Indiana Recruiting Trends: Positional Value
October 31, 2025
What is Positional Value?
As we carefully craft each list of rankings we publish, several factors are taken into consideration. We factor the player's tools, where they are now, and where they have the potential to get to once that player reaches full maturation. It is a constant battle of floor versus ceiling, where the 'floor guy' may provide a steady track record of performance that makes an evaluator comfortable, the 'ceiling guy' comes with high risk, and even higher reward if they pan out. The beauty in the Prep Baseball system lies in the fact that we are able to constantly evaluate (generally from the time a player steps foot on a high school campus, and even younger) where the tools are now, how they've trended over the course of our follows, and most importantly - how the player translates the tools to the field. The body tells a story, as well, as we are constantly seeing players evolve as they grow into the body that they will take into the upper levels of baseball. 'Projectability' is an overused buzzword in this space, but the premise of it is evaluating how much more is left in the tank for a given player. As the player gets older, projectability must turn into ability, but as long as the players' mental makeup doesn't deter them - the long, athletic player who needs to gain strength tends to make big jumps when they do pack on that size. At the end of the day, the 'performer', the guy who just shows up again and again and gets it done - always tends to climb if the production continues to come.
However, one of the most influential factors in our list is the positional profile. Middle of the diamond athletes, middle of the order bats, and pitchers who we believe have the traits to be a starting pitcher at the next level, will always tend to find themselves higher on the list. Within these categories, left-handed always takes precedents if all things are equal, meaning left-handed pitchers and left-handed hitters will naturally receive a small boost purely based on handedness. These are the profiles that are valued most by our staff, and are almost standard across the scouting industry.
It is important to note that these are not just made up by our staff as preferences, which is the whole point of this data dive. For data fans, I have put together a comprehensive breakdown of all Division I recruits from Indiana in the past 5 years, broken down by position, to show the position profiles that are recruited the most out of our state.
*Data used from the classes of 2023-2027, classes who have been affected by today's recruiting landscape*
*Data is reflective of signing day, not who stayed on campus for all four years, or those who decided to forgo college for opportunities in professional baseball*
*There are also instances in which a player lists a primary position on the website, and we valued them different on our internal board. For example, 2023 grad Adam Lehmann is listed as a C on website, but valued as a RHP on our internal board. All data is reflective of our board internally*
Total Division I Commits (P4 Totals)
+ 2023: 51 (11)
+ 2024: 72 (28)
+ 2025: 55 (23)
+ 2026: 54 (21)
+ 2027: 30 (20)
Division I Commits (Indicates LHP or LHH/SH)
+ Pitchers: 135 (34)
+ Middle Infielders: 46 (22)
+ Outfielders: 44 (29)
+ Corner Infielders: 19 (7)
+ Catchers: 18 (4)
Power 4 Commits (Indicates LHP or LHH/SH)
+ Pitchers: 56 (18)
+ Middle Infielders: 15 (7)
+ Outfielders: 18 (12)
+ Corner Infielders: 8 (4)
+ Catchers: 6 (2)
Deeper Dive...
+ Pitchers 6-foot-1 or taller: 112/135 (83%)
- D1 LHP or RHP 6-foot-1 or taller: 122/135 (90%)
- P4 LHP &/or 6-foot-1+: 54/56 (96%)
+ Middle Infielders 6-foot or taller: 31/46 (64.5%)
- D1 LHH &/or 6-foot+: 39/46 (81%)
- P4 LHH &/or 6-foot+: 11/15 (73%)
+ Outfielders 6-foot or taller: 24/44 (55%)
- D1 LHH &/or 6-foot+: 39/44 (88.6%)
- P4 LHH &/or 6-foot+: 15/18 (83%)
+ Corner Infielders 6-foot or taller: 19/19 100%
- P4 LHH &/or 6-foot+: 8/8 100%
+ Catchers 6-foot or taller: 8/18 (44.4%)
- D1 LHH &/or 6-foot+: 9/18 (50%)
- P4 LHH &/or 6-foot+: 5/6 (83%)
Takeaways
+ This data not only reaffirms the preferences in scouting we talked about earlier, but gives clarity to the profiles that are valued most at the Division I, and at the Power 4 level. As we dive into our state rankings for each class, we generally have around 50% of our Top 50 filled with pitchers, and the data explains why. 135/262 Divison I recruits from the sample data were pitchers, over half of the total number of Division I recruits to come from the Hoosier State in recent years. The sub-categories on the pitching side also hint at what we value, or should value, and that is LHP, or RHP that stand at 6-foot-1 or taller. As we dive further, only two pitchers have signed (committed for 26s & 27s as of now) to play Power 4 baseball from the state of Indiana who are not left-handed or 6-foot-1 or taller. With that being said, the two outliers point at the neccesity to scout each player, regardless of the initial profile, because each had success at the high school level, and are outperforming their evaluations at the next level already. Those two are Griffin Tobias (Lake Central) and Gavin Kuzniewski (Fishers). Tobias was one of two prep right-handers from Indiana selected in the 2024 MLB Draft, signing with the Milwaukee Brewers in the 9th round, and he finished the 2025 season with the Brewers single-A affiliate. Tobias was committed to Indiana out of high school. Kuzniewski, who went on to Ohio State University, made an immediate impact for the Buckeyes as a freshman, leading the team in innings pitched (56 IP) in his first year on campus. Both outliers made up for "non-traditional" profiles with abundant strengths in other areas, wether it be control, mental makeup, stuff, or a combination of all.
+ On the position side, the data shows the most impactful for middle of the diamond athletes and middle of the order bats, more specifically those that can play in the middle of the infield or in the outfield while fitting one of the previous profiles. In combination, 78 of the 90 (or 86.7%) Division I signees (or current commits) that are SS or OF'ers either hit left-handed (switch included) &/or are 6-foot or taller.
