Following a brief haitus from post event content here in KC, we're back for the KC Summer Championships to give the top teams and players their well deserved flowers for an outstanding weekend. The Summer Championships claimed 3 high school champions in the 14u, Underclass, and Upperclass brackets from a total of just over 100 teams, making a true testament to both the talent and depth on each of the championship rosters. Before we get into our champions for the weekend, let's get a sneak peak at some of the top talent between Creekside and Homefield from the past weekend. 

2030 C Ryker Graverson (Liberty High School (MO), Staley Sluggers): After getting a large sample size of Graverson this spring, he continues to find ways to impress our staff each weekend at the field. The athletic RHH keeps things simple at the plate, showing a consistent pull side approach with a developing power alley in LCF. Efficent rotator wasting little movement in the swing as a whole, while naturally creating some leverage in the path. As the frame continues to improve look for Graverson to find himself at the top of the order producing with consistency. The athleticism shines through in all facets for Graverson, logging a sub-7 60 & finding himself with a sub 2 pop time occasionally in the Rising Stars Games just last week and having both metrics translate well to the game setting. the young backstop has consistently shown the ability to stick behind the plate or plug and play at a variety of positions around the diamond. This will be a name to keep an eye on as he looks forward to his freshman season at Liberty next Spring. 

2028 CIF Micah Reif (Blue Valley North (KS), Mac N Seitz 16u Black): Through the first two weekends of the Summer, Reif has been tasked with protecting the #3 player in Kansas' 2028 class in Will Pepper, and done so with tremendous success. In Mac N Seitz 4 game stint over the weekend, the top 50 name in KS's 2028 class hit .600 with 4XBH including a long pull side homerun to lift MNS over a strong Building Champions squad to finish the weekend. Loads of present strength in the athletic 5'10 frame play nicely into the RH swing for Reif, creating some stretch in the hands before showing off some top end bat speed with feel to lift to the pull side. The hit tool is undeniable and will land Reif as a high follow name in the '28 class. 

2028 SS/3B Tucker Waddell (Stevens High School (SD)  , P2P - Skeeters): The #3 overall in SD's 2028 class had the full tool belt on display this weekend en route to grabbing P2P the #4 overall seed in the bracket over the weekend. The sophomore made his statement in the first round of the bracket delivering a 4/4 perfomance with two HRs and a 3B showcasing some impressive body control in a long stride before landing and uncorking a heavy barrel looking to do damage in the gaps. In the field, Waddell made it clear he has the arm to stick on the left side of the infield as he moves on to college radars, with a solid foundation showing for the glove and movements on the diamond. To finish off the weekend, Waddell hopped on the bump and sat consistently in the low to mid 8's, showcasing the athleticism further. the South Dakota product turned heads this weekend with the raw tools currently on display and will continue to gain helium as he continues to polish his game. 

2027 OF Jordan Schnoor (Norfolk Senior High School (NE), Prime 27:17 17u National): On a roster full of notable names in the central region, Schoor stuck out as one of the top producers among them this weekend. The Uncommitted Junior packs a punch in a 5'10, 180 pound frame, with notably physical lower half. The LHH had the feel for the barrel on display all weekend long, finishing bracket play 8/12 adding a 2B and a HR against some quality matchups. Schnoor showed off a rythmic setup before a short stride delivering the barrel on a direct path to the baseball, with the feel to drive it to all fields. Defensively, while not lacking for speed, the outfielder displayed strong reads off the bat with a quick first step to track balls down in the grass. Schnoor is a name that I can't imagine seeing uncommitted for much longer if he can continue to stay on the barrel this Summer.

