Texas A&M commit Brady Cunningham (Brother Rice, 2027) has been one of the top players in the state the second he made it to campus, and his high school career has been illustrious up to this point. 

A contributor on varsity since his freshman year, he has steadily improved his output on the field, along with his prospect status, catapulting himself up the rankings to our No. 1 player in the state as a result of his torrid stretch this past spring. 

A physical specimen at 6-foot-3, 225-pounds with hulking strength and a young look that scarily indicates even more physicality to come, they don’t make many prospects Cunningham’s size with his athletic ability - nearly topping the charts at the Future Games last summer for his vertical jump (30.3”) and peak run speed of 22.2 mph, contributing to his now 6.52 60-time. He blends speed with immense power and strength, creating exit velocities well north of 100 mph (T109 mph) while also rarely showing swing/miss in-game, making him one of the more dangerous hitters in the entire country. All these attributes when put together create your 2026 Illinois Player of the Year. 

Cunningham’s stats are straight out of a videogame, earning CCL Blue Player of the Year honors after he hit .622 in conference with eight home runs, 35 RBIs, an OBP of .723 and an OPS of 2.101 - all while facing top-to-bottom some of the toughest competition in the state. 

His whole season stats are equally impressive, finishing the year at a .539 clip in 115 at-bats with a staggering and state-leading 17 home runs, nine doubles, five triples, 62 RBIs, 52 runs scored, 13 stolen bases and 21 walks to just 16 strike outs - also collecting and on-base percentage of .638, a slugging percentage of 1.148, and an OPS of 1.785. What makes these numbers even more eye-opening is the fact that Brother Rice played one of the toughest in-state schedules, as well as challenging themselves against some of the top teams around the country throughout the spring. There spring schedule included the Bishop Gorman Invitational to open the season and a four-game set in Louisville, KY against two of the top teams in the state (including Trinity who won their second consecutive State Title).

He was the driving force in one of the state’s best lineups, keeping the Crusaders near the top of the Power 25 all year long. Though they would fall in the Sectional Final to eventual third-place finisher at the 4A level Mount Carmel, his offensive output is some of the best we have seen in recent memory.

Sean McBride at the helm of Brother Rice unsurprisingly had great things to say about Cunningham: “Brady is an incredible kid. Works extremely hard and is a great teammate. His success is directly related to the work he puts in and the way he goes about his business. 

He is so much more than a baseball player at BR, he is involved in multiple clubs and activities, ranked No. 2 academically in his class. All of this translates into him being one of, if not, the best player we’ve had here in my 15 years at Brother Rice!”

From the Junior Future Games way back in 2023, to the Future Games this past summer, to now 2026 Illinois Player of the Year, Cunningham has dominated at every stop, and we don’t anticipate that slowing down any time soon.

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