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2025 Fall College Crosscheck: Midwest Prospects

October 21, 2025
David Seifert
Director of College Scouting

Our Prep Baseball Director of College Scouting, David Seifert, has been making the rounds this fall, checking in on college campuses that help provide a peek into the 2026 spring ahead. Now, we're getting our first look at the potential breakout freshmen, impact transfers, and the '26 Draft's buzziest follows months ahead of schedule.

This latest College Crosscheck covers looks at Ball State, Illinois, Illinois State, Indiana, and Notre Dame.

BALL STATE

Always sneaky good with prospects, the Cardinals started 6-foot-3 junior lefthander Keegan Johnson on the mound. First Team All-MAC both his freshman and sophomore seasons, Johnson touched 91 and sat 89-90 mph from a three-quarter release point. The pitch showed more angle than life in the zone and consistently spun around 2200 rpm. Both his 82-83 mph slider and 83-86 changeup were effective, but overall his control was rusty and this outing wasn’t indicative of his well-earned reputation. Last season Johnson posted a 7-3 record with a 4.46 ERA over 14 starts and 70.2 innings. Per Synergy in 2025, his best pitch was his slider which produced a 25.2% Z-Whiff (in zone whiff rate) and placement in the 75th percentile.

Connor Hutchinson is another interesting prospect. The 6-foot, 200-pound righthander pumped an easy 91-92 running fastball for strikes from a high three-quarter release. His changeup was his best offspeed pitch, arriving at the plate in the 84-85 mph range at 1500 rpm.

Rightfielder Charlie Keller is the most tooled-up and physically advanced of all the Cardinals’ position players. Son of former Michigan and DBU pitching coach Bob Keller, Charlie is a 6-foot-1, 220-pound transfer from Jacksonville State who brings power, arm strength and speed to the park. His home run off a hanging changeup in the third inning brought some noise to an otherwise quiet contest. Keller also showed a plus arm with average accuracy during warmups and ran average underway. He added a hard groundball single and finished the evening 2-for-5.

ILLINOIS

The Illini’s top prospect for 2026 is redshirt sophomore outfielder Collin Jennings. At 6-foot-5, 220 pounds there’s a lot to like with his lefthanded swing. He has present average raw power and there’s likely more in his frame with maturity. He’s also an average runner who looked comfortable defensively in right field. Jennings batted .286 with 16 home runs last season as a redshirt freshman.

Redshirt freshman outfielder Cole Crafton has the size (6-foot-3, 200 pounds), athleticism and potential to become a top ten round prospect in 2027, but he’s still raw in terms of baseball ability. At the plate the lefthanded hitting Louisville transfer will need to shorten his lengthy swing and improve his plate coverage to maximize his toolset.

ILLINOIS STATE

The Redbirds look deeper on the mound this fall than anytime in recent memory. The top prospects are junior Michael Addari, sophomore Carson Cormier and freshman Luke Teschke. Addari has the most upside of the three. The low three-quarter slot righthander is making steady progress with his control, as it has never been about his “stuff”. His four-seam fastball peaks at 97 and his 92-94 mph two-seamer gets heavy with 9” VB/19” HB movement. His 83 mph slider will flash above average, spinning in the 2500 rpm range.

TCU transfer Cormier pitched just six innings for the Horned Frogs last spring, but struck out nine against just two walks. The 6-foot-6 righthander sat 90-93 with a loose and full arm swing up to a high three-quarter release point. His best secondary offering was a low-80s slider with spin into the 2600 rpm, while his 79-80 mph circle change looked to be a distant third pitch. Teschke has a big arm, yet is still more of a thrower at this point after redshirting his freshman season. Like all pitchers, he’ll misfire when he’s not in sync, but he reached 95 on my look and there’s likely more in the tank with his heater to go along with a developing split-change that flashed late, abrupt dive at 85-87 mph.

If that’s not enough high ceiling talent on the Illinois State pitching staff, Indiana transfer Henry Brummel is currently progressing towards his return to the hill after suffering an injury this past spring as a Hoosier. When healthy, the 6-foot-5, 215-pound righthander will touch the upper-90s with a four pitch mix. His command is still a work-in-progress, but his stuff is of the nasty variety. Brummel turned down significant six-figures as the 20th round pick by Milwaukee out of high school in 2024.

INDIANA

The Hoosiers started highly regarded lefthander Brayton Thomas on the hill. He was the No. 1 prospect in the state of Indiana as a senior in 2024. As a freshman Hoosier in 2025 he pitched just 16 innings over 15 appearances, but struck out 23. On this evening, the 6-foot-5 southpaw pitched one scoreless inning, touching 93 with his 2350-2475 rpm fastball. It showed good carry through the zone and was most effective at the letters due to a lower three-quarter release point. He mostly got around his 81-82 slider, and although inconsistent, the pitch did show occasional depth. Moving forward it will be interesting to see if he can develop command of an elevated fastball while combining it with a ch

angeup with some depth and turning his slider into more of a sweeper. Regardless, he’s a raw, but interesting day two prospect at this point in the process as a draft-eligible sophomore in 2026. 

Another arm of interest, Jackson Bergman impressed with an easy fastball up to 94 mph from a low three-quarter release point. The 6-foot-5, 230 pound transfer from Toledo also showed a low-80s slider with spin into the 2500+ rpm range and an effective mid-80s changeup to compliment his swing/miss heater.

In the batter’s box, Indiana was, and will be led this spring by sophomore first baseman Jake Hanley. His frame is similar to Jac Caglianone at 6-foot-6, 235 pounds with more strength/weight gains likely to come in the future. Hanley moves really well for his size and is an imposing figure at the plate. He finished the evening 2-for-4 and two RBIs. There’s not a ton of bat speed for the lefthanded slugger, but he produces a ton of leverage with his long frame and levers and at this point in the process is considered a top three round prospect follow for the 2027 draft.

NOTRE DAME

While their top 2027 prospect, outfielder Bino Watters did not play, the Irish’s top 2026 took the hill to start the ballgame. Jack Radel bumped 96 and sat mostly 93-94 during his two inning outing. He changed shapes on his breaking ball in the low-80s and flashed an upper-80s changeup along with an 88 mph cutter. Moving forward, Radel will need to show continued progress with the development of a reliable secondary offering. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound righthander will enter the 2026 season as a top three round prospect follow for the upcoming draft.

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