On Wednesday, October 4th, the PBR Missouri staff traveled to Crowder Community College to host the annual scout day with the Roughriders program. More than 20 players from Crowder CC participated in a pro-style workout in front of our staff and collected unrivaled data in the process with the help of our state-of-the-art tech partners. 

To see all of the statistics from this event, click HERE. For a full roster of those in attendance, click HERE. 

'Now, with the event behind us, we've compiled our scout notes from the day and formulated these takeaways. Below you will learn more about a few standout performers from this year's ''Crowder CC Scout Day.''

POSITION PLAYERS

+ OFKolton Reynolds (Huntsville, 2022; AR) is back for Crowder following an explosive freshman campaign in 2023. Reynolds, who's plenty physical at 6-foot-2, 215-pounds, slashed .399/.533/.814 in 188 at-bats last season with 37 total extra-base hits, including 19 home runs, and 79 RBIs. In BP, Reynolds worked exclusively middle-away, squaring his hardest ball up at 105 mph, with three other batted ball events registering at 98+ mph. His two furthest barrels were both direct shots to straight away center field, traveling 381 feet and 386 feet, respectively. Reynolds rounded out his day by peaking at 88 mph from the outfield on his hardest throw. Now a sophomore, Reynolds figures to be one of the more productive bats in Region 16 this spring. 

Kolton Reynolds

+ 1B Joey Morton (Oxford Area, 2021; PA) figures to be another key component of the Roughriders’ offense in 2024, bringing back a .341/.463/.639 triple-slash across 205 at-bats, including 15 home runs, 16 doubles, and 82 RBIs. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound left-handed hitter worked consistently middle-away throughout his round at this event, squaring his hardest ball up at 102.3 mph, while swatting his furthest an estimated 383 feet. Morton’s sheer raw power paired with his feel to hit have the redshirt sophomore poised for yet another prime spring at Crowder. 

Joey Morton

+ CIF Cole Kitchens (Bentonville West, 2022; AR) was an everyday regular for the Roughriders as a freshman last spring, batting .321 and reaching base at a .424 clip across 184 at-bats. Built with strength at 6-foot-3, 200-pounds, Kitchens worked primarily to the pull-side in BP from a simple, direct, and leveraged right-handed swing with balance through contact. He found the barrel consistently, averaging 91.2 mph per batted ball, while peaking at 99.7 mph on his firmest swing. 

+ Two backstops to know on this Crowder squad are C Jaxon McAuliff (Jenks, 2022; OK) and C Tucker Bradley (Huntsville, 2022; AR). At 5-foot-11, 215-pounds, McAuliff peppered the opposite field with line drives throughout BP from a long, uphill right-handed stroke. He led the event in peak throwing velocity from behind the plate (T80 mph) and popped in the 1.96-to-2.01 range. Bradley, who’s plenty physical at 6-foot-2, 215-pounds, flashed bat strength to the middle of the field, squaring up four balls at 95+ mph, including a 99.6 mph high. Bradley’s hardest throw from the chute checked in at 77 mph, and he popped at 1.95-to-2.00. 

+ INF Ethan Fender (HarBer, 2022; AR) and INF Easton Swofford (Bee Branch, 2022; AR) are two more names to follow from this event: 

+ Fender logged 148 at-bats as a freshman last season, batting .304 with a .429 on-base percentage. He elevated the baseball almost exclusively to the middle of the field in BP from a fast, intentful right-handed swing in this look. Fender’s a confident defender on the infield that trusts his hands, working comfortably to his forehand with sure-handed actions to pair throughout his workout. 

+ Swofford’s a loose, free-flowing left-handed hitter with a balanced, polished, and rhythmic stroke that sprayed line drives back up the middle of the field during BP. He’s a quality defender too, and Swofford’s 88 mph high across the diamond led all infielders from this event.

PITCHERS

+ RHP Ashton Branson (Sheridan, 2022; AR) returns a team-high 77 ⅓ innings of work from last season, punching out 109 batters, while walking 35, with a 3.72 ERA in that span. At 6-foot-1, 180-pounds, Branson pumped his fastball for strikes at an easy 91-92 mph throughout his ‘pen. Branson threw his changeup near fastball arm speed at 77-78 mph with natural running action, and he spun a 76-77 mph curveball with depth for strikes to the arm-side corner of the plate. Branson figures to be another anchor for Crowder’s pitching staff in his sophomore season. 

Ashton Branson

+ RHP Aaron Arnold (Bentonville West, 2022; AR) led the event in max fastball velocity, touching 95 on his firmest bullet, while pitching at 92-94 mph throughout his ‘pen. His heater flashed carry traits, working from a lower release height on average (4.8 ft.) while reaching 17 inches of vertical break at peak. Arnold’s changeup played with power swing-and-miss sink at 86-87 mph and he threw it with intent from the same arm window as his fastball. He showed two different breaking balls; a gradual, more arching curveball at 69-71 mph, and a firm, more convicted slider at 77-79 mph. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound sophomore will look to build off a freshman campaign where he punched out 37 batters over 24 ⅔ innings of work with a 1.82 ERA. 

Aaron Arnold

+ RHP Austin Jobe (El Dorado, 2022; AR) punched out 43, with just 14 walks, in 34 ⅓ innings as a freshman last spring for the Roughriders. A wiry 6-foot-1, 185-pound athlete, Jobe’s fastball played at 90-92 mph in this look, working with jump/life out of the hand to the arm-side corner of the plate. Jobe spun his slider for strikes at 76-79 mph with tight shape and late break, averaging 2461 RPM. He rounded out his arsenal with a low spin (T1391 RPM) and low lift (T6.6” VB) changeup at 80-81 mph that played with subtle fade from a similar arm window to his fastball. 

+ Three arms from this event that’ll look to make more of an impact for Crowder this spring: RHP Rhett Richardson (El Dorado, 2022; AR), RHP Jacob Pannell (Fayetteville, 2022; AR), and RHP Cooper Crouch (Webb City, 2022; MO). 

+ Richardson owns prototypical starter’s size, toeing the rubber at 6-foot-4, 205-pounds. His fastball played in the low-90s, touching 92 mph at peak. He showed feel to spin a 78-80 mph slider for strikes, and it's a pitch that plays well with his fastball when spotted up in the zone. Richardson rounded out his three pitch mix with a changeup that flashed arm-side run at 83-84 mph.

+ Pannell holds strength on a 6-foot-2, 200-pound frame and was another strong-armed follow from this event, pitching at 89-91 mph with a straight four-seam fastball. He slider flashed sweep at 77-80 mph (T2363 RPM) and he showed a firm changeup at 85-86 mph with natural arm-side action at times.

+ Crouch, who stands at 6-foot, 215-pounds, pumped his fastball at 89-90 mph with jump out the hand from a short, tight arm window (T2449 RPM). He complimented it with a cutter at 84-87 mph and 81-83 mph changeup.

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