Prep Baseball Report

Underclass Open: Quick Hits


By: Illinois Scouting Staff

On Tuesday, June 7, the PBR Illinois staff kicked off our summer tour with the Underclass Open, held at Triton College in River Grove, Illinois. Previously touted as the Underclass Trials, this event has been a staple on our summer calendar since 2014. It routinely provides us an opportunity to check see prospects prior to the summer circuit kicking off, and this year’s event featured players from the 2024-to-2026 grad classes.

Today, we’ll break down the takeaways from Tuesday’s event, found within this ‘Quick Hits’ piece. Our staff will continue to pump content out from this event, so be on the lookout for that as the week rolls on. 

Read below to see which players popped amongst their peers at Triton on Tuesday. 

BIG WINNER

+ RHP Bryce Koch (Barrington, 2024) was easily one of the biggest winners from Tuesday’s event, catching our staff’s attention the second he walked into the park. The 6-foot-4, 180-pound Koch possesses all sorts of upside to his lean and lanky frame, looking to have plenty of room for added strength in the coming years. It's an easy and low-effort operation down the mound, moving with a tall/fall lower-half that stays in-line to the plate before transitioning into a ¾ to high ¾ slot. His fastball explodes out of the hand with some finish through the zone, sitting 85-87 mph while topping out at 88 mph (T2500 RPM). His changeup was his most consistent off-speed offering throughout his ‘pen, living at the bottom and under the zone while playing with fading action to the arm-side, 78-80 mph. Koch’s slider flashed above-average action at times, playing with sharp/late bite and depth at 74-75 mph, struggling with command down at-times but will easily be able to correct it with a higher starting point for the pitch. 

POSITION PLAYERS

+ Jude Warwick (Downers Grove North, 2024) is an upside left-handed hitting middle infielder with a 6-foot, 135-pound, high-waisted frame. Warwick has loose hands, creates occasional whip through the zone with a line-drive, pull-side approach. Defensively, he has a natural feel for the infield, moving with fluidity, athletic actions, soft hands and is comfortable on the move. His arm topped at 80 mph and he ran a 7.02 60. Warwick is a 2024 left-handed hitting middle infielder with upside to all parts of his game.

+ C AJ Manganello (Montini) was another 2024 left-handed hitter who left a strong impression with his round of BP. Manganello had a purposeful, intentful look in the box and swing the bat with aggression while staying on balance and on the barrel. He flashed loose, strong hands, knack for hard contact and a gap-to-gap approach. Manganello registered a max exit velocity of 93.7 mph, an average of 86.8 mph with a max batted ball distance of 339 feet. Manganello also ran a 7.30 60 and was 72 mph from the crouch.

+ Jake Johnson (Burlington Central, 2025) was one of the more imposing prospects in attendance, listed at a strong, well-proportioned, 6-foot-3, 190-pounds. Johnson, a right-handed hitting catcher, has a loose, strong swing with feel for the barrel while flashing easy bat speed. He is currently a bat first catcher with clean actions behind the plate and developing arms strength. He topped at 72 mph from the crouch with a low pop time of 2.12 and a max exit velocity of 90 mph off the bat. Strong-bodied 2025 to follow moving forward.

+ Another 2025 catcher who stood out was Quinn Schambow (Libertyville). Schambow has an advanced 6-foot, 180-pound frame with well-proportioned strength and a well above average arm for his age. He is clean and athletic out of the chute and his throws are easy out of the hand with carry while playing accurately to the second base bag. Schambow topped at 79 mph from the crouch with a low 2.06. Offensively, the right-handed hitter has a short, quick, repeatable swing that uses the whole field. One of the top 2025 catchers we have seen to-date.

+ OF/C Cameron Steinbaugh (Georgetown-Ridge Farm), put up some of the best batted ball metrics at the event. The 5-foot-9, 175-pound, right-handed hitter led the event with a 93.8 mph max exit velocity and his furthest batted ball traveled 336 feet, well-above average for a 2025 prospect. Steinbaugh ran one of the top 60’s of the event at 7.08 and topped at 83 mph from the outfield and 71 mph from the crouch. Intriguing athlete with bat strength to follow moving forward.

+ Another 2025 to keep an eye on moving forward is left-handed hitting outfielder, Timothy Leark (Oak Park-River Forest). Leark stays short and flat to the baseball, creating occasional backspin line-drive contact. He also showed athletic ations in the outfield, topped at 82 mph and ran a 7.51 60. 

+ James Dooman (Glenbrook South), one of the few 2026s in attendance, showed well on the day, especially in his round of BP. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound, right-handed hitting outfielder has an athletic, loose swing with above-average feel for the barrel, line-drive approach and should only continue to ascend as he gains strength. Dooman led the event in sweet spot percentage at 81%. Defensively, he has steady hands, plays through the baseball and topped at 81 mph. Also, ran a 7.51 60. 

