Director's List: Uncommitted Upperclass Prospects (2025 LHSAA State Tournament)
May 19, 2025
Just like that, the 2025 Louisiana high school baseball season has come to a close. Last week’s LHSAA State Tournament crowned ten champions across all divisions, and the action certainly lived up to the hype—especially with the introduction of the new best-of-three championship series format in Divisions I, II, and III. Five of the six matchups in those divisions went the distance to a decisive Game 3, creating plenty of drama and excitement at McMurry Park.
With the end of another season and another state tournament, we wanted to highlight some of the top uncommitted upperclass prospects that we saw in Sulphur, LA last week.
UNCOMMITTED UPPERCLASS PROSPECTS (2025 & 2026 CLASS)
Coy Purpera OF / 1B / Brusly, LA / 2026Rankings StateRank: 106 / POS: 24
The physical 6-4, 195 lbs. right-handed hitting outfielder was red-hot at the plate for Brusly last week at the LHSAA State Tournament. Across three games, Purpera went 8-for-10 (.800) with 3 doubles, 2 triples, and 5 runs batted in. What was most impressive was the fact that he drove the baseball to all parts of the field. After a stellar overall spring for the Panthers, he's certainly a good name to circle heading into the summer.
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Braden Jones RHP / North Desoto, LA / 2026Rankings StateRank: 52 / POS: 16
Jones drew the Game 1 start for the Griffins in their championship series matchup against Brusly and tossed 5 1/3 innings, allowing 2 earned runs on 6 hits with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts. He repeats his delivery well with a smooth & clean arm action with minimal effort. Jones ran his fastball up to 88 mph, while sitting mostly 84-86 mph with some arm-side run. He paired that with a "10-4" shaped 75-79 mph slider that he was able to land for strikes. All in all, it was a solid outing for Jones, as he put his team in a position to win the game and they did. He was able to work around traffic and made big pitches when he needed to against a tough Brusly lineup.
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Jack Landry OF / Erath, LA / 2026Rankings StateRank: 205 / POS: 47
Landry was another uncommitted junior outfielder that performed at last week's LHSAA State Tournament. The first thing that stands out is his 6-4, 185 lbs. frame. There's present strength, but there's also still room for him to put more on weight and physicality in the future. In the Bobcats three-games series against Sterlington, he went 3-for-7 (.429) at the plate with 2 runs batted in and 1 run scored, but more importantly, he only struck out once and drew 3 walks.
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Tre Burch 1B / 3B / Sterlington, LA / 2026Rankings StateRank: 114 / POS: 5
Physical 6-1, 240 lbs. frame with a strong lower-half. Hitting in the middle of the Panthers order, Burch had himself a solid showing at this year's State Tournament. In three games against Erath, he went 2-for-6 (.333) with a double, 1 run batted in, 2 runs scored, and also drew 4 walks to 2 strikeouts. In Game 2, he notched a big two-out RBI single that gave Sterlington the 6-5 lead in the 5th inning. In Game 3, he led the bottom of the 2nd inning off with a two-strike double to the opposite-field gap and would later come around to score to put the Panthers up 1-0.
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Zant Gurney LHP / 1B / Live Oak, LA / 2026Rankings StateRank: 165 / POS: 17
6'1" 185 lbs. durable frame with a starter's profile. Gurney got the Game 2 start for the Eagles in their championship series matchup against Sam Houston, and he ended up tossing 5 1/3 innings allowing 3 earned runs on 7 hits with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts. He works through a simple & repeatable delivery, and uses a compact arm stroke to release the ball from a 3/4 slot. Gurney's fastball stayed in the low-80's and topped out 84 mph, but it was his command that was most impressive. He did an excellent job of keeping his heater at the bottom of the zone and rarely missed out over the heart of the plate. His go-to secondary offering was a 73-76 mph slider that flashed two-plane break down and across the zone. Gurney ended up with a no-decision, but it doesn't take away from his stellar junior season that ended with him winning nine games for the Eagles.
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Zan Johnson RHP / SS / Teurlings Catholic, LA / 2025Rankings StateRank: 345 / POS: 77
Johnson was quite possibly the "hidden gem" of this year's State Tournament. The uncommitted senior right-hander came in relief for the Rebels in Game 3 against E.D. White and was stellar. He tossed 2 1/3 shutout innings with 0 walks and 4 strikeouts to close out the Rebels championship series win over the Cardinals. Johnson creates a tough "cross-fire" look and releases the ball from a lower 3/4 slot. His fastball sat in the 84-87 mph range with arm-side sink & run, which made it tough for both right-handed and left-handed hitters alike. He paired that with a low-70's slider that flashed sweep across the zone and he was able to land the pitch for strikes. College programs looking to add an arm late to their 2025 recruiting class should give Johnson a look.
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Charlie Donaldson OF / Sam Houston, LA / 2026Rankings StateRank: 77 / POS: 18
Donaldson started Game 1 of the Broncos championship series against Live Oak and went 0-for-1 at the plate with 2 hit-by-pitches. With a left-hander starting for the Eagles in Game 2, the Broncos elected to sit Donaldson for a right-handed bat. The uncommitted junior was insterted back into the lineup for a decisive Game 3 and he came through with two massive doubles in a 2-for-3 effort at the plate. The first was a two-strike, two-out double to the opposite-field that gave Sam Houston the early 1-0 lead. He then led off the Top of the 7th with a two-strike double to the pull-side gap and would come around to score the go-ahead run for the Broncos in their 4-2 win over Live Oak to claim the Division I (Non-Select) State Title.
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