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High School  | Rankings  | 3/6/2015

Regional HS Preview: Northwest

David Rawnsley     
Photo: Perfect Game

2015 Perfect Game High School Baseball Preview Index

For all of Perfect Game's regional previews as part of the 2015 high school baseball preview content, the Dream Team is available for free. The region top tools can be viewed with an Insider subscription. To learn more about Perfect Game's subscription packages and to sign up today please visit this link.


Northwest Region: Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming

Although there is no way to quantitatively measure it, it would be a fair guess to say that the top high school players from the Northwest region travel less nationally than any other region in the country. However, this doesn't mean that the best players in the region aren't recognized with their peers across the country. Standouts such as catcher Brandon Illies, lefthander Sage Diehm (North Carolina) and shortstop Ethan Paul (Vanderbilt) are traveling across the country to continue their careers. But the whole of the Northwest players simply aren't scouted as much as anywhere else in the country.

This has proven to be a boon for major colleges in the area, who on a whole had an outstanding year last year with three schools winning over 40 games and reaching the NCAA postseason: Oregon State (45-14), Oregon (44-20) and Washington (41-17). Oregon, which recruits primarily from California and has only seven Northwest player on its roster, is the only major program in the region that doesn't rely heavily on local talent. Oregon State lists 21 Northwest players, while Washington has 16. Washington State's roster features 31 (out of 34) Northwest players, while Gonzaga almost matches the Cougars with 26 local talents.

The 2015 Dream Team below is short two players who would have otherwise played major roles on the team under different circumstances. Lefthanded pitcher Luke Heimlich (Puyallup High School, Wash.) graduated early and is now enrolled at and playing for Oregon State. Righthanded pitcher Matt Mercer (Timberline High School, Wash.), a very talented and projectable Oregon signee, underwent Tommy John surgery last July and will not throw this spring.


Northwest Region High School Dream Team


C - Brendan Illies, Sr., Puyallup (Wash.)
Illies is an all-around athlete who also throws in the upper-80s off the mound and threw for 5,960 yards and 71 touchdowns during his sophomore and junior football seasons before not playing as a senior. A starter at Puyallup High School, one of the top programs in the state, since the first game of his freshman year, Illies has a strong righthanded swing that produced .398-1-26 numbers as a junior. His best tools and skills are on defense, though, where his athleticism and strong arm stand out.

1B - Austin Shenton, Jr., Bellingham (Wash.)
Shenton missed most of the 2014 high school season after suffering a significant knee injury playing football during the fall but recovered in time to again show off his hitting ability throughout the summer. The lefthanded hitter was named All-State as a freshman in 2013 after hitting .420 and could emerge as the top high school player in Washington this year. Interestingly, the all-around athlete started playing varsity tennis and basketball after deciding to quit football after his injury.

MIF - Morgan McCullough, Jr., West Seattle (Wash.)
The 5-foot-7, 165-pound McCullough makes up for his lack of size with athleticism and a high RPM motor that seems to put him in the middle of every play on the field. McCullough plays shortstop during the spring but profiles as a second baseman at the next level. He's a lefthanded hitter at the plate with an aggressive swing that has surprising bat speed and gap power. McCullough has a verbal commitment to Oregon.

MIF - Ethan Paul, Sr., Newport (Wash.)
Paul is the highest ranked player from Washington in the PG 2015 class rankings at No. 190 and has signed with national powerhouse Vanderbilt. He's a smooth fielding shortstop with soft hands and athletic actions who is also comfortable playing on the other side of the bag at second base. Paul is a lefthanded hitter with a short and quick swing that works the entire field and will likely be a high average hitter with some gap power at the next level.

3B - Kenyon Yovan, Jr., Westview (Ore.)
Yovan could actually fill the utility role on the Northwest starting lineup instead of his high school teammate, Parker Kelly. He was named the Class 6A Metro District Pitcher of the Year as a sophomore and has been up to 90 mph on the mound. But Yovan's big tool moving forward is his offensive potential, especially his power.

OF - Preston Jones, Jr., Mountain View (Wash.)
Jones stands out as perhaps the best overall athlete on the Northwest Dream Team despite only being a junior. The 6-foot, 180-pound righthanded hitter has excellent speed but is also strong and can drive the ball hard up the gaps. He's best known for now as a football standout who has rushed for 2,443 yards and 33 touchdowns, including six in one game, in his first two high school seasons, but sees himself as a baseball player first according to published reports.

OF - Mason Cerrillo, Sr., Auburn (Wash.)
The Northwest Dream Team is going to have two very capable leadoff/top of the order hitters in Cerrillo and Morgan McCullough. Cerrillo is a 5-foot-9, 155-pound left handed hitter with plus running speed and a bit more bat speed than you'd expect in a player his size. He hit .380-5-22 as a sophomore at Auburn High school and has signed with Washington State.

OF - Kam Lane, Sr., Eagle (Id.)
Lane is a dynamic athlete who combines 6.7 speed in the sixty with 92 mph arm strength from the outfield and also stands out as a wide receiver in football. He's a righthanded hitter with lots of bat speed and power potential. Lane has signed with Washington State.

UT - Parker Kelly, Sr., Westview (Ore.)
Kelly was named a 2014 Perfect Game All-American in part due to his ability to play multiple positions at a high level. He's outgrown shortstop and moved to third base and has even begun to follow in the footsteps of his brother Carson, a top prospect with the Cardinals, and start working behind the plate. On the mound, Kelly has been up to 90 mph on his fastball and throws three solid off-speed pitches in a curveball, slider and changeup. He's committed to Oregon.

P - Karsen Lindell, Sr., West Linn (Ore.)
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Lindell is among the fastest rising pitching prospects on the West Coast and a solid spring could propel him into top five round consideration. He pitches in the 90-93 mph range with very good life and throws a hard curveball in the mid- to upper-70s as his best secondary pitch. Lindell is signed with Washington.

P - Sage Diehm, Sr., Skyview (Id.)
Diehm may be from Idaho but he's been a regular on the summer and fall national circuits to the extent that he signed his letter intent with North Carolina. The 6-foot, 180-pound southpaw has dominated Idaho high school baseball with his mid- to upper-80s fastball and his big breaking power curveball.

P - Jacob Bennett, Sr., Tualatin (Ore.)
Oregon's State Pitcher of the Year, Bennett went 9-1, 0.35 with 101 strikeouts in 80 innings last spring on the Tualatin High School team that reached the state semifinals in Class 6A. He features a live upper-80s fastball that will touch 90 mph at times, plus a devastating slider in the low-80s and can throw both pitches for consistent strikes. Bennett is signed with Oregon.

P - Ian Oxnevad, Sr., Shorewood (Wash.)
Oxnevad is a loose and very projectable 6-foot-3, 205-pound southpaw with very good present stuff and the potential to keep improving. He pitches in the upper-80s with his fastball and has a complete four-pitch arsenal of pitches in a curveball, slider and changeup. The Oregon State signee went 6-1 with three saves and a 1.20 ERA in 58 innings as a junior at Shorewood High School.

P - Parker McFadden, Sr., Yelm (Wash.)
McFadden is the hard thrower in the Northwest Region and aggressively challenges hitters with his low- to mid-90s fastball that gets good running life even at that velocity. The Washington State signee also throws a power slider and a changeup.


Northwest Region Top Tools


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