Top 10 Stories of 2025: #7 - 2025 Preseason All State

December 15, 2025
Prep Baseball KY Staff

Today we're back with another story in our 2025 Year in Review! Over the next few weeks, we will be reflecting on an excellent year for the Bluegrass State and reviewing the Top 10 Stories of 2025. Coming in at #7 on the list, we have the 2025 Preseason All-State Showcase!

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As we enter another week in December, we move on to #7 in our Top 10 Stories of 2025, and for this one, we head all the way back to February— back before the weather warmed up and before the first pitch of the high school season. Every year, the Preseason All-State Showcase in Lexington serves as the unofficial start to baseball season across the Commonwealth for the KY staff. It’s always our biggest event of the winter, and a weekend where prospects get a chance to showcase their gains after the offseason months. It generated more buzz and anticipation for the upcoming spring than potentially any showcase we’ve ever run!

A total of 225 prospects from every corner of Kentucky made their way into Lexington over two days—one at The Yard for bullpens and defensive work behind the plate, and one at Champions for the position player workout. Together, they formed the first real snapshot of a high school season that would go on to be one of the most memorable we’ve covered. While there were far too many standouts to fit in a single recap, several moments from this weekend set the tone for what became an incredible year across the state.

If there’s one theme that has defined Kentucky baseball over the last few years, it’s the pitching, and the Preseason All-State bullpen day was the clearest example yet of how strong the state is on the mound. More than 30 pitchers that ended the spring on our 2025 Heat Sheet jumped on the mound, giving us an early—and very accurate—look at the arms that would dominate storylines once the season began.

Fifteen pitchers ran the fastball into the 90s right out of the offseason. At the top of the leaderboard was Trinity 2026 RHP Grayson Willoughby, who touched 95.1 mph and made it clear he was gearing up for a monster spring. Not far behind was 2025 RHP Peyton Williams, the Western Kentucky commit who had recently transitioned from catcher to full-time pitcher. In his second ever bullpen in front of the staff, Williams lit it up at 94.1 mph and instantly put himself on our radar for the spring.

2025 RHP Peyton Williams

A handful of prospects broke the 90 mph barrier for the first time, including Marshall County 2026 LHP Thomas Bagby, North Oldham 2027 RHP Gabe Kuerzi, and Simon Kenton 2026 RHP Jacob Piper—each of whom would go on to make noise this spring.

It wasn’t just velocity, the offspeed metrics were equally as impressive.

2026 RHP Brayden Tudor became the lone arm of the weekend to break 3000 rpm with a devastating 73–75 mph slider.
2026 LHP Will McEvoy found himself at the top of the leaderboard with a 2838 rpm curveball as well.
2025 RHP Dylan McIntyre looked as polished as ever, touching 93.3 mph on the FB, flashing an 84.5 mph slider at 2630 rpm, and even mixing an 85.7 mph cutter
2026 RHP Ben Byers showed some of the best offspeed action of the day as the recent Frontier CC commit featured a firm three pitch mix with slider spin rates well into the 2800s.

The catching group made noise of their own on Saturday as well. Spencer County teammates, 2027 Griffin Kingsolver and 2025 Foster Whisman, finished atop the catcher velocity leaderboard at 82 mph and 81 mph. Kingsolver also led the showcase with a 1.81 pop time, with Future Games standout 2027 Kai Anderson right behind him at 1.82—a time he would eventually lower to 1.75 during the Future Games this summer. The defensive metrics across the board showed just how athletic this crop of talent was, and many of the top performers ended up being impact players in the spring.

2027 C/RHP Griffin Kingsolver

Sunday brought the full positional workout for more looks at players’ offseason growth. The exit velocity leaderboard turned into a showdown between three seniors:

2025 Ethan Reynolds – 105.2 mph EV to top the event leaderboard
2025 Blake Campbell – 103.8 mph EV plus a 377 ft max distance to lead the event in that category
2025 Brady Atwell – 102.3 mph EV

But perhaps the most complete performance of the day belonged to 2025 OF/SS Noah Cima, who showcased 97.9 mph EV, a 6.64 60-yard dash, and 96 mph outfield velocity. His toolbox—and the way he carried it into the season—ultimately helped him earn a commitment to St. Johns River State later in the spring.

2025 OF Noah Cima

One of the biggest stars in a younger class was 2027 SS/RHP Kyler Claunch, who finished on the podium in the 60 time (6.72 s), vertical jump (29.4 in), and infield velocity (88 mph, which later jumped to 91 mph at the Future Games). His performance in February was the first hint at the breakout year he would go on to have, leading Boyle County to its first State Tournament appearance since 2018.

2027 SS/RHP Kyler Claunch

One of the most exciting components of this year’s event was the deep glimpse into the 2028 and even 2029 classes.

2028 1B/LHP Braxton Frankenburger showed effortless power at the plate once again, reaching triple-digit exit velocities on Sunday after impressing on the mound Saturday.
2028 OF/RHP Remy Brown showcased the elite speed with a 6.68 s 60 after jumping on the mound to lead all 2028s with an 84 mph fastball.

2028 OF/RHP Remy Brown

2029 prospects made a strong first impression as well, with 3B/RHP Cooper Parman posting a 95.5 mph EV and 3B/RHP Kaiden Thompson leading the group on the mound at 83 mph with a firm FB/SL/CH mix.

2029 3B/RHP Cooper Parman

Some of these standouts can be found HERE in our Preseason All-State Quick Hits writeup. Every year, Preseason All-State helps establish the first true baseline of the younger classes—but this year’s underclass group already looks like one of the deepest we’ve seen. Looking back now, it’s clear that this event did far more than generate raw data. It set the tone for what ended up being an unforgettable high school season. Many of the top performers from February went on to dominate the spring. Others broke out for the first time. Some committed shortly after. From the energy, attendance, depth, and overall impact on the state, the 2025 Preseason All-State Showcase was one of the highlights of the entire year!