Zach
Bava

C Zach Bava (Naperville North; Illinois State commit) has long been a high-motor player on both sides of the ball. The future Redbird is athletic out of the box from the left side, posting a home to first time of 4.57 seconds. Bava also stood out with his hustle on defense - not taking any plays off from behind the dish. During the workout, Bava posted a 1.93 pop time with a 77 mph max velo from the crouch, to go with a max EV of 96 mph during batting practice.

Positional Profile: C/OF
Body: 5-8, 175-pounds.
Hit: LHH. Crouched stance, short stride, aggressive lower-half. Strong hands, direct swing, mostly flat path, pull-side/middle of the field approach. 79 mph bat speed with 17 G’s of rotational acceleration.
Power: 96 max exit velocity, averaged 88.4 mph. 364’ max distance.
Arm: RH. C - 77 mph. 3/4 slot, fluid action.
Defense: 1.93-2.03 pop times. Squatted stance, deep lower half stance, quick jab step footwork, efficient transfer.
Run: 7.00 runner in the 60.

C Zach Bava (Naperville North, 2025) Displaying a strong and athletic 5-foot-8, 175-pound frame, Zach Bava was impressive at the plate and behind the plate. Bava reached every time he was up going 2-for-2 with two doubles, an RBI, and a walk. He has a low and wide crouching power stance at the plate with a small leg kick. He has an easy swing barreling the ball with his natural power. Bava is extremely athletic behind the plate and portrays a quick throw to the bases.

C Zach Bava (Naperville North; Illinois State commit) continues to swing a heavy barrel in front of our staff. Currently ranked No. 25 in the state, the left-handed hitter displayed strong hands with a direct path, working up to 101.5 mph for his max EV and 372 for his max distance with a middle/pull-side approach. High-motor behind the plate, quick out of the crouch, recorded a low pop-time of 2.00 seconds with a max velocity of 77 mph.

C Zach Bava (Naperville North, 2025; Illinois State commit) is coming off a 2023 campaign to remember, earning an invite to the Future Games to represent Team Illinois and also representing the ProCase team at the Illinois State Games. He was the first hitter to go in the entire event and he got things off to a loud start, launching baseball to his pull-side with lifted contact while also showing the ability to stay through the ball the other way, reaching up to 101.5 mph for his max EV with a max distance of 372’. The left-handed hitter has a compact swing with controlled aggression, utilizing the ground through impact with strong hands through the zone. He also displayed premier bat-speed throughout his round, averaging 81.8 mph. Defensively, Bava has a quick/clean transfer, staying low and in-line to second to pair with a high over-the-top release, reaching as low as 1.93 for his best pop-time with a max velocity of 80 mph. Confident receiver of the baseball, flexible lower-half, looks to work under the ball and present pitches around the zone.

Positional Profile: C/2B
Body: 5-8, 178-pounds. Muscular, well-proportioned frame with present strength throughout.
Hit: LHH. Closed, crouched setup, small leg lift stride, strong lower half. Strong hands, flat path, stays through the ball, elevated contact to the pull-side, showed ability to lift with authority. 81.8 mph bat speed with 18 G’s of rotational acceleration.
Power: 102 max exit velocity, averaged 87.7 mph. 372’ max distance.
Arm: RH. C - 80 mph. Short, to the ear, high 3/4 release, throws play with some carry, was on the bag.
Defense: 1.93-2.00 pop times. Quality receiver, strong hands, clean glove-to-hand, works in-line out of the chute, deadens the ball out front on blocks.
Run: 7.06 runner in the 60.

Verbally committed to Illinois State.

C Zach Bava (Naperville North, 2025; Illinois State commit) was one of the biggest winners throughout the summer circuit, performing well at not only the PBR Future Games, but the Illinois State Games as well. Bava is a high-motor backstop that is quick out of the chute with above-average arm strength and quality receiving actions to pair. The left-handed hitter has also shown advanced feel for the barrel all year. Bava carried that success into Friday nights’ game, working multiple quality at-bats and barreling a double the other way. Recent Illinois State commit, currently ranked No. 25 in the 2025 class.

Building on an already impressive summer circuit at the event was uncommitted C Zach Bava (Naperville North, 2025). Bava is a left-handed hitter with high bat-to-ball skills that has continuously hit in front of our staff all summer long. During the workout portion of the event, Bava had a max exit velocity of 96 mph, paired with a max distance of 350 feet. Bava additionally showed well behind the dish on the workout day with a max velocity of 78 mph down to second, with a quick pop time range of 1.95-2.03 seconds. Bava is a high-motor backstop to continue to monitor in the 2025 class.

