Prep Baseball Report

Top Underclass Games: TrackMan Hitting Leaders


Brandon Hall
Mid-Atlantic Scouting Director

On Sunday October 28th, PBR was at NC State's Dail Park to host the Top Prospect Games: Underclass.  The event featured perhaps the most talented underclass field of talent that PBR has put together for one event.  With over 50 of the top players in the state on one field, we thought we would have a great day... and we did.

The day opened with the position players going through some athletic testing with Swift Athletics.  Players had the chance to run on a laser timed 60 yard on turf.  With Swift, PBR Scouts were able to collect the 60yd time, plus a 10yd split and a 30yd split.  With younger athletes, the 10yd and 30yd give a great glimpse and a players explosiveness out of the gate and a top end run speed, even if they cannot maintain that top end speed through the 60 yd course.  Players also went through some jumping test with Swift.  Players were tested in the vertcial jump as well as a 4-jump RSI.

Following the athletic testing, each hitter took multiple rounds of BP.  During BP, TrackMan was used to get ball flight information off the bat.  BLAST sensors were used to get readings on each hitter with their swing prior to contact.  Following BP, players went through a defensive workout at their primary defensive positions with PBR scouts taking metrics on arm strength.

After the player workouts, the event concluded with two controlled scrimmages.  Pitchers threw to live hitters in game situations that were controlled by PBR Scouts.  While the workout gives PBR Scouts and coaches a lot of information to digest, the game setting allows players to continue to show their skill set and to apply their tools in a competitive fashion.

Top Prospect Games: Underclass - Notes
+ 4 Players ran sub 6.90 in the sixty
+ 18 players ran sub 7.20 in the sixty
+ 20 players saw their peak run speed above 19mph
+ 19 players ran sub 4.00 in the thirty yard split
+ 12 players saw a max vertical jump of 30in or more
+ 10 players posted a BLAST Bat Speed Max of 75mph or higher
+ 12 players posted an average exit velocity above 85mph through their two rounds.
+ 99.9mph was the top exit velocity recorded on Sunday
+ 22 players posted an exit velocity of 90mph or higher
+ 5 catchers posted a velocity out of the crouch of 79mph or better

CLICK HERE to see the full roster and stat breakdown from the Top Prospect Games: Underclass

TrackMan Hitting Leaders

PEAK EXIT VELOCITY

TrackMan is able to track every ball hit into fair territory, throughout the BP sessions.  Below are the exit velocities produced by individual players.

Rank Name State School Class Pos Exit Velocity (max)
1 Giovanni Buccino NC West Forsyth 2027 1B 99.9 mph
2 Brayden Richards NC Cuthbertson High 2025 1B 98.8 mph
3 Jonathan Reece NC Christ School 2025 C 97.2 mph
4 Jaxon Matthews NC Hough 2026 OF 97.1 mph
5 Ryker Butcher NC D.H. Conley 2025 C 96.4 mph
6 Prince Zion Odom NC High Point Christian 2025 OF 96.0 mph
7 Dylan Palmer NC East Wake Academy 2026 OF 94.6 mph
8 Andru Hall NC West Stokes High School 2025 SS 93.9 mph
9 Ethan Simmons NC JH Rose 2025 3B 93.7 mph
10 Miller Cox SC P27 Academy 2025 OF 93.5 mph
11 Andrew Kilgore NC Heritage 2025 OF 92.7 mph
12 Tanner Pope NC Garner High 2026 OF 92.5 mph
13 Ben Dudash NC Wakefield 2026 C 92.1 mph
14 Christian Xavier Romine NC Union Pines High 2027 3B 92.0 mph
15 Connor Woods NC Grace of Christian 2027 3B 91.5 mph

AVERAGE EXIT VELOCITY

The average exit velocity measures a players ability to consistently produce hard contact.  The average was taken based on every ball tracked by TrackMan throughout the player's BP session.

