Image credit:
Carter Hadnot (Tracy Proffitt/Four Seam Images)
California shortstop Carter Hadnot, the top-ranked uncommitted player in the 2027 class, announced today he was committing to Oklahoma.
It’s a huge addition to the Sooners’ recruiting class, giving them a five-star commit (read more about BA’s star rating system here) and a quick-twitch athlete who regularly impacts the game on both sides of the ball.
Hadnot put himself on national scouting radars as an underclassman, especially at the 2025 Area Code Games, where he flashed some of the most impressive glovework of any shortstop at the event.
Defensive polish is the headliner of Hadnot’s current skillset. He’s a plus runner with tremendous middle-infield actions, an advanced internal clock and the reliable hands and arm strength that should allow him to stick at shortstop and be an impact defender there.
Offensively, Hadnot is a switch-hitter with great contact skills to build on. He’s incredibly lean at 6-foot-2, 175 pounds and will need to pack on more strength and mass to become a regular home-run hitter, but he has a body that’s easy to project. He also hits the ball harder than most high school hitters his size thanks to snappy hands and great bat speed. He already flashes pullside home-run power in games, though he’s more of a line-drive hitter at the moment.
Hadnot’s combination of physical tools, youth and switch-hitting ability could mean that he never makes it to campus at Oklahoma in the first place. MLB teams love his sort of profile and are happy to bet on it at the top of the draft. His current ranking would point to a middle-of-the-first-round outcome on draft day, but as Ben Badler has noted in the past, it’s more common than you’d think for an elite high school prospect to make it to campus.
Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo spoke with Hadnot about his decision to commit to Oklahoma, his summer on the circuit, his goals heading into the offseason, the draft and more.
Editor’s Note: This interview has been lightly edited for readability and clarity.
Baseball America: Tell me a little bit about the decision to commit to Oklahoma. What about the program got you excited?
Carter Hadnot: Yeah, me going out there, I was really excited already. I was talking with coach Reggie Willits—he’s an awesome person. So when I got there, everybody greeted me and was nice. When I had my meeting with coach Willits, he knew every aspect of the game. The way he coaches, his play style and the play style at Oklahoma is how I play. When he offered me, it just felt good knowing that a coach really understands how I play and knew every little stat about me. So I really enjoyed that.
The culture there is amazing. Coach Skip Johnson—he’s a great guy. All the players really respect him, his rules and how how he goes about things. I really liked how their practices went and the scrimmage. I learned a lot just being there in general. But I had an awesome time on my visit … Everyone from Norman was amazing, as well. When I went to go eat, or just walking out there in general—everyone was great.
BA: You mentioned the program lining up with your play style. For people who haven’t seen you play, how would you describe what your play style is and what you can bring to a team on the baseball field?
Carter Hadnot: I would say that I put the ball in play a lot. I like to run on the bases. I like to steal. I like to get on base and help my team win. And the way they play: they they get on base, they steal bags, they play situational, they bunt.
BA: Can you tell me about your switch-hitting and how that has progressed for you? How is it maintaining both swings and the amount of extra time in the cage you probably have to put in just to keep both swings sharp?
Carter Hadnot: Yeah, with my switch-hitting, I’ve definitely been working a lot. Especially since about last year. I really like took my hitting to another level. I started to understand different ways of hitting—staying in the ground, things like that. But my switch-hitting, I’ve definitely putting a lot more work in and figuring out my movements from each side of the plate. And this summer it really showed the work that I was putting in. I had some home runs, I had extra-base hits. So I was really happy about the way it went.
BA: What’s your natural side?
Carter Hadnot: My natural side is rightanded.
BA: Can you tell me a little bit about this summer? You’ve had exposure to the the circuit for a while now, but when all the attention is on you going into your draft year, what was that like?
Carter Hadnot: This summer was honestly amazing, especially playing with such a high-caliber team, and every player being really good with USA Prime. It was a lot of fun. I was able to play free and just have fun with a bunch of guys who are really good. It really helped having big bats behind me. Like even though I was in the four hole—and I’m not really like a four-hole hitter—it felt good to drive into runs. I mean, I had Frank Thomas III behind me, and I would get on base a good amount and he’d just hit me in. So I was scoring a lot of runs. I had some stolen bases. It was really awesome.
BA: Do you think of yourself as hitting in a specific batting order position? Where do you like to hit?
Carter Hadnot: Honestly, I like hitting in the top of the order. With my high school team, I usually bat first or second. So going into the summer when they put me fourth—because I didn’t know when I was gonna bat with a new team—so when they put me fourth, I was like, “Oh, wow.” But I just embraced it and did my role. I was driving in runs when I could, and just having tough at-bats against any pitcher.
BA: Heading into this offseason and thinking about next spring, what is top of mind for you, either in terms of goals for the team, goals for yourself as a player or where you want to continue growing and improving? What’s your focus going to be on over the next six to nine months?
Carter Hadnot: The goals for my team are really just having a good winning season. Honestly, I want to win our CIF championship. We still have to put in the work to get there, but I think we look pretty good as a team. Everyone gets along really well … My individual goals—I’ve been working on putting on more weight … I am about 173, 174 right now. I’m trying to get to about 180. I think that would be good. Because I still want to move around well in the infield. So that’s my goal there.
And then with my hitting, I just want to keep figuring out the movements. It’s fun understanding hitting—especially because I’m really close with Dylan Seward, and I hit with him and his dad and some of our other friends. He lives close, so he will tell me about what he sees with my hitting. But I also work with my dad, and it’s getting more and more fun just really understanding the whole game of baseball. I’ve been working on my different movements and make sure I have the right patterns in my swing.
BA: What is your thought process with handling the draft ahead of you, handling the attention of scouts and the decision that you’ll have to make next summer heading into a potential draft?
Carter Hadnot: There have been a good amount of scouts at my games, and I’ve talked to some teams. But I haven’t really had my mind on it too much. I don’t want to think about it too much and stress over it, and then try to overplay. Honestly, when I’m playing I just try to have fun and play free because the moment I try to do too much then I know I won’t do well. So I just try to play free-minded and have fun going into it.
With this spring, I really enjoy my high school like season and team, so it’s always fun. And last year we had a good amount of scouts at our games because one of our seniors (was being scouted). Also I’ve been playing in front of scouts my whole high school career, so it it doesn’t really bother me too much. But I’m really excited for the season and for the draft as well.
BA: Is there anything else you want to mention or talk about that I didn’t ask about?
Carter Hadnot: No, I think you covered everything. I’m just really excited with my commitment. I have been uncommitted for a good while, so it feels good to be committed to a school that really cares for me.