You’d be hard-pressed to find a more electric player in the state than RHP/3B Kaden Wasniewski (McHenry, 2027), and his 2025 campaign was one of the more fun to follow in recent memory as he dominated at every stop, particularly at the Future Games where he was named the event’s Most Valuable Pitcher.

Having an Illinois player earn this honor is nothing to scoff at, looking at how much the event has grown and the overall level of talent in attendance. With that being said, having an Illinois product earn this award is, for lack of a better term, just downright cool. 

Wasniewski’s outing set the tone for an unforgettable game against Team Indiana, a game in which Team Illinois would go on to win in dominant fashion. Toeing the rubber for the first two innings, Wasniewski retired all six batters he faced in order, striking out four with 18 of his 27 pitches being for a strike.

“In front of a legitimate crowd of head coaches and recruiting coordinators from the most prominent programs in the country, Wasniewski sat 92-94 mph (94.9 max) on a heater that spins over 2,600 rpm with nearly 19 inches of IVB. That fastball is a real weapon on its own, one that could get next-level outs as is, but Wasniewski’s secondaries are what help set him apart from his peers. He lands his sharp, biting slider, 79-82 mph, in the zone or just off the plate, keeping right-handed hitters out of whack when thrown alongside that carry four-seamer he owns. Because he was opposite so many lefties on this night, Wasniewski opted for his changeup, 83-86 mph, more often, which garnered some ugly whiffs too.” - Andy Sroka, National Managing Editor, Scouting 

Having firmly established himself as one of the top players in the entire country, Wasniewski earned an invite to our All-American Game in Miami. He once again made quick and dominant work of the opposing hitters, striking out two of the three batters he faced while only needing nine pitches in the frame - showing his electric fastball at 91-93 mph (T2722 rpm), a tight slider at 83 mph and a power changeup in the mid-80s. 

Wasniewski’s trajectory is on a steady incline, and we expect that to only continue into 2026 as he’s primed for a big year ahead. 

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