The 2026 high school baseball recruiting class is presenting a unique landscape for aspiring collegiate athletes, especially with the recent NCAA Division I, 34 man roster limitations. Of note, over 1,842 players will potentially be cut from rosters, in combination with recruits in the 2025 class, to make sure that that number is met. 

High School players face increased competition for limited spots. This trend incentivizes young athletes to consider alternative routes such as junior colleges (JUCOs) or NCAA Division II/NAIA programs, where they can showcase their skills, play regularly, and ultimately make the jump to the higher levels through the transfer portal.

The success rate of the various events are as follows:

* The Preseason All-State (3rd Saturday of February) has seen 187 of 280+ players (close to 50+ repeated the event) that were invited and attended over the past 4 years, have gone on to play college baseball. 

* The Top Prospect Games (mid-July) has seen 60% move onto the next level. 

* The Future Games and West Coast Games have seen 90% move on to the next level. 

Players need to be participating in events organized by Prep Baseball Utah, specifically “Open ID” events and various showcases, which are crucial for players aiming to get noticed. The statistics and data provided about the success rates of the Preseason All-State, Top Prospect Games, Future Games, and West Coast Games reinforce the effectiveness of these platforms in helping players gain exposure and achieve their goals.

Once a player has performed well enough to gain a ranking and showcase their tools and skills, warranting high caliber attention, players will be in a position to be evaluated for the prestigious “Future Games” at LakePoint Sports in Atlanta, GA at the Mecca of Prep Baseball venues across the country. Future Games invites come in a variety of ways.

1) Attending the Preseason ID (January) and securing a spot at the Preseason All-State (February)

2) Now that the player is “on the radar,” we then follow the players closely through the upcoming HS spring season and invites will come at various times during the spring and early and into the summer.

3) There are usually spots open at various positions heading into the summer and then…

4) Invites will come to the summer's top in-state Utah event, with the Top Prospect Games, held this coming summer on July 14-15 (20+ college recruiters in attendance) at a yet to be determined college venue in the state. There the remaining spots will be filled and discussed with certain players to attend the Future Games a week later in Georgia. 

This year's graduating class of 2027 are the players being considered for the Future Games on July 22-26. The class of 2026 are being evaluated for our signature west region event, the West Coast Games in Southern California (40+ colleges attending) on Oct 2-4. 

It's clear that the path to success is multifaceted—talent alone isn't enough!

Players must not only assess their skills but also actively seek out opportunities to get evaluated and ranked, this is where Prep Baseball comes into play. High School coaches play a pivotal role in recommending players for these showcases and emphasizes the importance of building relationships and performing well during the high school season. 

Moreover, highlighting the advantage that northern Utah players have in terms of availability to travel for exposure is a given, as 3 D1 and 3 JC programs are within a 20 minute to 2 hour radius, It encourages southern Utah athletes to be proactive and willing to travel if they seek broader recognition, with opportunities locally to be seen by only Utah Tech. It’s a fact, that in the last 4 years, only 3 Region 9 players have played locally and 2 of those players transferred out. Here are the facts, 20 D1 players have come from Washington County, post-CoVid and only 3 have stayed local. That’s a discussion for another day…

Ultimately, it comes down to effort in showing up, being visible and showcasing not only your statistics but also the physical attributes that are significant in the decision-making processes of college recruiters. Players must "look the part" and be aware that their performance at these events directly impacts their future opportunities and the eye test of players physical stature, do play a massive role in catching a recruiter or scout's eye. 

In summary, players from Utah—especially from the southern regions of the state—need to be intentional about their engagement with the baseball community, Prep Baseball and seize every opportunity for exposure, and recognize that collegiate baseball is a highly competitive arena. It's a call to action for Region 9 players to demonstrate their commitment to the sport and their development as athletes by participating actively in the right events, building a strong network of people in the know, that can be an aid in their development and can consistently hone their skills.

