Texas High School Baseball: Top 25 Player Rankings

The Lone Star State is brimming with talent, from two-way stars to overpowering pitchers and game-changing shortstops. Our first 2026 Top 25 rankings spotlight the players poised to dominate this high school season—and leave scouts scrambling.

High School on SI has released the Lone Star State's top 25 high school baseball prospects for the 2025-2026 season. See where the best of the best stack up heading into another competitive season on the diamond. / USA Baseball

Texas high school baseball is already heating up, and this year’s Top 25 players showcase the state’s extraordinary depth of talent. From seasoned seniors to rising juniors, these athletes combine power, speed, and precision in a way that few programs in the country can match.

Topping the list is Fort Worth Christian’s Grady Emerson, whose left-handed swing and elite defensive skills at shortstop have scouts projecting him as the first high school player off the board in the 2026 MLB Draft. Not far behind are versatile two-way stars like Keller’s Cole Koeninger, whose blazing fastball and power at the plate make him a matchup nightmare for any opponent.

Several players made headlines with transfers or offseason moves that positioned them for breakout campaigns. Savion Sims left Edmond Santa Fe to pitch for Plano Prestonwood Christian, joining a growing wave of high-profile athletes testing new waters to sharpen their skills and raise their profiles. Others, like Grapevine’s Jorvorskie Lane Jr., are continuing family legacies, blending athleticism and baseball instincts to deliver elite performances.

Beyond the marquee names, Texas’ Top 25 includes players who can change games in multiple ways. Pitchers with triple-digit fastballs, shortstops with range and soft hands, and middle-of-the-order bats capable of towering home runs all populate this list. Each player carries a unique story and a set of tools that could define the 2026 season.

With scouts, college coaches, and MLB programs watching closely, this Top 25 is just the beginning of a season full of intrigue. From emerging juniors to seniors aiming for stardom, Texas high school baseball promises to deliver moments that will be remembered for years to come.

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Texas High School Baseball Top 25 Player Rankings

Feb. 18, 2026

1. Grady Emerson, SS, sr., Fort Worth Christian Cardinals

College commitment: Texas
The top high school player in the country, Emerson transferred his buttery-smooth left-handed swing from Argyle to Fort Worth Christian to play for Texas Rangers legend Rusty Greer. Emerson is a fantastic defender who makes plays at shortstop look easy and is expected to be the first high school player selected in the 2026 MLB Draft.

2. Cole Koeninger, SS-RHP, sr., Keller

College commitment: Tennessee
Perhaps the top 2026 two-way star in high school baseball, Koeninger is a solid defender at shortstop who generates impressive power at the plate from his 6-foot-3, 210-pound frame. He’s equally impressive on the mound, where his fastball sits between 93 to 95 mph and tops out at 97. The ace of the staff and its most feared hitter, Koeninger is Keller’s X-factor.

3. Savion Sims, RHP, sr., Plano Prestonwood Christian Lions

College commitment: Oklahoma
Sims stunned the baseball world when he announced he would transfer from Edmond Santa Fe after winning the Oklahoma 6A state championship to play his final season at Prestonwood Christian for James Vilade. The 6-foot-8, 205-pounder hits triple digits with his fastball and has one of the most electric high school arms in the country.

4. Connor Comeau, SS, sr., Austin Anderson Trojans

College commitment: Texas A&M
Leading off and playing shortstop, Comeau’s ascension at Austin Anderson has been impressive, as the 6-foot-4, 190-pound Aggies commit has positioned himself as one of the state’s premier position prospects for the 2026 recruiting cycle. He went hitless in the Trojans’ season opener, but we expect a big offensive year from the powerful lefty.

5. Jorvorskie Lane Jr., OF, sr., Grapevine Mustangs

College commitment: Arkansas
State champion Grapevine got a little richer when Lane decided to transfer from Fort Worth O.D. Wyatt for his senior season. Blessed with supreme athleticism (his father was an NFL fullback), Lane is one of the toolsiest talents in Texas. He swiped 61 bases while hitting .588 with 57 RBIs for Wyatt, then spent the summer playing for USA Baseball’s 18U National Team, hitting over .400 in six games (three starts).

6. Trey Rangel, RHP-1B, sr., The Colony Cougars

College commitment: Texas
The son of longtime Cougars head football coach Rudy Rangel, Trey gave up football after his freshman season to focus on the diamond, and that decision is paying off. While his future in baseball is likely on the mound—where the 6-foot-1, 185-pound righty went 6-2 last season with a 1.25 ERA, striking out 78 and allowing nine earned runs on 28 hits in 50.1 innings—Rangel serves as a two-way star for the Cougars, where he also hit .327 with 11 doubles, a triple, three home runs and 18 RBIs in 31 games. He went 1-for-4 in The Colony’s 2026 season opener.