2028 UTL Memphis Mooneyham (Aurora High School (MO), Inevitable A's 16u National): The top 20 name in MO's 2028 class turned in a big weekend at the plate in the A's Underclass division win. The Missouri product logged hits in 6 of the 7 games played for the A's, finishing 12/19 on the weekend while adding 5BBs out of the top of the order. The stout 170 pound LHH lacks for no athleticsm at the dish, trusting a big leg kick to get the body involved in the swing with some present adjustability to do damage to both the fastball and off speed pitches before a compact path works up  through the baseball. Defensively, Mooneyham showed a true utility look, logging starts in both the infield and outfield while looking the part with his actions in both. It'll be a tall task for the sophomore to continue producing at this level, but with a mature approach to the game and top end athleticism, look for Mooneyham to continue to be an impact player on both sides of the baseball the rest of the Summer. 

2028 RHP Max Swoboda (Bennington High School (NE), Bennington Post 266 SR): The 6'4, 205 pound righty was an impressive force in his start on the hill for Post 266 last weekend. The Sophomore displayed simple and repeatable mechanics, letting a quick, clean arm action carry the brunt of the action down hill.  Swoboda attacked both halves of the zone with a mid/upper 8's Fastball while carrying velo through all 5 innings with seemingly more in the tank as he looks to continue to incorperate the lower half into the delivery. The featured secondary for Swoboda was a short, slider in the upper 7's creating some late vertical bite to create in zone misses. A quality change up rounds out the pitch mix, keeping up present arm speed to keep hitters off balance. The outlier in Swoboda's outing was the incredibly low pulse feel on the hill, executing for a majority of the outing. Swoboda showcased a true starter profile with plenty more in the tank making for a must know name in NE's 2028 class. 

Tournament Champions: 

Upperclass: Prime 27:17 17u National 

With one of the most complete lineups 1-9 in the PBKC circuit so far in the young Summer, It came as no surprise to see Prime finish out the weekend on top. Notable performers leading the way to their 6-0-1 finish included Wichita State commits Maddox Drumright and Jacob Stehley, SIUE commit Cole Ryherd, and Uncommitted OF Jordan Schnoor. The talented lineup combined with a team effort from the pitching staff to finish the weekend with a +33 in the run differential column to start their Summer in the PBKC circuit off with a bang. 

Finalist: Barnstormers - Floyd 

The Barnstormers delivered an impressive 5-1 showing in their first weekend in the PBKC circuit of the summer, grabbing the #1 overall seed heading into bracket play with a +32 in the run differential column before falling just short in the championship game. The Barnstomers followed their nucleous of heart of the order bats in Jordy Scott, Asher Newton and Boone Richard to the title bout while others in the order stepped up to round out the offense in names like Caleb Hynek. Look for the Barnstormers to find themselves deep into the bracket the rest of the summer with consistent production from the top of their order. 

Underclass: Inevitable A's 16u National 

Pure dominance from the A's to open up their summer in KC running the table with a 7-0 weekend including a +35 run differential in their 4 bracket play bouts. There were notable performances from top to bottom for both the offense and pitching staff this weekend but I would be remiss not to mention Jackson Leonard leading the charge for the A's offensively this weekend. This is a must follow squad full of 2028's that will be fielding calls August 1st come time for college commitments. 

Finalist: Building Champions 16u Hisky 

Coach Hisky's BC squad battled out of the #6 seed and earned 3 quality wins before falling just short in the championship bout to open up their summer 6-1 on the PBKC circuit. Look for A strong heart of the order in Cooper Abernathy, Liam Axtell, and Drew Aadland to continue to power this BC squad deep into the bracket for the rest of the Summer. 

14u: Staley Sluggers 

The Staley Sluggers, following their Summer Championship win to secure back to back PBKC tournaments, now move to a big 24-7-1 on the season and this weekend was no different for the Sluggers. Their core of Ryker Graverson, Roman Strain, Fabian Palomarez and Ian Thornton continue to produce at a high clip on both sides of the ball for the sluggers. The big winner of the weekend for Staley was Noah Doss turning in a pair of 3 hit performances to supplement a strong heart of the order and playing a big part in the team's success this weekend.