Utah HS Team Preview: Riverton HS

Utah HS Team Previews - Riverton Silverwolves

Opening Day and the weekend has arrived! Jeff Scholzen (Utah Scouting Director) continues the 2023 season coverage with our annual preseason team previews, where we will take notes from coaches, and highlight returning players, newcomers, and some sleepers. Over the next couple of weeks and leading up to opening day, we will be highlighting some of the top programs in the state with our team previews.

As our ardent readers are aware, Team Previews are answered by the Head Coaches of those programs and the scouting reports embedded in the PBR player profiles of the top players, are written by state scouting director Jeff Scholzen, the states only full-time MLB Area Scouting supervisor ever. 

With data partners Trackman Baseball, the leaders in measuring the ball flight and its characteristics off the bat for position players and out of the hand for pitchers. No one does it better. Blast Motion captures key swing metrics in evaluating the efficiency of the swing and where a player's swing is good or bad and what needs to be worked on. Swift Performance measures power output as an athlete with the EZ jump mat and collecting not only the 60 yard dash, but the 10 and 30 yard dashes as well. 3M technology measures key pitching mechanics and how the delivery through the body moves in sequence to produce and provide a more effortless and efficient delivery. 

This season as in every past season, stats are collected across the state at the end of that week's play, with input from coaches, assistant coaches and ultimately myself in putting together comprehensive player content on a weekly basis with the following. 

1. Weekly Utah Power 25 Overall Team Rankings (Monday)

2. Player and Pitcher of the Week, along with other notable player performances (Tuesday)

3. Player Spotlights throughout the spring of top players who are making their mark on the HS scene in capturing college recruiting looks. 

4. I will be scouting games throughout the state and posting player videos on Twitter for college marketing purposes on a weekly basis and in some cases where action is flowing and games are staggered, such as the preseason tourneys down south on a daily basis. 

Quick Footnote: Only 7% of all HS baseball players will play college baseball and the elite of that group, which consists of only 2% will play at the D1 level. These are the players I’m watching and gleaning information on. This is determined by objective data from events, as well as the subjective eye evaluations, honed from my 30 years at the college and professional level. 

Riverton by the numbers

Head Coach: Jay Applegate (24th Year)

(2022 6A Utah Coach of the Year / West District Coach of the Year)  

Classification: 6A

Region: 3

2022 Win-Loss: 25-8

2021 Win-Loss: 20-9

State Playoff appearances in last 10 years: 9

State Championship appearances last 10 years: 2

State Championships last 10 years: 1

2023 Preseason PBR Ranking: 3

2022 6A State Champions 

Alumni Spotlight (Click the name of the player for his college BIO link)

Professional Baseball

  Tanner Banks, LHP, MLB - Chicago White Sox 

College Baseball

Sam ck, RHP (FR), Brigham Young University (2022 6A MVP)

Parker Goff, C/UTL (FR), Brigham Young University

Mack Bright, RHP (FR), USU-Eastern

  Braden Nelson, RHP (FR), Salt Lake CC

Player Analysis

Zach Edwards RHP / SS / Riverton, UT / 2024 Rankings  State Rank: 11 / POS: 4     Committed: Oregon State

Drake Piersall 3B / OF / Riverton, UT / 2024 Rankings  State Rank: 18 / POS: 2   Uncommitted 8/20/22 Drake has been through a lot this past season w/Tommy John surgery, after injuring his elbow last November and worked his tail off to come back at the end of the HS season, to take a few AB’s and was able to hit all summer. He has now progressed to easy tosses across the diamond from 3B. Took a good BP at the West Coast Games and proceeded to get a couple of hard knocks in the game play portion of the event. Features an unorthodox style to hit, as he carried his hands at his right oblique w/a bat waggle. Get his hands loaded at a 45-degree angle in sync w/a big leg kick. You wouldn’t think he could time up velocity with this approach, but he does! Strong w/a hand speed max of 25 mph and 83 mph bat speed, that generates EV’s of 100 mph! The defense is most likely suited for 1B, but playing 3B will keep him athletic and enhance his profile, yet the bat plays at both corners. Colleges need to take a closer look at Drake and the bat has impact potential.  11/21/21 A strongly built corner INF w/a 100 mph top EV, Piersall has a unique way of hitting, as he carries his hands low and then brings them up and back into the load phase, incorporating a high knee kick and then uncoiling the spring to power through the baseball with a fast bat, and elevating the ball into a high one hand finish. The hand and bat speed have jumped since we last saw him in June at the Top Prospect Games, to 25.1 and 80.7 at the All-State Games. Drake has worked really hard and put himself in the conversation now for the short list for next year's PBR Future Games!