Rank Name State School Class Pos Exit Velocity (avg)
1 Brayden Richards NC Cuthbertson High 2025 1B 92.0 mph
2 Ryker Butcher NC D.H. Conley 2025 C 91.4 mph
3 Jonathan Reece NC Christ School 2025 C 90.7 mph
4 Giovanni Buccino NC West Forsyth 2027 1B 87.9 mph
5 Ethan Simmons NC JH Rose 2025 3B 87.3 mph
6 Tanner Pope NC Garner High 2026 OF 86.8 mph
7 Prince Zion Odom NC High Point Christian 2025 OF 86.6 mph
8 Connor Woods NC Grace of Christian 2027 3B 86.3 mph
9 Caden Nolan NC Richmond Senior 2026 3B 85.9 mph
10 Andru Hall NC West Stokes High School 2025 SS 85.9 mph
11 Ben Dudash NC Wakefield 2026 C 85.8 mph
12 Jaxon Matthews NC Hough 2026 OF 85.2 mph
13 Luka Rose NC Christ School 2025 LHP 84.8 mph
14 Andrew Kilgore NC Heritage 2025 OF 84.0 mph
15 Vincent Lee NC Pro5 Baseball Academy 2025 2B 83.8 mph

DISTANCE OFF THE BAT

TrackMan is able to measure and track the ball while in the air.  For every fair ball put in play it will display the distance the hit traveled.


Peak Distance - Best of the Hitter’s Session


Rank Name State School Class Pos Distance (max)
1 Giovanni Buccino NC West Forsyth 2027 1B 383 ft
2 Jonathan Reece NC Christ School 2025 C 378 ft
3 Ryker Butcher NC D.H. Conley 2025 C 365 ft
4 Prince Zion Odom NC High Point Christian 2025 OF 363 ft
5 Brayden Richards NC Cuthbertson High 2025 1B 363 ft
6 Jaxon Matthews NC Hough 2026 OF 361 ft
7 Tanner Pope NC Garner High 2026 OF 350 ft
8 Christian Xavier Romine NC Union Pines High 2027 3B 348 ft
9 Johnie Alexander NC Porter Ridge 2026 3B 337 ft
10 Miller Cox SC P27 Academy 2025 OF 337 ft


Average Distance - Average of each ball tracked in the Session


Rank Name State School Class Pos Distance (avg)
1 Connor Woods NC Grace of Christian 2027 3B 301 ft
2 Ryker Butcher NC D.H. Conley 2025 C 292 ft
3 Luka Rose NC Christ School 2025 LHP 287 ft
4 Jaxon Matthews NC Hough 2026 OF 276 ft
5 Johnie Alexander NC Porter Ridge 2026 3B 265 ft
6 Andres Lopez SC Legion Collegiate Academy 2025 2B 264 ft
7 Giovanni Buccino NC West Forsyth 2027 1B 263 ft
8 Gunnar Alm NC Polk County 2026 OF 249 ft
9 Prince Zion Odom NC High Point Christian 2025 OF 241 ft
10 Ethan Simmons NC JH Rose 2025 3B 240 ft


SWEET SPOT PERCENTAGE

TrackMan is able to track and follow how hard the ball is hit as well as the angle off the bat. With this information, TrackMan has deduced the Sweet Spot as batted balls hit with a launch angle of 8 - 32 degrees.

Rank Name State School Class Pos Sweet Spot %
1 Luka Rose NC Christ School 2025 LHP 77 %
^ Andrew Kilgore NC Heritage 2025 OF 77 %
2 Michael Gurganus NC Bear Grass Charter School 2025 RHP 76 %
3 Landen Smith NC Harnett Central 2026 C 75 %
^ Ryker Butcher NC D.H. Conley 2025 C 75 %
4 Vincent Lee NC Pro5 Baseball Academy 2025 2B 71 %
5 Baker York NC Needham Broughton 2027 OF 70 %
6 Ethan Simmons NC JH Rose 2025 3B 69 %
7 Crawford Elrod NC WESTCHESTER COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL 2026 3B 66 %
^ Isaac Devine NC Overhills High 2025 OF 66 %
^ Connor Woods NC Grace of Christian 2027 3B 66 %
8 Brody Morris NC Wake Christian Academy 2027 SS 64 %
9 Caleb Renn NC Holly Springs High 2027 LHP 63 %
10 Ben Dudash NC Wakefield 2026 C 60 %
^ Will Eichler NC RAVENSCROFT SCHOOL 2025 RHP 60 %

LAUNCH ANGLE PERCENTAGE

Based on the ball flight, TrackMan is able to identify each hit as a ground ball, line drive, or fly ball.  While there are many factors as to why a hitter may approach each pitch in a certain way, the overall groupings of BP can give some insight to each hitter's approach.

