Prep Baseball Report

Louisiana State Games: Quick Hits (Upperclass Position Players)


Alex Armand
Louisiana Scouting Director

Baton Rouge, LA - The Louisiana State Games were held on Saturday September 30, 2023 and Sunday October 1, 2023, at Louisiana State University, home of the defending NCAA Division I National Champions.  The invite-only event consisted of some of the top uncommitted prospects from Louisiana's 2024-2027 classes, as well as 17 other prospects who've already announced their college commitment.  All players in attendance went through an extended pro-style workout, on Saturday morning, that included batting practice using Trackman and Blast, the 60 yard dash using Swift Performance, and much more.  After the completion of the workout on Saturday afternoon, all players in attendance were able to compete in one game on Saturday evening, as well as a second game on Sunday.  This was one of the most talented events that we've ever had and the players in attendance were able to show off their skills in front of a dozen or more college coaches.

Today, we continue our post-event coverage with a closer look at some of the upper-class position players who stood out. 

View all event stats HERE

 

Committed Position Players (2024 & 2025 Class)

 

+ 2024 1B Kennedy Leggett (St. Louis Catholic HS)

Physical 6'2" 240 lbs. imposing frame.  The Coastal Alabama South recruit continued to show why he's one of the better first-basemen in the entire state.  Leggett works with good rhythm at the plate and a controlled leg kick, before delivering a short and direct path to contact, staying on the plane of each pitch through extension.  His BP round was one of the better rounds of the day, as he was on time and on the barrel with every swing, showing the ability to match the plane of each pitch with his barrel, on route to recording a 98.5 mph max exit velocity and a 95.3 mph avg. exit velocity, which was good for second best at the entire event.  The St. Louis Catholic HS product also moved really well at first base, making multiple plays where he was able to show off his athleticism.  

 

 

+ 2024 3B/RHP Trip Dobson (Catholic BR HS)

6'1" 205 lbs. physical and athletic frame.  The Houston recruit looks primed to have a big senior year for the Bears, both on the mound and at the plate.  In his lone inning of relief work, Dobson worked his FB up to 89 mph, showing arm-side sink and run, while mixing in a sweeping mid-upper 70's SL, that has the potential to be a swing & miss offering.  At the plate, the Catholic BR HS product looked to do damage with each swing, staying tight on his uphill turn to contact with extension to patch and a two-handed finish.  He launched several balls to the pull-side, while recording a 100.1 mph max exit velocity and 387 ft. max distance, which was good for second best at the event.

 

 

+ 2025 MIF Casey McCoy (Dutchtown HS)

The 6'0" 180 lbs. former Future Gamer continued to show why he's one of the top infielders in the entire state at last weekend's State Games.  The University of Louisiana recruit finished second in max hand speed at 25.6 mph and third in max bat speed at 78.9 mph.  McCoy uses a leg-kick load from an upright stance and gets his barrel in the zone early and keeps it through the zone a long time.  As always, the Dutchtown HS product produced in game, as he notched two hits in Game 1 on Saturday. 

 

 

+ 2025 MIF Jack Ruckert (Catholic BR HS)

This was the first time that we had seen the 6'0" 185 lbs. shortstop, since the spring high school season.  The LSU recruit had a really good summer for USA Prime National, and it looks like he's carried that momentum over to the fall.  Ruckert has always had one of the smoother and prettier left-handed strokes in the state, but he seems to now be swinging the bat with more intent and aggression, while still maintaining his high-level strike zone awareness.  The Catholic BR HS product took a really good BP round on Saturday, launching several balls to the pull-side, into a stiff wind, that resulted in a max exit velocity of 96.6 mph.  He showed well in Game 4 on Sunday morning, as he went 1-2 at the plate with a triple that he blistered down the right field line. 

 

 

+ 2025 OF Noah Lewis (Catholic BR HS)

Uber-projectable and athletic 6'3" 185 lbs. frame.  The Catholic BR HS product has been on a steady rise since the high school spring season and through the summer, which earned him an invite to be on our Future Games team at the end of July.  Lewis showed off his supreme athleticism at the Future Games by recording the fastest 60 yard dash at the event with a 6.35.  He also went 2-6 at the plate with zero strikeouts.  Fast-forward to last weekend's State Games and Lewis looked the most comfortable that we've ever seen him at the plate.  He's standing more upright in his stance and looks awfully relaxed and comfortable, and he's also incorporated a modified leg-kick, which looks to have helped with his timing.  Those adjustments look like they've paid off for Lewis, as he barreled an opposite-field double in Game 1 on Saturday. 