 

Carson Moody OF / RHP / Riverton, UT / 2024 Rankings  State Rank: 20 / POS: 4   Committed: Utah  6/19/21 Tall and rangy with long arms and wide shoulders with the look of a pitcher, and oozes projection moving forward. Came to the prior event in November as an OF'er, and this event as a two way type. The delivery looks to have not been worked with, suggesting he has considerable room to grow and make strides on the mound. Features a flexible high kick to delivery, with balance over the rubber, yet breaks his hands into a bow and arrow type short HTQ arm stroke. This action minimizes arm swing, leverage and velocity, yet throws more with a proper arm circle from the OF. Needs to take that into his arm action on the mound. The FB 78-81 has room to grow and with some tweaks has 3-4 mph in short order. The FB has spin 2200+ with downhill plane and angle. The CB 69-73 has proper arc and medium shape with late biting depth. Makings of a solid pitch down the road. As a hitter, he has shown some solid strides, as he raised his 60 time from 7.24 to 7.14 and his OF velo from 78 to 82. The Swing has remained the same, but 8 months of maturity and the EV has jumped from 86 to 93. All his metrics across the board have improved dramatically. Keep an eye on this kid moving forward, as he plays in a good HS program.   11/25/20 Lg athletic frame w/long arms, legs and wide shoulders. Projs build and looks to add 20-30 Lbs over the next 4 years. Young 14 yr old class of ‘24 with some actions and tools to work with. A 7.24/60 and see better in time with a solid running gate. The bat shows potential, as he hits from an upright square stance and loads into his back side with a big knee lift, while bringing it into his backside. Would like to see him tone this down as he will have enough strength to drive the baseball without. The hands slide back into a solid 45 degree angle at launch, and he takes a short compact stroke into and through the ball with a high one hand finish. He does let go of the top hand a tick too soon, but is definitely correctable. He showed the ability to manipulate the bat head in different zones. Barreled balls on a line with an EV high of 86 and will have proj pull power down the road. Defensively shows actions in approaching the baseball on the ground and fields out front correctly with a clean catch and works his feet and momentum through the ball nicely. The arm works with proper throwing mechs w/solid ext. out front and a loose wrist to finish his throws. Definitely a follow moving forward.

 

Kaden Allred C / SS / Riverton, UT / 2024 Rankings  State Rank: 34 / POS: 9   Uncommitted 7/12/22 Positional Profile: C/SS Hits: RHH. Power: 91 max exit velocity, averaged 81 MPH. 290' max distance. Arm: RH. C-70 mph. Defense: Athletic receiver with soft hands and an athletic lower 1/2 Run: 7.41 runner in the 60. Vizual Edge: 73.23 Edge Score   6/19/21 Kaden is a young still maturing 15 yr old catcher from powerhouse Bingham HS. Has the type of frame to add 30 lbs in the next 3 years as he continues to mature and strength/size. A bit of a side to side runner, which effects his running gate and leads into his 60 time. Offensively he has a little hand movement out front and uses this as his timing mechanism with his feet for timing. There’s a bit of a bat tip into the load and would like to see him get the knob and barrel into a better 45 degree turn in back, to allow for a better path to the baseball. Looks to be short with his compact stroke, but can leave little room for error right now, as his barrel gets in and out of the zone quickly, creating some some off the end of the bat contact, effecting his metrics. Would like to see him get into a good strength program to strengthen his core and forearms, to increase his hand and barrel speed. Defensively his glove is ahead of his bat right now, which is favorable, being a catcher. He shows educated feet and a clean glove to ball exchange in getting rid of the baseball quickly. Where he will make some strides in his exchange and pop times, is getting his right hand up quicker to his glove to catch with a slightly better two hand exchange. The hand stays low near his right thigh and has a ways to travel to close the distance of getting the ball out quicker. Mild adjustment that is for sure correctable and an easy fix. Has some makings here and his Dad owns a baseball facility, which will give him reps over others.

