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MPB Fall Classic: In Review

September 23, 2026
Jimmy Fackelman
Tournaments Scouting Director of Kansas City

The MPB Fall Classic made its way back for another year in Kansas City, bringing with it the deepest talent pool we've seen this fall. 57 teams across eight states traveled to Kansas City in hopes of securing one of the four titles up for grabs across the underclass and upperclass divisions. All the action took place from 9/18 to 9/20 across KC's two premier complexes in Creekside and Homefield as well as a trio of quality offsites in Bonner Springs HS, Oak Park HS, and the University of St. Mary. Down below I'll be sharing my picks for the standouts from the MPB Fall Classic as well as some detailed player notes from the weekend, followed by breaking down all of the division winners along with their championship counterparts. 

 

 2027 RHP Connor Judkins (Elkhorn South HS, NE): Judkins has been a consistently enjoyable watch on the hill in Kansas City this year and his Sunday start in the MPB Fall Classic was no different as he went 6 strong innings of 1 run ball, racking up 9 punchouts without allowing a walk pitching to a 78% strike rate. The 6'5, 250 pound right handed arm leaves little to be desired in the frame, while getting downhill with a simple and repeatable motion. Judkins features a lower effort look on the mound with a clean, natural arm action out of a 3/4 slot. The righty ran the FB up to 87 on this day spinning between 2200-2300RPMs working to some occasional cut, pitching to both halves and filling up the zone. The breaking ball sat in the low to mid 7's with a varying shape, spinning at 2300-2450RPMs with feel to land it in the zone or run it off the lower/outer 3rds to swing and miss. Judkins displays a lot of confidence in the changeup as well, firing it off to both right and left handed hitters with some consistent depth and the ability to kill spin, coming in at 1200-1400RPMs. The righty continues to feature a blend of a high ceiling profile in the frame and pitch shapes as well as present production in the high strike percentage and ability to stay off barrels making for one of the more intriuging uncommitted prospects left on the board in this 2027 class. 

2027 RHP Connor Judkins 

2028 MIF/RHP Gabe Escobar (Shawnee Heights, KS): The former future gamer and top 20 ranked player in Kansas's 2028 class continued to do what he does best in the Fall classic, impact the game in as many ways as possible. Escobar logged hits in all 4 games for Engaged Athletics on the weekend out of the top of the order while stepping on the hill for 4 innings of 2 hit, 1 earned run ball to earn a quarter final W. The wiry, athletic two way plays to a contact profile at the plate with a controlled leg kick allowing for a balanced approach before working the barrel on a flat path through the zone with some immense feel for the barrel. Escobar pairs a knack for collecting base hits with sub 6.6 speed creating a variety of ways to find himself in scoring position. In the field, Escobar flashes present foot speed and strong lateral movements with a low 9's arm across the diamond suggesting that he will stick in the middle infield looking ahead to his next destination. On the mound, the athleticism is on full display in his move down hill, running the fastball up to 88mph with a slider that sits in the mid to upper 7's showing off some natural feel to spin the baseball with the FB checking in at 2250 on average and the slider finding average spin rates over 2300. Escobar continues to play above the frame with a variety of ways to impact winning, making for an exciting follow still on the board in this 2028 class. 

2028 MIF/RHP Gabe Escobar 

2029 C/INF Jack Krueger (Valley HS, IA): The top 50 name in Iowa's 2029 class delivered a statement weekend with the bat in the MPB Fall Classic. The rising sophomore finished with a .500 AVG on the weekend while recording 3BBs without a strikeout on the way to a championship win. Krueger presents some present physicality in the 5'11, 170 pound frame and it shows at the dish leveraging out well while showing off strong wrists through contact. The adjustability and willingness to work the baseball to all fields lend to a present contact profile while earmarking some potential power for later as the frame continues to mature. Krueger played some dependable defense on the infield across 4 games while still having a developing profile behind the dish making for some premier versatility where needed. Look for Krueger to continue to trend up as he looks ahead to his sophomore season. 

2029 C/INF Jack Krueger 

2028 MIF/OF Peyton Marfisi (Arlington HS, NE): Nebraska's #17 overall in the 2028 class needed no introduction ahead of the weekend and still exceeded expectations in the MPB Fall Classic. The rising junior finished the weekend 6/11 at the plate racking up 5XBHs powering his Nebraska Prospects squad to another championship. It's hard to ignore the obvious physicality in the 6'0, 185 pound frame, playing into a violent rotational stroke well, when paired with a 6.6 60 yard dash creating one of the more intruiging speed/power combos on the KC circuit. While athletically Marfisi shows as a dependable defender in both the infield and outfield, the present lateral movements and soft set of hands lend to a high level infield profile. With the full tool belt and consistent production on display in each trip to Kansas City, our staff does not expect this 2028 prospect to stay uncommitted much longer into this 2028 recruiting cycle. 

2028 INF/OF Peyton Marfisi 

Tournament Champions

Upperclass 

Pool A Champion: NE Prospects 2028 Red got the best of their own 2027 crew in order to raise their 2nd banner of the season, moving to a perfect 8-0 on the fall. The Prospects enjoyed a pair of quality wins in the Pool on Saturday racking up a +18 run differential across the doubleheader to claim the #1 overall seed ahead of the Sunday slate. In the Bracket, the semi final proved no challenge for the Prospects due in large part to a 2HR 4RBI day from Levi Anthony to cruise into the title game. The championship again found a pair of homeruns for the prospects as Levi Anthony hit his 4th of the day following a blast earlier in the contest from Caden Circo to secure the championship banner. Look for a deep Prospects roster to defend their undefeated fall in KC as they head into their final weekend in the KC Fall Championships. 

