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Preseason ProCase: Illinois Quick Hits

January 29, 2026
Illinois Scouting Staff

On Tuesday, January 27th, Prep Baseball Illinois hosted the Preseason ProCase at Rhino Sports Academy in Shorewood, IL. This premier invite-only event is in its fifth year, and it has only grown over the years with the talent in attendance - with this year’s roster hosting over 30 of the best players from Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio. 

Today, we are taking the time to highlight some of the Illinois products that showed well on the day, with scouting reports and videos, below. 

Position Players 

+ C Drew Stevens (Normal Community; Valparaiso commit) continues to raise his own stock, and his showing Tuesday evening was one, if not his best to date. The frame continues to trend up, now standing at 6-foot, 192-pounds, and there is still more room to add on strength in the coming years. He took a strong round of BP, showing backspin feel while working hard on the barrel, averaging 94 mph and peaking at 103 mph (T376’). It’s a clean swing with more power still to come, working consistently middle and pull-side with line-drives and some lift at times. In the defensive portion, he showed a clean glove-to-hand transition with steady footwork from the chute, flashing carry on his throws (T81 mph, 1.94 pop-time). 

+ C/OF Adam Swanson (Ottawa Township; Bradley commit) had a strong showing in numerous aspects on the day. He continues to improve behind the plate, showing steady hands and a clean operation that allowed him to get rid of the ball quickly with throws on the bag (T81 mph, 1.94 pop-time). He also showed well in the outfield with sure-handed, athletic actions, appearing comfortable on the move. The arm is also a weapon from the outfield, peaking at 91 mph and accurate from a longer arm circle and high ¾ slot. Also a 6.59 runner, he has plenty of athleticism and versatility to help boost his profile. He took a strong round of BP on top of his defense, showing a loose and uphill path with a simple/compact operation, consistently working on the barrel with loud results pull-side, averaging 96 mph while peaking at 102 mph (T372’) - also averaging 73 mph for his bat-speed. 

+ Also highly regarded on the mound, INF Jory Crocker (Willowbrook; Arizona commit) opened some eyes with his showing as a position player Tuesday evening. The frame is how you draw it up, listed at 6-foot-1, 189-pounds with long legs and a high waist. The right-handed hitter took a loud, clean round of BP - working hard on the barrel with loose, quick hands, keeping a line-drive approach while flashing lift at times with some backspin, averaging 99 mph and peaking at 104 mph (T403’). The BLAST metrics jump off the page as well, averaging 24 mph for his hand-speed, 76 mph for his bat-speed and 25 Gs for his rotational acceleration. On the infield, he showed easy, natural actions with long strides that helped him glide effortlessly to both sides of his glove, pairing with soft hands and clean transfers. The arm is athletic and can play on the move from different angles if needed, topping at 92 mph across. He’s also a 6.83 runner with a peak run-speed just under 21 mph. 

+ OF Nolan Ramoley (Brother Rice; Northwestern commit) is consistently one of the more tooled-up players at every event he attends, and it was no different Tuesday night. There’s plenty of present strength throughout his frame, listed at 6-foot-1, 209-pounds with rounded shoulders and a developed lower-half. He’s a premium athlete with an intriguing power/speed blend - pairing a 6.52 60-time with a peak exit velocity of 107 mph, averaging 99 mph throughout his round. The right-handed hitter showed strong, quick hands with intent to elevate the baseball, staying mostly middle/pull-side throughout his round. His BLAST metrics are well above-average as well, averaging 23 mph for his hand-speed, 78 mph for his bat-speed and 29 Gs for his rotational acceleration. He took a clean round of defense from the outfield while displaying advanced arm-strength, peaking at 96 mph with exploding life to his target from a high ¾ slot and quick arm circle. 

+ C Dylan Kassab (Hinsdale Central; Indiana commit) will be a name to follow in the coming years, showing a highly intriguing display of present power with more on the way. Listed at 5-foot-11, 207-pounds, there’s some present strength in his durable frame, but his young look indicates more strength and physical maturity in the coming years. The power is already a prominent tool for him, peaking at 106 mph in his round of BP while averaging 96 mph, sending his furthest ball 403’ - also averaging 23 mph for his hand-speed, 77 mph for his bat-speed and 24.6 Gs for his rotational acceleration. He is able to create some natural lift with easy jump off the barrel and raw strength, profiling him as a middle of the order type bat at the next level. He took a quality round of defense with a strong, accurate arm and steady glove-to-hand, peaking at 79 mph down to second and working as low as 1.93 for his pop-time. 

