By Sean Duncan
Executive Director

Leading up to the start of the high school season, we will count down the top 75 preseason teams every day as part of our comprehensive season coverage:

Team: Naperville Central
Preseason Rank: 36
2013 Record: 24-8
Conference: DuPage Valley
IHSA Class: 4A
Head Coach: Mike Stock
Playoff Run: Lost in Regional Final
2013 Final Rank: Not Ranked

Returning Starters: 3
Returning Pitchers: 3

TOP PLAYERS
Brendan Daley, 1B/LHP, 2014
Bobby McMillen, OF, 2015
Jason Wegener, INF/C, 2015
Mike Kozlow, SS, 2015
Pat Maloney, RHP, 2014

X-FACTOR
Brendan Daley. Physical 6-foot-3, 230-pound two-way player will provide middle-of-the-lineup thump and eat innings on the mound.

NEWCOMER TO WATCH
Mike Kozlow, SS, 2015

KEY PLAYERS LOST
Jeff Shank, LHP/OF (Butler)
Cody Campbell, RHP (Minnesota)
Nick Lopez, SS (Creighton)

STAT RAT
Bobby McMillen. Batted .325 with .475 slugging and .847 OPS during last third of the season after being called up.

OUTLOOK
The Redhawks won the DuPage Valley Conference last year but got bounced in the regional final. Coach Mike Stock graduated a lot of talent from last year’s team, but he should once again be highly competitive. There will be several new faces in the lineup this year, but the team has plenty of junior talent. Brendan Daley and Bobby McMillen should anchor the offense. Senior Pat Maloney, a 6-foot-5 RHP, posted a 3-1 record last year as a junior.

BOTTOM LINE
Naperville Central has won two state championships since 2006, and has fielded highly competitive teams over the last decade. Although the Redhawks likely don’t have the talent to be hoisting a state trophy come June, they should be right there vying for the DuPage Valley Conference title again.

Make sure you follow @PBRillinois on Twitter for complete Illinois high school baseball coverage throughout the season.

Season Countdown

+ Preseason Team Rankings

+ Updated Illinois 2014 Player Rankings

+ June Event Schedule