 

 

 

Uncommitted Position-Players (2024 & 2025 Class)

 

+ 2025 C Connor Walker (Sam Houston HS)

5'10" 190 lbs. athletic frame with a strong lower-half.  The Sam Houston HS product is a two-time Future Gamer who was coming off his best summer to date, and he was able to carry that momentum over to the State Games.  Walker showed off his typical pull-side power with a max exit velocity of 96.8 mph, but it was his at-bats in game that really shined on the weekend.  In Game 1 on Saturday, he notched two hits with one being a double to the left-centerfield gap and the second being a loud pull-side home run.  As good as his offense was, his defense was equally as good, as he continued to show that he's a high-level receiver and blocker, and he even back picked a runner at first base on Sunday in Game 4.  

 

 

+ 2024 C Evan Wright (Fontainebleau HS)

Physical 5'11" 215 lbs. frame.  The uncommitted backstop showed off his bat pull-side power in BP, as he recorded a 100.9 mph max exit velocity and a 96.4 mph avg. exit velocity, which was the best at the entire event.  Wright also finished in the Top 5 of max hand speed at 25.5 mph and max bat speed at 77.2 mph, via Blast Motioin.  The Fontainebleau HS product was on the barrel in seemingly every at-bat on the weekend, and he showed that his power plays in game, as he belted a three-run HR on Saturday night in Game 3 at Alex Box Stadium. 

 

 

+ 2025 C Dylan Champagne (Dutchtown HS)

Long, lean, and athletic at 6'3" 175 lbs.  The Dutchtown HS product was part of a talented catcher group at this year's State Games.  It was evident to us that Champagne has definitely gained physicality, since we last saw him back in January at our Baton Rouge Preseason ID, and that increase in strength has paid off.  Champagne recorded personal best pop times of 1.95-2.02 and was 77 mph from the crouch, which is a +6 mph jump from where he was at just 8 months ago.  His BP round was really good as well, as he was on time and on the barrel with every swing, and his at-bats were no different.  6'3" left-handed hitting catchers are hard to come by, so we expect Champagne to be a close follow for college programs, as he finishes up his fall and moves into his junior season for the Griffins.

 

 

+ 2025 MIF Rowen Bergeron (Opelousas Catholic HS)

Athletic 6'1" 190 lbs. with present physicality.  The Opelousas Catholic HS product walked away one of the big winners from this year's State Games.  Bergeron's BP round was impressive and one of the loudest of the entire event.  He hits from a wider base with a modified leg kick load, before delivering a heavy barrel to contact with present bat speed and gap to gap power.  Bergeron finished at the top of nearly every offensive metric that we measure, and he finished first in max exit velocity at 101.1 mph and avg. bat speed at 75.7 mph.  The power translated in game, as he ripped a triple into the left-centerfield gap on Sunday.  An adequate and solid defender on the infield and good athlete (6.94 60), we expect a lot of eyes to be on Bergeron this coming spring, as he looked the part of one of the top uncommitted infielders in the state.

 

 

+ 2025 OF Jake Simmons (Ruston HS)

5'10" 180 lbs. frame with a strong lower-half.  The Ruston HS product had a nice spring for the Bearcats, after hitting .386 as a sophomore.  After seeing him at this year's State Games, it's easy to see why he had so much success.  Simmons repeats his swing really well and stays behind the baseball with a tight and compact turn to contact, driving his back knee through the ground to create power and force.  He showed pull-side power with a max exit velocity of 97.3 mph, but it was his rotational acceleration numbers, via Blast Motion, that really stood out, as he recorded the top max. rotational acceleration (32.8 G) and the top avg. rotational acceleration (25.0 G) of the event.  For reference, according to Blast Motion, the MLB average rotational acceleration is 16.8 G, which shows just how elite Simmons's rotational acceleration is. 

 

 

Upcoming Events

SHOWCASE DATE LOCATION
Louisiana State Games 9/30 Louisiana State University (Alex Box Stadium)
2023 Southeast Senior Games 10/7 Jacksonville State University & Choccolocco Park
Baton Rouge Fall ID 10/15 Catholic BR High School (Baton Rouge, LA)

 

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