In 2005, there was Michael Bowden. In ’06, Joe Benson and Zach McAllister. The ’07 class featured Casey Crosby and Jake Smolinski. Jake Odorizzi, who was the No. 32 pick overall in the MLB Draft, headlined the ’08 class. Flip a coin between Tanner Bushue and Ian Krol in ’09. Mike Foltynewicz, selected 19^th overall, led the ’10 class, and Charlie Tilson was a second-round draft last year.

All the aforementioned players were top-round draft picks, many of whom big-league bound, and in the cases of Bowden and Benson, have already donned major-league uniforms.

Illinois always produces at least one high draft pick a year. In past years, it was fairly easy to identify the No. 1 guy. Only Bushue, who was from a South Central HS, enrollment of 218 students in Southern Illinois, emerged during his senior year to get popped in the second round.

So who’s the top prospect in Class of 2012? While there are several strong candidates, the answer is far from clear. You can ask 10 pro scouts and you can get 10 different answers. It’s that kind of year. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it just makes everyone in the scouting world work that much harder.

The top seven ranked seniors can make a case for No. 1 – and any one of them have the potential to gain enough traction to become a high draft come June. There’s just no Bowden or Odorizzi in this class, which is to say a player who can deliver something spectacular every time they take the field. Or a player like Foltynewicz, whose athletic 6-foot-5 frame and easy 92-96 mph fastball made him one of the most projectable prep players in the country.

Over the years, I’ve seen thousands of players in the Class of 2012, and watched the top prospects compete dozens of times. Up until we went to press, I was still wavering on the No. 1 prospect and the sequential order.

Ultimately, we stuck with Brett Lilek, an athletically built 6-foot-3 left-hander from Marian Catholic HS who has been our No. 1 prospect in the class for the last two-plus years. The combination of Lilek’s stuff, frame and the fact he throws from the left side makes him the highest-ceiling prospect in the class.

But not by much.

Highland Park’s Jason Goldstein is a rare prospect: a strong-armed catcher who can flat-out rake. Goldstein is considered one of the top catching prospects in the country, and rightly so; but usually catchers have a more difficult plight, as they are dissected to death because of the difficulties of the position.

 Consistency-wise, no player in the Class of 2012 has been more impressive than Oak Forest right-hander Kyle Funkhouser. The 6-foot-3 Funkhouser, who features an 87-92 mph fastball, has amassed a 21-1 record in two varsity seasons, including a 12-0 junior year in which he led the Bengals to a runner-up finish in Class 3A. Ryan Koziol, a right-handed pitcher and infielder, is the best two-way prospect in the state. He’s likely the best left-handed hitter in the state, but on the mound is where he may have the most upside. He’s a wiry 6-foot-3, 165-pounder who features an effortless 88-91 mph fastball and command of four pitches, including an excellent changeup and cutter.

Ryan Borucki, a 6-foot-4 left-hander from Mundelein HS, may be the most projectable prospect in the class. He has an eight-foot wingspan, he’s extremely loose and doesn’t have a lot of mileage on his arm. Don’t be surprised if his name steadily ascends in the next six months, similar to that of Stagg left-hander T.J. McFarland in 2007.

Matt Schultz, a strong-bodied right-hander from Oswego East HS, is more than just the most inspirational story in the class. After undergoing Tommy John surgery, Schultz has come back stronger than ever, and now possesses the class’s best fastball, climbing as high as 95 mph in the summer. If Schultz continues to progress, it’s hard to overlook that type of velocity.

No player in the class has seen his stock climb more rapidly than Niles West infielder Kevin Ross. The 6-foot-1, 200-pounder enjoyed a meteoric rise in the summer, where he showed off his high-level tools at every exposure event. His performance at the Area Code Games has put him on every scout’s follow list, and the momentum could propel him as it did with Tilson.

Simeon 6-foot-4 catcher Blake Hickman, who’s been on the pro radar since his freshman year, has the body-type and arm strength to make a spring run. Perhaps the most intriguing prospect is Wesminster Christian’s Ryan Perez, who pitches equally well with either arm. Perez first made his rare talent known as a freshman at a Prep Baseball Report Underclass event when he was 80-81 from the left and right sides. Now he’s 87-91 from either side. The wildcard in the class is Carmel Catholic left-hander Alex Young. Due to injury, he didn’t get much mound time as a junior, but at two Prep Baseball Report events, the 6-foot-3 Young showed that he has potentially the best stuff in the class. How that translates in games this spring will obviously determine his fate.

While there are a lot of interesting options out there, the general consensus among pro scouts is this is somewhat of a down year in Illinois. Then again, at this time last year, people were lauding – myself included – that the Class of 2011 was one of the best in recent memory. And we all know that it didn’t play out that way.

One of the most exciting aspects of scouting is you never know how a prospect will pan out. You can do all your due diligence, project, speculate, dissect; but the bottom line is you never know what’s inside the player himself. What’s his drive and desire to improve, reach his potential? What’s his learning aptitude? Does he rise or wilt on the big stage?

Personally, that’s why I thoroughly enjoy tracking these players throughout their careers. This senior class has a special place in my heart, as I’ve seen many of them grow and develop from scrawny eighth-graders to extraordinarily talented young men. I sincerely hope all the players in the class achieve what they want as student-athletes, whether it’s furthering their baseball careers in college or at the professional level.

Only time will tell.