By John Cackowski
State Director

Over the last three weeks PBR Colorado presented the PBR All-Colorado Team. Players were chosen for the PBR All-Colorado Team were players that not only performed well during the season, helped their team have success on the field, but also were seen in front of the PBR Colorado scouting staff in the form of a past PBR Colorado event or game. Here is the entire PBR Alll-Colorado Team:

Aeneas Roberson, OF, Cherry Creek, 2015
Finished ranked No. 21 in the 2015 class. 5-8 165 lbs R/R OF. Speed outfielder and good athlete. Hits from a open athletic stance with some swagger. Uses leg kick. Uses the whole field and shows gap to gap power. 4.3 home to first time. The Garden City commit had an outstanding season for the Cherry Creek Bruins, and every time we saw him play he came up clutch in big situations. On the season Roberson ended up hitting leading the Bruins with a .527 batting average, and also set the table scoring 33 runs. Roberson was the ultimate weapon hitting 6 doubles, 4 triples, 2 homeruns, and swiped 16 bases while playing CF.

Ryan Koehler, OF/RHP, Eaton, 2015
Finished ranked No. 32 in the 2015 class. 5-11, 160 lbs. Bats and throws left. The left handed hitting OF and pitcher was one of the most underrated players in the state this year. The New Mexico Junior College commit has Division I hitting ability once grows into full body, superior 2-strike hitter that takes top pitchers to opposite field when behind in count, strong doubles pull hitter when ahead in count with natural lift in swing that generates significant power and top spin, one of state’s top natural left-handed hitters. Koehler helped lead the Reds to a 26-1 record and their 11th state championship this year. Koehler hit .477 on the season while driving in 37 on the power of 18 doubles and 2 homeruns. Koehler was also dominating on the mound going 5-0 with a 0.91 ERA on a deep Eaton pitching staff.

Quin Cotton, OF, Regis Jesuit, 2016
Currently ranked No. 12 in the 2016 class. 5-foot-11, 175 pounds. Bats and throws right. Impressive looking athlete. At the plate has no wasted movement from a balanced athletic stance. Load is smooth and stride is short. Bat speed and lower half are explosive. Has line drive gap to gap power that produced the 2nd fastest exit velocity at the tryout at 91 mph. Shows power potential. In the outfield displays confidence with good actions. Throws from a high 3/4 arm slot at 84 mph with good carry. Ran a 6.80 60 time. Was the most athletic looking player at the tryout. High 2016 player to follow in our state. Cotton led the Jesuits with a .457 batting average while supplying 6 doubles, 4 triples, and 4 homeruns. Cotton was recently nominated to the Junior Sunbelt Classic All-Tournment Team.   

Ryan Madden, RHP,/3B, Fairview
Finished ranked No. 3 in the 2015 class (No. 180 overall) and committed to Oklahoma. Madden was drafted in the 35th round in the MLB Draft by the Colorado Rockies. Madden proved he was the best two-way prospect in the state. Last we saw Madden he hit  a walk off Grand Slam in first district game against Montbello proving why he is going to Oklahoma as a two-way player. Madden is athletic, quick hands, gap to gap power with good bat speed. Good athletic base in stance, explosive to ball. Madden has a choppy delivery that makes him deceptive and uses a quick pace, and showcases an impressive 3-pitch mix. Against Mountain Vista in the district playoffs his FB sat at 93-94 mph, and he hit 95 mph four times in the game. His curveball had 12/6, sharp late break and comes out just like a fastball. CB was 75, CH was 79-81. Shows different looks with runner on first base. Home to first times were 1.1, then 1.39, then 0.9. On the regular season Madden finished with a 7-1 record with a 1.80 E.R.A. in 50 innings pitched striking out 62 giving up only 40 hits. Madden also hit .460 with 6 doubles, 6 homeruns, and 24 RBI's.

Cuba Bess, 1B/C, Fruita, 2016C

Currently Ranked 17 in the 2016 class. 6-2, 200 pounds. Bats L throws R. Bess was a one man wrecking crew for the upstart Fruita Wildcats in 2015. Bess helped lead the Wildcats to a 18-2 record. The 1B/C shows strong power to both gaps with explosive bat speed and strong lower half. Bess hit .562 (2nd in 5A) with 12 doubles, 6 triples, 4 homeruns, and lead 5A baseball with 40 RBI's. All of this created a staggering 1.712 OPS. Bess will be back in 2016 and is a high player to follow in our state.

