Follow @PrepBaseballCA Follow @LesLukach Follow @PBRmonkFollow @hardy03bsblFollow @HankLoForte

New Episode LIVE now! - At The Yard Podcast

Ventura, Calif. - The Uncommitted Spotlight Series continues as we forge ahead in the 2024-2025 school year and the looming JR. High School baseball season for our '26 class. With than in mind Prep Baseball California is highlighting some of the top uncommitted class of '26 athletes. The player featured today is one of the top players in the state of California and figures prominently in our Class of 2026 Rankings. All players featured within our Uncommitted Spotlight series are ones that college coaches and fans should be keeping their eyes on over the coming months.

We invite you to get to know them through the eyes of our Prep Baseball California staff of scouts both through our in person looks at players and/or the data-backed numbers collected at our events with our partnered companies. TrackMan, Blast Motion, and Swift Performance provide comparable data to project and evaluate players. All of these systems come together to give a clear picture at what colleges will get when a players steps onto their campus.

Today, we put the spotlight on the number 157 ranked player in the 2026 class in NorCal '26 SS/2B Braeden Butler from Justin-Siena High School. Butler made a strong appearance on the Prep Baseball California events platform in 2024 at the NorCal Preseason All State where he displayed an intriguing package of tools in a compact athletic frame. This past spring he saw time on the varsity level for Justin-Siena getting consistent playing time as a position player where he gained valuable experience to prepare him for his JR. campaign while showing flashes of his potential. Offensively, he collected 4 doubles and on the mound he made 4 strong appearances posting a 1.24 ERA over 5.2 innings pitched with 8 strikeouts. 

Butler checks in at a present 5'9 150 lbs. that has wiry strength to it and shows room to add more as he continues to mature. A decent athlete he posted a 7.44 second 60 time at the 2024 NorCal Preseason All State event while reaching a top speed of 19.4 MPH. His defensive actions and present arm ability give him potential to stick on the INF dirt with flashes of SS potential, but he will need to continue to improve his athleticism to stay there long term as he matures, but shows plenty of potential to slot into 2B/3B if a move is needed. 

In addition to a quality INF defensive profile, Butler shows a solid overall profile as a RH hitter. His RH swing displayed quality present metrics on Blast Motion at the NorCal Preseason All State including reaching a max of 70.5 MPH of bat speed and averaged 68.2. Butler shows quickness with his hands posting a peak of 22.5 MPH hand speed and 21.1 MPH average hand speed on his batting practice swings. The torque he generates in his swing is a solid trait as he peaks at 19.4 Gs of rotational acceleration and averaged 15.2 Gs throughout batting practice. His Trackman batted ball data at the NorCal Preseason All State displayed a high contact line drive swing with a flatter path that produced a solid 71% line drive rate while missing at a lower launch angle for a 29% ground ball rate. As well, Butler posted a max exit velocity at 89.6 MPH while averaging 86 MPH during batting practice that plays to his gap to gap doubles power approach.

Coming off a year in which Butler gained valuable experience competing against quality High School baseball competition on the NorCal scene with continued time to improve his overall game the RH hitting INF looks to build on his first year at the varsity level for the Justin-Siena program. Keep your eyes on the potential rise for this NorCal 2026 product.

College coaches and fans be sure to click on Butler's profile to see full video and information.

Upcoming Events

Showcase	State	Date	Location
Orange County Preseason ID	CA	01/02/25	JSerra
San Diego Preseason All State (Invite Only)	CA	01/04/25	Maranatha Christian High School
Central California Preseason All State (Invite Only)	CA	01/05/25	Antelope Valley College
Central California Preseason ID	CA	01/12/25	Ventura College
North Bay Preseason ID	CA	01/25/25	Novato High School
Northern California Preseason All State (Invite Only)	CA	01/26/25	Ohlone College
East Bay Preseason ID	CA	02/02/25	Pittsburg High School

MORE PREP BASEBALL NEWS