Who should be Missouri High School on SI Baseball Player of the Week? Vote for the week's best (05/05/2025)

Check out some of the top high school baseball players from across the state of Missouri for the week of April 28-May 4, and vote for who should be considered Missouri High School on SI Baseball Player of the Week

Levi Payton | May 8, 2025

Who should be Missouri High School On SI Baseball Player of the Week? / High School On SI

Congrats to Jacob Noland, of Kirkwood, who won the voting in last week’s Missouri High School On SI's Baseball Athlete of the Week poll after getting 40.25 percent of the overall vote. In a 19-4 victory over Parkway Central, he went 5-for-5 with four home runs, 13 RBI, scored five runs. He hit .636 (7-for-11) with four home runs, two doubles, 15 RBI and scored six runs in three games that week.

For the first time in three weeks, we don't have anyone this week with double-digit RBI totals, but we do have more thrilling walk-off winners, no-hitters and overall weeks of dominance.

We’ve added captions on each of the candidates. Read up on how their week went and be sure to cast your vote for who you believe had the best week. You may vote as many times as you like. Voting ends Sunday, May 11 at 11:59 p.m. Central time.

Disclaimer: Voting polls are intended to be a fun way to create fan engagement and express support for your favorite high school athletes and teams. Unless expressly noted, there are no awards for winning the voting. Our primary focus is to highlight the abilities and accomplishments of all the athletes and teams included in our poll. You may vote as many times as you'd like and are encouraged to share our polls with others.

Missouri High School on SI Baseball Player of the Week candidates

(Games from week of April 28-May 2, 2025)

Jackson Akin, Lee’s Summit West

The Oklahoma commit, and Titans’ leadoff man and starting shortstop, had a huge game in a crosstown bout against Lee’s Summit last Monday. Akin only had one hit in the 6-4 victory, but it was a big one, as he uncorked a grand slam in the second inning and later added a sacrifice fly to finish with 5 RBI. Akin also had three hits and scored two runs on Wednesday in a 5-4 win over Lee’s Summit North and hit a solo homer in a 9-5 win against Fort Osage.

Karter Ball, Father Tolton

He only had one hit last Monday against Union, but Ball had the biggest swing of the game against Union. Stepping to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Ball turned on a 2-1 pitch and belted a grand slam to snap a 4-4 tie. The Trailblazers went on to win the game 8-5. Ball also had a sacrifice fly and finished with 5 RBI.

Hayden Bowers, Cape Central

With his team trailing 3-2 with two outs in the fourth inning against Sikeston on Saturday, Bowers became more like Bowser, Mario’s arch-nemesis, and went into beast mode. He clubbed a 1-0 pitch into right field, emptying the loaded bases for a three-run double to give the Tigers a 5-3 lead and capped a five-run frame. He came up again in the sixth with two on and two outs with Cape Central leading 5-4 and smashed a two-run double to extend the Tigers’ lead to 7-4. The Tigers went on to win the game 14-6, and Bowers went on to finish 3-for-3 with 6 RBI, a sacrifice fly and three stolen bases in the win.

Parker Bryant, Oran

Bryant is not the only Oran star on this list. The Eagles had a productive week offensively last week and Bryant was, quite literally, right in the middle of it. Batting third in the Eagles’ lineup, Bryant hit .556 across three games (5-for-9) with two home runs, three doubles, 12 RBI, scored four runs and stole two bases. His production is even more impressive when you consider teammate Rylan Mills, who also made this list, clubbed a pair of homers of his own to clear the bases in front of Bryant.

Houston Crawford, Notre Dame (Cape Girardeau)

Crawford had a monster performance on the mound for the Bulldogs on Saturday. After taking the ball to start the game against Kelly (Benton), Crawford would not give it back. The junior ace fired a two-hit shutout, striking out 13 batters with one walk in seven innings as the Bulldogs picked up their 10th win of the season. He also had a hit and drove in a run in the 4-0 win.

JD Dohrmann, Vianney

Vianney remained undefeated with a pair of 5-3 victories over De Smet Jesuit last week. Dohrmann had a dominant start on Tuesday. Armed with a low-90s fastball and a big breaking ball, the Missouri Tigers commit pitched six scoreless innings, holding De Smet to one hit and one walk while striking out 10 as the Golden Griffins picked up win No. 23.

Brecken Green, Joplin

After mowing down Neosho two weeks ago, Green had another strong start last week to land him back on this list. He took the ball and the bump again against Carthage on Thursday and led the Eagles to another win, firing a complete-game two-hit shutout in a 10-0 victory. The Eagles’ ace struck out 11 Tigers batters and issued only one walk in six innings.

Calen Jones, Helias Catholic

In a showdown between Jefferson City’s neighbors, Crusaders starting pitcher Calen Jones had a big performance on Tuesday in a 1-0 victory over Capital City. The senior fired a no-hitter, striking out nine with two walks in seven innings in a dominant showing to earn the win and bragging rights all over town.

Clayton Layden, Lone Jack

The Mules have kicked it into high-gear of late and are riding a nine-game winning streak at 24-3 overall. It helps when you get great starting pitching, and Layden has turned in some great starts for Lone Jack this season. He had another big outing last Tuesday in a 10-0 shutout against Concordia when he pitched all five innings, allowing two hits with 10 strikeouts and no walks to earn the win. At the plate he contributed one of three Mules triples in the game and drove in a run.

