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Evansville Preseason ID: Quick Hits

March 19, 2026
Cooper Trinkle
Scouting Director

Our staff traveled to GRIT Academy in Evansville for our annual Evansville Preseason ID. We saw thirty prospects from the area as they participated in a showcase-style workout on the weekend before the IHSAA season gets underway. A handful of prospects stood out, and are highlighted below.

Find the full event statistics, here. 

Quick Hits

+ Indiana recruit and 2025 Future Gamer, LHP/OF AJ Baggett (Evansville North) highlighted this event with a solid showing. He is a naturally-athletic, 6-foot-2, 180-pounder that uses a simple delivery before working the arm on a shorter path and turning it over to a wide, mid 3/4 slot. The arm works continous and he is able to manipulate the baseball for several shapes. He creates bore on the fastball from lower-slot at 85-88+ for 17" of vert on average, up to 16+ inches of arm-side, and he gets down the mound well for abv avg extension to play it up even further. Spinning north of 2500 on average for a heavy rise + run look, Baggett controls the fastball at an above average clip and gets to upper-80s velocities with moderate effort. The breaking ball is the best pitch in his arsenal, a wide, sweeping offering that spun north-of 2600 RPM in the 72-74 range, and it showed a fastball look out the hand before biting to the gloveside later. To round out a deeper arsenal, he showed both a diving, mid-70s splitter and a 77-78 change that was more of a true runner. The control, and ability to manipulate the baseball, are the present valued traits and it is easy to suggest there is more velocity in the tank. A primary arm, Baggett also looked as the top hitter at this event with 95-plus peak exits and barrel feel from the left side of the dish. 

+ A pair of 2027 grads stood out above the rest from a physical perspective. SS Landon McCutchan (Reitz) showed noticeable improvements to the toolset while looking the part of a prospect at 6-foot-2, 185-pounds. The left-handed hitting shortstop (clip below) hits from a wide, strong-based stance and repeated a simple load/stride consistently. He showed a tick up in bat strength, reaching 93.5 at peak, and there is more to dream on. The swing is short, and he works behind the ball well. His 10 and 30 yard splits were very similiar to the run times he turned in at Scout Day last fall, where he ran a 7-flat 60. The arm strength was the most notable improvement, solidfying left-side potential, as he improved it by +6 mph to 85. OF Brody Phillips (Vincennes Lincoln) was the most physically imposing prospect at the event, standing with broad-shoulders and strength throughout his 6-foot-2, 200-pound frame. His batting practice round was inconsistent, but he flashed immense bat speed at peak while reaching a peak of 96 mph when he sunk up his moves. His 30-yard split was a 3.73, an event-best, suggesting the 60 time is somewhere between a 6.6 and 6.8. The best tool is the arm, where he reached 88 from the outfield, and there is intriguing two-way upside if he chooses to do so. 

+ Amongst the sophomores, 1B Cam Stratman (Mater Dei) and OF/LHP Jaxon Edmond (Evansville North) stood out. Stratman (clip below), a 6-foot, 185-pounder, showed a polished look in the right-handed batter's box as he drove the ball from gap-to-gap with exits up to 94 mph. The swing works in a direct-fashion, and he showed clear barrel feel, averaging 88 mph throughout his round. Though not a burner, he showed clear improvements in foot speed as his 30-yard split decreased by 0.2 seconds since last winter. Edmond is a two-way follow, showing bat strength with a north-of 94 mph peak exit velocity, and showed as a strike-thrower on the bump. Pitching in the low-80s with two usable secondaries, Edmond's secondaries included a 68-71 mph breaking ball and low-70s change. Like Stratman, Edmond showed noticeable footspeed improvements, turning in a sub-4 30-yard dash. 

+ '29 C Wyatt Rowe (Wood Memorial) is a highly-intriguing backstop from the area who showed impressive metrics for the position at this stage. He is strong for a 5-foot-10, 165-pound frame, evident in advanced bat speed metrics across the board and a peak exit of 94.5 mph. Rowe coils his hips as he patiently works behind the ball while getting the front foot down early, before then unleashing explosive bat speed on a down-to-up path with clear power potential. A bit raw in the box and when receiving, but the explosive rotational abilities present value. That ability translates to the throwing arm, as well, as he reached 87 mph from the outfield and turned in a 76 mph arm from the crouch with sub-2 pops on occasion. Strong follow in the class; looking forward to seeing if he can translate the voilence in the box in a game setting. 

+ A pair of juniors from Castle provided intrigue, as well, in '27 OF Wyatt Vaughan and '27 LHP Elijah Forker. Vaughan, a lean, wiry, 5-foot-11, 155-pounder showed a short, loose-wristed swing that produced line drive contact and north-of 92 mph exits at peak. He repeated the swing well, showing quick hands and an accurate barrel, although the run and arm tools showed as fringy. With that being said, there is value in the left-handed bat that showed a playable look. Forker (clip below), a 6-foot-7, 210-pound massive southpaw, showed an upside look with average control of a three-pitch mix. He controls his levers in a notable manner for how large the frame is, and the arm works with some looseness in a more compact-manner. His fastball played in the low-80s, and he spun a big-shaped, mid-60s breaking ball, along with sinking a 75-77 mph changeup.