Lastly if you are from the “Southern Utah” area high schools and have not attended an Open ID event, as two of our three state wide invite events are at area St. George schools, if you are only interested in attending those events, because they are local, unless you are putting up All-State numbers, the request may not transpire. It’s not a good idea to only attend local events and skip ahead of the line to other events, if you want to be evaluated for more signature style events, where the real meat on the bone for recruiters lies. You most likely will find your baseball career ending at the high school level!

Last word on that topic is, Northern Utah players coming from the bigger regions of the state as far as population goes, have shown they will travel anywhere they need to in seeking attention, and will be gaining more momentum on the Southern Utah players for looks from myself and college recruiters. So the moral of the story is: get in your car and start driving if playing at the next level is what you want to do? And as far as it comes to putting up numbers, numbers are just one aspect of the evaluation…If you are 5’7” 145 and putting up numbers, the eye test comes into play and the players at the next level are bigger, faster and stronger and it’s a physical game. YOU NEED TO LOOK THE PART and get in the Gym NOW!

Last last word: If you are from Southern Utah and have attended invite events in the past, but have an invite event that is LOCAL and you do not attend, that's not a good plan of action if you want to play at the next level. 80-90% of the time, college recruiters first point of contact in Utah, when vetting a player, is a phone call, text to MYSELF, before your HS coach! College coaches do ask me how a player did at the last invite event. Don’t be the player who I have to say, you didn’t attend. College coaches especially regionally or statewide recruiters know the lay of the land and where you are from, and most often is the case, they say “he didn’t register and it was 10-15 minutes from his house”?! 

Complete List of 2026 Player Rankings...Click Here

2025 Upcoming Showcase Events...Click Here

Chrisman Reports:

11/08/24

Recently Chrisman made the big announcement 📣 of his commitment to the Oklahoma State Cowboys! Chrisman was also recruited by SEC, ACC and other Big 12 schools, before making his decision! The #1 ranked player in the Utah ‘26 class and the #89 overall prospect in the country! Cy has top of the class, 70 raw power and was the driving force in the middle of the @mmhs_baseball lineup, in carrying the Golden Eagles 🦅 to the 5A State Championship! The @PrepBaseballUT staple has shot to the top of the rankings in one year’s time and solidified himself as one of the top 3 HS 1B’man in the entire country. The most viewed profile in Utah for the month of October! As one who coached this former MLB slugger, Chrisman reminds me of Mark Trumbo! Congrats to Cy and his family and for the kind words. We look forward to seeing Chrisman climb even further through our pro specific events over the next 2 seasons! MLB scouts should be taking note of this kid, as he has the chance to really make someone look smart!

8/07/24

One of Shooter Hunt’s top 75 (#5) impact position players of the Future Games, Chrisman who put on a power clinic during the workout phase of the West Coast ProCase at Pepperdine on June 4th, backed it up once again in even bigger fashion at the Future Games. With a exit velocity of 106 with wood and a max distance of 402’ at sea level in CA, put up 105 and 421’ at Lakepoint to finish #5 and #1 respectively in each category. If you are drawing up a power hitting 1B’man in MLB the Show, this is what they look like. A tall 6-4 218 physical well filled out frame with even more strength and size coming as he continues to develop and mature, the bat is elite and has a chance to be a ready made impact bat at whatever level that may be, whether it’s at the Power 4 or professional level out of HS. The bat speed is elite and consistently clocks in from 82-88 mph at all of his events he’s attended. It’s one of the fastest bats in the country and also one of the top power bats of anyone in not only the Utah class, but the country. The glove is fringy now with added footwork development needed and the hands are soft, just needs to sync up the feet to slow his low to mid 80’s arm to play more crisply. A 7.12/60, that is a solid avg athlete for his size and there are some very strikingly eerie similarities to former MLB power hitting 1B-Mark Trumbo, who Utah Director Jeff Scholzen coached in the Pioneer League in Orem, Utah in 2005. A massive 2024 season was put together by Chrisman as he led his Maple Mountain HS team to the 5A state championship, by hitting .480 8 40 with 12 2B’s with 47 base hits in 32 games played. Chrisman will most certainly be a top candidate for numerous player of the year awards over the next two seasons!