- The Power 4 numbers give this even more clarity in the fact that only 7 SS or OF'ers have signed (or are currently committed) to Power 4 programs who were shorter than 6-foot, and did not hit left-handed, from the 2023 to 2027 classes. This hints at what is valued at the highest of the college levels, and can be validated by flipping on a given SEC/ACC game in the spring.
- Four players fit this undersized, non-LH mold and are/were still highly regarded recruits as shortstops in : '25 JD Stein (Carmel, Wake Forest), '26 Dylan Bowen (Hanover Central, Oklahoma State), '23 Drew Culbertson (Center Grove, signed to Missouri / currently at Michigan), and '27 Liam Delp (Center Grove, Michigan). Aside from similiar profiles, all four players had a very common set of tools that helped mitigate a less-than-ideal R/R sub-6'0" tag... advanced foot speed, arm strength, and defensive actions, profiling as not just a middle infielder, but as a shortstop. Culbertson has nearly 100 games at SS under his belt at the P4 level, while the rest remain untold for now. With that being said, the metrics each of these four posted at Prep Baseball events are eerily similar and allude to the path for a player of this stature and handedness :
- '23 SS Drew Culbertson - 5'11" 190 lbs - 6.60 60-yard dash, 92 mph infield arm, 96.2 peak exit velocity
- '25 SS JD Stein - 5'7" 175 lbs - 6.53 60-yard dash, 97 mph infield arm, 102.6 peak exit velocity
- '26 SS Dylan Bowen - 5'11" 185 lbs - 6.63 60-yard dash, 93 mph infield arm, 101.1 peak exit velocity
- '27 SS Liam Delp - 5'9" 155 lbs - 6.56 60-yard dash, 92 mph infield arm, 100.9 mph peak exit velocity
- While each player's exit velocity is relevant in the fact that all were/are at least projected to be serviceable hitters at the next level, the throw and run tools from each well-surpass their peers and buy them a shortstop's tag. So to take our dive even further we can conclude every SS from Indiana who has signed (or are currently committed) to Power 4 programs from the class of 2023-2027 have at least one of the following traits... 1) stand 6-foot or taller, 2) hit left-handed (or switch), &/or 3) ran under a 6.64 60-yard dash and also threw at least 92 mph across the infield. This holds true for the overall picture of Division I recruits, as only seven sub 6-foot R/R SS's have committed to even the Division I level in this sample size; Culbertson, Stein, Bowen, Delp, outlier athlete and 6.25 runner '26 Eli Sinsabaugh (Cathedral, Army), '26 Brooks Carroll (Evansville North, Evansville), and '27 Carsten Bland (Franklin Community, Dayton).
+ The outfield data also shows a heavy skew towards physicality and handedness with only five Hoosier State natives committing to play Division I baseball that are under 6-foot, or non-left handed from 2023-2027. Amongst these players, however, it is very clear the trend. These players are : '24 Ahmaad Duff (Lawrence Central, Alabama / currently at St. Louis), '25 Maalik Perkins (Whiteland, Ball State), '26 Desmond Francis (Park Tudor, Notre Dame), '26 Ian Taylor (Guerin Catholic, George Mason), and '27 Mason Meyer (Mt. Vernon, Arizona State). Of this grouping, Perkins (6.33), Francis (6.40), Duff (6.46), and Meyer (6.54) all provide elite of elite footspeed and profile in CF. Meyer is a bit of an outlier, with his hit tool playing well above the rest, but the true outlier in this group is Taylor. Although his foot speed is not a plus, he is a 6.79 runner that could play CF in college, even though he is regarded more for the lightning he brings in the batters' box with recorded exits that round to 106 mph. We can conclude this data with the statement that all OF'ers who have signed (or are currently committed to) Division I programs from 2023-2027 have at least one of the following traits... 1) stand 6-foot or taller, 2) hit left-handed (or switch), &/or 3) ran under a 6.55 60-yard dash --- with Ian Taylor as the one true outlier.
+ To put a bow on our findings in diving into positional value, we see that less than 15% of D1 recruits in this sample were corner infielders or catchers (7.25% CINF, 6.87% C). I've added some relevant notes from each category below:
- The corner infield numbers are extremely clear... Division I programs have only recruited corner infielders who are above 6-foot tall in the past 5 classes to come through Indiana. This is the position that we've found has the most correlation between size and prospect status.
- The position we saw size as the least relevant was the catcher position, in total. This is also the least recruited position, with the data inferring that there are only about 3-5 D1 catchers in a given class. Our 2027 class carries much of this group, as well, with 5 commits already at the position, including half of the P4 C we see in the sample. While size is the least relevant to a player advancing at this position to the D1 level, we do see a trend at the Power 4 level. Of the six catchers who have signed (or currently are committed to) Power 4 programs, all but one are either 6-foot or taller, or hit left-handed. The outlier in this case is '27 Cooper Collins, who could make a case as THE best defensive catcher in the country for the 2027 class.
This data not only helps us internally, helping to build a template around what our rankings should look like with each given year based on trends. Obviously, there are subtle differences with each class, like the influx of catchers in the 2027 class noted above, but these numbers act as a benchmark when filling the overall list from our positional rankings. Also, I hope this gives readers deeper context into why a certain player is valued in a certain way, and clarity to a player who can look at this data, see the trends and outliers, and have a clearer picture on what is necessary to reach their specific goals based on what profile they fit into. This data is also reflective of current commitments from the 2026-2027 class at this particular date, which are verbal agreements that could still change, and the numbers indicate we have 20-40 more Division I recruits to come from the 2027 class.