in a 6.83 60-yard time, 98.9 top EV, and clocked in at 84 mph from the outfield.

Garyson Smiddy LHP / LHP / Defiance, OH / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 136 / POS: 21 Report: Intriguing LHP prospect that showed well at the Ohio Unsigned Senior Games. Garyson missed some of the spring due to injury but has been rebounding throughout the summer and the 6’6” lefty is now sitting in the mid to upper 8’s. We expect him to be a name talked about quite a bit in recruiting meetings across the midwest this fall.

Ben Freese OF / RHP / Waynesville, OH / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 64 / POS: 8 Report: Ran a laser timed 6.25 at the Ohio Prospect Games. The Ashland commit put on a show in BP that day as well running balls into the gaps up to 97 mph. Also clocked in at 90 mph during his outfield eval. Simply put, he’s one of the most tooled up players in the class. Makes a jump in this rankings update into the top 100.

College Coaches Need to Circle Back To

Connor Fuhrer RHP / 2B / Archbishop Moeller, OH / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 78 / POS: 29 Report: Upper 8’s RHP who has the ability to grab a 9 at times. An east-west arsenal that is commanded to both sides of the plate, Connor is a name already on a lot of radars that is still looking for the right fit. We’ve seen the fastball play with up to 22 inches of HM.

Josh Rauer LHP / 1B / Riverside Jr/Sr High School, OH / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 55 / POS: 13 Report: 6’5” lefties don’t grow on trees, although you might mistake Josh for a tree by the look of him. He sports a massive frame and weighs in at 245 lbs, which supports his ability to add velocity. Our latest reports have Josh sitting in the mid to upper 8’s which has garnered him interest from schools across the country.

John Harabedian RHP / 2B / Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, OH / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 46 / POS: 17 Report: After an outstanding performance at Senior Future Games, John has shot up recruiting boards and has positioned himself as one of the premier uncommitted RHP’s in the class. He is a top 50 player in Ohio who sits at 86-88 with command of multiple offspeed offerings.

TOP UNCOMMITTED PROSPECTS BY POSITION

Below we look to name the top 5 prospects in specific categories based on primary position in profile for the 2025 class rankings. Beyond this group, there are numerous prospects that can help a collegiate program in some capacity.

• Top Right-Handed Arms: Zach Swartz | Tucker Wilburn | John Harabedian | Lucas Kaltenbach | Patrick Radigan
• Top Left-Handed Arms: Joey Buchanan | Andrew Montero | Josh Rauer | Tommy Farkas | Zach Short
• Top Outfield Prospects: Jovan Love | Brendon Rowe | Cam Simmons | Gavin Lawler | Michael Samarin
• Top First Basemen Prospects: Landon Holt | Cameron Birch | Landon Hunter | Mason Reckner | Andrew Schneider
• Top Second Basemen Prospects: Josh Mommers | Owen Roether | Caleb Melendez | Isaac Goldschmidt | Cole Jung
• Top Shortstop Prospects: Nicholas Frontino | Jake Bell | Eddie Tanner | Dierkis Vincent | Maxwell Albert
• Top Third Basemen Prospects: Kade Bowling | Evan Reiter | Grant Schag | Adrian Smith | Junior Veras
• Top Catching Prospects: Braxton Prosser | JJ Darst | Cody Shaw | Griffin Booth | Austin Gray

***** To view the entire rankings, please click here.

PBR OHIO CLASS OF 2025 TOP 10