Preseason ProCase: Early Look
November 7, 2025
One of Illinois' premier events returns in January as our staff heads to Rhino Sports Academy in Shorewood for our annual Preseason ProCase. Last year, over 15 scouts made their way to the Chicagoland area as some of the top talent in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin participated in our high-level event. We are a little over two months away from the 2026 ProCase and already have ten players from the Illinois and Wisconsin ranks. Today, let's take a look at each of the ten impact players that will make their way to Shorewood on January 27th.
ProCase Roster Early Look
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Vincent Bitter RHP / 1B / Brookfield Central, WI / 2026Rankings StateRank: 27 / POS: 8
Illinois State Commit From 2/26/25: “+ RHP Vince Bitter (Brookfield Central, 2026; Illinois State) was our very first pitcher of the day and he really set the tone for a talent-packed event. Bitter sat 88-89 mph (90.3 max) on a quality fastball that he attacked the zone with. He has feel for the zone with his secondaries as well, like his slider, 76-78 mph, that sweeps at nearly 10 inches on average (1.2-inch IVB avg.). The changeup might even be his best secondary, at 78-79 mph he gets it to move arm-side at 12.3 inches (-3.2-inch IVB avg.). From a simple, low-effort delivery inside a physical 6-foot-2, 210-pound stature, Bitter exhibits starter traits at the next level.” |
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Ryan Duncheon Jr. C / RHP / East Peoria, IL / 2026Illinois State Commit From 8/05/25: “+ RHP Ryan Duncheon Jr (East Peoria, 2026) is an Illinois State commit who capped off a strong summer season with an excellent showing on the mound Wednesday night. Dunecheon Jr tossed two innings, striking out three and allowing only two hits, working with tons of confidence. Showing a solidified three-pitch mix, the fastball was up to 91mph, sitting upper-80s, playing clean out of the hand with 21.7 inches of IVB. The slider was upper 70s with a sharp gyro profile, 2400 RPMs. The change-up was upper-70s, killing spin and dropping off from the fastball with arm-side run. Working out of a staggered setup, driving down the mound with intent and a quick, whippy short arm action from a ¾ slot. Dunecheon Jr worked with high intent through his outing, collecting whiffs with the fastball, showing no fear on the mound.” |
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James Feigleson SS / 3B / St. Charles East, IL / 2026Rankings StateRank: 28 / POS: 9
Illinois-Chicago Commit From 7/22/25: “2025 Senior Future Games: INF James Feigleson (St. Charles East, 2026) was a name that was on the rise throughout the spring and summer circuits, and continued to look the part of a high-follow uncommitted prospect on Tuesday. Standing in an athletic and lead 6-foot-2, 180-pound frame, Feigleson started his workout running a 6.76 60 time. He showed a loose and fluid right-handed swing during his round of batting practice, staying on the barrel consistently while posting a max exit velocity of 98.1 mph (93.9 mph avg.), and sending his furthest hit ball 371 feet. Defensively, he displayed confident hands and a quality arm across the diamond (T88 mph).” |
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Max Heineman C / OF / Normal Community, IL / 2026Rankings StateRank: 25 / POS: 3
Illinois-Chicago Commit From 6/07/25: “Illinois-Chicago commit, currently ranked No. 27 in the state’s 2026 class. 5-foot-9, 187-pound frame, strength throughout. Started behind the plate and batted third. Went 3-for-4 with a home run, five RBI and one run scored on the day. Confident hitter at the plate with zone awareness, creates a tough out for opposing pitchers, minimal swing-and-miss. Multiple singles on the day and a two-run homer in the game, delivered in multiple clutch situations in a 4A Sectional Final. On Thursday, barreled a hard-hit ball to right field for a lineout. Continues to impress behind the plate, quality receiver, blocks it up and works hard moving side-to-side. Arm continues to get stronger, ball plays on a line on throws to second, recorded a 1.81 and 1.93 pop time between innings. Another name that continues to show well each time our staff gets a look.” |
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Ian Kawczynski SS / 2B / Catholic Memorial, WI / 2026Rankings StateRank: 26 / POS: 5
Wisconsin-Milwaukee Commit From 2/26/25: “+ One of the biggest winners of the day was UW-Milwaukee Panthers commit INF Ian Kawczynski (Catholic Memorial, 2026; UW-Milwaukee). The middle infielder looked as if he added considerable strength to his lower half and it resulted in one of the event best 60 yard dash times (6.73 seconds) and hard consistent contact throughout his round of batting practice. The right-hander’s quick and twitchy hands through the baseball resulted in rockets to all fields from an aggressive yet controlled swing. He maxed out his exit velocity at 93 mph and had an average exit velocity of 90 mph. On defense, Kawczynski continues to show burst and athleticism in the infield to go along with his soft hands and has enough arm strength to stick on the left side and/or play multiple positions around the field. Kawczynski proved why he is a name to know in the state after his performance.” |
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Trey Kerkhoff 3B / 1B / Burlington, WI / 2026Rankings StateRank: 12 / POS: 2
