Prep Baseball Report

2022 PBR First Team All-State


By Diego Solares, Maddox Durst and Illinois Scouting Staff

The Illinois 2022 Prep Baseball Report First Team All-State squad features a talented group of prospects that helped their respective teams to successful seasons. Our All-State teams pull from the entire state, all classifications.

The players below, we believed, were the most dominant at their respective positions. Some positions were more loaded than others, especially outfielders and pitchers this year. We took into account several different metrics: overall performance, statistics, and strength of schedule/competition.

The All-State teams are geared more towards statistical performance, otherwise they’d just be a direct reflection of our PBR Player Rankings, which rank players on pure ability/prospect status only. We’ve also strongly considered the defensive play of several players, something that gets thrown out the window at times during all-area or all-conference debates.

Over the next few days we will also unveil our second and third teams.

Without further ado, a look at the 2022 First Team All-State selections:

PITCHERS

Brandon Bak LHP / OF / Plainfield North, IL / 2022

POS IP W/L H K BB ERA WHIP POS AVE 2B HR R RBI
LHP  66.2 8-0 25 129 21 0.84 0.69 OF .362 12 1 29 24

Illinois-Chicago commit. Bak has emerged as one of the state’s most impactful two-way prospects throughout his high school tenure and he certainly finished his high school career off on a high note. He served as a middle-of-the-order bat for the Tigers, batting .362 in 116 at-bats with 13 extra-base hits and 24 RBIs. Bak walked (10) more than he struck out (9), producing at the plate while providing high-end defense in center field. His most important contributions came on the hill, however, where Bak finished the season with an 8-0 record. He struck out an absurd 129 batters over 66 ⅔ innings, walking only 21. Bak only allowed eight earned runs all spring, good for 0.84 ERA, and his 0.69 WHIP was amongst the lowest of any arm in the entire state.

Ryan Geraghty RHP / Mundelein , IL / 2023

POS IP W/L H K ERA WHIP
RHP  64.2 9-1 25 118 1.19 0.665

Wichita State commit. One of the top pitching prospects in the Midwest; has been up to 94 mph on the mound with a true swing-and-miss slider. Anchored a Mundelein team on the mound that spent the entire season towards the top of our Power 25 rankings and eventually finished as the 4A runner-ups. Earned all North Suburban Conference honors and finished with the third-highest strikeouts in Mundelein program history, having tossed 36 less innings than the two players ahead of him. Posted a 9-1 record over 64 ⅔ innings, striking out 118 batters with a 1.19 ERA and 0.66 WHIP. Tossed a no-hitter in the regional semifinal with 15 strikeouts and finished the year with three complete games, including a shutout over Barrington in the sectional semifinal.

Casey Hintz RHP / SS / St. Viator, IL / 2022

POS IP W/L Save H K ER ERA WHIP POS AVE R OBP SB
RHP  54.1 9-0 3 30 72 4 0.52 0.755 SS .315 40 .512 30/30

Arizona commit. Hintz played a major role on both sides of the ball for a Saint Viator team that won more than 30 games and spent a few weeks as the top team on the Illinois Power 25 rankings. Hintz shared East Suburban Catholic Conference Player of the Year honors and was the conference Pitcher of the Year. He batted .315 with six extra-base hits and went a perfect 30-for-30 on the basepaths. Hintz truly shined on the mound, however, allowing just four earned runs all spring over a 54 ⅓ inning span, equating to a 0.51 ERA and 0.75 WHIP while striking out 72. He went 9-0 on the mound and also saved three games, proving capable of helping the Lions win in any situation.

Cole Van Assen RHP / Brother Rice , IL / 2023

POS IP W/L CG H K ERA WHIP
RHP  77.1 13-0 5 61 92 1.54 1.112

Purdue commit. Van Assen was the ace of Brother Rice’s pitching staff this season, pitching and performing in a large chunk of the Crusaders’ key contests. He handled a bulky workload this spring, tossing 77 ⅓ innings and posting a 1.54 ERA in that span with 92 strikeouts. Van Assen pitched to a perfect 13-0 record and also saved one game. The former PBR Future Games participant was up to 88 mph early this spring and continued to throw his entire arsenal for strikes.

