Markus Neff, 1B, Oakwood, 2012

Last July, PBR Ohio held its first showcase at Dublin Jerome High School.

There were over 100 prospects in attendance with a selected few being rising sophomores

Oakwood’s Markus Neff, a young, power hitting first baseman, was one of those few.

While he held his own, he was over shadowed by a number of talented upperclassmen.

Fast forward to January 28^th at the Pre-Season Underclass Showcase in Dayton.

Neff, now six months into his sophomore campaign, decided to attend another PBR showcase prior to the start of the spring season.

He walked away being recognized as the top prospect in attendance for the Class of 2014. 

“My dad and I decided to go to some showcases to kind of get my feet wet in the process and try to get my name on some schools radar.”

And, he continues, “I feel like this has helped my name get out there and prepare me for what is yet to come in the recruiting process.”

At the showcase, Neff showed a big time, middle of the order bat.

His scouting report notes:

Shows balance in a power, upright stance. Utilizes strong hands and good load. Has good bat speed into zone, squares barrel on the ball with finish & good lower half torque. Definite power guy and easily projects into future homerun threat.

Reflecting on his performance, Neff noted, “I felt that overall my performance at the showcase was good. I feel like I could have run better and hit to the opposite field better, but I felt that all in all it was a successful day.”

Looking ahead to the high school season, Neff has big expectations for Oakwood’s spring campaign.

“This season I plan to cut down on strikeouts from last year and bring my average up. I hope to repeat at SWBL champs for Oakwood and make a deep tournament run.” 

This summer, Neff will be playing for the 17U Dayton Dodgers.

He has accepted invitations to the Underclass Games at The Ohio State University and the Midwest Futures Games at the University of Illinois.

He currently carries a 3.4 GPA and enjoys studying math and history courses.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW MARKUS NEFF'S SCOUTING REPORT AND VIDEO