Nick Shumpert, SS, Highlands Ranch, 2015
Finished ranked No. 1 in the 2015 class and No. 19 overall. Was drafted in the 7th round by the Detroit Tigers at No. 220 overall. 6 foot 180 pounds. Shumpert had an outstanding season in 2015, and could have been the most feared hitter in the state. Shumpert lead 5A in batting average (.600), OBA (.722),  and stolen bases (33, next closest was 18). Shumpert also scored 29 runs, hit 8 doubles, 5 homeruns, and walked 20 times. His OPS was an astounding 1.813. Shumpert helped carry the Falcons back to the playoffs for the first time since 2012. 

Chris Givin, SS/RHP, Rock Canyon, 2015
Finished ranked No. 14 in the 2015 class and currently is committed to Xaiver. 6-foot-1, 175 pounds. Tall, lanky frame. Givin did everything for the Jaguars in 2015. At the plate he hit .515 scoring 25 runs, and walked 25 times producing a .667 OBA which was 2nd behind Shumpert in 5A. Givin also pitched 63 innings for the Jaguars and carried an 8-1 record and 2.10 E.R.A. Givin was the winning pitcher in the 5A state championship game, and helped lead Rock Canyon to their first ever 5A state baseball championship.

Logan Soole, LHP/CF, Monarch, 2015
Finished ranked No. 5 overall in the 2015 class, No. 169 overall. Soole was drafted in the 23rd round by the Diamondbacks, and recently signed with them. 6-1 185 lb. LHP/OF, 2015. Soole was the top LHP in the state of Colorado. Throws from a quick and short high three-quarter slot. Has an explosive lower half with long stride with great extension to the plate. Fastball lives from 86-87 mph. Curveball has tight spin with 1-7 action. From outfield throws in upper 80's to low 90's. Wide, slightly crouched stance with good bat speed. Has level swing through zone producing good power. Very good student. Had an outstanding season for the Monarch Coyotes. On the year Soole finished the season with a .518 batting average with 7 doubles, 3 triples and 3 home runs, and stole 15 bases. One the mound Soole pitched 55 innings and had an impressive 92 K's only giving up 33 hits.  Soole won 7 games and finished the year with a 0.83 ERA including the playoffs.

Cameron Brown, LHP/OF, D’Evelyn 2016 
Currently ranked No. 14 in the 2016 class. Brown had as as a dominating season you could have on the mound. Brown was 6-0 for the Jaguars with a 0.59 in 47 IP only giving up 23 hits. From the mound arm is loose and throws from a high ¾ slot. Motion is effortless and he lulls batters to sleep. Had the most dominant pitching performance we have saw this year. Threw a complete game giving up 3 hits and struck out 14 against the 4A state champions Green Mountain. Brown lived between 83-85 MPH FB, maxing out twice at 86 MPH. This was up from 79 mph at the Preseason All-State Event on 3-1-15. Curve ball was 70-72 mph with late 1/7 break, and tight spin. Brown can also run showcasing a 6.77 60 time at the Junior Sunbelt Classic Tryout and he made the roster.

Paul Tillotson,RHP/OF,Lewis Palmer 2016
Currently ranked No. 1 in the 2016 class, and No. 28 overall. Committed to Nebraska, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound, right-handed pitcher was a one man wrecking crew in 2015. You could argue that Tillotson was one of the most dominating pitchers in the country in 2015. Posting an 8-1 record, in 78 innings pitched Tillotson only gave up 55 hits, and posted a 1.62 ERA. He struck out an impressive 145 batters while only walking 22. Tillotson displays a smooth tall and fall motion with level shoulders and square athletic landing throwing off two feet and repeats delivery time after time.  Arm is long and loose, lightning quick from an over the top slot.  Easy effort produces fastballs from 90-91 MPH with hard run late in the zone.  Command is excellent in the bottom half of the zone.  Has a 68-72 MPH curve with 11/5 action and sharp late movement down in the zone.  Split Change is 74-75 MPH with good sink down in the zone.  Tillotson has a live arm and is a very projectable pitcher. Offensively Tillotson hit .446 while always being pitched around (26 walks). Tilloston shows power at the plate and produced 6 homeruns, and 9 doubles while driving in 32. Tillotson was PBR Colorado's 4A player of the year.