CATCHER

Zion Rose C / Brother Rice, IL / 2023

POS AVE 2B 3B HR R RBI BB K OBP SB
.496 12 4 4 58 39 20 12 .573 31

Louisville commit. Rose was a catalyst in what could arguably be categorized as the state’s most potent lineup and he played a major role in the Crusaders’ third place finish. He almost picked up a hit in half of his at-bats, batting .496 on the season with 70 hits in total. Rose singled 50 times and picked up 20 extra-base hits, including four home runs, while driving in 39 runs as this team’s primary leadoff hitter. Perhaps his most impactful contribution to Brother Rice’s offense came when Rose reached base, as he scored 58 times, walked (20) more than he struck out (12) and he stole 31 bags, too. Rose continues to improve his prospect status and is firmly an MLB Draft follow for this 2023 cycle.

FIRST BASEMAN

Victor Izquierdo 1B / Lockport, IL / 2022

POS AVE 2B 3B HR R RBI BB K OBP SB
1B  .445 8 1 7 48 42 29 14 .587 13

Navy commit. Few players' impact was felt more to their team than Izquierdo, who was truly the heart-and-soul of a 34-win Lockport team. He earned Southwest Suburban Conference Athlete of the Year and broke the career home run record this spring for Lockport despite missing out on an entire season in 2020. Izquierdo proved to be one of the more well-rounded bats in the state this spring, slashing .445/.587/.727 with 29 walks to just 14 strikeouts. 16 of his 49 hits went for extra-bases, including seven home runs and eight doubles. Izquierdo brought 42 runners home and scored 48 times on his own, reaching base at a higher clip than any first baseman in contention for this spot. He chipped in on the basepaths too, stealing 13 bases in total.

MIDDLE INFIELD

Easton Harris SS / RHP / Washington, IL / 2022

POS AVE 2B 3B HR R RBI BB K OBP SB
SS .482 10 8 6 51 43 31 11 .595 18
POS IP W/L H K ER ERA WHIP
RHP 63.1 10-0 43 114 8 0.88 1.011

Bradley commit. Harris was the most impactful contributor on a Washington team that made it to the 3A state finals, providing surplus value on both sides of the ball for the Panthers and taking home Mid-Illini Conference Player of the Year honors. He struck out 114 batters over 63 ⅓ innings pitched, posting a perfect 10-0 record with a 0.88 ERA. Turning to the plate, Harris totaled 24 extra-base hits and homered six times, finishing the year with a .868 slugging-percentage. Harris batted .482 and reached base nearly 60% of the time, scoring 51 runs and driving in 43 of his own. He walked 20 more times than he struck out and stole 18 bags, all while starting at shortstop for Washington when he wasn’t on the mound.

 

Eli Hoerner SS / Freeburg, IL / 2022

POS AVE 2B 3B HR R RBI BB K OBP SB
SS  .470 12 7 9 48 55 13 13 .564 35

Iowa Western CC commit. Hoerner came on the scene and surprised many with his performance in the 2022 season for Freeburg. Hoerner collected 54 hits, including nine home runs, seven triples, and 12 doubles. Hoerner ended his season with 55 RBIs from the middle of the Freeburg order, and also scored 48 runs. He brought speed to his game as well, as he stole 35 bases, which led all qualified all-state middle infielders. The senior was solid defensively too at the shortstop position based on his .937 fielding percentage. Hoerner’s all-around tremendous season will set him up in great position as he enters college baseball next spring.

 

THIRD BASEMAN

 

Spencer Stearns 3B / RHP / Edwardsville, IL / 2022

POS AVE 2B 3B HR R RBI BB K OBP SB
SS .465 12 1 8 26 45 14 13 .534 18
POS IP W/L H K ER ERA WHIP
RHP 66 12-0 40 80 10 1.06 0.788

Uncommitted. On both offense and defense, Stearns carried his team to a IHSA Class 4A State Championship this spring. Offensively, 53 hits led to a .465 batting average for Stearns once the season concluded. He reached base in over half of his plate appearances via 14 walks that he drew throughout the year. When Stearns wasn’t at third base for Edwardsville, he was carrying the team to victory on the mound. He finished with a perfect record of 12-0, had a 1.06 ERA, striking out 80 batters, and threw 66 innings. Stearns was one of the most valuable two-way players in the IHSA this season, as his performances polished off a 36-win season championship victory. As he enters the summer, Stearns remains as one of the top uncommitted athletes in the class of 2022 in Illinois.

OUTFIELDERS

 

Dillon Head OF / Homewood Flossmoor, IL / 2023

POS AVE 2B 3B HR R RBI BB K OBP SB
OF  .478 7 2 6 43 26 14 12 .545 33

Michigan commit. A .479 batting average from Head allowed him to become one of the best offensive outfielders in the IHSA this season. He had a total of 55 hits on the year and had a .545 OBP and .730 slugging percentage. His most impressive feature may have been his work on the basepaths for Homewood-Flossmoor. Head swiped 33 bases for his high school squad, and features some of the best speed in the state. The junior flashed his 6.79 second 60-yard dash time at a prior PBR showcase, and showed the same speed to opposing teams this high school season. Head will look to continue the trend for the rest of this summer and into his senior season at Homewood-Flossmoor.