7. Cooper Webb, RHP, sr., Austin Lake Travis Cavaliers

College commitment: Texas
Sporting a fastball that he can get into the mid-90s, Webb has established himself as the ace at Lake Travis after striking out 73 batters while going 8-1 with a 0.79 ERA as a junior in 2025. The Longhorns commit will be trying to help the Cavaliers build on last season’s trip to the 6A Division I semifinals.

8. Cooper Harris, RHP, sr., Flower Mound Jaguars

College commitment: Texas
Standing 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, Harris brings an impressive athletic frame to the mound along with a smooth, low-effort delivery that allows his stuff to play up. The Flower Mound ace has run his fastball up to 95 mph, highlighted by a power slider that has been measured at nearly 3,000 rpm, giving him a swing-and-miss secondary offering to pair with his velocity. Harris continued sharpening his arsenal over the summer while pitching for Texas Elite, and his presence atop the rotation helped the Jaguars post a 21-12 record last season.

9. CJ Sampson, 3B, sr., Tomball Cougars

College commitment: Texas A&M
A member of the USA Baseball 18U National Team, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound two-way star helped Tomball win the 2024 6A championship before taking second in 6A Division II in 2025. He won a gold medal in the offseason with Team USA in the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup, making eight starts—including one on the mound—in the championship bid.

10. Lucas Nawrocki, LHP-DH, sr., Aledo Bearcats

College commitment: Louisiana State
The MVP of the 2025 UIL 5A Division I state championship game, Nawrocki—primarily playing DH—went 4-for-4 in Aledo’s win to cap his junior campaign with a .532 average. But the LSU commit might have a long career ahead of him on the mound, where the 5-foot-11, 190-pound southpaw pumps a fastball that reaches 95 and wipes hitters out with one of the best sliders in the country.

11. Spencer Browning, SS, sr., Texarkana Pleasant Grove Hawks

College commitment: Arkansas
One of the most dynamic all-around players in East Texas, Browning followed a strong sophomore season with a standout junior campaign in which he hit .363 with extra-base pop, disruptive speed on the bases and a .511 on-base percentage while earning first-team all-district and multiple all-state honors at shortstop. He also contributed on the mound, going 6-0 with a 1.81 ERA across 38.2 innings. A three-year varsity contributor who has produced at the plate, on the bases and defensively, Browning enters his senior season as the centerpiece of Pleasant Grove’s lineup and a proven winner at the position.

12. Chandler Hart, LHP-1B, sr., Allen Eagles

College commitment: Texas A&M
At 6-foot-6, Hart possesses the kind of long, projectable frame that draws heavy attention from college and professional scouts. The left-hander, who returns healthy after an injury setback, delivers an upper-80s to low-90s fastball—peaking around 93—a sweeping slider that generates swings and misses and a developing changeup. As his command continues to sharpen, Hart has the tools to emerge as one of the most difficult lefties in the state.

The top player in the entire 2026 class, Grady Emerson transferred from Argyle to Fort Worth Christian for his senior season. / Annie Rice/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

13. Easton Autrey, 3B, sr., Corsicana Tigers

College commitment: Texas
The son of Corsicana head coach Heath Autrey, Easton went viral prior to the start of his junior season when he hit two home runs off the scoreboard at Globe Life Field—one reaching an estimated 544 feet—during a PowerShowcase event. His left-handed power is breathtaking, and he is the unquestioned enforcer in that lineup.

14. Lubin Rincon, SS, jr., Pearland Shadow Creek Sharks

College commitment: Texas
Dripping with athleticism, Rincon is the top 2027 player in the Lone Star State who has the great range, soft hands and strong arm to make difficult plays look easy. A left-handed hitter, he consistently makes solid contact and has the tools to be talked about among the 2027 MLB Draft’s top prospects a year from now. A key piece to Shadow Creek’s success this season, Rincon went 2-for-3 with two doubles, an RBI and scored a run in the season opener against Hargrave.

15. Bryce Krenek, LHP, sr., Katy Taylor Mustangs

College commitment: Texas
Krenek dominated 6A hitters as a junior, posting an 8-3 record with a 1.18 ERA with 143 strikeouts in 82.2 innings—tops for all 6A pitchers. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound southpaw is a four-year starter who earned district newcomer of the year honors as a freshman. An all-state selection last spring. Krenek also delivered one of the season’s signature moments with a perfect game in the third round of the playoffs.

