Program: Morton College
Head Coach: Christopher Wido, Fifth year
NJCAA Region/Division: Region IV, DII
Last Year’s Record: 25-32
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: MCPbaseball
Schedule link
Roster link

The Morton College Panthers aim to build on last year’s 25-32 season, which concluded with an early exit from the Region IV tournament. Despite the early playoff exit, the Panthers showed plenty of promise, as Coach Wido guided the team to a strong 9-5 record in Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference play, earning a third-place finish. The 2024-2025 roster was loaded with freshmen, and the program will bring back 21 returners to campus this spring, including six starters from last year’s lineup and a wealth of pitching experience. With that experience now blending with new talent and incoming transfers, it will be interesting to see how the group comes together this season.

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PITCHERS

The Panther pitching staff will return over 203 innings on the mound, bringing valuable experience that should provide strong support this spring. Leading the staff last year was right-handed sophomore Joey Zietara, returning after striking out 68 batters across 63.1 innings, posting a 4-3 record with a team-best 2.70 ERA. Another player expected to make a continued impact from last year is sophomore right-hander Jack Roessler, who saw significant innings as a freshman tossing 43.2 innings. Rounding out the staff of key returners in the rotation is a duo of lively right-handed arms in Parker Brown and Merrick Hill. The pair combined for 35.2 innings last season and are expected to take on a more impactful role this spring. Both feature firm upper-80s fastballs and effective offspeed offerings, with Brown touching 91 mph.

• SO. RHP Joey Zietara (Lincoln-Way Central) threw one of the most impressive bullpens of the event. Showed command throughout. The fastball sat 88-89 T90 mph with an avg. of 2215 rpm and 16 in. of IVB avg., mixed in a curveball at 70-71 mph, all for strikes, and tossed a changeup at 76-80 mph, with 16 in. of avg. IVB and was around the zone. A top arm returning for the Panthers.

• SO. RHP Parker Brown (Franklin, WI) stands 6-foot-4, 220-pounds and tossed a loud bullpen last Monday. The right-hander showed a fastball touching 91 mph, sitting 87-90 mph with an avg. spin rate of 2271 rpm. Brown also mixed in a slider at 76-77 mph with an avg. spin rate of 2450 rpm, the changeup sat in the low-80s with an avg. of 16 in. of avg. HM, and finally Brown tossed a splitter at 71-72 mph with a spin rate avg. of 685 and 11 in. of avg. HM.

• SO. RHP Merrick Hill (South Elgin) a 6-foot, 200-pound right-hander, tossed the ball well last week. Hill showed a three pitch mix with the fastball up to 89 mph, sitting 86-88 mph with an avg. of 18 in. of HM. Flashed a slider at 75-77 mph for strikes, and a changeup at 81-83 mph with 17 in. of avg. HM.

The Panthers also added a pair of right-handed transfers from Triton JC: two-way sophomore Hunter Johnson and redshirt-freshman Nathan Byrdak. Johnson is fresh off a dominant season where he earned All-Region honors, tossing 42.2 innings with a 3.59 ERA, a .183 opponent batting average, and 63 strikeouts. He features an effective five-pitch arsenal, highlighted by a fastball that touches 91 mph. Byrdak is another arm who will look to provide an early impact, showcasing an advanced feel for spin and movement with all of his pitches. Another notable transfer addition is intriguing right-hander R-SO William Ho (Iowa Central CC), who will look to build upon a solid freshman season where he collected 23 strikeouts in 20.1 innings. Ho attacks the zone with a confident four-pitch mix, featuring a fastball that can run up to 91 mph.

• SO. INF/RHP Hunter Johnson (Oak Forest) a 6-foot-1, 210-pound two-way standout from the day. Johnson put up impressive numbers from both sides of the ball. The right-handed hitting infielder with got his day going is a 7.21 60 yard time followed by a loud hitting performance posting a 101.7 mph exit velocity and an average hand speed of 77.2 mph. From across the infield, Johnson recorded the second highest thrown being 87 mph. On the mound, Johnson also impressed, running the fastball up to 91 mph, sitting 88-90 with an avg. of 2388 rpm. Flashed a curveball and a slider in the mid 70s, a changeup in the high 70s with an avg. of 11 in. of HM, and a sinker in the upper-80s with an avg. of 2409 rpm and an avg. of 13 in. of HM.

