All-State Games: Preview

For the first time ever, PBR Illinois will be heading back to Triton College tomorrow, Aug. 9, to host the first annual All-State Games – an event designed for some of the top 2020 talent in Wisconsin and Illinois. All-State Games was created in order to give incoming juniors a platform to perform in front of recruiters prior to making their first big impact on their high school’s varsity squads. This invite-only event was crafted with the goal of putting prospects on the map before they take the field in the early spring.

Over 50 prospects have been assembled for All-State Games, where they’ll begin the event with a standard workout, including batting practice, infield/outfield warm-ups, etc., followed by live gameplay. The 50-plus 2020s have been divvied up into four teams where they’ll go head to head in the afternoon.

For a glimpse at who’s set to attend this year’s All-State Games, CLICK HERE.  To learn more about the event itself, from directions to team assignments, CLICK HERE.

One of the top arms set to attend tomorrow’s event is Minooka RHP Cooper Herold. He is the No. 9-ranked right-handed pitcher in the state for his live and loose arm action that helps his fastball run up to the upper 80s. Last February, at Underclass Invitational, Herold touched 89 mph and showed some semblance of developing the kind offspeed that can help him thrive at the next level. That bullpen session at The MAX was the last time we’ve had the opportunity to see Herold work on the mound, so it’ll be interesting to see the kind of strides he’s made over the past six months.

Cooper Herold (2.18.18)

Among the group of invitees coming down from Wisconsin are shortstops Will Semb (DePere) and Tyler Swanson (Burlington Catholic Central). We last saw Swanson at the Badger State Battle in the Wisconsin Dells, a little over a month ago now. There, he was regularly barreling balls into both gaps, displaying excellent bat strength. And while Semb has demonstrated some high-quality abilities at the plate and in the batter’s box, his upside may be greater on the mound. He touched 86 mph last February in the Fox Cities and has the projectable frame and outline of secondaries to grow into much more down the road.

Both players are ranked within the top-30 on their state’s Class of 2020 board.

TEAM 1	TEAM 2	TEAM 3	TEAM 4
Blake Donnan	Riley Frey	Emmett Olson	Nolan Vincent
Jake Kuntzendorf	Drew Rudsinski	Donovan Schultz	Joseph Shapiro
Thomas Giese	Cooper Herold	Joel Sarver	Alex Rodriguez
Logan Delgado	Bryce Miller	Jonathon Hanscom	Payton Mather
Isaac Crabb	Kyle Murphy	Matt Flaherty	Aaron Mishoulam
Vincent Esposito	Arthur Liebau	Chase Mason	Isaiah Gudeman
Ethan Habetler	Matthew Klement	Nick Cairo	Connor Stephenson
Breck Nowik	Colin Hageman	Davey Fitzpatrick	Danny Wuestenfeld
Nathan Gehrke	Payton Foltz	Logan Rademan	Lukas Broske
Ernie Day	Andrew Etter	Tyler Swanson	Evan Tocmo
Connor Aten	Jacob Ferry	Cade Zalewski	Will Semb
Max Rundberg	Vince Borrelli	Gunnar Doyle	Nick Serr
		Sam Buduris	Daniel Clawson
		Luc Melnick	Tom Jurack
			Michael Ellingsen