IHSA 4A postseason Sectional brackets, seeding released
May 11, 2018
This week, the IHSA released the seeding and calendar for this year’s playoffs, which begin on May 21. Below, we break down all eight of the brackets and the top-ranked contenders within them, including the Power 25 representatives. Here are links to the IHSA’s official 4A bracket and seeding.
Stay posted for even further coverage of the IHSA baseball season, now that conference titles are on the line and the postseason is just around the corner.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS & BARTLETT SECTIONALS
| RANK | ARLINGTON HEIGHTS | RANK | BARTLETT |
| 1 | Buffalo Grove (No. 25) | 1 | St. Charles North (No. 9) |
| 2 | Mundelein (No. 11) | 2 | York |
| 3 | Libertyville (No. 21) | 3 | Wheaton North |
| 4 | Glenbrook North | 4 | Batavia |
| 5 | Palatine | 5 | St. Charles East |
| 6 | Warren Township | 6 | Willowbrook |
| 7 | Stevenson | 7 | Glenbard East |
| 8 | Prospect | 8 | Lake Park |
| 9 | Deerfield | 9 | Geneva |
| 10 | Saint Viator | 10 | Glenbard West |
| 11 | Fremd | 11 | Addison Trail |
| 12 | Highland Park | 12 | South Elgin |
| 13 | Lake Forest | 13 | Marmion Academy |
| 14 | Lake Zurich | 14 | Conant |
| 15 | Wheeling | 15 | Streamwood |
| 16 | Grayslake North | 16 | Glenbard North |
| 17 | Hersey | 17 | Bartlett |
| 18 | Rolling Meadows | 18 | Hoffman Estates |
| 19 | Zion-Benton | 19 | Elk Grove |
| 20 | Waukegan | 20 | Schaumburg |
| 21 | Round Lake | 21 | West Chicago |
Three presently ranked Power 25 squads were named to the Arlington Heights group and the three are the top-ranked teams in the bracket, though in a slightly different order. Buffalo Grove (22-4) is the No. 1-ranked team in the group, not so coincidentally they also own the best record. Mundelein (19-7) comes in ranked No. 2, surely thanks to its three-game sweep of Libertyville (20-8) last week, the team that comes in ranked just behind them.
As for the Bartlett bracket, St. Charles North (21-2) leads the way. They’ve been ranked within the Power 25 all season long and are still just hitting their stride, up to a season-high No. 9 currently. The North Stars are the only team ranked within this bracket, but that doesn’t mean their competition isn’t budding with talent. York is 18-6 this spring and owns wins over ranked Lyons Township and Oak Park-River Forest. And I’d be remiss not to mention Wheaton North (17-10), who was the first team to defeat the Power 25’s top-ranked squad, Neuqua Valley, so far this spring.
MCHENRY & WILMETTE SECTIONALS
| RANK | MCHENRY | RANK | WILMETTE |
| 1 | Barrington (No. 17) | 1 | Oak Park-River Forest (No. 15) |
| 2 | McHenry | 2 | New Trier (No. 20) |
| 3 | Grant | 3 | Evanston Township |
| 4 | Jacobs | 4 | Loyola Academy |
| 5 | Cary-Grove | 5 | Fenwick |
| 6 | Crystal Lake Central | 6 | Niles Notre Dame |
| 7 | Crystal Lake South | 7 | Lane Tech |
| 8 | Larkin | 8 | Maine South |
| 9 | Dundee-Crown | 9 | Maine West |
| 10 | Elgin | 10 | Glenbrook South |
| – | 11 | Niles West | |
| 1 | Huntley | 12 | Taft |
| 2 | Hononegah | 13 | Leyden |
| 3 | Rockford East | 14 | Maine East |
| 4 | Harlem | 15 | Niles North |
| 5 | Hampshire | 16 | Whitney Young |
| 6 | Guilford | 17 | Von Steuben |
| 7 | Belvidere North | 18 | Lincoln Park |
| 8 | DeKalb | 19 | Fenton |
| 9 | Rockford Jefferson | 20 | Mather |
| 10 | Rockford Auburn | 21 | Schurz |
McHenry’s Sectional is divided into two groups: Sub-Sectional A and Sub-Sectional B. Only one Power 25-ranked team resides in either A or B, and that’s No. 17 Barrington. The Broncos have only been ranked for a few weeks now, but they’ve had an excellent season, especially after their 1-1-2 start. To date, Barrington owns a 19-4-2 record and has wins over New Trier, Libertyville, and Palatine. However, it won’t be easy for the Broncos on their march to a regional crown; they’ll have to go through either Larkin or the reigning 4A champs Crystal Lake South to reach the finals where they’ll square off against another Fox Valley Conference team, either Jacobs or Crystal Lake Central. The FVC has been a dogfight this season, with only one team really beginning to pull away: Huntley (22-5). The Red Raiders occupy the top spot in the other bracket where they’re ranked with No. 2 McHenry (20-9), the other FVC contender.