+ C Brandon Thomsen (St. Viator; Purdue commit) has long been one of the more advanced defensive catchers in the Midwest and his showing Tuesday did nothing but solidify that. Listed at 6-foot-2, 212-pounds, he stands out with present strength in the lower-half, still showing room to add more in the coming years as he continues to mature. Behind the plate, it’s an advanced operation with fluid footwork and a quick glove-to-hand, working effortlessly to create pop-times in the 1.80-1.94 range with consistent bullets on the bag (T84 mph), playing with true carry and life. He’s also an advanced receiver of the baseball, able to steal strikes around the zone with soft hands. The right-handed hitter has middle of the order type power, showing an uphill swing and pull-side intent with a peak EV of 105 mph in his round, averaging 95 mph with a max distance of 418’.

+ 1B Anthony Chavez (Mount Carmel; Illinois commit) put on a show in his round of BP, delivering the second-hardest ball of the event at 107.8 mph. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound left-handed hitter creates easy jump off his bat, averaging 99 mph for his EV in his round while showing feel to use the biggest parts of the field and both gaps, letting the ball travel at times and showing clear control of the barrel. He creates immense rotational acceleration with an average of 32.4 Gs, while also averaging 24.5 mph for his hand speed and 73 mph for his bat-speed. Despite boasting a larger, strong stature, Chavez runs extremely well with a 6.77 in the 60. He’s a natural defender at first base with soft hands and clear feel for the position, showing comfortable footwork around the bag. 

+ INF Gavin Michaels (Normal Community; Cincinnati commit) had one of the best all-around days in attendance. He started things off by turning in a 6.47 in the 60, the best of the day. He carried it right into his round of BP where he showed loose, twitchy hands and a flat swing, creating backspin and line-drives while working hard on the barrel consistently, averaging 100 mph for his EV while peaking at 103 mph (T391’) - also averaging 23 mph for his hand-speed, 75 mph for his bat-speed and 21 Gs for his rotational acceleration. On the infield, he’s an athletic mover with steady hands, displaying a quick first step with range to either side of his glove. The arm plays with some effort and strength across, peaking at 93 mph. High-level athlete with the ability to play all over the diamond if needed. 

+ INF James Feigleson (St. Charles East) and C Max Heinemann (Normal Community) are a couple Illinois-Chicago commits that showed well for themselves Tuesday evening. 

Feigleson, a 6-foot-3, 186-pound right-handed hitter, showed an upside swing throughout his round, displaying a loose and uphill path with intent to lift pull-side, peaking at 98 mph for his EV with an average of 91 mph. He’s also a 6.76 runner with steady actions on the infield and a strong arm across (T93 mph), looking fully capable of sticking on the left side of the infield moving forward. 

Heinemann has long been a top bat in the state, and he took a polished round of BP with mostly middle/pull-side contact and intent to lift - showing a simple and compact swing with extension through impact, averaging 93 mph while peaking at 101 mph for his EV. He showed off a strong arm in the defensive portion, topping at 82 mph down to second (1.94 pop-time). 

Pitchers 

+ RHP Caleb Cox (Springfield Lutheran; Northern Illinois commit) was arguably the event’s biggest winner, earning an invite to the Super 60 as a result. The ceiling is immense with Cox, standing in at a wide-shouldered and high-waisted 6-foot-4, 199-pounds. The right-hander has an easy, athletic delivery, working with a high leg-kick into a slight drop/drive lower-half, staying in-line with premium extension down the mound. Loose, quick arm circle, creates layback before firing into a high ¾ slot. The fastball sat 92-94 mph throughout, topping at 95 mph with life out of the hand and some carry through the zone. The slider showed out-pitch potential at times with hard, 11/5 action and the ability to land it for strikes, 77-79 mph. He showed both a changeup and a splitter to finish his arsenal - with the changeup playing in the 81-85 mph range with fading action, maintaining arm-speed. The splitter worked in the 77-78 mph range with hard downer action and tumble, looking like a potential out-pitch. High ceiling, low-milage arm to know. 

