Indian Hills 2026 Outlook
January 15, 2026
Program: Indian Hills
Head Coach: Dru Sebastian: 1st year
NJCAA Region/Division: Region 11, DII
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: DruSebastian1
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Indian Hills enters a new era this season, as seven-year head coach Matt Torrez steps down and Dru Sebastian takes over the program. Sebastian arrives for his first season after three successful years, two of which were as head coach for Eastern Oklahoma State College, where he led them to the World Series last year. These are large shoes to fill, as under his seven-year tenure in Indina Hills, Coach Torrez tallied 205 wins, two Region 11 championships, a JUCO World Series berth, and five seasons with over 30-wins. With the bar set, Coach Sebastian looks to build off the prior year marks of a 27-25 record, falling in the Region 11 Championship. While losing over 220 innings and five bats in the lineup, the Warriors return three top-of-the-rotation arms and the bulk of the middle of the order. This, paired with a group of impact freshmen, set up this new regime with the power to continue the success seen over the past seven years.
PITCHERS
Heading into the spring, Indina Hills has some gaps to fill throughout the staff after losing over 250 innings, with the biggest loss being Cole Huebner to Arkansas State, the staff ace last season. Despite this, the Warriors still return the other two top arms in their rotation, right-handers Yuan-Kai Chang and Jonah Mayoral. Chang had a solid start to his collegiate career, tossing 55.1 innings, striking out 45 to eight walks, and pitching to a 6.18 ERA. During our fall showcase, the fastball was up to 89 mph with sinking action, effectively paired with and created whiffs with an upper-70s slider, and a lower-80s changeup able to kill spin. Mayoral comes out of his freshman year tossing 46.1 innings to a 6.22 ERA, with 32 strikeouts. He also had a strong performance at the fall showcase, filling the zone with a three-pitch mix. The fastball was in the upper-80s, with the slider sitting mid-70s, and the changeup in the upper-70s. Rounding out this group of returners is right-hander Anton Keith. The righty saw limited time, only tossing 14.1 innings, striking out 11. An interesting arm heading into the spring, as the fastball was up to 90 mph last year, looking to see more time this spring.
- SO. RHP Yuan-Kai Chang is an upside right-handed arm standing in as an athletic 6-foot, 200-pound frame. Working out of a high tuck motion with a slight pause at the top, with quick and clean lower ¾ arm action. Chang works with a three-pitch mix, with the fastball sitting 88-89 mph, with sink, spinning 2200 RPM. The slider was sitting at 77-79 mph, gyro shape with sweeping tendencies, spinning 2400 RPMs. The changeup was sitting in the lower 80s, killing spin. The ball glides out of the hand as Chang is able to locate all three of his pitches in effective spots to get whiffs and outs.
- SO. RHP Jonah Mayoral was a towering frame on the mound Friday afternoon, standing in as a 6-foot-5, 190-pound frame. The right-hander filled up the zone early with a three-pitch mix; the fastball was sitting in the upper 80s with arm-side run. The slider was sitting mid-70s with a gyro profile. The change-up was upper 70s with a similar profile to the fastball, killing spin. Mayoral works out of a staggered setup, with a medium leg kick, working quickly down the hill, with quick and loose full circle arm action from a lower ¾ slot. An intriguing upside arm with room to continue climbing with the velo.
With such a steep loss in innings to replace, freshmen will be asked to step into larger roles, and left-hander Maverick Scarpella stood out this fall. The lefty is out of Broomfield, Colorado, with the fastball in the mid-80s and developing secondaries. On the mound, he looked the part, able to attack the zone and get effective outs in his inning of work.
- FR. LHP Maverick Scarpella, a powerful 6-foot, 200-pound frame, working out of a staggered setup with a tall and fall motion, followed by quick short arm action. Scarpella worked effectively, getting quick outs while filling up the zone. The lefty had a two-pitch mix with the fastball sitting mid-80s, with 2400 RPM, with a true cutter shape, and the curveball was mid-70s, spinning 2700 RPMs, with a gyro profile with depth.
OFFENSE
In total, this lineup loses five starters, with their biggest producer, Cale Clark, leaving for Alabama State. With this being said, Indian Trails brings back the bulk of the middle of the order, along with a duo of returners looking to have a larger impact and one freshman making noise this fall. INF Kevin Ramos is the brightest spot of these returning sophomores, coming off a freshman campaign where he slashed .312/.478/.567 with 41 RBIs and nine home runs. The left-handed bat tore it up this fall through multiple events, posting EVs north of 100 mph and 92 mph across the diamond. One final note on Ramos is, don't be surprised to see him come out of the bullpen. A more raw talent when it comes ot that side of the ball, but the fastball was up to 92 mph this fall. Outside of Ramos, two more impact returners are C/INF Jose Lopez and SS Boris Rodriguez. Lopez has also put together a strong fall season after posting a .294/.419/.399 slahline with 23 RBIs. While Rodriguez is a smooth defender looking to maintain his role as the starting shortstop, looking build off a freshman year where he slashed .253/.419/.399 with 22 RBIs.
- SO. 3B/RHP Kevin Ramos has already proven his power with nine home runs in 51 games last season, and his showing here suggested there is even more ahead. His batting practice round featured a 102.9 max exit velocity and a ball sent 396 feet. In game, he was hit by pitches twice but still produced loud contact in his other at-bats. Ramos’s arm strength stood out across the diamond, and he finished the day on the mound touching 9
Along with the three retuning sophmores comes two newcomers to the lineup, who look to add some much-needed depth in key areas. OF Callum Donnelly transfers in from New Mexico Junior College, looking to add a key piece in the outfield after running a 6.82 60-time the fall showcase. Then rounding out this lineup is freshman C/OF Jacob Pruitt. Out of Ontario, Canada, Pruiit is an athletic build as a 6.80 runner, with a max EV of 95.6 mph. The righty has put himself in apostion to be a day one starter after a strong fall.
4-YEAR COMMITMENTS
| NAME | CLASS | POS | COMMITMENT |
| Kevin Ramos | SO. | INF | Dayton |