Missouri Class of 2026 Rankings: Update
September 6, 2023
We’re wrapping up our post summer updated rankings with the 2026 class today, expanding the board to 75 names and shuffling a handful of spots throughout after an expansive summer circuit.
To see our updated 2024 rankings, click HERE. For a look at our latest 2025 board, click HERE.
Below we’ve detailed the top of our latest ‘26 board, shining some light on the names that make up our top-10. As the week rolls on, we’ll spotlight a few more names to know in the class, so be on the lookout for that story.
For now, continue reading to learn more about our updated 2026 rankings.
THE TOP 10
+ RHP Cooper Shrum (Belton; Tennessee commit) holds down the top spot in this update. Shrum’s physical projectability is obvious, as the sophomore star stands at a lean, lanky 6-foot-4, 165-pounds with plenty of room to fill out. He impressed over multiple looks this summer, most notably at the NPI and Creekside, boasting an upper-80s fastball that he’ll pair with a darting swing-and-miss changeup - something you don’t normally see from high school arms. Shrum’s feel to spin is still developing, though his breaking ball has flashed sharp spin at times and it’s a pitch that should only tick up as his high school career progresses. Shrum looks every bit the part of the next standout national name to come out of the ‘Show Me’ state with the intangibles to run the table as the top prospect in this class moving forward.
Sticking at second and third overall, respectively, in this update are INF Nolan Sissom (Fort Zumwalt West; Missouri commit) and RHP Jathan Spain (Cape Central):
+ Sissom was dynamic for the Jaguars in his freshman campaign, slashing .344/.512/.427 as an everyday regular while helping lead a Fort Zumwalt West squad to a District championship game. He’s a highly competitive left-handed hitter that profiles as a top-of-the-order type at the next level with minimal swing-and-miss, walking more than four times (28) as much as he struck out (6) this past season. Sissom’s a steady defender too with the actions and feel to stick on the dirt for the foreseeable future.
+ Spain checks several boxes on the bump, starting with a physical 6-foot-4, 205-pound frame that’s still capable of adding 15 to 20 pounds of muscle mass rather easily. He’s a power arm with potent stuff to pair, pumping his fastball up to 88 mph this past winter while flashing swing-and-miss spin on a 72-76 mph slider (T2608 RPM) and showing raw feel to spin a low-70s curveball (T2629 RPM), too. Spain’s parachute changeup at 74-77 mph rounds out an arsenal that should only improve as he continues to get older.
A pair of right-handers that each represented Team Missouri at the PBR Junior Future Games in 2022 occupy the fourth and fifth spots, respectively, in this update:
+ RHP Dylan Curtis (Francis Howell) has all the makings of a future frontline arm at the next level. Standing at a long, lean-limbed 6-foot-5, 155-pound frame, Curtis’ owns supreme pitchability for his age and dominates his opposition nearly each time he toes the rubber. His ability to control his long levers down the mound at his age is impressive, as is his knack for pounding the zone with a quality three-pitch mix that’s slowly starting to tick up as he gets older. With room to rise even more so up our board over the next few years, Curtis is certainly going to be a popular commodity in collegiate circles come August 1st of 2024.
+ RHP/OF/QB1 Rocco Marriott (Platte County) really looks the part in a uniform, holding present strength with plenty of room for more on a 6-foot-3, 185-pound frame. A natural athlete with NFL bloodlines, Marriott has consistently impressed our staff on both sides of the ball over multiple looks these past 12 months. He’s a powerful right-handed hitter with above-average present juice from the right side that also pumps his fastball in the mid-to-upper-80s while landing a bendy breaking ball for strikes. Aside from his baseball talents, Marriott’s also the Pirates’ starting quarterback, where he’s a formidable prospect on the gridiron in his own right. He’s a high level athlete with plenty of talent to pair that has one of the higher ceilings in the class.
+ INF Brendan Pyle (Fort Zumwalt East) checks in at sixth overall in these updated rankings. Pyle was another St. Louis’ area native in this 2026 class to make an impact on varsity as a freshman, pacing the Lions’ offense in batting average (.365) and on-base percentage (.520) in his first year of high school ball. Pyle’s another highly competitive right-handed bat that’s done nothing but hit in our looks, though he’s slowly starting to impact the ball more authoritatively. Pyle can pick it on the dirt too, pairing a sure-handed glove and fluid feet with an accurate arm across the diamond.
LHP Johnny Carver (Raymore-Peculiar; Arkansas commit), RHP Jake Brettschneider (Francis Howell), and LHP Grant Mehrhoff (CBC; Louisville commit) check in at seventh, eighth, and ninth, respectively, in these updated rankings:
+ Carver logged innings on a loaded Ray-Pec pitching staff this spring, and the 6-foot-1, 180-pound southpaw has shown our staff pitchability feel with a quality three-pitch mix to pair. The Arkansas commit was up to 85 mph at the NPI this summer, pitching in the low-80s with slight sweep on his slider and occasional fade on a changeup.
+ Brettschneider rises a spot in this update and the 6-foot-3, 170-pound sophomore continues to show a highly intriguing ceiling on the mound. After playing a role in Francis Howell’s state playoff run, Brettschneider threw well in a brief look at Creekside this summer, pitching at 84-86 mph with his fastball and spinning a sharp 72-73 mph slider that flashed swing-and-miss potential.
+ Mehrhoff also rises a spot in this update with a noteworthy ceiling attached to a 6-foot-2, 170-pound frame that’s starting to fill out further. Mehrhoff threw well at Creekside this summer, hurling a complete game shutout, while pitching in the low-to-mid-80s with his fastball, touching 86 mph. The separator for Mehrhoff is his slider, as he’s starting to consistently throw it around the zone more often, while flashing swing-and-miss spin at 73-76 mph.
+ Rounding out the top-10 is OF/QB1 Caden Throneberry (Marquette; Missouri commit), who’s a left-handed hitter that carries lean strength on a physical 6-foot-3, 185-pound frame. He’s the starting quarterback for the Mustangs’ football team and is also a powerful middle-of-the-order type bat that showed easy bat speed and power at Creekside this past summer.
**CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2026 RANKINGS**
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