North Mississippi Preseason ID: TrackMan Files
January 14, 2026
HERNANDO, MS — The North Mississippi Preseason ID was held on Sunday, January 11th at The Gatorade Fieldhouse (Elevate) in Hernando, MS that featured top talent from the 2026-2030 classes. Players went through a pro-style workout with TrackMan and VALD Performance tech, while pitchers threw in a bullpen setting and were able to get data and metrics on our TrackMan unit.
Some prospects built on past showings, while others made strong first impressions.
We continue our post-event coverage with a look at the TrackMan leaderboards from the event, with more breakdowns and full scouting reports coming soon.
+ View all event stats HERE.
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MAX FASTBALL & AVERAGE SPIN RATE
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Velocity (max) |
| 1 | Evan Killough | MS | Kossuth | 2030 | C | 84.2 mph |
| 2 | Gavin Lockhart | MS | DeSoto Central | 2026 | SS | 80.0 mph |
| 3 | Andrew Shell | MS | Regents School Of Oxford | 2029 | RHP | 77.5 mph |
| 4 | Patrick Southerland | MS | Warren Central | 2029 | LHP | 77.3 mph |
| 5 | Walker Wise | MS | South Pontotoc High School | 2028 | 2B | 77.2 mph |
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Spin Rate (avg) |
| 1 | Evan Killough | MS | Kossuth | 2030 | C | 2206 rpm |
| 2 | Gavin Lockhart | MS | DeSoto Central | 2026 | SS | 2053 rpm |
| 3 | Ethan Knight | MS | Saltillo | 2029 | RHP | 1833 rpm |
| 4 | Andrew Shell | MS | Regents School Of Oxford | 2029 | RHP | 1752 rpm |
| 5 | Walker Wise | MS | South Pontotoc High School | 2028 | 2B | 1746 rpm |
Max Fastball Velocity: This metric calculates the speed of the pitch as it’s released from the pitcher’s hand.
Spin Rate: This metric calculates the rate of spin on the baseball as it leaves the pitcher’s hand, measured in revolutions per minute (rpm). Historical data shows that high-spin fastballs lessen the impact of gravity, allowing for more ‘rise’ (or less fall, in other words) as it carries through the zone. Low-spin fastballs typically indicate the pitch has greater horizontal action, often making it tougher to square up, but generally easier to make contact with, leading to more ground balls, while high-spin fastballs show a correlation with swings and misses.
AVERAGE FASTBALL HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | HM (avg) |
| 1 | Evan Killough | MS | Kossuth | 2030 | C | 14.4 |
| 2 | Titus Hassell | MS | Center Hill High School | 2028 | OF | -13.5 |
| 3 | Paxton Kerr | MS | Itawamba Agricultural | 2028 | 1B | -12.4 |
| 4 | Andrew Shell | MS | Regents School Of Oxford | 2029 | RHP | 12.0 |
| 5 | Patrick Southerland | MS | Warren Central | 2029 | LHP | -11.6 |
Horizontal Break: Outlined on TrackMan’s own website: “... horizontal movement is measured in inches between where the pitch actually crosses the front of home plate side-wise, and where it would have crossed home plate side-wise if had it traveled in a perfectly straight line from release. A positive number means the break was to the right from the pitcher’s perspective, while a negative number means the break was to the left from the pitcher’s perspective.”
AVERAGE SLIDER SPIN RATE
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Spin Rate (avg) |
| 1 | Gavin Lockhart | MS | DeSoto Central | 2026 | SS | 1986 |
| 2 | Andrew Shell | MS | Regents School Of Oxford | 2029 | RHP | 1967 |
| 3 | Ethan Knight | MS | Saltillo | 2029 | RHP | 1962 |
| 4 | Patrick Southerland | MS | Warren Central | 2029 | LHP | 1813 |
| 5 | Walker Wise | MS | South Pontotoc High School | 2028 | 2B | 1653 |
Spin Rate: The metric calculates how fast the ball is spinning as it leaves the pitcher’s hand, reported in the number of times the pitched ball would spin per minute (“revolutions per minute” or “rpm”).
AVERAGE CURVEBALL SPIN RATE
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Spin Rate (avg) |
| 1 | Gavin Lockhart | MS | DeSoto Central | 2026 | SS | 2133 rpm |
| 2 | Patrick Southerland | MS | Warren Central | 2029 | LHP | 1976 rpm |
| 3 | Ethan Knight | MS | Saltillo | 2029 | RHP | 1889 rpm |
| 4 | Evan Killough | MS | Kossuth | 2030 | C | 1856 rpm |
| 5 | Andrew Shell | MS | Regents School Of Oxford | 2029 | RHP | 1771 rpm |
Spin Rate: The metric calculates how fast the ball is spinning as it leaves the pitcher’s hand, reported in the number of times the pitched ball would spin per minute (“revolutions per minute” or “rpm”).
