On Feb. 25, the PBR Illinois staff hosted the Preseason All-State: Underclass showcase at The MAX in McCook, Ill., featuring many of the state’s top players inside both the 2025 and 2026 classes. This event helped our staff gain a clearer picture of the on-the-rise underclassmen in Illinois, and we’ll begin to break down the excellent thoroughly today and throughout the week. Inside today’s Quick Hits post, we’re highlighting the best of the best – the talent that exited the event as with arrows pointed way up headed into the spring.

Last week, we took a closer look at some of the immediate standouts who caught our attention with our Quick Hits. Yesterday, we published our statistical analysis, where we broke down the stat leaders from the more traditional categories. Today, we will take a further in-depth look at the top positional players with the help of our tech partnerships, broken down by the categories down below: 

SYNCRO ATHLETIC TESTING

60-YARD DASH

Rank	Name	State	School	Class	Pos	60-yard
1	Logan Fernandez	IL	Jones College Prep	2026	OF	6.78
2	Connor Lund	IL	South Elgin	2025	OF	6.82
3	Trey Meyers	IL	New Trier	2025	OF	6.83
4	Karlos Otero	IL	Romeoville	2025	SS	6.85
5	Blaine Williams	IL	Tremont	2025	C	6.91
6	John McAuliffe	IL	Marist	2025	C	6.92
7	Nolan Ramoley	IL	Brother Rice	2026	OF	6.96
^	Gavin Powels	IL	Downers Grove South	2025	OF	6.96
^	Ethan Bass	IL	Glenbrook North	2026	SS	6.96
8	Logan Wroughton	IL	Mount Carmel	2026	SS	7.00
^	Patrick Connors	IL	Hinsdale Central	2026	OF	7.00
9	Zach Rubin	IL	Antioch	2026	SS	7.01
10	Frank Costabile	IL	Stevenson	2026	OF	7.02

10-YARD SPLIT

Rank	Name	State	School	Class	Pos	10-yd
1	John McAuliffe	IL	Marist	2025	C	1.64 s
^	Cole Lockwood	IL	Libertyville	2025	SS	1.64 s
2	Trey Meyers	IL	New Trier	2025	OF	1.66 s
^	Gavin Powels	IL	Downers Grove South	2025	OF	1.66 s
3	Quinn Schambow	IL	Libertyville	2025	C	1.68 s
4	Jack Wheeler	IL	Morris	2025	3B	1.69 s
^	Logan Fernandez	IL	Jones College Prep	2026	OF	1.69 s
5	Connor Lund	IL	South Elgin	2025	OF	1.70 s

PEAK VERTICAL JUMP

Traditionally, the 60-yard dash has been the in-event standard to help measure a player's speed tool. While the measurement still has its utility, the 10-yard split has started to become more and more applicable in determining the player's burst and reaction time in-game, whether that's in the outfield or on the basepaths.

The ability to develop force quickly is a requisite ability in most sports. The reactive strength index (RSI) has been developed as a measure of explosive strength and is derived by evaluating jump height divided by ground contact time during the depth jump. Regarding vertical jumps and its application to baseball, there have been studies conducted that show a correlation between max jump height for an athlete and their ability to generate power and strength, especially on the mound.

 

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TRACKMAN

EXIT VELOCITY (MAX)

EXIT VELOCITY (AVG.)

Exit Velocity: This metric measures the speed of the ball, measured in miles per hour, as it comes off the bat at the moment of contact.

BATTED BALL DISTANCE (MAX)

SWEET SPOT%

Sweet Spot percentage: This metric is determined by how often the player produces a batted ball during the session with a launch angle between 8 to 32 degrees.

 

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BLAST MOTION

HAND SPEED (AVG.)

Hand Speed: The observed speed as measured on the handle of the bat (measured six inches from the knob of the bat). Peak Hand Speed will occur prior to the moment of impact, very close to the commit time in the swing when the wrists unhinge.

BAT SPEED (AVG.)

Bat Speed: The observed speed of the sweet spot of the bat at impact. The sweet spot of the bat is measured six inches from the tip of the bat.

ROTATIONAL ACCELERATION (AVG.)

Body Rotation: A swing that has the appropriate relative contributions of body and bat rotations is an efficient and Powerful swing that maintains proper sequencing. An efficient baseball swing is one in which the body creates the initial movements, which is then transferred to the arms and out to the bat, thereby maximizing Bat Speed through this proximal-to-distal kinematic sequencing movement pattern.

 

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VIZUAL EDGE

EDGE SCORE

The Edge Score is a comprehensive score out of 100 that takes the core-six visual skills into account, providing athletes, parents, coaches and scouts with a benchmark number for assessing an athlete’s overall visual ability. In general the higher the Edge Score, the higher chance of athletic success. Think of the Edge Score as the 'Sixth Metric' in the standard Five-Tools that make up a ball player.

The average Edge Score for the 2020 MLB Draft Class was 79.3 (of hitters who completed a Vizual Edge test). MLB players we've worked with typically show stronger scores, with elite hitters scoring consistently above 87.0 on their Edge Score.

+ CLICK HERE for a look at the complete statistics from the event.

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