UK commit Grayson Willoughby named Mr. Baseball as all-state teams announced
Trinity’s Grayson Willoughby, a senior University of Kentucky commit, was named the 2026 Mr. Baseball by the Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Association in conjunction with the announcement of the organization’s All-State Teams on Wednesday.
Joining Willoughby on the First Team were two players from Lexington, Sayre’s Gary Gibson and Lexington Christian’s Sam Pearson.
Willoughby, a 6-foot-2 right-handed pitcher and infielder, is 10-0 this season with a 0.83 earned run average and 80 strikeouts for the No. 1 Shamrocks, who begin play in the Baseball State Tournament presented by UK HealthCare at 5 p.m. Friday at Legends Field against Bullitt East in the first round.
The Rocks are the defending state champions and Willoughby earned most valuable player honors in last season’s tournament. He was named Kentucky Gatorade player of the year earlier this week. Willoughby’s fastball has been clocked at up to 98 mph, according to PrepBaseballReport.com. He’s projected as a high-round prospect in this summer’s Major League Baseball draft.
Gibson, a 6-0 senior, led the 11th Region champion Spartans with a .426 batting average, seven home runs and 43 runs scored as a utility player and right-handed pitcher. He closed out Sayre’s semifinal win over Madison Central last week with a strikeout and an unassisted double play.
Pearson, a 6-1 junior and two-sport standout who also played wide receiver for LCA’s Class 2A state championship football team last fall, led the Eagles with a .420 average and 40 runs scored to go with two homers and 19 stolen bases.
Here are the complete 2026 KHSBCA All-State Teams with 11th Region players in boldface.
2026 All-State Baseball Teams
First Team: Caden Kern (McCracken County), Hayden Hunt (University Heights), Grayson Rhodes (Meade County), Kace Eastridge (Campbellsville), Cole McLean (Taylor County), Noah Spaulding (Marion County), Rowen Burton (North Bullitt), Grayson Willoughby (Trinity), Nolan Hosking (Trinity), Gray Davis (Trinity), Colton Zuege (St. Xavier), Brodie Benefield (St. Xavier), Bronson Corpus (Walton Verona), Luke Belardo (South Oldham), Tyler Fryman (Beechwood), Tyler Schumacher (Campbell County), Sam Pearson (Lexington Christian), Gary Gibson (Sayre), Kyler Claunch (Boyle County), Kole Grundy (Somerset), Ethan Allen (Whitley County), Grant Slater (Boyd County)
Second Team: Will Fox (McCracken County), Jason White (Owensboro Catholic), Landon Gilbert (Bowling Green), Carter Hodges (Glasgow), Drew Squires (Green County), Brayden Singleton (Larue County), Bryce Russell (Adair County), Dylan Hornback (North Bullitt), Ravon Lee (Pleasure Ridge Park), Cade Partin (Trinity), Konnor Stargel (Trinity), Caleb Arrasmith (Beechwood), JT Richie (Henry Clay), Tielor Howie (Madison Central), Will Rose (Scott County), Caeden Patterson (Boyle County), Luke Hillard (Whitley County), Cam Estep (Corbin), Chase Preece (Johnson Central), Brady Marushi (Ashland), Aaron Pennington (Rowan County), Cole Adams (Boyd County)
Third Team: Thomas Bagby (Marshall County), Kendrick Dunning (McCracken County), Josh Penrod (McCracken County), Ari Wells (Caldwell County), AJ Hogart (University Heights), Jameson Newton (Webster County), Porter Hay (Hancock County), Brady Delk (Franklin Simpson), Landon Punk (Desales), Joey Dudeck (Pleasure Ridge Park), Jaxon Coomer (St. Xavier), Kellen Goodman (Male), Eli Dockery (Spencer County), Kaden Dickhaut (North Oldham), Anthony Coppola (Ryle), Brooks Becker (Beechwood), Donovan Walker (Harrison County), Will Beshear (Frankfort), Seaton Wix (Franklin County), Wyatt Gale (Danville), Lacy Dicken (Powell County), Bash Howard (Breathitt County)
This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 7:19 PM.