2024 HS Stats:

G 32 PA 127 AB 98 R 32 H 47 AVG .480 HR 8 RBI 40 2B 12 3B 1 BB 23 SO 13

Commitment: Brigham Young U

Poulson Report:

8/07/24

One of Shooter Hunt’s top 75 (#37) impact position players of the Future Games, Poulson is no stranger to LakePoint as he was a member of Team Colorado at the 2021 Jr Future Games. Would have been a Team Utah alum a year ago if not for an unfortunate injury just before the event took place. Now back in GA, Poulson was the difference in a 10-7 win vs Colorado on day one, as he powered a 3-R HR to left that was the difference maker. A lean and thin athletic catcher who also participated in the West Coast ProCase back in June at Pepperdine. Poulson has a chance to be a solid avg catch and throw type with solid receiving skills and moves well side to side and is quick to drop and block, while keeping balls in front to pounce and recover. A pop tone in the vicinity of 1.95-2.05 consistently and is always on the money with his throws. An avg arm and clean exchange will only get quicker as he continues to grow and get stronger and add leg strength in quickening the feet to get into position to exchange and throw. The setup to hit is unique as he spreads out with a heel lift from a still position with the bat resting on his shoulder. He takes an inward front turn of his left hip and left knee to get his weight back and then fires the hands and knob from his shoulder with an inside out stroke, that’s short to and long through. The finish can at times be a full two hand or one hand finish, depending on where he strikes the baseball in the zone, to balance himself throughout the swing. The athletic receiver is also a near avg runner at 7.06/60 and it wouldn’t surprise me to see some 6.8-6.9’s over the next couple of years as I said with added leg strength and filling out. The running gate is smooth and on a straight line with no sway on the straightaway. An all around catcher that has already received 5 offers with 3 being of the power 4 variety. More should role in over time, but he has some solid choices to date.

UNCOMMITTED (Has 3 known offers - 2 P4 and a Mid-Major)

Henry Report:

8/07/24

The son of Future Games coach and his HS coach, Darrin Henry as well as the younger brother to former MLB catcher and current AAA Blue Jays farmhand Payton Henry, Mason is a two-time Team Utah alum and made a quick impression on the mound to get things started for Utah as the starter in game one at LakePoint. The “man-child” at 6-8 215 returned to Atlanta after showing 84-86 a year ago and early this spring right out of the gym. But this go around, Henry showed an ease to operate with his tall imposing high kick to delivery, by pumping 86-89 down in the zone with plane, direction and angle to give hitters fits. The FB with a spin of 2,200-2,300 will continue to pick up a couple 100 rpm’s as the velocity matures. The CB 70-71 is big and arching with TQ tight spinning depth from the top of the building due to his imposing height at 2,500 rpm’s and the CH 77-80 has the chance as he continues to gain feel for the pitch and his delivery of being a solid avg pitch and potentially plus at 1,700 rpm’s and kill the spin well and the pitch fades with pull the string effect and arm side sink. A 3 pitch mix and the physicality mixed with the bloodlines had Henry’s phone buzzing on August 1st!

UNCOMMITTED (Has a number of teams he's talking to)

Gaggero Report:

