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MO Fall Games: Quick Hits

October 4, 2024
Eliott Wilk
Central Region Operations Director

On Saturday, September 7th, the Prep Baseball Missouri staff traveled to Atkins Park in Columbia, MO to host the annual MO Fall Games. This event, which is in its 9th year, was an invite-only event open to 2025-2028 prospects with 170+ names in attendance.

All of our events offer players the opportunity to update their recruiting resume and showcase their talents in front of our staff. We also use these events as identifiers for future invite-only events, like the Preseason All-State, our summer Top Prospect Games, and the prestigious Prep Baseball Future Games that takes place at the tail end of the summer. To see what our events offer, click HERE.

Earlier, our staff rolled out the day’s statistical standouts in leaderboard format within our ‘Stat Story’, which you can find HERE. Today, after combing through our notes from the day, we’ve compiled some of the event’s standouts within these ‘Quick Hits’. Read below to learn about 15+ names that popped to our staff from Saturday's trip to Columbia.

   

PITCHERS

+ RHP Troy O’Keefe (Perryville, 2025; Southwest Tennessee CC commit) put together a dominant showing on the mound in Saturday’s look. Across six batters faced, O’Keefe struck out four, keeping hitters off balance with an impressive 2,700+ RPM slider which looks to be his best pitch at the moment with over -15” of horizontal movement. With that he landed his fastball for strikes at 83-84, topping out at 85.3 mph and also turned over a low spin changeup with arm side fade at 79-81 mph.

+ Another physical arm of note from Saturday is RHP Parker Sansone (Timberland, 2027). Standing at 6-foot, 180-pounds, Sansone commanded both sides of the zone throughout his outing, flashing swing and miss stuff and the ability to miss barrels. The righty ran his fastball up to 86.5 mph, consistently sitting at 83-85 mph with some carry up in the zone. His best secondary pitch at the moment looks to be his slider which he threw at 68-72 mph with an average of -16” of horizontal movement. He also turned over a changeup at 77-78 mph, making him a name to keep an eye on in the 2027 class.

   

POSITION PLAYERS

+ Well known to our staff, Saturday provided us another look at 1B/OF Cooper Montgomery (St. Dominic, 2026). A highly physical follow from the 2026 class, the 5-foot-11, 193-pound lefty was a standout at the plate, producing a loud round of BP, while consistently driving balls from gap to gap with a peak exit velocity on the day of 99.8 mph. That power transferred over into game play where he proceeded to barrel a stand-up double off of the right center field wall. Additionally, Montgomery showed off his versatility in the field, posting a 82 mph outfield velocity and showing off the athleticism at first base as well.

+ Perhaps the biggest winner of the event was C Nate Lask (Springfield Catholic, 2026) who impressed our staff after seeing large jumps in his metrics across the board since our look last year. A 5-foot-11, 196-pound athlete with added muscle and room for more, Lask posted the highest exit velocity of the day, barreling his best ball 361 feet at 100.6 mph while consistently elevating balls to the pullside. Lask shined defensively as well, posting 1.93-1.98 pop times and firing a 81 mph strike to second from the chute. As he continues to further polish his game, Lask will be a name to keep an eye on.

+ 2024 Prep Baseball Future Games alum INF Jaymeson Forest (Duchesne, 2026) put together another strong showing in this look. A physical, 6-foot, 225-pound left-handed bat with middle of the order power potential, Forest consistently elevated balls to the pullside with a max exit velocity of 94.8 mph and plenty more in the tank. His athleticism was evident on the infield where he showed range and reliable hands with a 78 mph arm to pair.

+ An upside, 6-foot, 185-pound athlete, OF Isaiah Ogbe (Timberland, 2025; East Central College commit) put together a strong round of BP in this look. Using an athletic right-handed swing, Ogbe drove the ball with power to all fields throughout his round, seeing jumps in his metrics from previous looks this year. The senior barreled his best ball at 93.8 mph while posting a strong average of 86.1 mph per batted ball. Ogbe also showed off his arm strength, firing a 84 mph bullet from the outfield on his firmest throw.

+ One of the top uncommitted right-handed bats in the state, INF Ryker Benz's (St. John Vianney, 2025) physicality was on full display in this look. The 6-foot, 188-pound righty swung a heavy barrel in batting practice, finding the barrel with authority throughout his round, showing noticeable bat speed and strength. That strength was also evident on the infield where he fired a 83 mph bullet at first base.

