Trey Sofio
Louisiana Scouting Director

Follow @PBR_Louisiana

This weekend Prep Baseball Report Louisiana and Prep Baseball Report Arkansas will head to Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, LA for the first annual ArkLaTex Open tournament. The tournament portion of the event will begin on Friday June 30^th and concludes on Sunday July 2^nd. The ArkLaTex Open showcase will take place on Thursday June 29^th, and still has limited space available. To register, CLICK HERE.

To see the complete tournament schedule, CLICK HERE.
To see the complete pitching rotations for tournament action, CLICK HERE.

This year’s field features six teams, three teams from the Louisiana Knights organization, and three teams in the Arkansas Sticks organization. Prep Baseball Report Louisiana and Arkansas will combine to provide comprehensive coverage of the tournament with scout blogs, game stories, and social media updates.

Today, Prep Baseball Report Louisiana will look ahead to Friday, as we briefly preview the weekend for the Louisiana Knights.

In preparation for the upcoming weekend, we had a chance to speak with Louisiana Knights Director Jack Cressend. In regards to the upcoming weekend, Cressend has this to say: “Our players are excited about the opportunity this weekend at Louisiana Tech. Being on the field competing against a first class program like the Arkansas Sticks is what it’s all about. We have fielded numerous calls from college coaches, who expect to be in the seats evaluating players in our program, along with the Prep Baseball Report Scouting Staff. It is obviously a great opportunity for our players and their careers, so it doesn’t get any better.”

Here are a few brief nuggets for the upcoming weekend:

+ The Louisiana scouting staff has had a chance to get several looks at the Louisiana Knights 16U Black thus far this summer, and it is certainly an impressive club. However, this weekend will be the first with Knights 16U Black for many players, as the team is starting to assemble in preparation for the WWBA.

+ 2019 SS/RHP KC Hunt (Louisiana Knights 16U Black) will make the trip from New Jersey to Louisiana for the first time this summer. Currently ranked No. 38 Overall in the 2019 class, Hunt is one of the top uncommitted rising juniors in the country, attracting attention from major programs across the country. A legitimate two-way college prospect, Hunt was highly impressive at shortstop last summer for the Knights, showing advanced feel for infield play. A long 6-foot-3, 165-pound frame Hunt hits from the left side, showing quick hands, bat speed, and projectable raw power with his long limbs. In addition, Hunt oozes just as much projection on the mound, showing lightning quick arm speed, running his fastball up to 91 mph, and flashing a sharp slider up to 82 mph.

+ 2019 RHP Drew McDaniel (Louisiana Knights 16U Black) has been really impressive to this point in the summer, already generating significant buzz on the recruiting trail. At the Bayou Preseason ID in January, McDaniel impressed our scouting staff, sitting 82-85 mph, and showed advanced ability to spin the breaking ball. Already registered for the PBR Future Games in August, McDaniel’s velocity has started to creep up, sitting 85-88 mph, as well as improving his slider, which has been sharp at 78-80 mph.

+ 2019 RHP Thomas Wilhite (Louisiana Knights 16U Black) will also be making his first appearance with the Knights this summer. Another already registered for the PBR Future Games in August, our scouting staff had a chance to see him pitch early in the summer with West Ouachita HS. The strong 6-foot-2, 185-pound right-hander was impressive that day, sitting 87-89 mph with easy effort, and flashed an advanced changeup that shows potential to develop into a legitimate out pitch down the road.

+ 2019 OF Carter Quinn (Louisiana Knights 16U Black) made his first appearance with the Knights this past weekend, and our scouting staff caught a glimpse of the young, promising centerfielder. Although not a pure burner, Quinn shows quality athleticism patrolling the outfield, and showed quality arm strength with carry on throws. Hitting from the left-side, Quinn showed bat speed with a level path, a line-drive approach, and showed ability to use the entire field.

+ 2019 C Kade Shannon (Louisiana Knights 16U Green) certainly possesses the prototypical catcher’s frame, standing at a strong 5-foot-10, 185-pounds. Shannon has shown quality arm strength with carry on throws, giving an in-game pop time of 2.04-seconds this summer. The right-handed hitter has also shown a powerful stroke with strength and present bat speed, as he posted a 90 mph exit velocity at the Knights Scout Day.

+ 2019 SS Skipper Snypes (Louisiana Knights 16U Green) obviously has a great name, but the young middle infielder has shown flashes of promises on the diamond this summer.  Snypes has shown fluid athleticism with soft hands, solid footwork, feel for infield play and enough arm strength to potentially stay at short stop in the future. A left-handed hitter, Snypes hits from a simple, balanced setup, short stride, and smooth load. Snypes shows a compact stroke with solid bat speed, and has shown ability to hit the ball to all fields.

+ 2020 1B/OF Michael Latulas (Louisiana Knights 16U Green) has been on an offensive tear thus far this summer. An athletic 6-foot-1, 190-pound frame, he shows advanced bat speed from his left-handed swing, posting an exit velocity of 86 mph. In addition, Latulas has shown quality athleticism with a 60-yard dash time of 6.86-seconds, and has consistently run home to 1^st times of 4.2-seconds.

+ 2020 OF/LHP Matthew Bihm (Louisiana Knights 15U Black) is physically advanced for his age, standing at 5-foot-11, 183-pounds. Hitting from the left side, Bihm has already shown elite bat speed, posting a 96 mph exit velocity, and present pull side power. Although he is an extremely young hitter, still in the developing stages, Bihm is certainly a candidate to leave the yard at any moment. On the mound, he also showed advanced arm strength earlier this summer, running his fastball up to 85 mph.

+ 2020 3B/RHP Brock Barthelemy (Louisiana Knights 15U Black) is another physically advanced rising sophomore, standing at 5-foot-11, 174-pounds. During the Knights Scout Day earlier this month, Barthelemy showed explosive bat speed from his right-handed swing, posting an 88 mph exit velocity. On the mound, he also ran his fastball up to 82 mph.

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