Sluggers Reed, Cunningham advance to High School Home Run Derby finals Monday night

PHILADELPHIA – Three days before Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, Junior Caminero and a host of Major League Baseball’s best sluggers take their Home Run Derby hacks, Brady Cunningham and Sullivan Reed got Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park plenty warm for them with a slugfest of their own, one that put the future of baseball’s power on full display.

Reed, a corner infielder from Mississippi, crushed 23 homers over two rounds to claim the top spot in Friday’s High School Home Run Derby, while Illinois third baseman Cunningham needed an extra period to advance after tying local Pennsylvania product Jimmy Amplo with 20 blasts each. Both Reed and Cunningham will head to the final round Monday during the T-Mobile Home Run Derby as part of All-Star Week festivities.

“I was just trying to take in the moment,” Reed said. “It was super fun, and whatever happened, happened. I knew that I'd worked hard enough for this moment. I just wanted to showcase what I can do.”

Measuring in at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, the right-handed-hitting Reed had the easiest pop of the afternoon, routinely sending skyscraping shots deep and using the giant videoboard beyond left field as target practice. Statcast registered at least two of his 23 total homers at beyond 470 feet. The last time an in-game Major League homer went longer than 470 feet at Citizens Bank Park was a 474-footer from Franchy Cordero for the Red Sox on May 23, 2021, although that came with wood compared to the metal in the high-school competitors’ hands Friday.

Reed is committed to Mississippi State for college. The Bulldogs are quite familiar with power-hitting corner infielders with Ace Reese (MLB Pipeline’s No. 18 Draft prospect for 2026) clubbing 45 homers over his last two seasons in Starkville. Reed should at least be a little comfortable with performing on big stages by the time he reaches campus (if he doesn’t go in the MLB Draft first). Before Philadelphia, he collected 13 homers in the King of Swing Home Run Derby in Omaha. Going from the city of the College World Series to the City of Brotherly Love might just feel like a natural progression.

“I expect it to be electric,” he said of Monday’s finals. “I've heard nothing but good things about Philadelphia fans. I heard they're very passionate, and I'm just going to try and soak it all in and have a blast.”

Cunningham has similarly been no stranger to homering on a big stage of late. He was one of eight players to go deep in official games at the Perfect Game National Showcase at Miami’s loanDepot park in Miami just last week.

In a true power showcase event like Friday’s, he said he still tried to show off a “simple swing” from the right side, but there were still mechanics geared to pull and lift the ball naturally that allowed balls to take flight. Cunningham hit 12 homers in the 2 minute, 30 second first round – including two into the left field’s upper deck and two more into the ivy of the batter’s eye in center – and added eight more in the 90-second second round.

As the leadoff hitter for the group of eight, the 6-foot-3 Texas A&M commit had to sweat it out as his fellow competitors tried to pass his total of 20 and punch their own ticket for Monday’s finals. Amplo tied him at 20 in the final seconds of his second round, and one batter later, Reed surpassed him with 23, setting up Cunningham and Amplo for a 30-second tiebreaker. Again, the former set the tone with four, and the local favorite managed just one, giving Cunningham second place officially.

“I feel like all these events definitely help with just staying calm,” Cunningham said. “There's pressure, there's all the outside noise, and it's just cool to stay in these environments and get used to them. Ultimately the longer you play, the more big crowds you're gonna be in front of.”

The Chicagoland native and Reed have already put themselves onto an impressive High School Home Run Derby alumni list that includes 2026 All-Stars Riley Greene, Sal Stewart, Jordan Walker and Bobby Witt Jr.; 2026 preseason No. 1 overall prospect Konnor Griffin and 2026 Draft No. 1 prospect Grady Emerson. They’ll have two full days of rest before they look to conquer the bright lights of Citizens Bank Park once more.

“It’s a crazy feeling every time,” Cunningham said, “because this is what you dream about.”

