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Illinois Preseason Procase: Wisconsin Quick Hits

January 30, 2026
By: Josh Fields
Wisconsin Staff

On Wednesday, January 27th, our staff hosted the Illinois Preseason ProCase at Rhino Sports Academy in Shorewood, IL. This event hosted some of the top players from Illinois, Wisconsin and even Indiana and Ohio, allowing them to workout in front of over 15 MLB scouts.

Today, we are taking a look at each Wisconsin prep player taking the trek down to Illinois today, found below.

POSITION PLAYERS

OF Jimmy Angle (Kettle Moraine, 2026) Eastern Illinois recruit, strong and physically built at 6-foot-1, 209-pounds with strength throughout the frame. At the plate the right-handed hitter swings a quick bat with average or better bat speed at times, the ball jumped off the bat when barreled mostly to the pull side reaching a 100.3 mph max exit velo while staying on the barrel throughout the round. Defensively in the outfield, Angle plays with clean and reliable actions with an accurate arm up to 86 mph and looks to be capable of providing reliable defense at either corner.

MIF Ian Kawczynski (Catholic Memorial, 2026) Wisconsin-Milwaukee recruit, standing at 6-foot, 177-pounds with physical strength throughout the frame, real athleticism that translates in game, 6.59 runner with quick twitch and burst also jumped a 30” vertical and tested in the 100% percentile on RSI. The glove stood out during defense, looking the part as a long-term shortstop with clean hand feet, consistently finding the pocket with ease. The arm strength ticked up in a big way, up to 92 mph across the diamond with an easy an athletic arm action that plays from multiple angles and on the move. At the plate, Kawczynski swings an upside right-handed bat with feel for the barrel and feel to elevate and drive the ball to multiple parts of the field reaching a max exit velo of 99 mph while average 95.9 mph throughout the round.

3B Trey Kerkhoff (Burlington, 2026) Purdue recruit, is a strong athlete standing at 6-foot, 194-pounds with some room to continue to add to his frame. At the plate the right-handed hitter has been an in game standout throughout his prep career. On the barrel throughout his round, reaching a max exit velo of 99 mph with an average at 94.2 mph showing feel to use the entire field. Defensively Kerkhoff showed clean feet and made accurate throws across the diamond, looking like a potential infield defender at the next level. The athlete stands out as well, 6.69 runner with twitch and burst that show up in the field and at the plate.

INF Caleb Liggon (Vel Phillips Memorial, 2026) Bradley recruit, ultra-athletic prospect with a ceiling physically. Standing at 6-foot-4, 188-pounds with lean strength throughout the frame, also a standout basketball player. The twitch and burst standout athletically with and has ran a number of plus or better run times in front of our staff. At the plate the right handed hitter showed feel to elevate and lift the baseball throughout the field with backspun contact reaching a max exit velo of 98.4 mph with a max distance of 376 feet. Defensively in the infield, played with clean actions and feet showing some feel to make plays on the move and from multiple platforms and looks capable sticking in the dirt long-term on the left-side.

SS Chance Ruby (Wilmot Union, 2026) Illinois-Chicago recruit, another standout athlete with a chance to stick at a position up the middle. 6.5 runner with speed that shows up in game with burst and twitch. At the plate, Ruby has performed like one of the top bats in the state for multiple years now while tapping into more game power as he matured. Took a standout round, on the barrel throughout with elevated backspin contact through the middle of the field reaching a max exit velo of 100.6 mph while averaging 97.1 mph. Defensively in the infield, Ruby looked the part of an infielder at the next level, clean and fluid feet with soft hands and feel to find the pocket consistently. Arm played with accuracy showing some feel to make plays from multiple slots and on the move. One of the top players in the Badger State and one that should be on pro radars and should receive some attention from scouts throughout the spring.

PITCHERS

RHP Vincent Bitter (Brookfield Central, 2026) Illinois State recruit, is a strong and physical right-hander with room to add to his frame as he matures. Standing at 6-foot-2, 220-pounds with some strength throughout the frame. Chance to start, clean arm with arm speed through release. The fastball plays with life in the low-90s T93.1 mph, has shown feel for two secondaries, a firm slider in the upper-70s with over 14” of sweep on average and a firm fading changeup. Showed feel to locate all three in the zone, with advanced velo on the secondaries and has had history finding the zone across longer outings to pair.

RHP Mason Schmidt (Somerset, 2026) Wisconsin-Milwaukee recruit, offered some of the highest upside at the event and tossed a standout ‘pen. Standing at an imposing 6-foot-5 frame with broad and sloped shoulders looking like he can still add a considerable amount of strength to his frame. Showed feel for four throughout the ‘pen, the fastball sat in the low-90s T93.5 while flashing some large carry action at the top of the zone with multiple fastballs. The secondaries continue to stand out to pair, the slider is advanced with large two-plane breaking action in the mid-70s, showed feel for a new cutter in the low-80s with sharp and late sweeping action and rounded off the arsenal showing feel for a changeup out of the same fastball window.

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