Backroads and Ballfields: Mississippi State Lands 6-6 Kansas Righty Luke McKenna
By Daniel Wilson ·
In February 2024, at a scout day before he had played a high school inning, Luke McKenna topped out at 80 mph. Prep Baseball's notes from that July described him as 6-foot-5 and 167 pounds, long-limbed with room to fill out. He's now listed at 6-foot-6 and 205, and his fastball has reached a max of 91. On Oct. 16, the Shawnee Mission South right-hander committed to Mississippi State.
McKenna is a 2028 pitcher at the Overland Park, Kan., school. He told Steve Robertson of 247Sports that Mississippi State was one of the first programs to reach out on Aug. 1, a day he remembered as busy. He visited West Virginia, South Carolina and Starkville, where he spent Sept. 18-20. "From the moment I stepped on campus the moment that I met Coach (Justin) Parker and the rest of the staff, it really just felt like home," he said. Later he added: "I feel like me and Coach Parker really connected."
The Radar, Year by Year
Prep Baseball's event log shows the climb. The 80 came in February 2024 and an 81 that July. He reached 85 during the 2025 high school season and 84 at a national tournament that June. At the Central Super Sophomore Games in August 2025, he touched 88 and sat 85 to 87. In the 2026 spring season he ranged 87 to 91, and at an event on June 4 he sat 89 to 91.
The big climb came from June 2025 to the following spring, 84 to 91. The top end has held at 91 since, but the bottom of the range moved up, from 87 in March to 89 in June. I'd rather see the low end climb than one extra tick at the top.
"I have been able to throw harder and locate off speeds in the zone more," he told Robertson. He also said he's gotten bigger and stronger and can stay in games longer.
The Splitter
The pitch that sets him apart isn't the fastball. Prep Baseball's write-up from the Central Super Sophomore Games said his primary offspeed pitch is a splitter, which isn't common for a high school arm. At that event, it averaged 1,442 rpm, about 565 fewer than his fastball, and it dropped with almost no side-to-side movement. A Prep Baseball Kansas City scout had it at 73 to 75 that September, alongside a fastball at 86 to 88.
A splitter from a tall, over-the-top pitcher can look like a fastball until it doesn't. The open question is whether he commands it ahead in the count against good hitters. The breaking ball is still taking shape: his profile lists a curveball at 69 to 76 from this spring and a slider at 69 to 72 from August 2025.
The Sunflower League and SM South
McKenna made a pitch for his league, too. "I play in a league called the Sunflower League. Honestly, I would say some of the best baseball players in the country come out of it. It's an underrated league for sure," he said. "We will see a guy throwing in the low 90s just about every game."
Shawnee Mission South went into the Class 6A state tournament at 17-10 as the No. 6 seed. According to the KSHSAA's state capsules, it was their first state trip since 2008 and their first winning season since 2009. They have four state titles, the last in 1985, according to the Lawrence Journal-World. McKenna went 3-1 with 26 strikeouts as a sophomore on a staff that also included Caler Fossett, Jackson Barker and Levi Robertson. The coach was new, too: Matt Hill, after four years as an assistant at Free State under his father, Mike, in his first season.
McKenna told Robertson: "This past year, we got third in the state." The bracket mostly backs him up. SM South beat No. 3 Mill Valley 3-1 in the quarterfinals on May 26. On May 29, the Raiders lost 3-2 to Free State, Mike Hill's team, in the semifinals. The third-place game against Maize was canceled, so no third place was officially decided. SM South finished 18-11.
The Class Around Him
Earlier this month we wrote about Caleb Paul, the Florida right-hander who committed to Mississippi State on Oct. 8 as the fifth member of its 2028 class. The other four were outfielder Axton Westmoreland of Hernando, Miss., shortstop Connor York of Knoxville Catholic, second baseman Jacob Reynolds of Charlotte Christian and right-hander Pat Conner of Sam Houston High in Moss Bluff, La. McKenna makes six.
Parker's name came up in both pitchers' accounts. Paul said he committed mainly after learning about O'Connor and Parker, and that Parker liked his projectability. McKenna says the two of them connected. I won't claim more than that. Brian O'Connor, who finished his first season as MSU's head coach in June after 22 years at Virginia, now has two tall, projectable 2028 righties, one from Florida and one from Kansas.
What Comes Next
As a 2028 graduate, McKenna has a 2028 draft year. He's 17, a junior, and has no 80Grade draft rank yet.
What would move the evaluation? A fastball max above 91 this spring, on a dated reading, would show the climb is still going. A splitter that holds its shape deep into starts would show it's a real out pitch and not a showcase trick. And a 6-foot-6, 205-pound frame has space for the strength he says he's adding.