Final results:

Round 1 -- 2 minutes, 30 seconds

1. Brady Cunningham, Brother Rice HS (IL) - 12
2. Graham Keen, Mt. Lebanon HS (PA) - 5
3. Grant Westphal, Blue Valley HS (KS) - 8
4. Kinon Bastian, The First Academy (FL) - 10
5. Lubin Rincon, The Bennett School (TX) - 10
6. Jimmy Amplo, The Shipley School (PA) - 13
7. Sullivan Reed, Lamar School (MS) - 15
8. Tavis Honeycutt, Newberry HS (FL) - 13

Round 2 -- 1 minute, 30 seconds

1. Cunningham - 8 (20 total)
2. Keen - 9 (14 total)
3. Westphal - 5 (13 total)
4. Bastian - 3 (13 total)
5. Rincon - 4 (14 total)
6. Amplo - 7 (20 total)
7. Reed - 8 (23 total)
8. Honeycutt - 4 (17 total)

30-second tiebreaker for 2nd place

1. Cunningham - 4 (24 total)
2. Amplo -1 (21 total)

Here's a look at this year's participants:

Jimmy Amplo, OF/3B/1B, The Shipley School (PA)
Amplo is the first of two Pennsylvania natives on this year’s Derby roster, and his hometown of Norristown (located 25 miles northwest of Citizens Bank Park) may be familiar to many fans as the place that gave the baseball world Mike Piazza, Tommy Lasorda and Christian Walker. Amplo posted a 106.9 mph max exit velocity at Prep Baseball’s PA State Games last month. He finished third in the field.

Kinon Bastian, OF, The First Academy (FL)
The right-handed slugger boasts some of the best raw power in the class. He starts from an open stance and keeps his hands loose before unleashing powerful swings to the pull side. Bastian has whiffed a bit in showcase events in search of that power, but that won’t be much of a concern in a Derby environment. He is committed to Florida, where brother Jaden redshirted this spring with a right leg fracture, and has a local connection as a member of the FTB Phillies travel team.

Brady Cunningham, 3B/RHP, Brother Rice HS (IL)
The Chicagoland native is no stranger to homering in Major League stadiums, having just gone deep last week in the Perfect Game National Showcase at loanDepot park in Miami. Listed at 6-foot-3, Cunningham certainly has plenty of size to pack a punch at the plate, and he’s already getting into that frame with good strength to punish balls to left field. The Texas A&M commit, who also touches the low 90s on the mound, has at least plus raw power that could push him into first-round discussions this time next year.

Tavis Honeycutt, 3B/1B, Newberry HS (FL)
Standing 1 inch taller than Cunningham at 6-foot-4, Honeycutt led Sunshine State high-schoolers with 16 homers and a 1.406 slugging percentage this spring en route to being named the Florida Dairy Farmers Class 2A Player of the Year. There are some deep family roots in baseball with dad Shedrick playing two Minor League seasons in the Expos system and uncle Mike Spina playing four between the A’s and Braves organizations. Honeycutt is committed to Florida.

Graham Keen, 3B/1B/OF/RHP, Mt. Lebanon HS (PA)
The second of two Keystone Staters on this list, Keen hails from the other end of the commonwealth in Pittsburgh and comes from the same high school as Cubs outfielder Ian Happ. Keen stands tallest among the 2026 Derby participants at 6-foot-6, and as a right-handed slugger, he has a straight-forward stance in the box before generating impressive pop with ample strength. The son of two collegiate track athletes, Keen can also sit in the low 90s with his fastball and could pursue pitching at Vanderbilt or in the pros, given his arm strength and future projection.

Sullivan Reed, 3B/1B/RHP, Lamar School (MS)
Mississippi State has one corner infielder who could go in the first round this year in Ace Reese (MLB’s No. 18 Draft prospect), and they could have another one coming in Reed, if he ever makes it to Starkville. The Bulldogs commit shows good bat speed from the right side and has athleticism stemming from his work as a quarterback in the fall. He hit 13 homers in the King of Swing Home Run Derby in Omaha last month.

Lubin Rincon, SS/3B, The Bennett School (TX)
A native of Venezuela, Rincon joined Cunningham in going deep at the PG National Showcase in Miami last week. In his case, it was an inside-the-park job, but there was still good slugging ability on display as he took a 90 mph left-on-left fastball all the way to the wall in straightaway center. The Texas commit stands out more for his future projection than his current power, but as Emerson showed last year, athletes who can play a true shortstop -- as Rincon can -- are capable of flipping the switch in Derby environments.

Grant Westphal, OF, Blue Valley HS (KS)
Westphal could be the best high school hitting prospect to come out of Kansas since Bubba Starling went fifth overall to the Royals in 2011, and after Peterson’s win last year, he has a shot at giving the Sunflower State back-to-back Derby champs. Like fellow Texas commit Rincon, he stands out for the power that could come down the line in his 6-foot-2 frame. Longhorn fans may recognize the name after Westphal’s brother Grady redshirted as a freshman pitcher in Austin this spring.