Purdue Commit From 2/26/25: “+ INF Trey Kerkhoff (Burlington, 2026) made a statement with his performance on Sunday. He grew an inch and put on a solid twelve pounds of muscle mass as he came in and measured 6-foot-1, 194 pounds. He started off his day by running the 4th best 60 yard dash of the day at 6.65 seconds. With the bat, Kerkoff was hitting rockets with a short and handsy path and registered an impressive 99 mph max exit velocity which was the 5th best mark on the day. His 94 mph average exit velocity was second best mark of the day and proved how frequently Kerkhoff was on the barrel throughout the round. It was such a clean and consistently looking swing using leverage from back to front in such a controlled way, it’s no wonder why he is one of the top bats in the state. With the glove, the middle infielder showed soft hands with a rhythmic funnel and will be able to stick at short. Kerkoff really took a step forward in this look and UIC is getting an ultra talented player with more ceiling left to be tapped into.” |
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Addison Latko C / OF / DePaul College Prep, IL / 2026Rankings StateRank: 67 / POS: 7
Illinois Commit From 3/07/25: “C Addison Latko (DePaul College Prep, 2026; Illinois commit) has long had a strong right-handed swing, and he showed much of the same over the weekend with a peak EV of 99 mph - averaging 91 mph with a peak distance of 368’. He displayed strong hands throughout his round, creating bat-speed with intent to lift up the middle of the field and pull-side, utilizing controlled aggression throughout. He has trimmed some time off his 60, turning in a 7.03 - and he also improved his pop-time with a 1.89 (T80 mph).” |
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Kaeden Schatsiek OF / RHP / Brimfield, IL / 2026Illinois State Commit From 8/05/25: “+ RHP/OF Kaeden Schatsiek (Brimfield, 2026), the Northern Illinois commit, capped off the Illinois State games with potentially one of the lousiest performances on the mound Wednesday night. The built, 6-foot-4, 215-pound frame tossed his two innings, collecting six strikeouts and allowing one hit, in a dominant performance. The right-hander worked out of the stretch only, working quick down the hill with a high leg kick. Then the arm worked quick and easy with short arm action from a ¾ slot. Working with an electric two-pitch mix, the fastball was up to 92mph, sitting lower 90s, playing with tons of life, getting up to 23 inches of IVB. The slider was dominant, sitting lower 80s with a sharp gyro profile with 2300 RPMs. Beating hitters with ease, Schatsiek was working with tons of confidence on the mound, getting whiffs with the slider and making hitters look uncomfortable. Schatsiek also showed upside on the position-side of things throughout the event. He topped out at 94 mph from the outfield (2nd highest for the event), while leading the entire event in max EV (108.3 mph) and also posting an average EV of 95.2 mph - all with a wood bat. Schatsiek’s bat would show well in-game as well, collecting a couple hits while being on the barrel on more than one occasion.” |
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Mason Schmidt RHP / OF / Somerset, WI / 2026Rankings StateRank: 20 / POS: 6
Wisconsin-Milwaukee Commit Game performance last July at Lake Point with a bullpen that featured two different fastballs, and two legitimate out pitch weapon secondary offerings in his slider and change up. The 6-foot-4, 200 pound projectable framed righty was up to 91 mph with the four-seam fastball that was driven downhill through all four quadrants of the zone. He also featured a heavy sinker up to 88 mph with late boring and sinking action to the arm side of the plate that will be very effective against right-handed batters. The slider was up to 78 mph and featured a hard, late and big sweeping shape to the pitch. The junior righty also deployed a change up with nasty depth and fade as it approached the hitting zone. Both the slider and the change up showed up as definite out pitch weapons with big movement profiles. What’s exciting is that Schmidt’s frame has plenty of room to add more mass and strength which should lead to more velocity in the future. Mason Schmidt took another step forward and continues to solidify himself as a top talent in the state for the 2026 class.” |
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Brandon Thomsen C / 3B / St. Viator, IL / 2026Purdue Commit From 8/05/25: “+ C Brandon Thomsen (Saint Viator, 2026; Purdue commit) is one of the top defensive backstops in the region, and he continued to show those qualities at the State Games. Presenting a strong 6-foot-2, 199-pound frame, he led the event in pop time posting times as low as 1.78 seconds and also led the event in catcher velocity (84 mph). A quality receiver to pair, he has a soft glove and a loose wrist that allow him to help steal pitches on the corners. A right-handed hitter with barrel strength, Thomsen averaged 97.6 mph off the bat with wood during BP (T102.3 mph) while also reaching a max distance of 388 feet (avg. 308 feet). Another impressive stat from Thomsen’s workout is that he posted a 6.77 60 time, cutting nearly two-tenths off his time since we last saw him in March. During gameplay, he finished with two extra-base hits, three RBI, and a stolen base.” |
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