TX State Games Quick HIts - Committed Players
September 29, 2022
WEATHERFORD, TX - This past weekend PBR Texas hosted its Inaugural Texas State Games at Weatherford College. It was a 3 day event that consisted of a showcase day and two days of gameplay. The rosters were filled with some of the best players in Texas from the 2023-2026 Classes.
The event drew over 20 different colleges, including 15+ Division 1 schools. We look forward to growing this event into the premier Fall event in the Lone Star State.
Today we are looking at some of the players that came into the weekend committed to a D1 school. Be on the lookout for more quick hits on other committed players and some of the top uncommitted players in the event
Catchers
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Jerson Martin - Wichita stateC / OF / Colleyville Heritage, TX / 2023Rankings StateRank: 40 / POS: 6
The athletic backstop looked fantastic in all facets this weekend. He has a strong build with a thick lower half that should help his body hold up over a long season. Offensively, he had multiple hits and showed while he is a catcher, he is still a threat to steal a bag. He has a balanced set up with some natural rhythm, he uses a subtle leg kick to start the swing but when the foot hits, he is trying to do damage. The swing is more geared for Line Drives right now, but there is power potential there. Defensively, Martin looked the part behind the dish. He blocked multiple balls, looked good receiving and was consistently in the 1.9’s in between innings. The other thing that sticks out about Jerson are his leadership skills. He plays with a sense of urgency and is continuously locked in. He makes everyone around him better. |
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Zane Becker - arkansasC / 2B / Flower Mound, TX / 2024Everytime we see Becker he steps his game up to another level. The 2022 Future Game Member and recent Arkansas commit shined on both days of game play. Offensively, he had some quality at bats against high end arms, smoking balls to both sides of the field. He starts with a wide stance, shows good bat speed and has some pull side power. He is also an above average athlete for the position, and it shows up on the bases and defensively. Behind the plate, Becker is a good receiver of the baseball. He does a good job on both sides of the plate and makes the zone bigger. His athleticism shows up dropping to his knees and blocking. He is quick and puts himself in good positions. The future Razorback is consistently around 2.0 with his pop times. Becker has become one of the premier backstops in Texas for the ‘24 class.
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Infielders
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Kyle Branch - oklahomaSS / 2B / Lovejoy, TX / 2024Branch was a big winner on the weekend, showing high end ability on both sides of the ball and he plays with a high IQ and plenty of moxie. He started off the night running a 6.9 60, looked clean in all of his actions during the infield portion, showing good footwork, soft hands and was 84 across the diamond. In the batter’s box, the right handed hitter has a simple set up, with little wasted movement. His swing is geared to drive line drives all over the field right now, but there is enough twitch and projection in the frame to think the power will continue to come. In game, Branch really shines. He is the quarterback in the infield and has leadership qualities that really standout. He plays with energy and can handle all 3 infield spots. Overall, a really good weekend for Branch. |
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Ryan Jones - texas tech3B / SS / Aledo, TX / 2024Jones was one of the players I was most excited to see this weekend, and he definitely impressed. The future Red Raider started the weekend with an eye opening 6.56 60, showing elite athleticism. In the infield, Jones plays 3rd and has more than enough arm strength to stay there. He was 90 across the infield with minimal effort. In the box, shows elite barrel skills with above avg. bat speed. He starts with a wide stance and just picks his foot up and sets back down to start his swing. His barrel stays in the zone for a long time allowing him to hit the ball with authority to all parts of the field. Jones shows above avg. tools across the board and will be a fun follow these next two years. |
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Uriah Walters - dbu3B / SS / Prosper Rock Hill, TX / 2023Rankings StateRank: 91 / POS: 5
One of the more impressive all around showings on Friday night belonged to Walters. The DBU commit showed up and looked bigger and stronger than when I saw him in the Spring. The 6’3 190 3rd Baseman started off by running an impressive 6.67 60. Defensively, Walters plays 3rd, but shows enough athleticism to play shortstop or even centerfield. He was 88 across the diamond, showing enough arm to play either infield position on the left side. He made one of the better plays of the weekend on a slow roller to 3rd, showing off the athleticism and arm strength. At the plate, Walters shows exciting upside with elite metrics. His bat speed and rotational acceleration, measured by Blast Motion, both graded out extremely well. He starts with high hands and as he starts his swing you can see him really get into his legs ready to explode. He had the 2nd highest max exit velocity at 102.2. He also took multiple good swings in game play. Walters shows the potential to play with 5 above avg. tools and will be a must follow moving forward.
