As we look back on the 2025 summer tournament circuit here in Kansas City, we’ll be breaking down the top players by tool from each class — based on evaluations from our scouting team at Homefield and Creekside. Follow along as we take a deep dive into these players and highlight the summers they put together. Each week will feature our top five players based on each tool from the class, presented in no particular order.

Top Defenders Class of 2027

Eric Billington OF / RHP / St Pius X High School, MO / 2027

Eric Billington is a player we hadn’t seen much of prior to this summer, but he truly shined on all sides of the ball. The first time he caught our attention was with a diving catch on a line drive to his right, a play that immediately put the 2027 Team KC outfielder on our list of players to follow. The next time we saw him, he led off the game with a home run (shown below) and covered a ton of ground in center field, making long, running catches look routine.

Billington shows above-average strength and athleticism that clearly stand out in game action. He also features a fastball that has touched 90 mph on the mound. We’re excited to see him again this year and track the continued improvements he’s made to his game.

‘27 | CF | Eric Billington (St. Pius X (MO), @TeamKCBaseball)

3-Run homer to straight away left.

EV: 87 MPH
LA: 33 Degrees
Distance: 332 FT

Speed/strength combo and covers a ton of ground in center field. Saw him make multiple highlight catches a couple weeks ago.… pic.twitter.com/aj1JGnCKgb

— LJ Hatch Prep Baseball KC (@ljhatchpb) June 19, 2025

Follow along on X: @ljhatchpb and Instagram: @ljhatchprepbaseball as we continue breaking down the top tools from this past summer.