The latest on the 2026 college class (David Seifert)

+ The top of the college position player class is coming together with Roch Cholowsky (UCLA) continuing to lead the way. However, Vahn Lackey (Georgia Tech) is on the high rise – he’s now second on many national crosschecker draft lists in the college class. There’s some risk to his profile, but with an all-star ceiling Justin Lebron (Alabama) rounds out the top three college positional mix.

+ The top of the college pitching class is still led by Jackson Flora (UC Santa Barbara) with Tegan Kuhns (Tennessee) now joining Liam Peterson (Florida), Cam Flukey (Coastal Carolina), Gabe Gaeckle (Arkansas) and Logan Reddemann (UCLA). Cade Townsend (Ole Miss) had also risen to be included towards the back of this group before his injury.

+ Mason Edwards (USC), Wes Mendes (Florida State) and Cole Carlon (Arizona State) are the current leaders in the southpaw clubhouse with Hunter Dietz (Arkansas) also in the hunt.

+ The SEC is loaded with hitters, and the top tier starts with Chris Hacopian (Texas A&M) and Ace Reese (Mississippi State). Hacopian potentially offers the best combination of hit and power tools in this year’s college class. He began the season nursing an achy back, but has since recovered and is raking along with a .391/.500/.696 slash through 28 plate appearances. Defensively, Reese has looked better at third base than he did last spring or summer, but he’s still a question mark at the position over the long term. However, there are not any concerns about his stick. It plays anywhere.

+ Aiden Robbins’ (Texas) ascent has not slowed. He continues to gain steam and is now talked about as a top 40 overall prospect with his highly valued combination of hit and power tools. Jake Brown (LSU) is in similar territory with power as his top tool. Florida’s Kyle Jones also continues to rise. A preseason top three round prospect, Jones is now considered by some to be one of the top dozen position prospects in the SEC which puts him in the top 50 overall. He’s a centerfielder with plus speed and good bat-to-ball with gap power.

+ To start the season everyone knew the names Ryder Helfrick (Arkansas) and Carson Tinney (Texas) as the top two catching prospects in the SEC. Now two uber-athletes in Georgia’s Daniel Jackson and Oklahoma’s Brendan Brock have joined the conversation as potential day one SEC backstops. Both are turning their vast tools into skills and performance. With a 60/70 grade arm Jackson also has a power bat. He leads the country with 14 home runs and is batting .429 with 11 stolen bases. Brock was recently named SEC Player of the Week and has produced a .333 average with six home runs through his first 20 games. An unsigned 14th-rounder by Milwaukee out of junior college last summer, he’s a plus runner with an above-average arm and strong receiving skills. He's so tooled that some think he could handle centerfield.

+ An updated overall top 10 prospects for the college class: Cholowsky, Lackey, Lebron, Hacopian, Reese, Sawyer Strosnider (TCU), Drew Burress (Georgia Tech), Flora, Tyler Bell (Kentucky), AJ Gracia (Virginia). Caden Sorrell (Texas A&M), Helfrick and Kuhns are also mentioned towards the back of this group. Bell remains a personal favorite who might be undervalued, similar to Nico Hoerner, the 24th overall and 12th college prospsect to be drafted in 2018.

The latest on the 2026 prep class (Shooter Hunt):

+ The top pitching prospects in the prep class both toed the rubber on the same day, albeit different coasts, as LHP Carson Bolemon (SC, Wake Forest recruit) made his first start in chilly South Carolina while LHP Gio Rojas (FL, Miami recruit) pitched under the scorching heat of Las Vegas. Bolemon, on a day that featured 30-degree wind chill, moved well in spite of the cold weather working 90-93 while showcasing his usual smooth, powerful movement patterns while striking out five in two innings of work (two hits). Rojas, in a battle of two Florida state champions, struck out 14 in six innings, touching 96 mph on multiple occasions and holding velo including his final pitch, the 99th of the game, at 95.1 mph for his 14th strikeout.

+ Five prep southpaws headline the class with the biggest buzz currently hovering around Canadian LHP Sean Duncan (BC, Vanderbilt recruit). The lean, 6-foot-3, 180-pounder has comfortably worked into the mid-90s (some reports up to 97 mph) with his McKenzie Gore-esq arsenal and arm stroke, and recently pushed his way into strong 1st round consideration with a dominant showing against professional hitters while touring with the Langley Blaze.

+ Util. Cole Prosek (MS, Ole Miss recruit) has graduated from budding performer to strong Day 1 candidate. From South Walton:

Util. Cole Prosek (Magnolia Heights HS, MS) proved to be the top hitter and position player prospect at the event. Light chatter coming into the event is sure to grow louder as the left-handed hitter, who stacked day on top of day on top of day, throughout the summer with a full collection of hits against high-level arms, did much of the same in the Panhandle. Almost seeming to graduate from “hopeful performer” to “expected prospect” in this look, Prosek’s left-handed stroke was in mid-season form with a more cleaned up, yet still athletic and physical, 6-foot-1, 195-pound frame. Setting up square with an athletic base and the hands held nearly in front of the face, he rocks back to a power position with a longer stride while maintaining a command of a forward move that features considerable stretch. Gaining momentum through impact, the head remains still, even while gaining some ground, while the quick hands drive a heavy barrel through the zone with incessant lag and a two-handed finish.

+ In one of the more unsettled prep right-handed pitching crops in recent memory, the amount of value in the category remains extensive even without the firmest of agreements in ordering. Names like RHP Cooper Harris (TX, Texas recruit), RHP Julian Garcia (CA, Long Beach St. recruit), and World Baseball Classic darling, RHP Joseph Contreras (GA, Vanderbilt recruit) have all elevated their stock as Day 1 arms.

+ Sticking to the RHP profile, RHP Griffin Long (GA, Kennesaw St. recruit), RHP Cole Dennis (FL, Jacksonville recruit), and RHP Kolby Stringer (MS, Pearl River CC recruit) are all sleeper picks that warrant notation.

+ OF/3B Easton Kitura (CAN, Miami recruit) put together a quality Super 60 showing and carries one of the prettier left-handed strokes with a pristine 6-foot-1, 195-pound frame. A recent look in Las Vegas saw a more exciting power profile standout with better bat-to-ball than the summer circuit. Continued production throughout the spring might culminate in an earlier Day 2 selection for the Canadian-bat.