Brayden Bakes is a line-drive machine with power, plate discipline, and record-setting bat speed for Illinois State
In the 2026 season, Brayden Bakes became Illinois State’s offensive engine, leading the Redbirds in batting average (.393), home runs (16), RBIs (52), hits (92), and OPS (1.191) while setting the program’s single-season hits record and ranking among the MVC leaders in multiple categories. He’s a left-handed bat with gap-to-gap juice, real pull power, and the kind of contact ability that keeps innings alive; he also posted multiple MVC Player of the Week honors, which usually means the “hot streak” label is too small for the fire he brought.