8/07/24

One of Shooter Hunt’s top 75 (#39) impact position players of the Future Games, Gaggero’s father Nick, played for Utah Scouting Director~Jeff Scholzen in ‘95-‘96 at Southern Utah U. Bode was first ID’ed as a rising freshman in the summer of ‘22 at the Rising Stars ID at his home HS of American Fork and was promptly placed in the class of ‘28’s top 10 prospects. Gaggero has risen steadily since and was an everyday player this past year as the DH to get his bat in the lineup and also play 2B, when pitching rotations dictated a prospect at SS was pitching. Will take over at SS as a rising junior in ‘25. A lean athletic projectable 5-11 165, that has another 10-15 Lbs of maturity to his frame left as well as his man strength. The bat and glove are a tandem strength as well as he can run and throw and is an all around player with tools. The bat has a chance to really play as a high avg/high on-base type as his flat fluid on line stroke worn a two hand full whippy finish stays in the zone a long time with balance throughout the swing. Gets out of the box and has a fluid running gate and takes tight bellied out turns at the bag and looks for extra bases out of the box. The glove is clean and fluid with soft hands and educated feet and can make the back handed slide on the ground and pirouette and get up and finish the throw to get the runner. A 7.26/60 plays better than the number as the base running is instinctual and fundamentally sound in his decisions of when to take the extra base and also the ball in the dirt read. Enough arm for SS at the HS or mid-major level, but looks to be an offensive gold glove caliber 2B at the Power 4 level and there is no doubt in my mind that is where he will end up, as his phone was hopping on August 1st.

UNCOMMITTED

Horstmann Report:

10/01/24

Uncommitted. 6-foot-0, 183-pounds. Strong and leveraged swing that is fun to watch. Utilizes everything from the ground-up and leverages the bat through the zone with dangerous implications. Mashed a 3-run homerun on Friday (9/27) with ease; 347 feet/ 97.1 exit velocity. Simple set-up with a tad more weight in the back leg, hands coiled with elbow up high that don’t move during his load. Hands move through the zone effortlessly and connect bat-to-barrel with strong and consistent contact. Strength with simple mechanics that produced at the plate all weekend. Fun to watch and a high follow.

8/07/24

1st team all region (6A Region 2) 6A 2nd team All state 6A State Championship Runner Up Horstmann had a really good sophomore season at Corner Canyon as he hit over .400 hitting in the middle of the Chargers lineup and helped propel his club to a 6A State Runner-Up finish. A cousin by marriage, as his fathers first cousin is Kacee Sogard, who is married to longtime former MLB infielder Eric Sogard. Nathan works in the offseason and periodically on trips to Tennessee to visit the Sogard’s. Nathan had one of the better rounds of BP and overall workouts at the Future Games and was named to Shooter Hunt's top 75 workout day standouts. The two rounds were crisp and clean and squared every ball up on a line to LCF-LF on a line and took a professional round of BP. A solid 3B, with soft hands and educated feet for a 16 year old. The arm plays avg on the MLB scale right now and looks to be solid avg moving forward with a proper arm circle and path. Has the athletic movement patterns you look for in a quality INF’er and as he adds additional strength and size, while still maturing, you are looking at a future D1 3B, that could also slide over across the diamond and be an offensive minded 2B, if the LD gap power doesn’t translate into big corner power? The LD bat suggests a high avg, high on-base % type right now, as he has a feel for the zone and has pitch recognition and can recognize spin. It will be fun to see where this all ends up?!

Committed: Brigham Young U

Weaver Report:

8/07/24

Weaver jumped onto my radar as a freshman as he was the starting SS for the Davis Darts in 2023 and had a big freshman year as a 15 year old in hitting .363 in 116 PA’s as a sophomore the physically put together corner bat hit .356 with 7 2B’s, a 3B and a HR. The swing plane finishes through contact into a complete two handed finish and stays through the ball. Made loud contact on 2-3 occasions and drove balls hard to the gaps, only to be run down, but put good swings and AB’s together. Pitching: the arm at this point is a tad ahead of the bat as Weaver led the state at all levels with a 10-1 record on the mound and had one shy of half of his team’s wins on the mound this past spring. The arm speed as well as strength has taken a leap forward into the 87-90 range and sits 88 with finish and carry through the zone. The CB shows TQ shape and tilt with late hard spinning depth to get swing and misses off the plate to RHH’s and can back foot LHH’s in getting over the top swing and misses. With a fully developed frame and build, the upside is all about an added 10 Lbs and the strength that will come with it, as once he is fully leaned up and has his man strength, we are looking at a 90-93 arm in the not too distant future. A mid-major arm that can make an impact right away with his K throwing ability and tenaciousness and competitive streak on the mound to collect wins and beat you at all costs.

