5 Indiana prep baseball players sign with Southeastern Conference schools

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — I’m going to be fully transparent, if you don’t follow high school baseball, this article might not be for you.

You’re more than welcome to read it, share it on social media and comment on it, but just know I’m about to get really in the prep baseball weeds here.

I apologize to no one.

First, a little background: In the world of college baseball, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) is heads above the rest, and it’s not even close. For perspective, the last five national titles belong to an SEC school and SEC teams have made the College World Series finals 15 out of the last 16 years. So when SEC schools start recruiting local players, it speaks volumes about the type of talent around these parts. Enter Indiana.  

My “Whoa’ moment:

I was scrolling through the X platform when I saw Center Grove’s Gannon Grant announce his commitment to Tennessee. If this was basketball, it would be like a local kid committing to Duke. The Tennessee Vols are the current national champs and are consistently ranked #1 in the country. Grant’s SEC commitment was the first of several. Noblesville’s Beckett Doane then signed with Mississippi State, followed by Shelbyville’s Aiden Smith, Chesterton’s Rob Czarniecki and Castle High School’s Will Coleman all signing signing with the University of Kentucky!

So what’s going on here?

I immediately reached out to Cooper Trinkle, scouting director of Prep Baseball Report Indiana.

“Indiana’s 2026 class is one of the stronger groups we’ve seen in recent years. The class already has 16 Division I recruits in total, with 12 headed to Power Five programs, and eight SEC commits. That number should continue to skyrocket now that this class has reached their junior year, which is when schools can officially recruit/offer high school recruits.” Trinkle said. “I expect another at least 10-15 more 2026s to announce their commitments to Division I programs before next spring begins.”

No surprise, considering the quality of baseball being played in the Hoosier state these days. The facilities, like Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, are second to none and the travel ball programs in the state are regularly ranked nationally. Grant, Doane, Smith and Czarniecki all play for the Indiana Bulls and Coleman for the Canes Midwest.

“We had multiple Power Five coaches tell us at this year’s Prep Baseball Future Games that Indiana had one of the best rosters at the event, which included top players from perennial powerhouse states like Texas, California, Georgia and Florida. Indiana has become known as a Midwest hotbed for baseball and this 2026 class continues to reaffirm that reputation,” Trinkle said

Basketball may still be king in Indiana, but baseball is coming on strong.