On the Wilmette side, there are two Power 25-ranked sides: No. 15 Oak Park-River Forest (19-4) and No. 20 New Trier (17-6). It’s a difficult bracket to emerge from, however. The Huskies will have to battle it out with one or two Maine schools, and they might also run into Loyola Academy, who’s been catching fire of late. The Ramblers could be the underdogs to follow in the postseason. They have wins against heavyweights St. Laurence and Brother Rice, as well as victories against Providence Catholic and St. Rita this spring.
BURBANK & DARIEN SECTIONALS
| RANK | BURBANK | RANK | DARIEN |
| 1 | St. Laurence (No. 6) | 1 | Neuqua Valley (No. 1) |
| 2 | Brother Rice (No. 5) | 2 | Plainfield East (No. 18) |
| 3 | Lyons Township (No. 13) | 3 | Plainfield North (No. 4) |
| 4 | Mount Carmel (No. 12) | 4 | Plainfield South |
| 5 | St. Rita (No. 24) | 5 | Plainfield Central |
| 6 | Riverside-Brookfield | 6 | Downers Grove South |
| 7 | Jones College Prep | 7 | Oswego |
| 8 | Reavis | 8 | Yorkville |
| 9 | Oak Lawn Community | 9 | West Aurora |
| 10 | Richards | 10 | Benet Academy |
| 11 | De La Salle | 11 | Naperville North |
| 12 | Kenwood | 12 | Hinsdale South |
| 13 | Cicero Morton | 13 | Naperville Central |
| 14 | Argo | 14 | Oswego East |
| 15 | Hubbard | 15 | Metea Valley |
| 16 | Curie | 16 | Wheaton-Warrenville South |
| 17 | Kennedy | 17 | Downers Grove North |
| 18 | Kelly | 18 | Hinsdale Central |
| 19 | Juarez | 19 | Waubonsie Valley |
| 20 | Proviso West | 20 | Aurora East |
| 21 | Proviso East | 21 | Bolingbrook |
The Burbank and Darien sectionals represent two of the most talented groups in the state. Burbank alone has five Power 25 teams -- four ranked within the top 13. St. Laurence, the highest ranked Power 25 team on this side of the bracket, is 25-5 this spring despite playing a rugged Chicago Catholic League – Blue schedule. The Vikings also have the luxury of serving as the host team through the Sectional Final, provided they make it that far. They do have Mount Carmel (19-9) staring at them from the other side of the Regional.
Brother Rice (20-10) is ranked just behind St. Laurence in the Sectional. Another CCL – Blue team, the Crusaders will face either Hubbard or Kelly in the Regional Semifinals and then, if they win, either Jones or Richards. On the other side of their Regional are ranked St. Rita (15-14) and Lyons Township (19-4).
The Darien Sectional includes the Power 25’s top-ranked team: Neuqua Valley (24-2). The Wildcats only just loss their first game of the season earlier this week but have otherwise been nearly flawless this season. If they’re able to make it to the Regional Finals, they’ll likely see a Plainfield representative, either Central or South. Both are bubble teams and both are very talented and could threaten Neuqua Valley’s march back to a Super-Sectional appearance. Plainfield East (24-4) is the No. 2-ranked team in this bracket, contrary to the Power 25. East and Plainfield North (20-5-1) call this side of the bracket home. North just bested East in a Plainfield showdown yesterday, with another game looming between the two on Monday.