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Dondreone Kennedy - texasSS / RHP / Prestonwood Christian, TX / 2023I was excited to see Kennedy this weekend, as he doesn’t play a lot of summer ball in Texas. He exceeded all expectations with a great all around weekend. The twitchy athlete shined in all facets of the game. He started by running a 6.54 60 showing off his elite athleticism. The athleticism plays during the game as well, as he is capable of handling all 3 OF spots and playing all over the infield. He was 86 across the diamond during the workouts. During BP, Kennedy put on a show, standing 5’8 he had a max exit velocity of 100.9 and an event best max distance of 393. It is easy juice that he can replicate in game. He got off multiple good swings in gameplay hitting balls on the nose consistently. Once he is on the bases, you have to worry about stealing bags. He didn’t waste time, usually stealing the 1st or 2nd pitch every time he got on. The future Longhorn is an exciting player that will have Scouts out in the spring. |
Outfielders
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Dylan Schlaegel - dbuOF / RHP / Mansfield Legacy, TX / 2023Schlaegel has long been a favorite of the PBR Texas Staff. A past Future Game participant, it’s been fun watching the maturation in his career. Now entering his Sr. campaign, Schlaegel has become one of the more dynamic Outfielders in the state. He wasn’t there Friday night for the workout, but he ran a 6.6 at a PBR event earlier in the year and was 93 from the OF. He made his presence felt during game play, barreling multiple balls capped off by a home run over the left wall that got out in about 3 seconds. He shows elite bat speed and the ability to drive the ball with authority to all parts of the park. |
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Jax Marshall - houstonOF / 3B / McKinney Christian, TX / 2024Rankings StateRank: 105 / POS: 21
Marshall continues to get better every time we see him. He ran a 7.1 60 but as he gets stronger in the lower half, that number will continue to improve. He was 86 from the OF showing enough arm to play center or left. The future Houston Cougar is a hitter plain and simple. The RHH has an innate ability to get the barrel to the ball and drive it all over the ballpark. On Friday night during the workout, he had one of the best Max exit velo’s at 98.9. He followed that up in gameplay by shooting a hard hit line drive to the opposite field and then hitting one of the 5 Homeruns in the event. He isn’t filled out yet, but he shows the ability to really drive the baseball and projects to have some serious power as he matures. Marshall has really come into his own this year, and his best days are still ahead of him. He has a body that really projects and it will be fun to see where he is at in the spring.
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Dasan Harris - oklahomaOF / 1B / Plano East, TX / 2023Rankings StateRank: 70 / POS: 12
I first saw Harris at the beginning of the spring for Plano East and was intrigued, fast forward 6 months and Harris is committed to OU and one of the more exciting players in North Texas. The first thing that stands out is the twitch and bounce he plays the game with. He is an effortless mover in the OF and on the bases. He ran a 6.47 and he plays that fast. He is your prototypical center fielder and showed off an above avg. arm with a max OF velo of 91. In the batters box, Harris was one of the stars of the weekend. It started in the showcase portion where he had exit velocities over 100 and an event best max rotational acceleration of 28.5 which is elite. He had multiple hits on the weekend spraying line drives all over the field and then causing havoc all over the bases. Harris has now become a must follow for next season. |
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Caden Sorrell - texas a&mOF / LHP / Marcus, TX / 2023One of the biggest winners this weekend was Sorrell. We knew the caliber of player he was with his commitment to A&M, but for a player his size, the athleticism jumped out. Standing 6’4 195, Sorrell ran an event best 6.46 with a max run speed of 21.9, which was also an event best. Both of those showed up all weekend as he made several plays in center, along with his arm, which topped out at 91 in OF drills. Offensively, Sorrell is an imposing figure in the batters box, to go along with elite bat speed averaging out at 75.6. He had a max exit velo of 97.7 showing the ability to impact the baseball to all parts of the field. In the game, he hit a ball that he didn’t get all of, and drove it to the opposite field wall showing the strength and bat speed. He has a wide set up, picks his foot up and puts it back down and has some natural loft to his swing. Sorrell really opened eyes this weekend and will be on everyone’s radar coming this spring when it comes to the Draft. |
