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MPL 2028s: Impact 50

July 3, 2026
Cooper Trinkle, Conner Madding, and Peter Hamot
MPL Scouting Staff

The Midwest Prospect League, year-in and year-out, continues to bring a bevy of college recruiters to the campus of Grand Park with 2026 bringing in a record 153 schools to scout the best uncommitted talent that the Midwest has to offer. The crop of talent in the 2028 class was especially strong this year, and we highlight this group with an Impact list of 50 players below.

Important to note, this is not a ranked prospect list, but more of a list measuring the impact that each prospect left on their status leaving this event. 

Staff Selections

Landon Echelberry, OH, RHP, Oregon Clay
Awaking tired eyes during a late-night start in Kokomo on Day 3, Echelberry came as advertised as the top-ranked 2028 arm at the event. A thoroughbred athlete who stands at 6-foot-3, 195-pounds, Echeberry showed frontline upside with a pristine blend of stuff and present pitch-ability. Pitching up to 95 while using multiple slots to create different shapes, the Ohio-native confidently showed four shapes to confuse hitters while striking out nine across four frames. He blended a pair of breaking balls in the low-80s, some with late, sharp sweep, and some with more the slurvey shape that he landed for strikes. Though not needed, he went to a quality low-80s change, more from his lower ¾ slot, just to show he had it. As gifted of any prospect at the event, Echelberry figures to be a must-know not only for recruiters come August, but for the professional scouting community as their eyes turn to the 2028 class next summer. 

- Cooper Trinkle, Indiana Scouting Director & National Underclass Correspondent 

Carver Cohn, IL, CF, McHenry
The electricity of the hands (from both sides!!) that Cohn presented throughout the week jumped out as he further cemented status at one of the top Midwest bats for 2028. Reaching base at a near .600 clip while seemingly hitting every ball hard, Cohn set up in a wider, athletic stance before deploying loose hands that take the bat back to a strong launch before an electric trigger re-directs the barrel back flat through the hitting zone. Cohn showed all-fields hitting ability with several mid-to-upper 90s exits throughout the week while using plus foot speed as a weapon on the base-paths & in center. 

- Cooper Trinkle, Indiana Scouting Director & National Underclass Correspondent 

Nicholas Chiarodo, IL, SS/RHP, Edwardsville 
The buzz & crowd of coaches following the Edwardsville-native grew larger and larger throughout the week as he posted what was one of the more impressive stat-lines (.692 batting average; 9-for-13) of any 2028 participant. He began the week showing pristine patterns on the mound while mixing quality command of a mid-to-upper 80s heater with a breaking ball that has plus-upside to earn a win on the hill during an 8 AM start. The wiry, athletic shortstop earned even-more notoriety on the offensive side, however, with a balanced leg kick stride that he repeated consistently to allow ultra-fast hands to play. The twitch he holds showed up in the form of sneaky juice as he grabbed several extra-base hits along with multiple 95-plus in game exits. To add even more allure to the profile, Chiadoro turned in plus run times from H-1st on two separate occasions. 

- Cooper Trinkle, Indiana Scouting Director & National Underclass Correspondent 

Canyon Koonce, IN, OF, Brownsburg
Easily one of the biggest 2028 winners from the event, Koonce collected (9) hits in (15) at-bats and only whiffed twice (!!) in (19) total plate appearances. I saw nearly every plate appearance, and he showed elite swing decisions with some of the best bat-to-ball skills in the park. The swing is shorter and plays to all fields with quality impacts. I expect more power down the road as he continues to add strength to his lean, athletic 6-foot, 170-pound frame. An easy candidate to stick in CF with ultra-quick feet, though the arm is average. The barrel control is something we’ve come to expect from Koonce, but the caliber of arms he did it against at the MPL makes the performance even more noteworthy. Koonce is the top left-handed hitter in Indiana’s 2028 class and a slam-dunk early recruit come August 1st. 

- Conner Madding, Indiana Director of Operations 

Dominick Dials, OH, 3B, St. Xavier
Serving as one of the biggest breakouts of the week while impacting the ball with authority, Dials showed as one of the top power bats at the event, and several P4 coaches took notice. Country-strong at 6-foot-2, 215 with sneaky athleticism (also plays QB), the left-handed hitting clubbed (3) homers throughout the week while driving in ten runs and hitting at a .500 clip. Facing a stacked group of arms amongst a talented Pool A, Dials showed zero fear stepping into the box and took aggressive hacks early in-counts with the expectation to punish. Dials creates advanced bat speed while working in-place with zero drift to the forward move and routinely turned in near-triple digit exits when on the barrel. The overall defensive profile may work against him some, but the future run-producing profile is undeniable. 