J.R. McDermott, RHP/Util, Smoky Hill, 2015
Finished ranked No 9 in the 2015 class and committed to Colorado Mesa. 6-0, 165 lbs. RHP .Mcdermott was a special story in 2015 leading the Smoky Hill Buffaloes to the playoffs and almost a 5A Final 8 appearance with an upset victory of Rocky Mountain. McDermott won more then half the Buffaloes games in 2015 going 6-1 posting a 2.10 E.R.A. striking out 98 batters in 60 innings while only walking 18. McDermott also only gave up 44 hits on the season. The highlight on the season came in the District Playoffs when McDermott showed how talented he is by pitching a complete game against heavily favorite Rock Mountain, striking out 10 batters against the talented offense of the Lobos for a 6-3 victory. During the season McDermott also had complete game quality wins over Arapahoe and Cherokee Trail. 

Kelton McCoy, C, Bayfield, 2016
Currently ranked No 27 in the 2016 class, the 6-foot-3, 195-pound big right-handed hitting catcher was an offensive force for the Bayfield Wolverines in 2015. McCoy blew up 3A pitching with a .561 batting average, lead 5A in homeruns (11), RBI's (51) Slugging Percentage (1.121) and also hit 11 doubles. With his size, a 1.97 pop time, and 89 mph exit velo off the tee, McCoy will look to improve on his skills for the 2015 season and be one of the top catcher in the state. McCoy was named 3A player of the year, and also made the Junior Sunbelt Classic Team.

 

Josh White, 2B, Rock Canyon
Finished ranked No. 44 in the 2015 class and is currently committed to Army. 5-foot-10, 175 pounds. Bats and throws right. White was a catalyst all year for the 5A State Champion Jaguars. In 91 AB's, White hit a solid .368 showing power to all fields hitting 4 doubles, 4 triples, and leading 5A with 7 homeruns. White also lead the Jaguars with 25 RBI's. White was a weapon on the bases as well stealing 10 bases and always ran the bases hard. Everytime we watched White play he seemed to be the best player on the field that day. Had good actions at second with good feet, soft hands, quick glove to hand transfer on groundballs and double plays while also showing good instincts and range going left, right and on slow rollers. We will be excited to see how White does as he plays baseball and serves our country playing at Army.

The Final Part to the 2nd Annual PBR All-Colorado Team series goes to Green Mountain Head Coach Brad Madden who is our choice for Coach of the Year. Below is a Q/A with Coach Madden that was done by PBR Director of Scouting John Cackowski. 
 

3. Who in your mind, have been the standout players in Colorado high school baseball this year?

I think the Jeffco league was one of the strongest leagues in 4A baseball this season lead by many great players.  Cole Shetterly GM 3 time all state selection Josh Ramirez GM 2 time all state player and winning pitcher in back to back titles games.  Wyatt Featherston GM 2 time all state player Talon Schaller 2 time all state player.  Willie Harris WR CF Grant Witherspoon D'Evelyn OF/P Paul Thurston Lewis Palmer P Cameron Brown P D'Evelyn

4. You have created an unbelievable baseball culture in your community. What are some of the things you do to create a positive baseball atmosphere in your community?

Green Mountain youth baseball has always been strong within Jefferson county we as a high school try and make sure that we are helping that group any way we can.  We run youth camps for the GMJBA players and do coaches clinics for all of the coaches.  I think it gives the young players something to strive to be when they get older and winning back to back state championships with all local Green Mountain kids proves that it can be done. 

5. Your program has had the opportunity to have been to win the 4A state championship the last two years. I know that every coach can look back at a season and have one awesome memory. Can you share that one awesome memory over the run of the last 2 years?

I think you can look back to last season and all of the come from behind wins that fueled the run.  The never give up attitude that last season team started carried over to this season.  The walk off win vs D'Evelyn in this years semi final game was in our mind the hardest team we have played this season so to knock them out of the playoffs was a big deal in repeating as state champions.

6. Not many people may remember you won a 4A state championship with Golden in (2003). That gives you three rings as a head coach. Some coaches have coached for over 20 years without ever making a Final 8 appearance. Looking back, what is the one piece of advice you tell yourself every year that helps you get through adversity:

I have been very blessed as a coach to have coached a lot of great players and been surrounded by great assistant coaches.  I know that I can lean on them when things are going bad.  My advice to myself  is to not worry about the things you can't control and focus on the things you can control like attitude and effort. 

Jeffco Baseball- Competitive

Rams- Family  Strong Community

Underated 2015 Ram Player - Reid Effrein SR 2B

Hardest Loss - Wheat Ridge 3-4 no earned runs allowed

Family - Love being around baseball

Assistant Coaches: Best friends and great coaches

Colorado Baseball - Getting Stronger every year

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