The Missouri high school baseball season kicks off on Mar. 19, opening day for regular season action under MSHSAA regulations. Leading up to opening day, we’ll be publishing our team previews ahead of the 2026 spring season, touching on programs spanning all state classifications, counting down to the official Prep Baseball Missouri Preseason Power 25 Rankings.

Perennially, we’ve submitted a preseason questionnaire to high school head coaches across the entire state. Their responses have been flooding in and we’re using the detailed insight they’ve provided in our team-by-team preseason analysis.

Our 2026 preseason coverage continues today.

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2026 SEASON OUTLOOK

No. of Returning Position Players: 4
No. of Returning Pitchers: 4

Top Returners:

• Macklen Johnson (2026) - OF/LHP, 5’11”, 170, L/L
  • Macklen is an experienced senior who had a tremendous postseason run for us last year. He brings confidence to the plate and a winning mentality on the mound as a left-handed pitcher. He will be expected to be a catalyst for us at the top of the lineup and take on a bigger role in our pitching staff.
• Jakoeby McDannald (2026) - SS/RHP, 5’10”, 170, L/R
  • Jakoeby is another player who has started a lot of games for us and had a huge postseason run in 2025. He will move to shortstop this year and be a crucial part of the top of our lineup. Jakoeby has some exciting potential on the mound and will be asked to throw a lot of critical innings for us.
• Gavin Thomason (2027) - OF/RHP, 6’0”, 190, R/R
  • Missouri State commit
  • Gavin has the ability to change the game in a number of ways. He is an athletic outfielder who can hit for power and put up big stolen base numbers. We will look for him to lead our pitching staff, as he gained a lot of great experience as one of our top starting pitchers as a sophomore.
• Harrison Martin (2027) - UTIL, 5’9”, 175, R/R
  • Harrison has been a true utility player for us his first two seasons. We can trust him to play nearly every position on the field. This year, he will slide into our primary catcher role. He is a gifted hitter who led us in RBIs last year and should have a great junior season.

Top Newcomers:

• Aedan Goins (2026) - Util, 5’9”, 170, R/R
  • Aedan is a hardworking senior who will have the opportunity to help us in multiple positions. He works quickly on the mound and could be a great asset out of the bullpen. Aedan is a great teammate and wants to see the team have success.
• Wyatt Hallam (2027) - OF/C, 5’9”, 170, R/R
  • Wyatt is a quick-twitch athlete who can change the game with his aggressiveness at the plate and on the bases. He can have a big impact for us in the middle of our lineup. Wyatt is a talented outfielder and will help us in other positions as well.
• Gage Hill (2027) - OF/LHP, 5’7”, 140, L/L
  • Gage is a speedy left-handed outfielder who will step into a big role this season. He is a dependable outfielder and can hit to all fields at the plate. He will be asked to throw valuable innings for us as another left-handed pitcher in our rotation.
• Jonah Hyde (2027) - LHP/OF, 6’5”, 185, L/L
  • Jonah is a tall left-handed pitcher who has a ton of untapped potential. He is going to be asked to throw a lot of innings this year and can be a game changer for our pitching staff. He has also improved at the plate and will push for at-bats this year.
• Talon Skouby (2028) - 1B, 6’3”, 300, L/L
  • Talon is a strong left-handed hitter who can do some major damage at the plate. He will have the opportunity to be in the middle of our lineup and has the potential to be a big time RBI guy for us.
• McKlain Moore (2028) - 1B/3B, 6’2”, 245, R/R
  • McKlain is a big corner infielder who is athletic for his size. He has good bat to ball skills with some power as well. He will push for a starting spot at one of the corner infield positions and will be a great addition to our lineup.
• Easton Highfill (2028) - MIF/RHP, 5’8”, 155, L/R
  • Easton is a skilled middle infielder who will most likely slide into the starting position at second base. He has good instincts on the bases and has a nice swing from the left side. He works with great tempo on the mound and will be a great competitor for us in all facets of the game.

Key Players Lost:

• Brock Boatwright
  • 1st Team All State Pitcher
• Spensar Seiger
  • Honorable Mention All State Pitcher
• Nolen Geitz - William Jewell
  • 2nd Team All District
• Kellan Kirkpatrick 
  • 2nd Team All Conference Infielder
• Brock Bruner
• Atticus Brandes
• Carson Krider

Coach’s Insight: “I really like the mix of experience and newcomers that we have this year. We have 4 guys who have been a big part of our success the past couple of seasons and a group of talented sophomores and juniors that are ready to step in and continue the success we had last year. Baseball is a priority for these players, which can be a rarity for a class 3 roster. Their potential and desire to win baseball games will be a strength of our roster. I believe we will be more versatile offensively and can do different things to manufacture runs. We have different styles of pitchers that should give teams a different look and challenge at the plate. Last year, I felt like we were elite defensively for a Class 3 team. We will have some big defensive shoes to fill at the corner infield spots but have some young, capable players. Our lack of varsity pitching experience will be tested in some of our busy weeks. We have a really difficult schedule, and we will have some young guys have to throw against some strong hitting teams. The challenge in the regular season should preparing them for postseason success.” – William Reed, head coach

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Find more information on the 2026 Fair Grove program below:

+ Follow them on X: @EagleBaseballFG
+ Visit Prep Baseball Missouri’s 2026 MSHSAA Team Previews page to learn more.

+ If you are a high school coach and didn’t receive our questionnaire, please click HERE to fill out the form

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