Positional Profile: C/3B
Body: 5-8, 171-pounds. Compact strength throughout.
Hit: LHH. Crouched, strong, wider stance. Fluid swing, medium leg kick trigger, hands work short, on the barrel to all fields. Finished game play 2-for-6 with a double, triple, two RBIs, four runs scored and a walk. 70.3 mph bat speed with 13 G’s of rotational acceleration.
Power: 96 max exit velocity, averaged 89.9 mph. 350’ max distance.
Arm: RH. C - 78 mph. Strong, quick, accurate, high 3/4 slot.
Defense: 1.95-2.03 pop times. Quick out of the crouch, gains ground, smooth transition.
Run: 7.22 runner in the 60.

PBR Future Games: Bava, a left-handed hitter, took an intentful round of BP, staying direct to the baseball with lift and authority to the pull side. Bava drove a ball 377’ with an average batted ball distance of 312’, peak exit velocity of 96.2 mph, 91.4 mph average. After his loud round of BP he proceeded to play efficiently out of the crouch recording a few sub-2.0 pop times (1.89-2.02 range) while topping at 78 mph and consistently putting throws around the bag.

PBR Future Games: A left-handed hitting backstop, C Zach Bava (Naperville North, 2025) came away from the Future Games with an arrow-up next to his name after a highly competitive showing. Bava consistently got off fast, intentful hacks from the left side and consistently generated some of the deepest batted ball contact for Team Illinois, starting during the event’s workout portion. There, Bava swatted the furthest ball amongst Team Illinois’ position players (377 feet) and his average batted distance (312 feet) was one of the higher marks, too. In game, Bava drove several balls with authority to the pull-side and, while looking mostly for fastballs, was on the barrel on spin as well. He finished the week 5-for-9 with a double, two RBIs, and four runs scored. His best showing came in the opening-act against Pennsylvania, where he went a perfect 3-for-3 with a double, RBI, three runs scored, and a stolen base. Bava played with arguably the highest motor on Team Illinois, he ran a 4.35 out the box on a routine groundout to shortstop, and is a highly competitive, grinder-like prospect to know from the event.

C Zach Bava (Naperville North) is a left-handed hitting catcher to know from the event. Behind the plate, Bava works with steady hands and a quick/clean transfer, remaining directional, athletic out of the crouch and reaching as low as 2.00 for his pop-time (T77 mph). At the plate, Bava has an intentful swing with strong hands, short path and quick bat. He worked to the pul-side of the field with a max exit velocity of 95.4 and max batted ball of 330’.

Positional Profile: C/3B
Body: 5-7, 163-pounds. Durable frame with evenly proportioned strength.
Hit: LHH. Balanced, crouched setup, short stride. Intentful swing, quick bat, strong hands, short path, on the barrel to the middle, pull-side of the field.
Power: 95 max exit velocity, averaged 82.8 mph. 331’ max distance.
Arm: RH. C - 77 mph. Loose arm, works with short action from a high 3/4 slot. Arm play with accuracy from the crouch, throws play with carry.
Defense: 2.00-2.08 pop times. Soft hands with a clean and quick transfer. Gains ground out of the squat. Flashed soft blocking skills.
Run: 7.49 runner in the 60. 

C Zach Bava (Naperville North) is a left-handed hitting catcher to know from the event. Behind the plate, Bava works with steady hands and a quick/clean transfer, remaining directional, athletic out of the crouch and reaching as low as 2.00 for his pop-time (T77 mph). At the plate, Bava has an intentful swing with strong hands, short path and quick bat. He worked to the pul-side of the field with a max exit velocity of 95.4 and max batted ball of 330’.

Positional Profile: C/3B
Body: 5-6, 150-pounds. Athletic build.
Hit: LHH. Crouched setup, bat wraps at load, quick leg lift trigger.  Present hand speed and rotational acceleration, short and level path to contact, line drive approach, backspins to the pull-side.
Power: 91.4 max exit velocity, averaged 81.9 mph. 325’ max distance.
Arm: RH. C - 71 mph. Short, 3/4 slot, some life out of the hand.
Defense: 2.18 - 2.28 pop times. Steady hands, works to present pitches around the zone.
Run: 7.86 runner in the 60.