+ RHP Ryan Duncheon Jr. (East Peoria; Illinois State commit) gave a loud look in his ‘pen and should be a sure-fire arm to keep tabs on this spring. Strong, athletic build, broad shoulders with strength throughout the frame, 6-foot, 202-pounds. Stretch only delivery, up-tempo worker, high leg-kick with some pace, tall/fall down the mound with momentum from balance point, works in-line and lands slightly closed with the front foot. Quick, explosive arm, full arm circle, high ¾ slot. The fastball sat 91-92 mph throughout with some arm-side run and finish through the zone (T2344 rpm). Curveball showed hard vertical action and the ability to land it for strikes, 75-77 mph with 12/6 shape. The slider is a weapon with hard 10/4 bite, thrown with intent and the ability to land it in the zone, 78-79 mph. He finished off his arsenal with a changeup in the 84-85 mph range, thrown with fastball arm-speed, showed arm-side fade and the ability to keep it around the zone.  

+ LHP Rocco Szambelan (Joliet Catholic; Butler commit) was the lone southpaw of the event, and he showed well for himself throughout his ‘pen. He has an athletic build with room to add more strength in the coming years, measuring in at 6-foot-2, 190-pounds. He has a compact, repeatable delivery with a shorter leg-lift into balance point, staying in-line down the mound while holding a slight bend in the back leg. Full arm action out of the glove that plays into a ¾ slot. The fastball played in the 88-89 mph range with heavy arm-side run and some life through the zone. Slider showed short bite in the 73-75 mph range, flashing out-pitch potential. His changeup played at the bottom of the zone at 79-81 mph, maintaining arm-speed and showing slight arm-side fade. 

+ RHP Tre Cole (Champaign Central; Wright State commit) has made noticeable strides since we last saw him in the summer. An athletic, high-waisted mover downhill at 6-foot-2, 193-pounds, Cole displayed a dynamic arsenal that will likely have him followed by pro scouts throughout his senior season. His fastball had noticeable jump and life out of the hand, sitting 90-94 mph while throwing his firmest bullet to end his ‘pen at 95.4 mph. He was around the zone consistently with his heater, showing evident armside run (avg. 18” HM). Playing off the fastball was a changeup that showed the makings to be an out-pitch both now and at the next level; sitting 82-84 mph with downer action and occasional fade, it showed to be a pitch that can be effective to both right-handed and left-handed hitters. Rounding out his arsenal was an 81-84 mph slider that flashed on this day, showing hard lateral bite at times with a 10/4 shape. Cole looked to have the makings of an immediate-impact arm, should he make it to campus in the fall, and an arm that could be in line for a big spring to finish off his high school career.

+ RHP Henry Humes (Homewood-Flossmoor; Northwestern commit) gave one of the more polished looks on the day. The frame stands out with much more physicality still available, standing in at 6-foot-6, 191-pounds with a wiry stature. He moves and repeats well for his size, working with hybrid delivery out of the windup with a high, athletic leg-lift, slight drop/drive lower-half that stays in-line, athletic and balanced finish. Full, longer arm circle out of the glove, high ¾ release. The fastball played with some finish through the zone and arm-side life, also displaying the ability to work it in the zone, 89-90 mph. The slider has made some strides since the last time we saw him, showing more bite and advanced feel for the zone, 10/4 shape, 77-80 mph. The splitter looks to be his out-pitch at the moment with late dive and tumble, killing spin while keeping it around and under the zone, 76-77 mph. Starter upside with advanced pitchability. 

+ RHP Ryan Harris (Stevenson; Illinois-Chicago commit) showed feel for all three of his offerings at the event. At a lean and athletic 6-foot-1, 186 pounds, Harris is an intentful mover down the mound. His arsenal was headlined by a 92-93 mph fastball that he controlled to both sides of the plate with above-average spin (avg. 2317 rpm) and carry through the zone (avg. 15.7” IVB). Playing off the fastball was a hard splitter at 85-86 mph that was thrown intentfully, showing hard downer action (avg. 3.9” IVB) and out-pitch characteristics moving forward. Harris then turned to a 77-78 mph curveball that looked to have the makings of another quality offspeed offering, playing with hard top-to-bottom action and was effective at the bottom of the zone. The future Flame looks to be another senior arm due for a strong final campaign this spring and should continue to garner pro interest. 

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