By Drew Locascio  
Illinois Scouting Director 

It seems early to be forecasting the Class of 2020 prospects, especially since many of these rising freshman haven’t even played a varsity game. Then again, with the acceleration of recruiting, some high-level 2020 prospects from across the country are coming off the board.

CLICK HERE for complete Illinois 2020 Rankings.

In fact, three of the top four 2020 prospects in Illinois have already made verbal commitments. Coincidently enough, all to Louisville.

RHP Ben Wiegman (Carmel Catholic), SS Christian Knapczyk (Joliet Catholic) and 1B Drake Wescott (Edwardsville) are all committed to Louisville and come in at No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4 respectively.

Wiegman is a strong body right-hander whose older brother Andrew (2019) is also committed to the Cardinals. We’ve seen Ben run his fastball up to 88 mph already and looks to have plenty more in the tank.

Knapczyk, a left-handed hitting shortstop, shows all the actions to stick at the position going forward. His athleticism and ability to handle the bat have already secured him a starting role this year with the Hilltoppers. Rounding out the trio of Louisville commits,

Drake Westcott has put on an offensive power display with his big left-handed bat in the early going for No. 9 Edwardsville. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound first baseman has uncanny power for his age, and not just raw power, but shows it off frequently in game.

We have kept the initial rankings list to a modest 20 prospects, comprised of standouts we have seen over the past year or so. The list is sure to change and expand over the years as players continue to mature and develop, as well as more prospects jumping into the spotlight.

Speaking of jumping into the spotlight, that’s exactly what No. 2 ranked prospect Briar Stinson did last fall. The outfielder from Rushville-Industry, a 2A high school in west central Illinois, came out of nowhere and wowed our scouts with his bat at the Capital City Open in Springfield, IL. The unexpected freshman was clearly an eye opener among the 40 or so prospects in attendance, and put himself securely on the map of top prospects in the region.

RANK	NAME	STATE	SCHOOL	CLASS	POS	COMMITMENT
1	Ben Wiegman	IL	Carmel Catholic	2020	RHP	Louisville
2	Briar Stinson	IL	Rushville-Industry	2020	OF
3	Christian Knapczyk	IL	Joliet Catholic	2020	SS	Louisville
4	Drake Westcott	IL	Edwardsville	2020	1B	Louisville
5	Alec Gonzalez	IL	Mount Carmel	2020	SS
6	Connor Gill	IL	Oswego East	2020	OF
7	Isaiah Jackson	IL	Champaign Centennial	2020	OF
8	Anthony Mangano	IL	Lake Zurich	2020	SS
9	Jacob Mote	IL	Normal University	2020	SS
10	Ed Howard	IL	Mount Carmel	2020	SS

Many of these names you may already see in the Daily Roundup, making an impact on their varsity club. But expect all of them to be covered at length of the next four years of high school baseball as some of the top prospects in the state of Illinois.

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