BLOOMINGTON & LOCKPORT SECTIONALS
| RANK | BLOOMINGTON | RANK | LOCKPORT |
| 1 | O'Fallon (No. 2) | 1 | Lincoln-Way East (No. 8) |
| 2 | Belleville East | 2 | Marist (No. 16) |
| 3 | Edwardsville (No. 14) | 3 | Andrew (No. 10) |
| 4 | Collinsville | 4 | Sandburg (No. 7) |
| 5 | Alton | 5 | Providence Catholic |
| 6 | Granite City | 6 | Lockport |
| 7 | Springfield | 7 | Lincoln-Way Central |
| 8 | Quincy | 8 | Stagg |
| 9 | Belleville West | 9 | Lincoln-Way West |
| – | 10 | Marian Catholic | |
| – | 11 | Thornton Fractional South | |
| 1 | Moline (No. 19) | 12 | Homewood-Flossmoor |
| 2 | Normal West | 13 | Joliet Central |
| 3 | Normal Community | 14 | Shepard |
| 4 | Minooka | 15 | Crete-Monee |
| 5 | Rock Island | 16 | Joliet West |
| 6 | Bradley-Bourbonnais | 17 | Bloom Township |
| 7 | Pekin | 18 | Blue Island Eisenhower |
| 8 | Danville | 19 | Romeoville |
| 9 | East Moline United | 20 | Thornwood |
| – | 21 | Thornton |
The Bloomington Sectional is constructed a little differently than the other brackets, even McHenry’s. While there are two Sub-Sectionals, there are only 18 teams total. There are three ranked teams among them: O’Fallon, Edwardsville, and Moline. O’Fallon has spent the entire season perched within the top five. Their 27-2-1 record would signify they’ve never really had any reason to waver much. They’re fully equipped for a lengthy run in the postseason, but they might have to go through ranked Edwardsville (21-9) to get there. The Tigers pencil in a hungry lineup every gameday, but they’ve been up and down this season. They’ve started to hit their stride lately and could swoop in to steal the Panthers’ claim for playoff glory in a potential Regional Final matchup.
Moline’s (16-3) got the top spot in Sub-Sectional B and represent the only ranked Power 25 team on their side. If they’re looking to make it to the Sectional Championship, they have a number of teams among them that could put their run to a halt, including Minooka or Bradley-Bourbonnais. If the Maroons win their opening game against Danville, they’ll be taking on one of those two teams for the Regional title.
Now, turning our attention to Lockport, this might actually be the most loaded bracket. There are four ranked teams, all within the top 16. Going beyond that, there are probably, roughly, seven teams who could warrant a spot in our On The Bubble section. At the very least, the top eight teams within the Lockport Sectional are exceedingly talented. Top-ranked Lincoln-Way East (22-4) is on the same side of the bracket as Power 25 No. 7 Sandburg (17-5), the CCL – Blue-tested Providence Catholic (14-11), as well as Lincoln-Way West (14-11), and the streaking Homewood-Flossmoor (12-8-1). That’s daunting.
Marist (21-8), who at one point fell off the Power 25 earlier in the season, as been red hot ever since. The Redhawks have gone 7-3 over their last 10 games, with wins over 3A powerhouse Joliet Catholic and Brother Rice. But they’re path is almost as difficult. While they’re the No. 2 seed in the Sectional, Power 25 No. 10 Andrew (21-4-1) is the No. 3 seed. The Thunderbolts have a proven track record this spring and even own wins against St. Laurence, Sandburg, and Lockport. The teams will meet in the Sectional Semifinals if they aren’t stopped in their two games before then. They also share their side of the bracket with the aforementioned Lockport (15-11), a former Power 25 team, and Marian Catholic (16-11), who are enjoying a six-game win streak.
Stay tuned for continued coverage of the IHSA playoffs, as well as posts regarding the 3A, 2A, and 1A postseason brackets.
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