16. Luke Tucker, SS, sr., Krum Bobcats

College commitment: Louisiana State
Tucker has been a steady offensive catalyst for Krum, building on a breakout sophomore season with another strong showing as a junior when he hit .376 with a .526 on-base percentage, 31 runs scored and nine stolen bases while earning first-team all-district and all-area honors. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound shortstop has consistently produced at the plate throughout his career, combining disciplined at-bats with gap-to-gap power, and his all-around contributions have helped the Bobcats reach the playoffs in each of the past three seasons.

17. Landon Brown, RHP, sr., Iowa Colony Pioneers

College commitment: Mississippi State
If you need to know what kind of impact Brown has for Iowa Colony, see their recent 19-0 win against Sam Rayburn when the 6-foot-3, 215-pound flamethrower, who reaches the upper 90s, struck out five over two hitless innings, clubbed a triple and drove in two runs in the win.

18. Jake Ivey, LHP, jr., Gunter Tigers

College commitment: Arkansas
Despite missing most of his sophomore season on the mound following surgery, Ivey managed to win district offensive MVP honors last year for Gunter. Returning to the mound late last year, Ivey has proved his health with a fastball approaching the mid-90s. He isn’t just one of Texas’ best players, but one of the best 2027 southpaws in the country.

19. Sebastian Castillo, SS-RHP, jr., Trophy Club Byron Nelson Bobcats

College commitment: Louisiana State
Trophy Club can enjoy two more seasons of the top two-way player of the 2027 Texas class, but the LSU Tigers can’t wait to get their hands on him. Castillo is one of the best pure hitters in the state and an elite defender with outstanding range, but the 6-foot, 190-pound righty also draws rave reviews on the mound, where the 2025 Prep Baseball Future Games MVP has been up to 92 mph and will show off a solid three-pitch mix for Byron Nelson.

20. Evan O’Connor, LHP-1B, sr., Brock Eagles

College commitment: Arizona State
One of the premier 2026 lefties in Texas, O’Connor (6-foot-2, 200) features a fastball up to 93 mph, a solid curveball that buckles lefties and repeatable mechanics that make him tough to square up. Dominant for Brock last season, he didn’t allow a hit on the mound until his fifth appearance in 2025.

21. Jack Smejkal, RHP-INF, sr., The Woodlands Highlanders

College commitment: Texas
Adding strength and velocity to his athletic 6-foot-2, 190-pound frame, Smejkal has gotten his fastball into the mid-90s to go along with a dominant slider that gets a lot of swings and misses. That athleticism shows on the infield and at the plate, where he is a solid defender and has shown big power to the pull side for the Highlanders.

22. James Jorgensen, RHP-OF, sr., Dallas Jesuit Rangers

College commitment: Texas A&M
Of the players in the top 25, Jorgensen might be the one to rise the most between now and the 2026 Texas postseason rankings. Coming off ACL surgery, the right-hander has worked his fastball from 93 to 95 mph while touching 98 to go along with a devastating curveball with sharp 12-6 bite and a changeup with fade. He and the Rangers are looking to build off last year’s 21-10 record.

23. Drew Milner, RHP, sr., Grandview Zebras

College commitment: Texas A&M
He will be looking to cut down on walks this season after issuing 34 free passes a year ago, but the 6-foot-5, 205-pound right-hander struck out 79 in 47.2 innings as a junior despite pitching for a Zebras squad that struggled to an 11-17-1 record.

24. Trent Vilade, 1B-RHP, sr., Plano Prestonwood Christian Lions

College commitment: Texas A&M
Vilade has developed into one of the most productive middle-of-the-order bats in the TAPPS ranks, earning first-team all-district and first-team all-state honors after hitting .346 with a .550 on-base percentage as a junior. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound two-way standout also made a major impact earlier in his career on the mound, posting a 5-1 record with a 0.74 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 47 innings as a sophomore. With his size, power potential and versatility, Vilade remains a key piece for Prestonwood Christian entering his senior season.

25. Ashten Ballew, SS, sr., Katy Tigers

College commitment: Arizona
Despite his lanky frame, Ballew has impressive bat speed and surprising pop. He finished among the 6A leaders in home runs last season, hitting .315 with four home runs. A good defender with quick feet and range at shortstop, the 6-foot, 170-pound speedster also does the little things right—especially with his legs. A fine runner who clocks a 6.5 in the 60, he helped alter games by swiping 20 bases for the Tigers last season.

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