Top-10 Stories of 2019: No. 10 Team Wisconsin with 12 commits already from the first-ever LakePoint trip

December 16, 2019
By Andy Sroka
Staff Writer, Associate Scout

At the end of 2018, Prep Baseball Report announced its partnership with the state-of-the-art baseball facility in Emerson, Ga.: LakePoint Sporting Community. Our inaugural season at the helm of LakePoint’s first-class facilities has opened the doors to a more competitive travel baseball scene with an emphasis on PBR’s boots-on-the-ground scouting services.

Though, the PBR and LakePoint relationship isn’t just beneficial to the country’s travel ball scene. At the end of every July, the top uncommitted incoming juniors (and select sophomores) in the nation have been representing their states to play in front of what is effectively the entire collegiate recruiting community as part of the PBR Future Games. In 2019, the PBR Future Games were moved from its previous home of Grand Park in Westfield, Ind., to LakePoint.

Team Wisconsin’s 2019 Future Games roster marked the first team from our state to compete on this most prestigious platform.

TEAM WISCONSIN 2019

As it stands right now, 12 members of the Team Wisconsin roster from the PBR Future Games have committed verbally to colleges.

SS Bobby Ball (Brookfield Central, 2021) proved himself to be one of the top defenders at the showcase, a reputation he had already established for himself in the state. Soft hands and an accurate, true arm to first base, with lateral range, allow him to vacuum up groundballs from all directions at shortstop. His big summer culminated in a commitment to Central Michigan in the late fall.

Sun Prairie was well represented on Team Wisconsin at LakePoint: C/OF Josh Caron put on a show from the right-handed batter’s box late into the night of the Workout Day, while also recording some sub-2.00 pops from the crouch. He’s now committed to Nebraska. Liam Moreno, a third baseman, is one of the top bats in the state’s 2021 class and he showed it off in front of the 300-plus college recruiting coordinators in attendance at LakePoint. He committed to Missouri State in September. The third Cardinal on the roster, 2B/SS Carson Shepard, is not yet committed but he’s a savvy defender who plays the game with a heads-up IQ and profiles as a table-setter on offense at the next level.

Liam Moreno (PBR Future Games, 7/31/19)

Moreno will have some familiar company on campus at Missouri State with travel ball teammate Liam Stumpf (Mineral Point) joining him in the fall of 2021. Stumpf himself is a lean two-way athlete with a loose, whippy right-handed bat that has more pop than you might expect. He’s a plus runner and recorded a 6.68 mark in Georgia. He’s also topped 88 mph from the mound in front of our staff in the past.

In mid-September, backstop Kaden Kosobucki (West De Pere) announced his commitment to Northern Illinois. He’s a compact catcher with a simple right-handed swing that helps him land hard line-drive contact with consistency off the barrel and into both gaps. Kosobucki is a reliable receiver, too, with sound footwork from the crouch.

Kosobucki will be familiar with battery mate LHP Tommy Meyer (Wauwatosa East) by the time the two are teammates once again as Huskies in DeKalb. Meyer has some serious upside as a clean and easy lefty with low-to-mid-80s velocity that plays up with the help of the extension he generates from his long-levered 6-foot-4 frame.

From Menomonee Falls, OF Luke Nowak is now an East Carolina commit after a big 2019. He repped Team Wisconsin at the PBR Future Games and showed off his easy athleticism and tooled-up skillset. He’s a 6.80 runner with simple bat speed from the left side and the defensive instincts that should gel well in the center field.

Luke Nowak (PBR Future Games, 7/31/19)

RHP Tyler Peck (Oak Creek), ranked No. 13 overall in the state, recently committed to Ohio. In Georgia, Peck pounded the zone with easy mid-80s velocity and sink, backed up with feel for two different breaking balls and a similarly sinking changeup. His polish, combined with his 6-foot-2 frame and ease of effort helped him garner some attention at LakePoint.

Muskego’s LHP Blake Read put together a couple of great outings down in Emerson and it helped him land a commitment to Miami-Ohio. At LakePoint, Read was up to 85 mph while mixing in a sharp 12/6 breaking ball which he’d surprise hitters in the zone for a strike or bury under it for a chase.

Blake Read (PBR Future Games, 7/31/19)

INF/RHP Grant Ross (Pewaukee) had a huge spring and summer that helped him earn an invitation to Team Wisconsin’s Future Games roster and, eventually, a commitment to Valparaiso. He’s a strong two-way athlete and he’s able to create some above-average pop off the bat with it. He’s also a pretty reliable defender with some promise to stick up the middle. On the mound, he sat 84-86 mph in LakePoint and has a curveball that flashes some swing-and-miss bite.

No prospect in Wisconsin’s 2021 class rose up his class rankings more substantially than SS Ryan Taylor (Verona Area), who’s now ranked No. 7 overall in the state. That helium lifted him to LakePoint and ultimately to a commitment with Central Florida. He’s a lean 6-foot-2 with quick twitch actions from the left-handed batter’s box that helps him find the barrel with a fluid consistency. He’s also a premium defender with a big arm, so his future looks comfortable on the left side of the diamond.

Ryan Taylor (PBR Future Games, 7/31/19)

At 6-foot, 170 pounds, the juice Owen Washburn (Webster) is able to generate from his left-handed bat can (and did) turn heads. He opened eyes during the Workout Day in batting practice and they stayed stuck wide open when he got on the mound and touched 89 mph with his first pitch. His live skillset helped him earn a commitment on the opposite side of the country, South Carolina, as his brother Jack (Oregon State, 2019). The younger Washburn left LakePoint as one of the top names to know.