Prep Baseball Report

Missouri 2026 Rankings: Update


By: Kevin Moulder & Diego Solares
PBR Missouri Staff

With the high school season coming to a close, and the summer set to start shortly, our staff has updated the state's 2026 rankings, expanding the board from 15 to 60 names.

Our knowledge of this class continues to grow, creating this board with the information we gathered from this winter circuit, as well as our live looks throughout the high school season.

Like those classes before them, this 2026 group is shaping up nicely, with a few names towards the top that are gaining traction at a national level and numerous players throughout that deepen it.

Below we've detailed some minor movement that took place inside the top-10 this update. Later in the week, we'll highlight several other prospects that have impressed us within a 'Names To Know' piece, so be on the lookout for that.

For now, learn about the top prospects in Missouri's promising 2026 group.

AT THE TOP…

+ The two top names in this update remain unchanged, as UTL Cooper Shrum (Belton, 2026; Tennessee commit) and INF Nolan Sissom (Fort Zumwalt West, 2026; Missouri commit) maintain their ranking from their initial debut. Shrum is a highly projectable 6-foot-4, 165-pound prospect who’s ceiling may be highest on the mound moving forward, though also swings a loose, fluid left-handed bat. Sissom continues to perform in all facets, starting at shortstop for a top-ranked Jaguars’ squad for a chunk of the spring. Aside from his glove, Sissom batted .344 with a .512 on-base percentage as a freshman, walking (28) significantly more than he struck out (6) while also stealing 16 bags.

Nolan Sissom


+ Jumping to third in his debut is RHP Jathan Spain (Cape Central, 2026), who we saw for the first time across two looks this winter. Spain is as physical as they come, boasting a 6-foot-4, 205-pound frame with juice on both sides of the ball, though his ceiling is higher on the hill. We saw him run his fastball up to 88 mph twice, pitching in the mid-to-upper-80s, with advanced raw spin on both of his breaking balls. Spain’s just starting to scratch the surface of what he could become and is unquestionably one of the more talented names in the class

From 1/31/23: “...solidified himself as a premium prospect in the state's freshman class after this event. Built at a projectable 6-foot-4, 190-pounds with present strength, Spain's physicality showed early on in BP, as he reached an event-high exit velocity of 94.8 mph and elevated his furthest batted ball 335 feet, per TrackMan. His Blast Motion swing metrics are also highly advanced for someone his age, generating 78.3 mph of bat speed on average. The most advanced aspect of his game, however, comes on the mound. Spain pitched at 86-88 mph with his fastball, averaging 18+ inches of vertical carry on it with plenty more velocity to come down the road. He spun two breaking balls - a low-70s curveball that averaged 15+ inches of horizontal break at 2600+ RPM and a tighter 73-76 mph slider with less horizontal action on average, yet also spun at 2600+ RPM. Spain's fourth pitch is a 74-77 mph changeup that he limited spin on and generated arm-side run at a lower release point on average than his fastball. Spain provided our staff the most impressive look we've seen on our winter cycle to date and he's firmly one of the top 2026 prospects in the state.”

Jathan Spain


+ Maintaining their spots at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, are RHP/OF Rocco Marriott (Platte County, 2026) and INF Brendan Pyle (Fort Zumwalt East, 2026; Missouri commit). Marriott briefly saw time on the Pirates’ varsity squad this spring and maintains plenty of intrigue on both sides of the ball as a 6-foot-3, 185-pound prospect. He’s also a formidable football recruit that’s generating buzz on the gridiron, speaking even more so to the type of athlete that he is. Pyle was one of the more productive pieces on the Lions this spring, slashing .364/.520/.506 with more walks (24) than strikeouts (15) while playing above-average defense on the infield dirt. Both of them are high-end prospects in this class that are heading into the summer with plenty of positive momentum.

Brendan Pyle


+ Rounding out the top-10 are two names who were previously ranked that now sit at No. 9 and No. 10: RHP Jake Brettschneider (Francis Howell, 2026) and LHP Grant Mehrhoff (Crosspoint Christian, 2026; Louisville commit). Brettschneider’s long and lanky 6-foot-3, 170-pound frame offers plenty of physical projection, with his stuff starting to tick up this spring. We saw him pitch at 85-86 mph in a brief look, spinning a sharp breaking ball with two-plane break for strikes. He’s logged 16 innings as a freshman at Francis Howell, punching out 18 with a 1.75 ERA. Mehrhoff has some of the best pure stuff in this class, as the 6-foot-2, 170-pound southpaw really looked the part on the mound in two separate looks over the winter. He pitched at 84-86 mph with his fastball, featuring a laterally spun slider at 74-76 mph and a 75-78 mph splitter with hard tumble at times. 

Jake Brettschneider

THE TOP 10

RANK   NAME HIGH SCHOOL
CLASS POS COMMITMENT
1 Cooper Shrum
Belton
2026 UTL
Tennessee
2 Nolan Sissom
Fort Zumwalt West
2026 MIF
Missouri
3 Jathan Spain
Cape Central
2026 RHP
-
4 Rocco Marriott
Platte County
2026 RHP/OF
-
5 Brendan Pyle
Fort Zumwalt East
2026 INF
Missouri
6 Dylan Curtis
Francis Howell
2026 RHP -
7 Johnny Carver
Raymore-Peculiar
2026 LHP
Arkansas
8 Caden Throneberry
Marquette
2026 OF
Missouri
9 Jake Brettschneider
Francis Howell
2026 RHP
-
10 Grant Mehrhoff
Crosspoint Christian
2026 LHP Louisville


**CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2026 RANKINGS**

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