 

Cooper Hansen LHP / OF / Riverton, UT / 2024 Rankings  State Rank: 42 / POS: 3   Uncommitted 3/06/22 A starter for a very good Riverton club as a freshman, Hansen has two way potential as a crafty LHP, but his hitting has captured my attention with an EV high of 94.3 with hand and bat speeds of 25.1 and 73.4. A solid direct path to the baseball with a flatter plane and sprays LD’s to all parts of the field, Hansen shows feel for the barrel and drives his hands inside the baseball and finishes strong with a two hand finish around his back shoulder. The ball jumps on a line and has backspin at times. Has grown a couple of inches and 20 lbs since we last saw him in the spring of ‘21. Look for Hansen to make even more strides as a sophomore in ‘22.  12/01/20 Hansen has the look and mannerisms of a ball player, as he showed well both as a hitter and as a LHP. Unlike some good freshmen that are over developed at a young age and stand out physically over their peers, Cooper has an athletic even props build and carries himself well. From a good HS program that has produced quite a few D1 and college level prospects, although his velo was 79-81, you can project steady increases over the next 4 calendar years! What he did was show the ability to feature a balanced high compact kick to delivery with a short HTQ arm stroke that he repeats and hits the mitt with. The CB had some depth and TQ shape with depth. As a hitter, he displayed an exit velo of 86.6 with the ability to drive the baseball deep to the big part of the field on a line. He features a classic upright even props square stance and loads his bat slightly before picking up his foot and setting it down softly. He features a short compact stroke w/some slight uphill and whips the bat into a high one hand finish. In the OF he aggressively charges the ball and fields it cleanly out front and gets into solid throwing position. Shows a TQ arm stroke with good ext and projs arm strength over the next four years. Will be a good one to watch moving forward.

 

Dylan Zullo 2B / RHP / Riverton, UT / 2024 Rankings  State Rank: 54 / POS: 2   Uncommitted Preseason All-State (Invite-Only) Mar 4, 2023 TRACKMAN - HITTING EXIT VELOCITY (MAX) 91.9 EXIT VELOCITY (AVG) 84.9 DISTANCE (AVG) 246 DISTANCE (MAX) 321 HARD HIT: 29 % SWEET SPOT: 43 % LINE DRIVE: 29 % FLY BALL: 57.1 % GROUND BALL: 0 %

 

Alex Vernon 1B / 3B / Riverton , UT / 2024 Uncommitted   Preseason All-State (Invite-Only) Mar 4, 2023 TRACKMAN - HITTING EXIT VELOCITY (MAX) 95.5 EXIT VELOCITY (AVG) 85.5 DISTANCE (AVG) 261 DISTANCE (MAX) 364 HARD HIT 31 % SWEET SPOT 31 % LINE DRIVE  13 % FLY BALL 68.8 % GROUND BALL  13 %

Key Returners with Class/Position

• Remington Robbins, P/OF/1B, Sr.

• Zach Edwards, SS/P, Jr.

• Kaden Allred, C/2B, Jr.

• Carson Moody, P/OF, Jr.

• Cooper Hansen, P/OF, Jr.

• Dylan Zullo, P/INF, Jr.

Key Newcomers:

• Konner Candalot, P, Sr.

• Alex Vernon, 1B/P, Jr.

• Drake Piersall, 3B, Jr.

• Stein Mozingo, INF, Soph.

Key players lost to graduation 

Sam Beck

Parker Goff

Mack Bright

Kaden Miller

Braden Nelson

Who is your X Factor to your success

Zach Edwards, RHP

Returning players who were named All-Region / All-State 

Remington Robbins, p/OF/1B -  All Region

Cooper Hansen, LHP - All Region,  Honorable mention All State

Players who are now playing College Baseball from 2022

Sam Beck

Parker Goff

Mack Bright

Kaden Miller

Braden Nelson

List players you feel have college baseball potential*

Remington Robbins

Konner Candalot

Zach Edwards

Kaden Allred

Carson Moody

Cooper Hansen

Dylan Zullo

Drake Piersall

Stein Mozingo

Cohen Allred

McKade Ortiz

List players in your region you feel have the potential to play professional baseball, either out of HS or College

Jaxon Reiser, RHP,  Mountain Ridge (Utah)

Gage Olsen, RHP,  Copper Hills (Salt Lake CC)

Maddax Peck, RHP,  Bingham (BYU)

Steele Murdock, RHP,  Herriman (UC-San Diego)

Coaches Summary and Outlook

We're excited to get the season going as we will have new kids filling in the holes of the 9 seniors that graduated last year.  Players are working hard trying to get ready for the challenges that lay ahead for this year's team.

• Jay Applegate (Head Coach)

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