UNCOMMITTED

Robinson Report:

11/04/24

The surprise player of the event and clearly a player to highly consider as a top 10 prospect in the state! I guess when your head coach is Ryan Roberts (12 years as recruiting coordinator at BYU) you as a director pay attention when he brings him to the event. Robinson has a next level frame and is built with long lean muscular features. There's a twitch to his game and in his movement patterns. The event leader in EV at 101.4 and the leader in max distance at 392, as Miles smashed LD after LD from the big part of the field to the pull side. The stance has rhythm and timing, along bat speed (79.1) and balls jumped with backspin and carry through the gaps and a couple deep over the RF fence. Robinson also was the leader with a 6.69/60 and showed 4 usable tools with the arm being the only below tool in his tool box. It will be fun to see where this kid ends up over the next two years as the tools are that of a legit D1 prospect!

UNCOMMITTED

Roberts Report:

11/04/24

Another surprise prospect in that he comes from a big time baseball family and saw him briefly in the spring, but I get it, when your Dad is a decorated coach, you don’t want to pump your kid, but I’ll do it for Coach Roberts. The bloodlines are thick as Father Ryan is the head coach at Skyridge and was drafted 3 times at Utah Valley U (when it was a JUCO) and BYU. Ryan played a year in the Cardinals org and was the longtime BYU Recruiting Coordinator from 2000-2012. Ripken is the younger brother to Padres top prospect Kai Roberts, who is the all-time SB leader the U of Utah and was a 7th Rd pick in 2024, who went on to hit .340 in his first taste of pro ball with a California League Championship Ring! Roberts is lean and athletic like his Dad and brother at the same age and shows the frame and build to go from 6-3 185 to potentially 6-3 210 as he matures and fills out with his man strength. Ripken ran a 6.84/60, which was the second fastest time of the event, Roberts showed an all around game with his run tool, potential ability to hit and hit with some straightaway to pull power. An athlete that plays SS and shows the soft hands and educated feet with an 80 mph arm across the INF and wasn’t selling out for a reading, but just timed up ground balls and made easy short quick release of the ball for online target accuracy. With the run tool and athleticism, one can see a timeline like his brother, where Kai eventually went from being a HS catcher to D1 3B’man, but it was his move to CF that saw the prospect come into focus and just off a short look, one can see this trajectory taking hold possibly with Ripken. Like a few others that caught my eye, it will be fun to follow Rip’s projection and development over the next two years, as he also shows the tools, athleticism and projectability to be a next level D1 prospect!

UNCOMMITTED

Downing Report:

8/07/24

The son of former Southern Utah U and Arizona State star OF’er (owns most of the hitting records at SUU - played for Utah Scouting Director, Jeff Scholzen in 1997) Garrett has been on my radar since the age of 10, and now is one of the top 10 prospects in the 2026 class. The athletic small frame is put together physically and pound for pound strong with a fast bat and tight, short compact stroke to hit. Above avg hand/eye to find the barrel, yet can get stuck on his backside. Collected 40 hits out of the leadoff spot for the 6A state runner-ups and was the catalyst in the lineup and came into his own in 2024, earning a spot on Team Utah at the Future Games. Defensively he shows the instincts and reactions with movement patterns to run balls down and gets behind the ball in textbook fashion like his father. The routes are advanced, as he shows the instincts to stay in CF, with avg 7.0/60 times that should improve a tenth to two tenths as he continues to develop his leg strength. Has improved his 60 in the last two years by 7 tenths of a second.

