Program Spotlight: Mountain West

December 16, 2021
Brett Harrison
Nevada Scouting Director

The PBR Scout Days have become our way of kicking the year off with an event where players throughout Nevada are provided an opportunity to update their PBR Player Profiles with the base level information retrieved at the event. From the PBR Scout Day, we are able to track players progess, highlight standout performances and begin the process of selecting the very best to represent Nevada at the 2022 Junior Future Games (2026/2027), the 2022 Future Games (2024/2025) or the 2022 West Coast Games (2023). Both high school programs and club organizations have an opportunity to provide their players with an exclusive Scout Day for players within their program.

This year, we will be adding the use of our TrackMan System to provide each player with the most accurate and relevant information from both hitting and pitching standpoint. Along with the TrackMan, we have rebranded our Open Scout Days in both Northern and Southern Nevada as the Northern Nevada Preseason ID and the Southern Nevada Preseason ID. These new event will provide the same opportunity as the exclusive Scout Days hosted by the high schools and club programs, as they will play a vital role in the selection of Team Nevada for the Summer of 2022.

With the Mountain West Scout Day set to take place tomorrow, we begin our coverage of the event with Program Spotlight feature, highlighting the current state of their program, committed prospects, top uncommitted players and the upcoming players within their program that you will want to keep on your radar.

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Mountain West Nevada SPOTLIGHT
Director and Head Coach, Jered Ferdinand

The Mountain West program has made significant strides in the past twelve months with player development at the forefront of your mission statement and now seeing that come to fruition with successful Summer and Fall Seasons. What are the expectations and standards you have set for players within Mountain West that have allowed you to make that progress?

Every player must bring a positive attitude to both practices and games with the expectation to work hard and take coaching. They need to practice becoming a good teammate, develop a strong work ethic, dedicate themselves to the classroom and continuously strive toward reaching excellence. Excellence is a continuous, relentless, never-ending commitment to improve. Each player will demonstrate good sportsmanship at all times, regardless of victory or defeat.

Who are the top players that have come through your program?

Brant Hunt, Silverado (2020) - University of Toledo
Dominic Desch, Lake Mead Christian Academy (2021) - Dominican University
Cannon Greene, Green Valley (2021) - Northeastern JC
Billy Ham, Bishop Gorman (2021) - University of Nevada, Reno
Ethan Yatson, Foothill (2021) - Colorado School of Mines
Ryan Skelly, Silverado (2021)

What players are currently committed within your program?

Lucas Boesen, Bishop Gorman HS (2022) - College of Southern Nevada

Who are the Top Uncommitted 2022's within your program?

Nicky Garritano, Green Valley HS - "Tremendous defensive player with extremely high baseball IQ. Team first mentality who plays with high energy."
Luka Brancato - Redondo Union HS (CA) - "Big strong frame. A mid 80s LHP with great control. Competitor on the mound who throws consistent strikes and keeps hitters off balance with 3 pitches. FB, CB, CH. Throws fastball downhill with armside run and mixes in a cutter. Curveball has sharp 12-6 break with the ability to locate in all counts. Change up runs away from RHH with good MPH differential from FB."

Who are the Top Uncommitted 2023's within your program?

Chaz McNelis, Green Valley - "Not only one of the top hitters for Mountain West, Chaz is one of the best hitters in Las Vegas. Hits to all fields with power."
Brady Ballinger, Green Valley - "Scrappy LH hitter with power. Gap to gap hitter with low strikeout %. On the mound keeps hitters off balance with 3 pitches that can be thrown for strikes in any count."
Trevor LaPres, Lake Mead Christian Academy - "Tall athletic frame. Reliable outfielder who takes good routes and has extremely accurate arm. Trevor shows big power potential to pull side but is able to hit to all fields."

What Underclass players do you have coming up through your system that should be on school’s radars?

Connor Apeceche, Green Valley (2024) - "One of the top catchers in his class, Connor has great mechanics behind the plate and has shown the ability to throw 1.94 pop time. Shows potential to have solid power at the plate and a strong gap to gap hitter. "
Braylon Kolish (2026) - "Extremely live arm on the mound that shows multiple pitches keeping hitters off balance. Fastball has sharp armside movement and compliments with a sharp slider and solid change up."
Cayden Rodgers Ramirez (2026)- "Big strong lefty with great potential. Has a strong arm and shows potential to be a dominant pitcher."
Gavin Christensen (2026) - "Competitor on the mound who can locate both sides of the plate. Has 3 strong pitches FB, CB, CH and has ability to throw any pitch in any count. Thrives in pressure situations."

What age groups does Mountain West provide an opportunity for and do you have any events coming up?

We have teams at the 12u, 14u, 16u and 18u level with tryouts will be held for 14u-18u on January 4th at Burkholder Park from 7-9pm. We will follow that will tryouts for our 12u team that will be held on January 3rd and January 5th from 5-7 at Silver Springs Park.

For more information regarding tryouts please email us at [email protected]

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UPCOMING EVENTS

SHOWCASE	STATE	DATE	LOCATION
2021 PBR Scout Day: Canes Las Vegas	NV	12/04	College of Southern Nevada
2021 PBR Scout Day: Mountain West	NV	12/16	College of Southern Nevada
2022 PBR Scout Day: Coronado Cougars	NV	01/26	Coronado High School
2022 PBR Scout Day: Arbor View	NV	01/27	Arbor View High School
Southern Nevada Preseason ID	NV	02/02	UNLV
Super 60 Pro Showcase	NATIONAL	02/06	The MAX - McCook, Ill.
2022 PBR Scout Day: Foothill Falcons	NV	02/08	Foothill High School
Northern Nevada Preseason ID	NV	02/13	Carson High School
2022 PBR Scout Day: Carson Senators	NV	02/14	Carson High School
2022 PBR Scout Day: Reno Huskies	NV	02/15	Reno High School
2022 PBR Scout Day: Reed Raiders	NV	02/16	Reed High School
2022 PBR Scout Day: Damonte Ranch	NV	02/17	Damonte Ranch High School
2022 PBR Scout Day: Bishop Manogue	NV	02/18	Bishop Manogue High School
Rising Stars of Southern Nevada (2026/2027)	NV	04/10