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William Hill - texasOF / RHP / Summer Creek , TX / 2025Hill had a summer that saw his stock really explode which led to his commitment to the University of Texas. The first thing that you notice about the two sport star is the twitch and bounce he plays with. Hill ran a 6.64 60 showing the needed athleticism to play all 3 OF spots. He got multiple good reads during gameplay showing his baseball instincts and ability to take good angles. For Hill to stick in center he will have to continue to work on his arm strength, but with his athleticism I expect that to come. Offensively, Hill shows enormous upside. He has a natural feel and rhythm in the batter's box and seems to always be on time. He has loose hands with a leg kick and does a good job of syncing them together. Hill has supreme upside and will be fun to follow for the next 3 years. |
Pitchers
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Zachary Frye - texas a&mRHP / SS / Timber Creek, TX / 2023Rankings StateRank: 93 / POS: 29
This was my first time seeing Frye live, and he didn’t disappoint. The 6’1 Aggie commit has a no nonsense approach on the mound and pitches with a purpose. His fastball ranged from 88-91 showing the ability to throw it to both sides of the plate. The fb has some arm side life making it tough to square up. The game changer for Frye is the Slider. He throws it with conviction and confidence you don’t see in many HS arms. The pitch was 80-82 and came out of the same window as the fastball. It has late bite to it resulting in multiple swings and misses in the zone. Frye has the confidence and secondary offerings to really open eyes this coming spring. |
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Kannon Kemp - oklahomaRHP / Weatherford , TX / 2023The local boy showed up on Saturday night with a lot of people excited to get their first look at him, and he didn’t disappoint. Standing 6’6 225, he is easy to spot, but when he toes the rubber and throws that 1st fastball, everyone takes notice. He has a compact arm action that he repeats well, and the ball seems to jump from his ear. The fastball was electric, it sat 90-94 and there is still more coming. He commanded it well to both sides of the plate. When he wasn’t getting swings and misses, he generated a lot of weak contact on the ground. The spin numbers on the pitch were highly impressive as well. The future Sooner had a max spin on the fastball of 2815, and averaged 2665. To complement the fastball, he threw a curveball that matched well with his fastball, coming out of the same slot. He threw it at 77-78 showing good depth and the right spin. He had a max spin of 2766 on it. Kemp will be a must stop for pro teams this coming spring. |
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Robert X. Mitchell - texasLHP / OF / Prestonwood Christian, TX / 2025X has long been a favorite of the PBR Texas staff, and he just keeps elevating his game. First thing that stands out is the fact he seems to get taller everytime we see him. He is a legit 6’3 and has plenty of projection left on the frame. The future Longhorn has a low pulse demeanor on the mound and is in total control of what he is trying to accomplish. His fastball sat 84-86 T87, and it is going to continue to climb. He threw a slider that he showed confidence in, throwing it in any count, including one 3-2 backdoor slider for strike 3. He also showed the ability to back foot the pitch to a righty. To round out the arsenal he throws a low 80’s changeup that he throws with the same arm speed as the fastball. Mitchell has great mound presence, and always has a plan of attack. The upside is through the roof for Mitchell, and as he gets stronger the velo should see some big jumps. Mitchell should continue to see his name rise in rankings. |
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Jacob Gholston - oklahomaRHP / Flower Mound, TX / 2023Rankings StateRank: 52 / POS: 14
I first laid eyes on Gholston this spring when he was pitching for Flower Mound HS. The kid we saw this weekend is night and day from the one in the spring. The 6’6 projectable righty looks more confident and his mechanics continue to improve. He threw a low effort 88-89 at the bottom of the zone with sink and some ASR. The velo is easy to dream on with his frame and body control with his size. He moves down the mound with ease for a guy standing 6’6. Gholston also showed a sweeping breaking ball that has a chance to become a real weapon for him. It had a max spin rate of 2566 and generated some bad swings. He needs to throw it for a strike more, and when he does, it will take another jump. Gholston has positioned himself to be a pop up guy this spring if we see another velocity spike over the winter. He gets better everytime I see him and can’t wait to see him this spring.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
| SHOWCASE | STATE | DATE | LOCATION |
| DFW Fall ID | TX | 10/10 | Lake Dallas High School |
| DFW Fall Rising Stars ID | TX | 10/10 | Lake Dallas High School |
| Houston Fall ID | TX | 10/30 | Rice University - Reckling Park |
| Houston Fall Rising Stars ID | TX | 10/30 | Rice University - Reckling Park |
| Austin Fall ID | TX | 11/06 | St. Edward's University - Lucien Hamilton Field |
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