Pool A Finalist: NE Prospects 2027 Red group fell just short to their in organization counterpart this weekend to open up their fall in Kansas City with a strong 3-2 record. The Prospects racked up a +16 run differential in the pool after a 19 run explosion in game 1, good for the 6th overall seed in a tightly contested bracket. On Sunday, the Prospects racked up a pair of 10 run wins between the quarter and semi final games due to some big performances from Braden Swaney, Tatum Mabus, and Ty Simms in the top of the order being supplemented by multi hit games from Brayden Dollen, Deacon Hurley, and Grant Pollard in the back half to earn their title shot. 

Pool B Champion: The Hometown KC Elite left it all on the field to call themselves champions following the MPB Fall Classic with an extra innings championship win headlining the 4-1 weekend in Kansas City. In the pool, Elite split with a pair of talented crews and had their work cut out for them as they came into Sunday as the 6th overall seed. In the bracket, Elite found their offensive firepower winning both the quarter and semi final rounds by 7+ runs to punch their ticket to the title. When it mattered most KC Elite found a way to strand the winning run in scoring position in the home half of the 7th before rattling off 4 runs in the top half of the 8th and then slamming the door to earn their championship banner. A pair of talented two-way players in Zach Lares and Jackson Whitaker headlined the storied weekend for Elite. 

Pool B Finalist: WYCO South brought a talented Colorado crew down to Kansas City and delivered an impressive opening performance in their first look, finishing 3-2 and taking the eventual champions to extra innings in the title game. On Saturday, WYCO came out of a pair of tough matchups 1-1 with a +7 run differential being good for the #5 overall seed as they looked ahead to the bracket. On Sunday, WYCO was on a war path as they brought upsets to the #1 & #4 overall seeds respectively before falling just short in an 8 inning title game. The talented top of the order duo in Niko Aragon and Jackson Elser found themselves as big reasons for WYCO's success, finding consistent production across the 5 game slate. 

Underclass 

Pool A Champion: Nebraska Prospects Red 2029 did not disappoint in their opening weekend in Kansas City with a 4-1 record on their way to a title. The Prospects got off to a slower start in the pool, dropping their opener on Saturday before finding their rhythm with a 14-0 win as they looked ahead to the Sunday slate. In the bracket, the Prospects would earn a convincing win in the quarter final before upsetting the #1 overall seed in the semi final finding contributions from all over the roster before Evan Lancaster fired a 5 out save retiring all 5 hitters via strikeout to close out the game. The championship once again found a stellar outing on the mound as Cruz Humbert delivered a 5 inning complete game shutout to clinch the title for the Prospects. Look for this squad to repeat their winning ways in the Kansas City Fall Championships this weekend. 

Pool A Finalist: The hometown Team War Eagle found their way back in Kansas City for the MPB Fall Classic and did not disappoint, with a 4-1 showing and finalist finish moving their record to 11-2 on the fall. In the pool it was the offense that carried the team as the War Eagle bats put up near 30 runs across the two pool play games to move to 2-0 on the weekend and the #3 Overall seed heading into Sunday. In the bracket it was the bats that answered the call again, scoring 10 or more runs in both the quarter and semi final rounds to punch their ticket to the title before running out of gas in the last game of the day. Team War Eagle's talented core of Teddy Lubin, Max Juhl, Elian Nunez, and Henry Rockenfield leave little room for error against opposing pitching staffs and will continue to be a problem as they look ahead to their sophomore Spring. 

Pool B Champion: The Iowa Sticks 2029 group moved their record in Kansas City to an impressive 14-2-2 on the year after an undefeated showing to take one of the four trophies up for grabs in the MPB Fall Classic. The Sticks opened up the weekend 2-0 after an impressive effort on the mound, allowing just a pair of runs in their doubleheader to grab the #1 overall seed coming into the bracket. On Sunday it was more of the same for the Sticks, running away with a 15-0 semi final win thanks to an impressive outing from Frankie Pagano and a HR headlining a multi hit day for Brooks Hukee. The Sticks then took the final 10-2 due in large part to Briggs Wilson and Brooks Hukee as they combined for 5Hs and 7RBIs to put themselves in the drivers seat. There is no expectation of this Iowa squad slowing down as they look ahead to a big summer in 2027. 

Pool B Finalist: Coach Underwood's Forge squad showed an improved look coming into Kansas City this weekend following up a 2-2 finish in the Labor Day Classic with this Finals apperance in the MPB Fall Classic. Forge kicked things off with a pair of wins in the pool thanks to an offense that plated 13 runs a game on average across the double header, good for the #2 overall seed looking ahead to the Sunday slate. In the bracket, Forge enjoyed their first round bye before an impressive win over a talented Team Nebraska squad to punch their ticket to the title game. Look for this talented group of players, headlined by KS's #4 Overall 2029 in Max Ackerley, as well as bats like Noah Frecks, Dalton Wilson, Noah Hodnefield and Owen Booth to continue to drive this team deep into weekends moving forward.