• R-FR. RHP Nathan Byrdak (Lockport) impressed in his bullpen, showcasing high spin throughout. Byrdak tossed his fastball at 85-85 mph with an avg. spin rate of 2491 rpm and 18 in. of avg. HM. The curveball sat 72-74 mph with an avg. of 2684 rpm and -14 in. of avg. IVB, flashed a slider in the mid-70s with nearly 2700 rpm avg., and showed a changeup in the low-80s.

While the returners and incoming transfers are expected to make a major impact on the mound, it will be interesting to see how the team’s freshman pitchers contribute this spring. The first of the key freshman additions, left-hander Tommy Burke is a crafty southpaw who features significant horizontal movement across his three-pitch mix. Another key addition comes from right-hander Joseph Falkowski, who posted the top fastball velocity at the scout day event at 91.4 mph. Rounding out the group of potential impact freshman additions are right-handers Dylan McGinley and Konrad Toth, who are expected to add depth and versatility to the pitching staff. McGinley features a high-spin three-pitch arsenal, and a fastball that tops out at 90 mph. Toth complements him with an upper-80s fastball, a big-breaking curveball, and a deceptive changeup with a 19.7” IVB max.

• FR. LHP Tommy Burke (Glenbard South) listed at 6-foot, 195-pounds, flashed a three pitch mix in last week’s bullpen with heavy HM on all pitches. Burke ran the fastball up to 85 mph, sitting 83-84 mph with an avg. of -15 in. of HM, the slider sat 68-71 mph with an avg. of 24 in. of HM, and the changeup sat in the mid 70s with an avg. of -15 in of HM.

• FR. RHP Joseph Falkowski (Taft) measures 6-foot-1, 195-pounds and led the event in fastball velocity, running his fastball up to 91.4 mph, sitting 89-91 mph with an avg. of 2302 rpm. Falkowski mixed in a curveball in the mid 70s with an avg. of 2394 rpm and -15 in. of avg. HM. Finally, showed a slider at 76-77 mph with an avg. of 2531 rpm. An impressive bullpen for the first-year right-hander.

• FR. RHP Dylan McGinley (Downers Grove South) stands 6-foot-1, 190-pounds and is another high-spin right-hander. The first-year threw the fastball up to 90 mph with an avg. of 2557 rpm and 18 in. of avg. IVB. Flashed a curveball at 75-77 mph with -18 in. of avg. IVB and an avg. of 2568 rpm. Also, tossed a changeup at 80-82 mph with an avg. of 23 in. of HM.

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OFFENSE

One major strength of this Panther team will be the experienced bats returning to the starting lineup. Leading the group is a trio of sophomores OF Coulson Reidel, C Dassan Lee and INF Hayden Mosley. Reidel possesses quality bat-to-ball skills, finishing the year with a .335 average over 188 at-bats, a .484 on-base percentage, and three home runs. Lee provides a strong bat inside the lineup, finishing last season with a .271 average over 166 at-bats, a .351 on-base percentage, and three home runs to earn Second Team All-Skyway Conference honors. Finally, Mosley slashed .317/.417/.555 with nine home runs across 52 games last year while flashing a steady glove and arm strength defensively. SO SS Aidan Brokaw and 1B David Garza add to the depth and look to build on strong freshman seasons. Brokaw is coming off a notable freshman campaign in which he slashed .314/.423/.407 across 118 at-bats, earning All-Skyway Conference Honorable Mention honors. Garza was a mainstay in the lineup last year, slashing .266/.374/.351 over 154 at-bats. R-SO UTL Omar Alday Jr. and R-FR C Ethan Knoll. Alday made the most of his limited opportunities last season, slashing .421/.500/.737 with four extra-base hits across 19 at-bats. Knoll will look to split time with sophomore Lee behind the plate, adding to the depth behind the plate.