- Cooper Trinkle, Indiana Scouting Director & National Underclass Correspondent 

Jack Postma, IL, RHP, Barrington
One of the top arms in Illinois’s 2028 class brought a big upside look at 8 AM on Thursday. Oozing projection with an athletic, 6-foot-5, 200-pound frame. Lifts quickly to a moderate balance point before landing slightly cross-fired. Arm works clean on the backside to a ¾ slot. A 5’4” release height with 6’6” of extension on the fastball makes for a tough look for hitters. The heater showed as his best pitch, sitting 88-92 mph throughout with arm-side life. The slider is an upside offering in the mid-70s with big sweep, missed to the glove side on occasion. Showed big confidence in a 73-77 mph changeup with heavy fade, another quality pitch. Battled traffic in the 3rd, which cut the outing short, but I loved the frame, arm talent, and massive upside the No. 4-ranked player in Illinois brings. Big follow for Team Illinois at the Future Games.

- Conner Madding, Indiana Director of Operations 

Anderson Kaufmann, IL,  RHP, Alton, 2028
Currently ranked No. 2 in Illinois and No. 78 in the country. 6-foot, 181-pound frame, athletic and trim build with rounded shoulders and present strength throughout. Impressed with his typical innate feel for his entire arsenal in our look during the week. Highly athletic mover, coils into balance point with a stack over the rubber, drop/drive lower-half that works in-line, clean mover with a controlled and bouncy finish. Tight arm circle that stays connected on the backside, hides it some before coming through from a ¾ window. Fastball worked in the 87-90 mph range, topping at 91 mph early, straight action on the offering but feel to place it to all quadrants. Advanced feel and confidence in his curveball, goes to it often for strikes and to put hitters away, 11/5 shape with hard bite, 73-75 mph. Showed a more lateral slider to pair off the CB, 80-81 mph, quality third offering. Comfortable throwing a changeup to both right-handed and left-handed hitters, sells the offering with arm-speed and plays with some tumble arm-side. High-level athlete with advanced pitchability, high floor with his best days still ahead. 

- Peter Hamot, Illinois & Wisconsin Asst. Director

Collin Lawlor, IL, LHP, Marist, 2028
Currently ranked No. 4 in Illinois and No. 113 in the country. Durable 6-foot-1, 196-pound frame, proportionate strength, still holds room to get more physical in the coming years. Another advanced arm with starter upside, Lawlor impressed with four true pitches that he could throw in the zone whenever he wanted. Up-tempo mover down the mound with a shorter leg-lift, gets his momentum moving downhill quickly from balance point, slight cross-fire stride with some deception. Longer and clean arm action that plays from a high ¾ slot. Fastball showed carry in the 85-86 range with feel to place it glove-side and up in the zone, consistently gets swing and miss on it in the zone. Went to his slider quite a bit in this look that acts as a cutter at times, playing 78-81 mph with varying shape, more depth at times and then short lateral break as well - should be able to create two distinct pitches between the two in the future. To round out his arsenal he went to a running changeup in the upper-70s, feel to land it in the zone, quality fourth pitch. Another high floor arm that will only continue to get better. 

- Peter Hamot, Illinois & Wisconsin Asst. Director 

Landon Ludwig, IL, LHP, Ridgeview, 2028
Currently ranked No. 9 in Illinois and No. 216 in the country. 6-foot-4, 180-pound frame, long and lanky levers, highly projectable with all sorts of room to continue to add strength. Works with some pace on the mound, simple side-step into a shorter leg-lift, works in-line down the mound with extension, clean and loose mover. Arm is clean from a medium arm circle out of the glove, plays from a high ¾ window. Fastball played up out of the hand with life and jump through the zone, 86-87 mph early, jumps likely. Slider paired and tunneled well off the fastball, 72-75 mph with bullet shape. Flashed a fading changeup with late dive, 74 mph. High ceiling that is only starting to scratch the surface, more jumps likely in the near future. 

