Christian Little Plans To Enroll Early, Join Loaded Vanderbilt Pitching Staff

Image credit: Christian Little (Photo by Bill Mitchell)

Missouri righthander Christian Little, one of the top arms in the 2021 high school draft class, is enrolling early at Vanderbilt next January.

The news—first reported by STLtoday.com—removes the No. 3 ranked player from the high school class, and increases the talent of an already loaded Commodore pitching staff. Vanderbilt could already boast the No. 1 and 2 players in the 2021 college class in righthanders Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter, as well as the hard-throwing Hugh Fisher, among others.

Little became a household name on the national scouting radar as an underclassman, thanks to a projectable body, clean arm action and a solid repertoire of pitches that only will improve in the future. Little was one of two underclass participants at the 2020 Under Armour All-America game and would have been one of the younger players in the prep class, turning 18 just a few days before the July 11 draft.

Little attacks the zone with a solid three-pitch mix, featuring a heavy fastball that typically sits in the low-90s, advanced feel for a low-80s changeup that might be his most consistent secondary offering, and a curveball that has above-average potential.

Little is far from the first player to enroll early at campus in recent years and joins Virginia LHP Nate Savino and Florida OF Jud Fabian as day one talents who chose to attend college early and skip out on their senior seasons.