As we near the spring season, we continue our preseason coverage today with a group of juniors that are primed for big seasons. While many players from this class established themselves into impact roles during their freshman or sophomore seasons, a handful - either due to injury or later development, will see their junior year as the year they are expected to take on an impact / leadership role for their high schools' varsity team for the first time.

Read along to find 2026 prospects that will be expected to take on a new role for their varsity squad, or will be highly impactful in their first full spring on varsity, for top ranked teams. 

Find our preseason picks for Indiana Player of the Year, here, along with more of our preseason coverage, here. 

*committed players' highlights hyperlinked into name, uncommitted players are linked to their profile with video in article*

---

Crown Point is coming off a 21-win season and returns a handful of key starters including Indiana commit and ace Logan Cotton. However, a trio of juniors will likely play a big role for the Bulldogs this spring as newcomers to the squad. C Sean Dunlap, a Tennessee commit ranked as the #2 catcher in the 2026 class nationally, suffered a leg injury that set him back for last spring. However, he enters this season as a massive breakout candidate with the capabilities to be one of the most productive hitters in the region, and at the state level. His presence and ability to control the run game will be a huge asset to the pitching staff, as well. That pitching staff will welcome another frontline arm to compliment Cotton in fellow Indiana commit, RHP Logan Johnston, who really bloomed towards the back half of 2024. His fastball played in the 83-86 range in the fall, though I would not be shocked to see him come out at our Preseason All-State, and this spring, pitching well-into the upper-80s (or higher) to compliment his strong command and above average secondaries. Another junior to watch for the Bulldogs is SS Caden Matusak, who will likely plug into the infield and bring another asset to the lineup & defense. The uncommitted shortstop stands at 6-foot-3 & boasts a 90 mph arm across the infield to pair with his rangy frame. Offensively, he shows some twitch in the hands that deliver a short, direct swing. He flashed some power, leveraging the ball in the air to his pull-side to the tune of a 99-plus mph exit velocities, in a workout look this winter. 

‘26 SS Caden Matusak (@CadenMatusak)

6’3” 190 lbs

99.1 👀

@PBR_Uncommitted 📈 - also has been up to 90 across the INF. #MCSlugfest24 pic.twitter.com/BPWOvvA77K

— Prep Baseball Indiana (@PrepBaseballIN) December 14, 2024

Fishers is a really interesting team entering this spring with ten seniors committed to play college baseball, led by Ball State signee SS Huston Dunn. They're coming off a 22-win season, however they lose both conference starters on the mound - Jack Brown (Louisville) and Gavin Kuzniewski (Ohio State). These two were staples in the Tigers' rotation for consecutive seasons, though as they've graduated two more talented arms emerge. Uncommitted RHP Hayden Werner threw 27 innings as a sophomore, so the varsity mound will be nothing new to him. This spring however, he will be tasked with being on the hill in leverage situations for the Tigers more often. If his lanky, 6-foot-2 frame continues to fill out and gradual, positive development trends continue - he could be a breakout candidate for 2025. LHP Owen Lukac logged only 3 innings as a sophomore. A big summer on the circuit capped by a Future Games appearance led to his commitment to the University of Evansville. The state's No. 3 ranked junior lefty should take on a much bigger workload for the Tigers this spring, bringing his mid-to-upper 80s fastball and high spin slider to help fill the losses on the staff to graduation. 

On paper, its hard to find a more talented roster than the Center Grove Trojans. With big talent on both sides of the ball, the Trojans look like an early favorite in 4A. They return several talented bats, though Junior OF Hudson Stewart is a likely newcomer that adds another left-handed power threat to an already scary lineup. Stewart showed a strong hit tool with above average power across several looks on the summer and fall circuit before committing to Dayton last fall. The pitching staff will include three division one commits, along with two of our top-ranked uncommitted junior righties. One of those uncommitted arms is RHP Eric McAtee, who earned a win in his only appearance for the Trojans as a sophomore. Center Grove loses 75 innings to graduation and will likely look to McAtee to fill some of those innings. The ultra-loose, 6-foot-3 righty has massive upside, and began to show progress in his present abilities this fall with a fastball up to 88 and improving secondaries. The frame plus arm screams breakout candidate that will only enhance one of the best staffs' in the state. OF Reed Sawa is another junior that will likely add versatility to the Trojans' lineup. An injury derailed much of his sophomore season, though he gained experience early in the year, and has been productive on the travel circuit. Sawa is an above-average to better runner with twitch and bat to ball prowess, bringing solid defensive abilities to the outfield as well. 

Bloomington South is a program that I am excited to follow, particularly RHP Collin Marcum, an Indiana commit. In terms of pitching prospects in the state at the moment, Marcum is one of the best athletes - easily. He's high-waisted, 6-foot-2, with wiry strength and twitch (runs a 6.6), which translates to a fastball that creeps into the low-90s and he'll flash a plus slider at times. He was injured, and inconsistent when healthy, as a sophomore, seeing 19 innings. His game has taken leaps since that point and if his development trends continue and he is able to put it all together this spring, he could likely come out as a true frontline ace for a South team that returns plenty of key pieces including a strong core of juniors.

Another deep team with strong upperclassmen is Brownsburg, with LHP Ryan Murphy as a clear breakout candidate after making only two appearances as a sophomore, though he maintained a zero ERA across seven innings. A Creighton recruit, Murphy saw his stock rise with his velocity ticking into the mid-80s in the summer, which only elevated his wipeout spin and above average changeup. The Bulldogs return their entire pitching staff, but I'd expect Murphy's workload to increase with his bat-missing abilities that are necessary for success in the HCC. Another junior that is a likely breakout candidate for the Bulldogs is SS Vince Painter. The 6-foot-1, 170 pound wiry shortstop began to mature into some physicality towards the back-half of 2024, elevating his toolset greatly. These strength gains paid dividends for his offensive profile specifically, barreling his best ball at 95.3 mph at a Scout Day in the fall, an 11.5 mph increase from the Preseason All-State (March '24) and his previous PR (83.8 mph). A lack of impact led Painter to only 12 at-bats as a sophomore, though he'll look to show off the developments in his game with more production this spring, and he brings an above average run, throw, and glove tool to the table as well. 

RHP Lyrik Neal is a name-to-know entering the spring for Harrison. As a freshman, Neal showed promise - though an injury sidelined him to only 7 scoreless innings pitched last spring. Harrison graduates over 80 innings on the mound and will likely look to Neal to pitch in leverage situations this spring. He is a long-levered, 6-foot-3, 170 pound sidearm righty with a fastball up to 86 last fall and some feel for an above average change. The slot provides a ton of deception with velo gains likely in the frame.