- Peter Hamot, Illinois & Wisconsin Asst. Director

Peter Pignatiello, IL, SS, Benet, 2028
Currently ranked No. 10 in Illinois and No. 235 in the country. 5-foot-10, 170-pound frame, athletic build with strength starting to come in. Started at shortstop and impressed with the overall motor and movement patterns. Plays the game hard at all times, consistently runs hard out of the box regardless of the result. Loose and clean swing from the left-side with blossoming power coming in, balanced and clean operation, barrel stays through the zone for a long time, will continue to gain strength and impact in the bat. Clean, athletic mover on the dirt, confident and fluid hands pair with steady footwork, rangy actions to both sides of his glove. Athletic arm that can play on the move and from multiple angles. One of the more promising left-handed hitting infielders in the midwest. 

- Peter Hamot, Illinois & Wisconsin Asst. Director

Impact 50

  1. RHP Landon Echelberry (OH)
  2. CF Carver Cohn (IL)
  3. SS/RHP Nick Chiadoro (IL)
  4. CF Canyon Koonce (IN)
  5. RHP Dodger Friedrich (IL)
  6. LHP Ty Pohl (IN)
  7. 3B Dom Dials (OH)
  8. CF Jakob Groeschel (OH)
  9. OF Carter Shouse (OH)
  10. RHP Jack Postma (IL)
  11. RHP Anderson Kaufmann (IL)
  12. LHP Collin Lawlor (IL)
  13. LHP Landon Ludwig (IL)
  14. OF Brady Rallo (MO)
  15. SS Kam Gillespie (MO)
  16. SS Peter Pignatiello (IL)
  17. RHP Henry Murphy (IL)
  18. RHP Luke McKenna (KS)
  19. IF Jack Whaley (IN)
  20. IF Tyler Wilhite (WV)
  21. CF Mason Biernacki (IN)
  22. OF Andrew Noble (IN)
  23. 3B Caleb Williams (OH)
  24. RHP Mason McWhirter (TN)
  25. LHP/OF Jaxson White (KY)
  26. C Brandon Paczocha (WI)
  27. C Cooper Nichols (IN)
  28. RHP Christian King (PA)
  29. OF/RHP Braylon Storey (IN)
  30. RHP/SS Holden Wilcox (OH)
  31. RHP/3B Jon Calcaterra (MO)
  32. CF Jacob Hite (IL)
  33. RHP/3B James Sobkowiak (IL)
  34. UTL Isaiah Steward (GA)
  35. RHP/C Matt Fields (IN)
  36. RHP Seth Maybury (OH)
  37. RHP Easton Cline (KY)
  38. RHP Drew Morgan (IN)
  39. 1B Will Steffens (IL)
  40. LHP Bryce Besgrove (OH)
  41. LHP Evan Thacker (OH)
  42. RHP Jake Powell (TX)
  43. LHP Charlie Johnson (IN)
  44. RHP Sonny Mateja (IL) 
  45. RHP Jimmy O’Connor (IL)
  46. OF Ian McClure (WI)
  47. SS Brody McGaha (IN)
  48. SS Callum Birdzell (IN)
  49. RHP Finn Steiner (IN)
  50. RHP Tanner Bergey (WI)

Names to ⭕

A list of names who jumped out throughout the week in snapshot-looks as clear follows moving forward.

Sparky ⚡ Shortstops

SS Donovan Craig (IN)
SS Josh Leonard (MI)
SS Bennett Kono (IL)
SS Mason Almazan (IL)
SS Wyatt Graeter (KY)
SS Gavin Hartigan (IL)
SS Ty White (IN)
SS Landon Maisenbacher (IL)

(6/17/26)

+ '28 SS Donovan Craig - an impact performer who collected 10 hits throughout the week, including a homer. 

Bats Who Performed 📈

C Luke Oyler (IL)
OF/1B Slade Hodges (IN)
C Ander Elorriaga (FL)
C Kayden Adams (IL)
OF Lawton Close (IL)

2-Way Follows

RHP/C Thomas Barnhart (OH)
3B/RHP Kole Jehnzen (OH)
OF/LHP Josh Ouimette (IL)
1B/RHP Owen Hammond (MI)

Upside Arms

LHP Colton Meier (WI)
RHP Ty Bachman (IL)
RHP Chase Martin (OH)
RHP Maxwell Webb (WI)
LHP Dylan Jones (IL) 
LHP Colton Carpenter (IL)