+ Another 2026 outfielder heading to Glenbrook South is Clancy Rogers. Rogers has a highly athletic 6-foot-1, 170-pound frame and showed a loose, strong right-handed swing with uphill tendencies and bat speed. Rogers’ furthest batted ball traveled 299 feet with a 70% fly ball percentage. Defensively, he has steady hands, a quick arm and topped at 78 mph from the outfield. 

TWO-WAY PROSPECTS

+ LHP/OF Beau McBride was another member of the New Trier 2024 class that possessed a knack for the mound on Tuesday. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound southpaw has an advanced frame for his age, boasting a strong lower-half with round shoulders. Down the mound, McBride showed the ability to control his body well, moving with a smooth tempo throughout the operation and working with a drop/drive lower-half. His arm plays long out of the glove into a ¾ slot, creating natural sinking action on his 80-81 mph fastball (T82 mph) and fade on his 69-72 mph change. To fill out his arsenal, McBride went to a 2/8 slider at 67-68 mph, thrown with intent and playing with depth. McBride also showed the ability to drive the baseball in the air to the pull-side during BP. McBride swings with intent and uphill tendencies while staying on the barrel. Defensively, he topped at 83 mph from the outfield. 

+ RHP/INF Eddie Olszta (Providence Catholic) looked to be one of the more polished 2025s in attendance on Tuesday. The right-hander moved with a controlled pace down the mound, working with a drop/drive lower-half and repeating his stride consistently. With a long path out the glove that moved into a ¾ slot, Olszta showed the ability to control the zone with three pitches; a riding fastball up to 78 mph, a sharp 11/5 breaking ball with feel at 63-65 mph and a fading changeup at 69-71 mph. Olszta was just as intriguing as a position player. The right-handed hitter has a short, quick swing built for line-drive contact. He lets the ball travel, repeats, uses the whole field and has feel for the barrel. On the infield he has loose actions, sure hands and a strong arm that topped at 83 mph across. 

ARMS

+ RHP Owen Walsh (Saint Ignatius, 2025) is a 5-foot-11, 155-pound right-hander that looked to be one of the more athletic movers down the mound in the entire event. With a high leg-kick that coils into balance point, he showed the ability to repeat a drop/drive lower-half with ease, staying in-line with the plate before transitioning into a short/clean high ¾ slot. His fastball worked in the 79-80 mph range, playing with life out of the hand and setting up a short 10/4 slider at 71-72 mph. He then went to a 72-75 mph splitter that he showed mature feel for, as well as late fading action.

+ RHP Aiden Elliot (Champaign Central) was yet another 2025 with a big arm on Tuesday. The strong-bodied right-hander boasts a physically developed 6-foot, 190-pound frame and showed an impressive ability to control his large body down the mound. Elliot’s fastball played with heavy sinking action to the bottom of the zone at times, flashing late life through the zone at 80-81 mph and topping out at 82 mph. His go-to secondary offering was a sharp 12/6 curveball at 71-73 mph, featuring depth for the most part while also manipulating it into a shorter 11/5 shape at times. His last offering was a fading changeup at 72-76 mph, thrown for strikes and playing off his fastball effectively. 

+ One of the more polished ‘pens on the day came from RHP Jack Wilson (New Trier, 2024). The 5-foot-10, 170-pound right-hander worked with an athletic delivery, featuring a high/coiling leg-kick that transitioned into a drop/drive lower-half. His arm plays long out of the glove into a high ¾ slot, producing a fastball that sat comfortably in the 80-81 mph range, playing with some finish through the zone. Wilson showed feel for two distinctly different breaking balls, the first being a curveball that played with sharp 11/5 downer break at 67-68 mph, and the second being a tight 10/4 slider at 69-71 mph, displaying feel for the bottom of the zone. His final offering was a fading changeup at 75-76 mph, thrown with intent and for strikes.

+ Another intriguing 2025 right-hander was Peter Mulhern (Palatine). With a controlled tempo and repeatable delivery, Mulhern was able to cruise with his fastball at the 80 mph mark, riding through the zone with horizontal action and throwing for strikes. He showed to have some feel for two off-speed offerings, the first being an 11/5 curveball which averaged over 2,200 RPM and the second being a late fading changeup in the 75 mph range. 

+ RHP Jacob Parr (Montini Catholic, 2025) was yet another incoming sophomore that reached the 80 mph mark on tuesday. With an athletic/controlled delivery, Parr worked with a tall/fall delivery down the mound and high ¾ slot, helping to create a tough angle for would-be hitters on his fastball. On top of his fastball, Parr also flashed a short 10/4 slider at 73-75 mph and a slight fading changeup at 71-74 mph. 

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