Uncommitted Spotlight: 2021 C/OF Brady Ward (Cedar Cliff)

Physical: Strong and well put together 5-foot-11, 175-pound frame with some athleticism found in the movements. 7.25 runner in the 60-yard dash. 

Offensively: RHH. Started with a wide, balanced stance as the hands showed rhythm in the setup next to the head. Utilized a lift and replace stride to initiate a flat barrel path into the hitting zone. Lifted the ball above the waist with ability to match plane early, had to work to get through the pitch down in the zone. Feel for his hands in the box with a maturity to the approach, found hard barrels towards the middle/pull-side during a solid batting practice round. Recorded a peak bat-exit velocity of 90 mph during batting practice per Trackman Baseball / top batted ball distance of 347 feet. 

Defensively: The primary backstop featured quality receiving skills beating the ball to the spot out of a low crouch with a soft glove hand. Pop times ranged from 2.06-2.11 with short and directional straight line footwork coupled with quick catch and throw skills out of a high ¾ slot, short arm circle. Got the frame around the ball with downward chest angles while blocking, showed recovery skills. C - 76 mph … The outfielder demonstrated active footwork on the approach fielding the ball off of the left side of his body. Soft glove hand with ability to cover ground in space with athleticism in the movements. Accurate, high ¾ slot from his position towards the plate. OF - 79 mph