• SO. C Dasaan Lee (De La Salle) a 6-foot, 200-pound right-handed hitting catcher was one of the overall consistent performers of the day. Lee played in 50 games last season as a freshman and posted a .271 average, .351 OBP and a .380 slugging. As a catcher ran a 7.34 60-yard time before turning in a 102.1 max exit velocity, 87-percent hard hit rate and an average 75.5 mph bat speed. From behind the plate, quiet actions with an easy glove to hand transfer for a 2.12 pop time and a 73 mph throw down.

• SO. CIF Hayden Mosley (Harvest Christian Academy) standing at 6-foot-4, 205-pounds Mosely is coming off a freshman season where he played in 52 games with a .317 average, .417 OBP and a .555 slugging. The right-handed hitter had a 99.8 max exit velocity with a max distance of 374 ft and max hand speed over 79 mph. A corner infielder showed off his arm strength with an 87 mph throw.

• R-SO. UTL Omar Alday (St. Rita) listed 5-foot-10, 195-pounds took advantage in his limited time last season batting .421 in 7 games played. Offensively, recorded a 99.1 max exit velocity with a max batted ball at 348 ft. During the defensive portion, Alday took part in multiple positions taking reps in the outfield where he had an 86 mph throw to home from right field and a 75 mph throw across the infield.

• R-FR. C Ethan Knoll (Waukesha North, WI) listed a 6-foot-3, 240-pounds had the loudest batting practice of the day posting a 104.2 max exit velocity and displaying a 22.0 mph average hand speed. Defensively behind the plate, had the top pop time of a 2.06 to second and recorded a 74 mph throw down.

Set to join this strong group of returners are four key newcomers who appear poised to make an immediate impact. R-SO UTL Trey Hernandez (Waubonsee CC), SO INF/RHP Hunter Johnson (Triton JC), and SO OF Nik Dabrowski (Triton JC) transfer in. Hernandez is a versatile athlete with experience from Waubonsee, where he posted batting averages above .330 in both seasons. Johnson is another newcomer expected to contribute on both sides of the ball, coming off a strong freshman campaign at Triton in which he hit .284 across 116 at-bats with five home runs and 14 extra-base hits. Dabrowski, also arriving from Triton, is fresh off an impressive freshman season of his own, slashing .331/.418/.496 with four home runs across 133 at-bats. FR MIF Bren Millburn, a true base-stealing threat who is coming off a prolific senior season where he led the nation in stolen bases and broke the IHSA single-season record with 93. Millburn also showed a quality feel for the barrel throughout the year, slashing .449/.552/.589 on his way to earning Second Team All-State honors. Below is what our staff had to say about some of these newcomers.

• R-SO. UTL Trey Hernandez (Oswego) a 6-foot-3, 186-pound right-handed hitting infielder displayed both speed and strength during his workout. Started the day off by running an event’s best 6.78 60-yard time, followed by a max exit velocity of 100.9 with a max batted ball distance of 386 ft and average 77.2 mph with his bat speed. Hernandez took part in both the outfield (75 mph) and infield (73 mph) for defense.

• SO. INF/RHP Hunter Johnson (Oak Forest) a 6-foot-1, 210-pound two-way standout from the day. Johnson put up impressive numbers from both sides of the ball. The right-handed hitting infielder with got his day going is a 7.21 60 yard time followed by a loud hitting performance posting a 101.7 mph exit velocity and an average hand speed of 77.2 mph. From across the infield, Johnson recorded the second highest thrown being 87 mph. On the mound, Johnson also impressed, running the fastball up to 91 mph, sitting 88-90 with an avg. of 2388 rpm. Flashed a curveball and a slider in the mid 70s, a changeup in the high 70s with an avg. of 11 in. of HM, and a sinker in the upper-80s with an avg. of 2409 rpm and an avg. of 13 in. of HM.

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4-Year Commitments

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MORTON JC SCOUT DAY

Morton JC Scout Day: Takeaways

Morton JC Scout Day: Statistical and Data Analysis

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