Alex Stanwich OF / Lincoln-Way East, IL / 2022

POS AVE 2B 3B HR R RBI BB K OBP SB
OF  .468 7 2 13 52 42 25 15 .614 20

 Tennessee commit. A large part of the successful 23-win season for Lincoln-Way East was due to the performance of Stanwich. The former PBR Future Games and Super 60 participant showed out in his senior season offensively. The right-hander ended with a .468 batting average, which included 13 home runs. Stanwich surpassed the 50-run mark for Lincoln-Way East, as he scored 52 out of the team’s 289 runs in the 2022 season. The quality senior season from Stanwich gives him some momentum heading to Tennessee next season, with possible draft interest in his future.

 

Brendan Summerhill OF / Whitney Young, IL / 2022

POS AVE 2B 3B HR R RBI BB K OBP SB
OF  .541 11 4 10 46 43 28 6 .667 34

 Arizona commit. Summerhill capped off his senior season with a PBR IHSA all-state first team nomination. He got a hit in over half of his at bats, as he finished with a .541 batting average. The former PBR Super 60 participant tallied 46 hits, along with 43 RBIs and 46 runs scored for Whitney Young. Summerhill also did his damage on the basepaths for his high school. He stole an impressive 34 bases for Whitney Young, and ran a 6.54 second 60-yard dash at the PBR Super 60 event in February. The Arizona commit will take his outfield talents to the PAC-12 Conference next spring, and solidified himself as one of the top outfielders in the IHSA after his performance for Whitney Young in 2022.

UTILITY

 

Owen Murphy 3B / RHP / Riverside-Brookfield, IL / 2022

POS AVE 2B 3B HR R RBI BB K OBP SLG SB
INF .564 14 3 18 56 75 34 6 .677 1.35 7
POS IP W/L CG H K BB ER ERA WHIP
RHP 51.1 8-0 5 9 122 4 1 0.14 0.234

Notre Dame commit. Murphy followed up his quality junior season with a legendary senior season. He was once again named the PBR Illinois Player of the Year, for the second straight season, and improved his statistics from the 2021 season. His 18 home runs led the entire state of Illinois, along with his 75 RBIs. Murphy reached base over two out of every three times he stepped to the plate. His OPS ranged over two, which was boosted by his 34 walks on the season. He also did it on the mound for Riverside - Brookfield. Murphy threw a large amount of the innings for his team, as he toed the rubber for 51 ⅓ innings. A 0.14 ERA allowed Murphy to finish with a perfect record of 8-0 on the season, where he only gave up one earned run. He struck out an impressive 122 batters and kept runners off of the bases with a 0.23 WHIP.

 

Christian Mitchelle SS / RHP / Plainfield East, IL / 2022

POS AVE 2B 3B HR R RBI BB K OBP SB
SS .576 13 2 6 50 34 31 3 .688 25
POS IP W/L CG S H K ER ERA WHIP
RHP 47 5-1 5 1 25 75 6 0.89 0.723

Central Michigan commit. While his velocity and pitching stats were of high quality, Mitchelle was most productive for Plainfield East on the offensive side. He slashed a .576 batting average, with a high .957 slugging percentage. His 53 hits helped carry Plainfield East to an overall record of 21-13. He hit six home runs on the season, along with 13 doubles. His most impressive stat may have been his walk to strikeout ratio. He walked 31 times, and only struck out three times, giving him 10 walks per every strikeout.

 

Blake Wolters CF / RHP Mahomet Seymour, IL / 2023

POS AVE 2B 3B HR R RBI BB K OBP SB
OF .510 20 4 6 46 41 14 17 .590 19/22
POS IP W/L H K ER ERA WHIP
RHP 46.2 8-0 16 94 2 0.30 0.707

Purdue commit. Wolters did it all for a Mahomet-Seymour team that finished 27-6 on the season and were champions of the Apollo Conference. At the plate, Wolters swung a .510 batting average, and sprayed 49 hits around the field in 33 games. The sub-7 second 60-yard dash runner also stole 19 bases in 22 attempts this season. He took on a heavy workload on the bump for Mahomet-Seymour as well. The junior threw 46 ⅓ innings for his high school team, and finished with a perfect 8-0 record, reflected by a low 0.30 ERA.

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