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KC Fall Open: In Review

October 16, 2026
Jimmy Fackelman
Tournament Scouting Director of Kansas City

The Fall Open delivered a ton of excitement in its 2026 iteration in Kansas City, carrying with it a strong of young talent and committed names fine tuning for their spring seasons. 26 teams from across 6 states made their way into Kansas City with hopes of securing one of the 2 titles up for grabs across the Under and Upperclass divisions, with all the action taking place across KC's two premier complexes in Creekside and Homefield. Down below I'll be sharing my picks for the standouts from the Fall Championships as well as some detailed player notes from the weekend, followed by a breakdown the division winners along with their championship counterparts. 

Player Notes 

2028 C Davin Koontz (Leavenworth HS, KS): Koontz's steady offensive presence in a desirable profile make for an intruiging follow coming into next spring. The 6'0, 180 pound backstop pumped out quality at bats throughout the weekend for Engaged, including 5Hs and 6RBIs across the first two games in a pair of quality wins. At the plate, the lefty works from a balanced, athletic setup before a compact hand load primes the body to work the barrel on an uphill path through the zone with some evident bat speed. Beyond the swing, Koontz's situational awareness impacts the game creating production in ways that won't always show up in the box score. Defensively, Koontz features some developing skill as a reciever with present feel for the catch and throw game with pop times consistently in the sub 2 range from the chute. The present tools and production with an off season to develop make Koontz a name to circle ahead of his Junior season. 

2029 INF Carter McClain (Fort Osage HS, MO): Following a statement weekend for McClain at the dish in the Fall Open, the 6'0, 170 pound infielder becomes a name to to keep tabs on ahead of next August. McClain finished a championship run 6/9 at the plate including a pair of XBHs along with 8RBIs and 5BBs for an OBP north of .750 across the 5 game slate. In the box, McClain features a patient look, working from a wide, relaxed setup before an extended toe tap syncs the body to fire the barrel on a flat path through the zone. Quick hands generate some low effort bat speed for McClain as he looks to back spin baseballs to the pull side with present XBH power and plenty more to come from the frame. Defensively, the lateral movement and body control impressed in the game setting, with the arm comfortable working both on the run and from a variety of angles making for a true infield profile, with the current arm strength and projection to say this is a player that could stick on the left side long term. Projection in the frame, along with present impact on both sides of the diamond for the LHH infielder make for a name to know as McClain looks ahead to his sophomore campaign. 

2027 LHP Walter Nashert (Waukee Northwest HS, IA): The uncommitted senior has shown some impressive stuff across his last two outings in Kansas City with feel for 3 quality options and some real pitch ability on the rubber. The 6'2, 205 pound left handed arm suggests there's plenty more in the tank on his low to mid 8's heater with a natural run and feel to locate on both halves of the plate. The SL works on a 2/8 plane with steady HZ action before some later vertical bite, often playing in the zone working off the front and back door to either side. The CH was a true weapon against opposite sided matchups this Sunday with considerable depth from a consistent release point to the FB creating steady swing and miss across the outing. Nashert leaves the KC staff with no doubt he can help a team at the next level and plenty of upside in the 6'2 frame elevating the profile even further. 

2029 RHP Gage Mourot (Staley HS, MO): Morout has made a name for himself across a slew of quality starts in Kansas City this fall, the most recent being 4 innings of 1R ball racking up 8Ks to earn the win in a big semi final matchup. There's plenty to dream on in the long levered 6'5, 220 pound frame as he utilizes a simple motion to let a whippy arm fire from a higher 3/4 slot. The mid 8's FB (Up to 88 on 10/5) still plays to some shotgun spray at times but is at its best peppering the inner 3rd. The breaking ball works to a big sweeping action, creating a consistent 15mph change of speed off the FB working well off the barrel to weak contact as well as inducing some chase off the bottom third. In the past, the big righty has also featured a strong SPL with some heavy downward action to round out the mix. Look for Mourot to continue to sharpen his arsenal and make steady jumps on the FB to add to a competitive profile on the hill. 

 

Tournament Champions 

 

Upperclass

Champion: Coach Cisnero's Building Champions squad took home their first title of the season in the Fall Open moving their record to an impressive 6-2 on the Fall. BC got off to a slower start in the pool, getting out of a pair of tough matchups 1-1 to grab the #6 overall seed which proved to be all they needed heading into Sunday. In the bracket, BC ran the gauntlet upsetting the #2 and #3 overall seeds respectively across the quarter and semi final rounds by way of a pair of double digit run performances in an offensive explosion to march their way to the title. In the championship round, it was timely hitting that pushed Building Champions over the edge, with key swings from Cooper Soule and Keelan Zumwalt to grab and extend the lead midway through, taking all the momentum on their way to the win. Look for Soule and Zumwalt as well as Jake Buchman, Alex Taylor, Mason Stein and David Hernandez to continue their strong seasons at the plate into next spring. 

Finalist: GRB Iowa put together another impressive showing in Kansas City to move their record on the fall circuit to 5-2 in KC following a championship showing in the Fall Open. GRB opened up strong with a pair of statement wins, racking up a +23 run differential on their way to the #1 seed ahead of the Sunday slate. In the bracket, GRB enjoyed a first round bye before delivering more of the same impact production on the offensive end, plating double digit runs in their semi final game to punch their ticket to the title. A dynamic heart of the order duo in Vincent Edwards and Ryder Pitre found consistent production on the weekend powering the championship run. 

 

Underclass

Champion: The US Nats put it all together in their second trip of the Fall to Kansas City, with a perfect 5-0 record and a title to show for it in the Fall Open. The Nats opened up with a pair of big wins in the pool, pushing their run differential to +22 on their way to the #2 overall seed ahead of bracket play. On Sunday, The Nats continued with more of the same, including a pair of 10 run wins in the quarter and semi final games before taking their red hot offense into the title bout. The offensive outpouring continued throughout the championship round as the Nats plated 13 runs to claim their title. While they found contributions from top to bottom in the order, a strong top 5 of Cooper Swearingen, Colt Bierk, Carter McClain, Lincoln Sersch, and Noah Schwartz proved to be the catalyst for this championship run. 

Finalist: The KC Ducks continued their outstanding fall season with another run at a championship in the Fall Open moving their record to 49-9 on the KC circuit in the Calender year. The Ducks pitching staff led the way across their pair of pool play matchups, allowing just 2 runs across their wins to grab the #1 overall seed heading into the Sunday slate. In the bracket, the Ducks once again leaned on their pitching staff with Jack Atkinson and Gage Mourot both delivering quality starts good for a quarter and semi final win where the KC natives allowed just 1 run per game. In the title, the Ducks fell just short, with plenty to be proud of increasing their win total just one shy of 50 on the season. Look for Arms like Jack Atkinson and Gage Mourot as well as middle of the order bats in Jackson Adams and Emerson Ferrell to continue to propel this team deep into tournament runs next season.