Two of the Colorado’s best prep pitching prospects hail from Aurora area prospects and one of them has been dominant, while the other looks to return to form.
Grandview senior Ethan Wachsmann and Regis Jesuit senior Hudson Alpert — both committed to Division I programs and potential Major League Baseball draft picks — are coming to the close of outstanding prep careers and looking to make the most the finish.
Both had significant performances — for different reasons — on the same day last week as the season begins to wind toward the conclusion.
Wachsmann, a Wake Forest commit, tossed his second career seven-inning no-hitter April 18 in a 1-0 Centennial League road win at Mullen.
The hard-throwing right-hander — who hit 98 miles per hour on his first pitch and 97 on his last one according to Grandview coach Scott Henry — needed just 87 pitches to no-hit the Mustangs. He struck out eight and allowed just one baserunner to get to third.
“Ethan was real quick and threw a ton of strikes,” Henry said. “He was in the upper to mid-90s the whole day, which is tough. Mullen did a pretty good job of putting balls in play, but he had his offspeed working and when that happens, he’s almost impossible to hit.”
Wachsmann had a breakout season a year ago, which included a seven-inning no-hitter against Cherokee Trail, plus two prime postseason performances in helping the Wolves reach the final four of the Class 5A Championship Series before a close loss to Regis Jesuit.
He finished the season 8-1 with a 1.77 ERA with 80 strikeouts in 51 1/3 innings.
This season is on track to better in many ways. Wachsmann is off to a 4-1 start with a 1.00 ERA and 37 strikeouts in just 21 innings. He has allowed just nine hits and his lone loss came when he gave up just two runs in two innings against Legacy.
The biggest changes Henry notes is in physical size, soaring confidence and an even demeanor, which has helped Wachsmann succeed even as a gaggle of MLB scouts descend to his every start.
“I think he’s up to maybe 6-foot-5 now and over 200 pounds, so physically he looks like a man,” Henry said. “He’s probably more in tune with his body than any athlete I’ve worked with. He knows how he should feel, how to recover, nutrition and how much sleep he needs. I think he’s feeling good every time he’s out there. His physical stuff is off the charts and he’s also been a student of the mental game. There’s some tiny things he’s tweaked mentally.”
That package combines to make Grandview (11-6 overall and 7-0 in the Centennial League through games of April 21) a concern to any potential team it might face in the upcoming postseason.
The challenge for Henry is what happens after Wachsmann, as pitching depth is vital to state title hopes, especially since the 5A Championship Series is double elimination. Senior Logan Hurtado (a right-hander who is 2-1) and senior lefty Seth Mittleman (2-0, 2.82 ERA) both have the lead when it comes to starting, while junior Diesel Bernosky is available to close. Grandview’s offense appears to be potent — with the exception of the Mullen game — which also helps.
While Wachsmann’s achievement was larger in pure pitching terms, Alpert’s two-inning stint on the mound April 18 against Highlands Ranch had massive overall meaning in the big picture.
The Vanderbilt recruit had been in the lineup for coach Matt Darr’s Raiders at second base and hitting cleanup, but he hadn’t thrown a pitch since May 23, 2025, when he had to exit a 5A Championship Series game against Arvada West because of discomfort in his right elbow. He was unable to pitch again as the Raiders went on to lose to Cherry Creek in the state championship game.
Alpert — Darr’s unquestioned go-to starter in big games for three seasons — turned out to need “Tommy John Lite” surgery, a stability repair which has a significantly shorter recovery period than traditional Tommy John operations, which often could sideline pitchers from a year to 18 months.
He diligently went through his rehab as far a pitching, but was able to return the lineup for hitting and defense, as he wanted to “do anything I can to stay involved in the game, rather than just sit on the bench waiting to recover.”
Alpert was finally cleared to return to the mound with a pitch count and he checked a lot of boxes in a two-inning stint against Highlands Ranch in which he walked one batter and struck out three while not giving up a hit.
“Obviously we’re thrilled to have him back out there,” Darr said. “I talked to a few scouts that were there and he got up to 93. His secondary stuff looked better than last year, so I was thrilled. It’s obviously a nervous time for a kid in that situation, but he looked confident and comfortable. It’s a big boost for us to have him back.”
Darr said he will listen to Alpert’s doctors as far as how to work him back into a pitching staff that has blossomed in his stead due to the extra available innings, but expects Alpert to be on the mound once a week for the rest of the regular season.
If he can build up, Alpert could again be a key piece on a potential run at a state title, as the Raiders already have a slew of capable arms in juniors Cade Filleman, Mikey Kroll and Ryan Neumann along with a variety of others.
Seven different Regis Jesuit pitchers have at least one win and three have saves.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