Line Drive %


Rank Name State School Class Pos Line Drive %
1 Landen Smith NC Harnett Central 2026 C 66 %
2 Baker York NC Needham Broughton 2027 OF 60 %
3 Davis Bradley NC DH Conley 2025 SS 58 %
4 Crawford Elrod NC WESTCHESTER COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL 2026 3B 55 %
5 Andres Lopez SC Legion Collegiate Academy 2025 2B 54 %
6 Will Eichler NC RAVENSCROFT SCHOOL 2025 RHP 50 %
^ Luke Talley NC Green Level High 2027 1B 50 %
7 Ethan Simmons NC JH Rose 2025 3B 46 %
8 Caleb Renn NC Holly Springs High 2027 LHP 45 %
^ Prince Zion Odom NC High Point Christian 2025 OF 45 %
^ Caden Nolan NC Richmond Senior 2026 3B 45 %
9 Asa Coplin NC Reagan 2026 1B 44 %
^ Luka Rose NC Christ School 2025 LHP 44 %
^ Andrew Kilgore NC Heritage 2025 OF 44 %
10 Miller Cox SC P27 Academy 2025 OF 42 %

Fly Ball %


Rank Name State School Class Pos Fly Ball %
1 Isaac Devine NC Overhills High 2025 OF 66.7 %
^ Connor Woods NC Grace of Christian 2027 3B 66.7 %
^ Jahdier Rodriguez NC CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL 2025 C 66.7 %
^ Giovanni Buccino NC West Forsyth 2027 1B 66.7 %
2 Carson Tew NC Midway 2026 2B 64.3 %
^ Johnie Alexander NC Porter Ridge 2026 3B 64.3 %
3 Gunnar Alm NC Polk County 2026 OF 60.0 %
4 Ryker Butcher NC D.H. Conley 2025 C 58.3 %
5 Jaxon Matthews NC Hough 2026 OF 55.6 %
^ Cooper Phillips NC Pro5 Baseball Academy 2025 SS 55.6 %
6 Michael Gurganus NC Bear Grass Charter School 2025 RHP 53.8 %
7 Cole Rogers NC Wake Forest High School 2026 C 50.0 %
^ Cannon Lee NC Pro5 Baseball Academy 2025 SS 50.0 %
8 Eric Branch NC Surry Central 2026 C 44.4 %
^ Luka Rose NC Christ School 2025 LHP 44.4 %
9 Evan Hodges NC Richmond Senior 2026 C 40.0 %
^ Hayden Heath NC Millbrook 2025 OF 40.0 %
^ Christian Xavier Romine NC Union Pines High 2027 3B 40.0 %
10 Tanner Pope NC Garner High 2026 OF 36.4 %

Ground Ball %


Rank Name State School Class Pos Ground Ball %
1 Brayden Richards NC Cuthbertson High 2025 1B 55 %
2 Ethan Wisler NC Wakefield 2027 RHP 50 %
3 Clay Rosser NC Grimsley 2025 RHP 47 %
4 Andru Hall NC West Stokes High School 2025 SS 45 %
5 Jonathan Reece NC Christ School 2025 C 41 %
6 Ben Dudash NC Wakefield 2026 C 40 %
7 Caden Nolan NC Richmond Senior 2026 3B 36 %
8 Evan Hodges NC Richmond Senior 2026 C 30 %
9 Vincent Lee NC Pro5 Baseball Academy 2025 2B 28 %
10 Tanner Pope NC Garner High 2026 OF 27 %