KANSAS CITY, MO – A Wayne High student who is entering his senior year made an appearance on the mound at Kauffman Stadium this past weekend.
Brooks Kneifl has been busy all summer long playing the sport he loves and was given a great opportunity during the 17th annual Midwest Scouts Association Showcase.
“I got to pitch in an MLB stadium in front of a lot of scouts,” said Kneifl. “It was just against a lot of great players around the area.”
The Midwest Scouts Association is a collection of MLB scouts in the Midwest.
In order to pitch in Kauffman Stadium this past weekend, home of the Kansas City Royals, Brooks Kneifl had to be recommended by an MLB scout.
Brooks Kneifl added it was a quick down and back trip full of memories.
“We left the day before,” Kneifl added. “Our whole family went down there, and we spent the night. The first pitch was at 10:05 a.m. so, we sat there, and we played two six innings games. Then I pitched the 11th inning (fifth inning of game two) and then we went out to eat after and came home.”
The lefthanded pitcher from Wayne High, Brooks Kneifl joined several other Nebraska high school baseball standouts along with most of the top Midwest players.
Listed at 6’ 2”, 215 pounds, Kneifl started the summer in June playing with Team Ohio traveling to Georgia and Alabama along with a tournament in Ohio. He’ll wrap up with a fall tournament in Jupiter, Florida to compete with more talented players.
Kneifl is a Kansas State baseball commit and stated their new pitching coach, Rudy Darrow has been in recent contact.
“He called me this past week and he’s ready to get cracking with us pitchers,” Kneifl mentioned. “Actually, the catcher that caught me this past weekend is committed to Kansas State as well; so pretty exciting.”
According to Blaine Peterson, a National Scouting Coordinator, stated the 2023 Wayne, NE native threw his fast ball at 83-87 mph and slider between 73-75 mph this past weekend.
“My number one focus is just to continue to get better so I can be ready to help our spring ball team out,” said Kneifl. “With hard work, we can be a contender this Spring. We have a lot of great talented players and coaches that I’m looking forward to getting back on the field with. So, that should be really exciting.”
Brooks Kneifl stated he was fortunate about the opportunity but feels like he has a lot to work on and will continue to work hard to become better.