Jakobe Linn, Smith-Cotton (Sedalia)

Call it wildly effective if you must, but Jacobe Linn was simply unhittable last Tuesday against Camdenton. While the Lakers managed to squeeze Linn for five walks, their bats did not get a drop as the fireballer notched a no-hitter, striking out eight in seven innings in the 6-0 shutout. Backed with run support that allowed him to pitch deep into the game, Linn used 110 pitches (61 strikes) to get the job done.

Rylan Mills, Oran

Rylan Mills is baseball’s equivalent of a proper dinner host. He will set the table for you and clear it off. One of two Oran Eagles on this list, Mills, batting second in the lineup, and teammate Patrick Bryant, batting third, made it impossible to choose one without the other. While teams pitched around Mills a bit (he drew four walks), Bryant often made them pay for it. Then again, Mills was not the best option to pitch to either, as he batted .833 (5-for-6) with two home runs, a triple, two doubles, 3 RBI, scored seven runs and stole two bases.

Sebastian Norman, Glendale

When the Falcons needed a big hit last Tuesday, Norman stepped up. With his team trailing 3-2 with two outs in the bottom of the fifth against Ozark, the hard-hitting Oklahoma State commit jumped on a 1-0 pitch and crushed a two-run homer to left, gifting the Falcons the final lead and their 10th win of the season in a 4-3 victory. Norman finished the game with 3 RBI.

Clint Olson, Raymore-Peculiar

His team went 1-3 last week, but we cannot overlook the terrific week Olson had at the plate for the Panthers. Batting third and catching, Olson hit .600 (9-for-15) with a home run, four doubles, 10 RBI and scored three runs to help pace the offense.

Connor O’Toole, Liberty North

Liberty North picked up three more wins last week as O’Toole’s bat remained a steady force in their lineup. In wins against Blue Springs, Blue Springs South and Raymore-Peculiar, O’Toole batted .500 with a home run, three doubles and 7 RBI.

Brody Pant, Carl Junction

Coming off back-to-back losses, Carl Junction desperately needed a win against Republic on Friday. Locked in a 6-6 tie with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning, Pant smacked a walk-off single – his third hit and third RBI of the game – to left to gift the Bulldogs that win. For good measure, the clutch junior helped the Bulldogs snag two more wins on Saturday, beating a pair of Kansas teams in St. Mary’s Colgan (Pittsburg) 7-4, and Frontenac 5-4. Against Colgan he went 1-for-1 with 2 RBI, a stolen base, scored a run and pitched a perfect seventh inning with one strikeout to get the save. Against Frontenac that same day, Pant collected three hits, swiped two bases, scored a run, and pitched 4.2 scoreless in relief, picking up the win after the Bulldogs walked off with a win in 10 innings. Pant batted .700 (7-for-10) in those three wins with a double, 5 RBI, three stolen bases and four runs scored. On the mound he did not allow a run in 5.2 innings and went 1-0 with a save and five strikeouts.

Hayden Post, Timberland

If you can get the kind of production from the lower third of your lineup that Post gave to the Wolves last week, chances are you will win games. Timberland went 4-0 last week, and Post had a big hand in three of those wins. Batting eighth and playing shortstop in a 9-6 victory over St. Dominic last Monday, Post went 2-for-3 with two triples and 4 RBI. The following day against Fort Zumwalt South, Post went 1-for-2 and lifted a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh to win it 3-2. He moved up one spot in the lineup on Wednesday against Fort Zumwalt South and clubbed a two-run home run in a 12-2 win.

Jaden Shorter, Ash Grove

Tied 4-4 in the ninth, East Newton scored twice in the top of the inning to take a 6-4 lead. After the Pirates cut it to 6-5 and loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth, Shorter stepped to the plate and roped a two-run walk-off single to center to earn the Pirates their 10th win of the season.

Cooper Shrum, Belton

Shrum solid all week for Belton. Batting third in the lineup and playing shortstop on Wednesday, he went 3-for-4 at the plate with three doubles, 6 RBI, a walk and scored a run in an 11-1 victory over William Chrisman. And that was only part of his week. In a 21-0 blowout of Kansas City Ruskin last Monday, he went 2-for-3 with a triple, 3 RBI, a walk and scored three runs. In a 2-1 loss to Platte County on Friday, Shrum pitched six strong innings, allowing an unearned run on five hits with eight strikeouts and one walk in the no-decision.

Culton Thompson, Mehlville

Batting leadoff and catching, Thompson had a monster day against Mehlville last Monday. The sophomore went 4-for-5 at the plate with two home runs, two doubles, 5 RBI and scored four runs in a 13-4 win against Northwest. Mehlville trailed 2-0 in the third before Thompson doubled to drive in the first of four runs that inning for the Panthers. He homered to lead off the top of the fifth, sparking a three-run inning that saw the Panthers extend their lead to 7-3. He hit a two-run homer in the seventh to make it 13-4.

Carter Viox, Valle Catholic

The Warriors improved to 22-1 on Saturday in dramatic fashion. Locked in a 2-2 tie against Van Buren, the Warriors got back-to-back singles with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning when Viox stepped to the plate and singled to right, driving home Tyler Gregg with the winning run. Viox finished the game with two hits.

Keelan Zumwalt, Summit Christian Academy

Zumwalt continued his breakout campaign last week, as the freshman helped lead Summit Christian Academy to three wins. His biggest performance came last Monday when, batting third in the lineup and playing centerfield, Zumwalt went 2-for-2 at the plate with a home run, three RBI, three walks, stole three bases and scored twice in a 7-3 win over Barstow. In three games last week he batted .625 (5-for-8) with two home runs, 5 RBI, scored five runs, drew four walks and stole three bases.