{"id":677788,"date":"2026-04-17T18:00:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T18:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/677788\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T18:00:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T18:00:27","slug":"mlb-draft-prospect-ethan-bass-gets-tips-from-jason-kipnis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/677788\/","title":{"rendered":"MLB draft prospect Ethan Bass gets tips from Jason Kipnis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Glenbrook North\u2019s Ethan Bass has to contend with a lot of outside noise as one of the nation\u2019s most highly touted baseball prospects.<\/p>\n

Bass, a 6-foot-2 senior shortstop, is signed to play with national power Wake Forest, and he\u2019s a staple near the top of prospect lists for the MLB draft in July. He ranks 56th on MLB\u2019s list of eligible players.<\/p>\n

Even with all of the associated attention being cast Bass\u2019 way, he doesn\u2019t lose sight of how he arrived at this critical juncture in his baseball career, and he has a very simple way of staying grounded.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got to play the game like you\u2019re 5 years old again, like you\u2019re playing in \u2018The Sandlot\u2019 movie,\u201d Bass said. \u201cYou have to stay humble, or the game will humble you, and it\u2019s important to remember to have fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bass\u2019 approach has been successful this season. He hit .516 with four home runs, 16 runs scored and six stolen bases in the Spartans\u2019 first 12 games. He also coaxed 13 walks in that span, leading to a .673 on-base percentage and 1.641 OPS.<\/p>\n

Bass has long been on talent evaluators\u2019 radars. In an industry where analysis often seems centered on finding holes, it\u2019s hard to find many in Bass\u2019 skill set. He\u2019s a line-drive hitter who can hit the ball from gap to gap with authority, and he makes every play at a premium position look easy.<\/p>\n

\"GlenbrookGlenbrook North shortstop Ethan Bass (4) warms up before a nonconference game against Niles West in Northbrook on Thursday, April 9, 2026. (Talia Sprague \/ Pioneer Press)<\/p>\n

\u201cHis defense is what sets him apart,\u201d Glenbrook North coach Justin Weiner said. \u201cCombining his range, glove, arm and instincts, it\u2019s the complete package. There have been multiple times that I\u2019ve turned to one of my assistants and asked, \u2018How did he make that play?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cHe plays the game the right way, which makes him so much fun to coach.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not uncommon to see a high school baseball team\u2019s most athletic player at shortstop, but that doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019ll stay at that position at the next level. To get a leg up, Bass has introduced a \u201cprep step\u201d before every pitch.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat helps keep me present in every moment,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have to be locked in on every pitch. It\u2019s so easy to space out, and I try to be aware of when I am.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a game of inches, so little things matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Therein lies one of Bass\u2019 unsung talents.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always trying to learn,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can\u2019t always think you\u2019re right. When I watch baseball, I\u2019m trying to see how major leaguers do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bass has actually been be able to consult former MLB second baseman Jason Kipnis, a Glenbrook North graduate<\/a> who ended his playing career with the Chicago Cubs in 2020 and has returned to his alma mater as a volunteer assistant. Bass has made sure to take advantage of that opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cEthan has from the start been someone who\u2019s been comfortable having baseball conversations with me, which is great to see because he\u2019s trying to better himself,\u201d Kipnis said. \u201cHe\u2019s aware that he makes mistakes and that he needs to get better.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got all the physical tools, but the little things are the separators as you move to higher levels.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GlenbrookGlenbrook North shortstop Ethan Bass, shown before a nonconference game against Niles West in Northbrook on Thursday, April 9, 2026, is a fourth-year varsity player. (Talia Sprague \/ Pioneer Press)<\/p>\n

Bass probably will have to choose between two higher levels this summer. But he emphasized that playing for Wake Forest coach Tom Walter appeals to him.<\/p>\n

\u201dThey have a great plan for everyone that walks in there,\u201d he said. \u201cOn the player development side, there\u2019s amazing stuff that they produce.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bass could be talking about the 2025 American League rookie of the year, Oakland first baseman Nick Kurtz<\/a>. But Bass is paying particular attention to another Wake Forest product, shortstop Marek Houston, whom the Minnesota Twins drafted with the 16th overall pick last July.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s who coach sees in me,\u201d Bass said. \u201cI love to hear that, and it makes me excited to put the work in. I\u2019m super excited for the future, but I like to have myself in the present moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bass allows himself to look back too. He remembers his first high school season in 2023 fondly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was nervous because it seemed like a different type of game,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I got a double and a single in my first two at-bats, and that got the first-game jitters out. I still talk to a bunch of those guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GlenbrookGlenbrook North’s Ethan Bass hits a two-run home run during a nonconference game against Niles West in Northbrook on Thursday, April 9, 2026. (Talia Sprague \/ Pioneer Press)<\/p>\n

Bass experienced a rare slump in the middle of his sophomore season, when Glenbrook North advanced to a Class 4A supersectional. But he received encouragement from teammate Noah Delgado, who plays at St. Leo in Florida, and Bass got back on track.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat slump was crucial to me because it showed me that this game isn\u2019t simple,\u201d Bass said. \u201cIt was great to have someone there to reassure me. You need people around you who care.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bass has become one of those people for the Spartans.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow being one of the old guys in the dugout, it\u2019s kind of cool,\u201d he said. \u201cIt means a lot to be passing the knowledge I have down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Glenbrook North\u2019s Ethan Bass has to contend with a lot of outside noise as one of the nation\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":677789,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2276],"tags":[5,13351,85873,3263,5163,1358,2291,4,1586,85874,185],"class_list":{"0":"post-677788","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb-draft","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-cook-county","10":"tag-glenview","11":"tag-high-school-sports","12":"tag-illinois","13":"tag-local-news","14":"tag-major-league-baseball-draft","15":"tag-mlb","16":"tag-mlb-draft","17":"tag-northbrook","18":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116421357692277713","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=677788"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677788\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/677789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=677788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=677788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=677788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}