AVERAGE CHANGEUP HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | HM (avg) |
| 1 | Titus Hassell | MS | Center Hill High School | 2028 | OF | -16.2 |
| 2 | Evan Killough | MS | Kossuth | 2030 | C | 14.6 |
| 3 | Patrick Southerland | MS | Warren Central | 2029 | LHP | -13.8 |
| 4 | Gavin Lockhart | MS | DeSoto Central | 2026 | SS | 13.4 |
| 5 | Paxton Kerr | MS | Itawamba Agricultural | 2028 | 1B | -12.2 |
Horizontal Break: This metric measures the distance, measured in inches, between where the pitch actually crosses the front of home plate side-wise, and where it would have crossed home plate side-wise if had it traveled in a perfectly straight line from release. A positive number means the break was to the right from the pitcher’s perspective, while a negative number means the break was to the left from the pitcher’s perspective.
PEAK EXIT VELOCITY (HITTING)
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Exit Velocity (max) |
| 1 | Evan Killough | MS | Kossuth | 2030 | C | 96.5 mph |
| 2 | Patrick Southerland | MS | Warren Central | 2029 | LHP | 96.4 mph |
| 3 | Landen Winders | MS | New Albany | 2027 | 1B | 95.1 mph |
| 4 | Jevan Hughes | MS | Itawamba Agricultural | 2028 | C | 94.8 mph |
| 5 | Gunner Atkinson | MS | Lafayette Middle School | 2029 | OF | 92.1 mph |
| 6 | Dante Stutts | MS | DeSoto Central | 2030 | OF | 91.2 mph |
| 7 | Aiyden Saulsberry | MS | Strayhorn | 2029 | OF | 91.2 mph |
| 8 | Brody McCullough | MS | Oxford High School | 2027 | OF | 90.9 mph |
| 9 | Carter Drumheller | MS | Magnolia Heights | 2027 | 2B | 90.1 mph |
| 10 | Nelson Downs | MS | Grenada | 2027 | C | 89.3 mph |
Exit Velocity: This metric measures the speed of the ball, measured in miles per hour, as it comes off the bat at the moment of contact.
PEAK ESTIMATED BATTED DISTANCE (HITTING)
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Distance (max) |
| 1 | Jevan Hughes | MS | Itawamba Agricultural | 2028 | C | 348 ft |
| 2 | Brody McCullough | MS | Oxford High School | 2027 | OF | 345 ft |
| 3 | Hogan Overby | MS | Oxford | 2027 | SS | 344 ft |
| 4 | Landen Winders | MS | New Albany | 2027 | 1B | 334 ft |
| 5 | Paxton Kerr | MS | Itawamba Agricultural | 2028 | 1B | 312 ft |
| 6 | Aiden Nunley | MS | Corinth | 2027 | 2B | 311 ft |
| 7 | Gunner Atkinson | MS | Lafayette Middle School | 2029 | OF | 309 ft |
| 8 | Aiyden Saulsberry | MS | Strayhorn | 2029 | OF | 308 ft |
| 9 | Titus Hassell | MS | Center Hill High School | 2028 | OF | 308 ft |
| 10 | Jack Scott | MS | Oxford | 2029 | 3B | 308 ft |
Distance: This metric measures the estimated “carry flat” distance, measured in feet, meaning the distance that the ball travels before it lands, or would have landed if it were not caught or obstructed.
UPCOMING 2026 PRESEASON EVENTS ⤵️
| SHOWCASE | DATE | LOCATION |
| South Mississippi Preseason ID | 01/18 | Pearl River CC - Poplarville, MS |
| Central Mississippi Preseason ID | 01/19 | GRIT Training - Flowood, MS |
| Mississippi Preseason All-State | 01/25 | Mississippi State University - Starkville, MS |
Related Content:
- MS 2026 Noxapater Tigers Team Preview 1/14/26
- MS North Mississippi Preseason ID: TrackMan Files 1/14/26
- MS 2026 Strayhorn Mustangs Team Preview 1/13/26
- MS North Mississippi Preseason ID: Quick Hits 1/13/26
- MS 2026 North Forrest Eagles Team Preview 1/13/26
- MS North Mississippi Preseason ID: Statistical Leaderboards 1/12/26
- MS North Mississippi Preseason ID: Event Preview 1/09/26
