PBR Arkansas 2018 Rankings

August 15, 2016

By: Zac Bottoms
Arkansas Scouting Director

After a busy spring and summer, we have finally come to a consensus updated 2018 rankings. A very deep class that took a lot of time energy and discussion from our staff.

2018 LHP Evan Hiatt from Catholic High School takes over the top spot. The 6-foot-2 left-hander looks to be the most polished player in the class. He has proven time in time again to locate his fastball 84-86 mph on both sides of the plate. His curveball has pushed him to the front, he locates his curveball in any all locations at 74-77 mph. He also has solid command of his change up. Hiatt is an Arkansas commit.

Hiatt is followed by No. 2 2018 RHP Connor Noland from Greenwood (Arkansas commit). Two highly recuited pitchers No. 3 Jaden Hill and No. 4 Kaleb Hill. Jaden is a 6-foot-3 right-hander who made a huge jump this spring, coming off a broken wrist late in the spring. He came back strong locating his fastball 88-91 mph with late life through the strike zone. Jaden is sorting through the recruiting process with offers from multiple programs in the SEC. Kaleb is a 6-foot-4 left-hander that works primarily off his fastball that works 84-87 mph and has been as high as 89 mph. Mechanically the least polished of the four pitchers but he has a high ceiling as he continues to get better.

No. 5 Tyler Johnson is the first position player in the rankings. As a sophomore he helped anchor Bentonville High School line up, as the Tigers won the 7A West. Johnson is a 6-foot-2 185-pound CIF/OF with an advanced feel to hit and the potential to hit for power consistently.

Two players have made a large jump, No. 7 Wade Beasley, after sitting out the spring Beasley had a strong summer playing for Southern Athletic. He has shown the ability to locate his fastball in the upper 80’s with a solid slider thrown 72-74 mph. No. 12 C Andrew Stanley has consistently showed an improvement and he has been rewarded with a jump, a strong showing at the PBR Futures Games earlier this month has led to an increase in recruiting activity.

Top 20

Rank

	Name	State	School	Class	Pos	Commitment
1	Evan Hiatt	AR	Catholic	2018	LHP	Arkansas
2	Connor Noland	AR	Greenwood	2018	RHP	Arkansas
3	Jaden Hill	AR	Ashdown	2018	RHP
4	Kaleb Hill	AR	Watson Chapel	2018	LHP
5	Tyler Johnson	AR	Bentonville	2018	1B	Arkansas
6	Connor McCullough	AR	Maumelle	2018	RHP	Oklahoma
7	Wade Beasley	AR	Forman	2018	RHP
8	Jordan Wicks	AR	Conway	2018	LHP
9	Jakobi Jackson	AR	Watson Chapel	2018	OF
10	Kam'Ron Mays-Hunt	AR	Bentonville	2018	SS
11	Pate Fullerton	AR	Harding Academy	2018	SS
12	Andrew Stanley	AR	Searcy	2018	C
13	Will Richardson	AR	Woodlawm	2018	RHP
14	Miller Pleimann	AR	Fayetteville	2018	RHP
15	Jackson Stroth	AR	Conway	2018	C
16	Landon Brown	AR	Shiloh Christian	2018	RHP
17	Luke Johnson	AR	Shiloh Christian	2018	1B
18	Hank Hannah	AR	Catholic	2018	LHP
19	Nick Fakouri	AR	Sylvan Hills	2018	RHP
20	Bennett Shoptaw	AR	Little Rock Christian Academy	2018	RHP