+ INF Osar Tate (Lutheran North, 2026) came away from this event as a name to keep an eye on in the ‘26 class. A quick twitch athlete, Tate impressed on the infield, showcasing smooth, clean actions with reliable hands and a 83 mph arm to pair. At the plate, he swung a quick, compact barrel that sprayed line drives to all fields, barreling his best ball 352 feet at 92.5 mph. Additionally, Tate posted a 6.62 60 time - good for second best on the day. That speed plays in game, racking up several stolen bases, while also leading the St. Louis area in stolen bases this past spring.

+ INF MJ Portis (Whitfield, 2026) is a strong, athletic junior that showed well in this look. Portis worked from gap to gap in BP, using a short, compact stroke with natural lift to elevate balls to all fields. He barreled his best ball of the day at 91.4 mph with plenty more to come as he continues to add size and strength.  

+ INF Charlie Morgan (Warrensburg, 2026) continues to emerge as a name to keep an eye on in the ‘26 class. Morgan, who jumped on our radar at the American Legion Scout Day earlier this summer, put together a complete, all-around performance in this look. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound junior showed a knack for the barrel in BP, using an all-fields approach to spray line drives all over the field. The righty squared his best ball up at 98.3 mph - third best on the day. Defensively, Morgan showed reliable actions on the infield with a strong arm (83 mph) that flashed accuracy and carry across the diamond. He also ran a 6.99 60 for good measure. 

+ With room to add strength and size in 5-foot-10, 163-pound frame, OF Rylan Sutton (Ozark, 2027) was one of the day’s top performers out of the 2027 class. The lefty generated easy bat speed from a quick, left-handed barrel that worked long and level through the zone, lining balls to the pullside throughout his round. Sutton is a smooth mover in the outfield too with athletic feet and swift actions to gather, playing through the baseball at release. The sophomore also posted a 6.98 60 time.

+ 1B/RHP Payne Kent (Lafayette, 2027) continues to impress at the plate throughout our looks over the past year. An extremely physical, 6-foot, 211-pound left-handed bat, Kent was on the barrel with loud contact often throughout BP. He hammered balls back through the middle at an average of 84.8 mph topping out at 96 mph with plenty more in the tank. Additionally, Kent also hopped on the mound and pitched in the low-80s with his fastball. With present raw strength and size, Kent will be a name to follow in the 2027 class. 

   

TWO-WAYS

+ INF/RHP Howie Donoho (Chillicothe, 2027) continues to impress our staff on both sides of the ball with every look. A 5-foot-11, 183-pound all around athlete, Donoho swung a quick, compact barrel from the right side of the plate, barreling his best ball 333 feet at 92.9 mph while also showing the ability to hit in game. However, where Donoho impressed the most was on the mound where he saw a big jump in velocity, pitching at 84-86 mph with his fastball, topping out at 87 mph, and consistently landing a curveball/changeup mix for strikes. 

+ RHP/1B Brandon Ott (De Smet Jesuit, 2027) continues to show why he is a top five player in the Missouri 2027 class. Packed with projectability in a 6-foot-4, 188-pound frame, Ott was consistently on the barrel back through the middle of the field throughout BP using his advanced bat speed to reach exit velocities upwards of 97 mph. His arm strength and athleticism were on full display at first base where he reached 80 mph on his firmest bullet across the diamond and showed feel for footwork around the bag. To wrap up the day, Ott hopped on the mound, and although he didn’t have his best stuff, pitched in the mid-80s with his fastball, generating swings and misses with a slider/changeup mix.

+ Another loud two way performance came from LHP/1B Aiden Zehnle (Oakville, 2026).  Plenty physical at 6-foot-3, 203-pounds the lefty is an intriguing two-way follow in the 2026 class. At the plate, Zehnle showed inherent strength, barreling balls back through the middle for a peak exit velocity of 95.6 mph, sending his best ball 332 feet. On the mound, Zehnle is a clean, athletic mover that generates effortless velocity with plenty more to come. His fastball showed arm side run at 80-83 mph, topping out at 84 mph with a sweeping curveball at 69-71 mph with 2,300+ RPM of spin.

+ INF/RHP Carson Howard (Fort Zumwalt North, 2026) showed strong tools on both sides of the ball on Saturday. Packed with physicality at 5-foot-11, 208-pounds, Howard swung with intent at the plate, putting together one of the loudest rounds of BP on the day. Both his 99 mph peak exit velocity and 86.3 mph average exit velocity were amongst the leaders on the day alongside his peak hand speed (23.4 mph) and peak bat speed (82.2 mph). Howard also hopped on the mound, pitching in the low-to-mid-80s with his fastball with a curveball/changeup mix that kept hitters off balance.

  

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