RECENT NEWS

                      

SCOUTING DIRECTOR (BIO)

Scholzen comes to Prep Baseball after serving 9 years as the "Four Corners" Scouting Supervisor with the Milwaukee Brewers (2011-2020). Prior to his run with the Brewers, Scholzen worked for the Los Angeles Angels for 11 years (1999-2010), serving in the same capacity as the "Four Corners" Scouting Supervisor (UT, WY, So-ID, Las Vegas, AZ, CO, NM and El Paso). Scholzen received a 2002 World Series ring for his contributions as a scout with the Angels. 

With the Angels, Scholzen created an Angels Scout Team, in which he coached the following MLB players: Kris Bryant, Kevin Gausman, Greg Bird, Tyler Wagner, Aaron Blair, Joey Rickard, Donn Roach, Johnny Field, Taylor Cole, Andy Burns and Paul Sewald to name a few.

During his run with the the Angels, Scholzen also served as the hitting coach for the Angels rookie ball affiliate in the Pioneer League, the Orem Owlz, helping guide the Owlz to the 2005 and 2007 Pioneer League titles, which earned Jeff two more championship rings.

In Scholzen's 20 year scouting career, he was credited with the signing of 6 MLB players starting with:

Brandon Wood, SS, Angels 2003, 1st Rd ~ Efren Navarro, 1B, Angels 2007, 50th Rd ~ Donn Roach, RHP, Angels 2010, 3rd Rd ~ Tyler Wagner, RHP, Brewers 2012, 4th Rd ~ Payton Henry, C, Brewers 2016, 6th Rd ~ Ryan Aguilar, 1B/OF - Brewers 2017, 31st Rd ~ Scholzen also had an additional 3 players added to various clubs 40 man MLB rosters over the years.

2019 (14th Rd) draft pick, RHP-Paxton Schultz from Utah Valley U, is currently in AAA (Buffalo Bisons) with the Toronto Blue Jays, and former 40 man Brewers rostered RHP (Utah Tech) just recently returned from Korea and signed with the NL Champion Arizona Diamondbacks and is in AAA with the Reno Aces.

Prior to becoming a professional scout, Scholzen served as the head coach at Southern Utah University between 1993-1997. At the time, Scholzen was the youngest Division I head coach in the country, when he was first hired at 24 years old. The Southern Utah baseball program was dropped after the 2012 season. While coaching at Southern Utah, Scholzen served as the hitting coach for the Alaska Goldpanners in 1995, as they won the Alaska League Championship. Scholzen also recruited and coached World Series RHP-Ryan Jensen of the San Francisco Giants, who would earn a top 5 finish for NL Rookie of the Year in 2022. Scholzen and Jensen had the unique opportunity, to be on opposing sides of the ledger, when Scholzen's Angels and Jensen's Giants squared off in the 2002 MLB Fall Classic.

Scholzen also had the pleasure of coaching Jensen's roommate and back up catcher, Kyle Turner who has worked in professional/major league baseball for 24 years. Kyle currently is in his 14th season with the big league Kansas City Royals and serves as the clubs Head Athletic Trainer. Turner was instramental, while a young player for Scholzen at Southern Utah, in introducing Scholzen to his first wife, the late Heidi Dalton Scholzen, who passed away in December of 2014. A native of Utah, Scholzen played at Hurricane HS and was twice named 1st team All-State and an AAU HM All-American, before moving on to Utah Valley CC and Eastern Oregon University, earning All-Conference honors on three separate occasions. Scholzen played in the Angels’ organization in 1991.

Scholzen was married to his late wife Heidi for 20 years and their union produced four children - McKyla 28, Miranda 25, McKenzie 23 and the couples only son, Grant Scholzen 19, played 2B/3B at D1 WCC school, the U of the Pacific (Pacific Tigers) on scholarship, in 2024 and transferred to Salt Lake CC.

After Heidi's passing in 2014, Scholzen married Cami Macias Scholzen, a widow herself and the same age as Heidi and the couple now have been married 9 years. Between both families, Jeff has 3 grandchildren and 5 step grandchildren (8 total). The Scholzen's reside in Hurricane, UT in the bottom left SW corner of the state, near the most iconic and scenic national parks in the country.