Preseason Bubble Teams: Champaign Central

March 2, 2019
By Drew Locascio
Illinois Scouting Director

The Illinois high school baseball season kicks off on March 11, opening day for regular season action under IHSA regulations. Over the next several weeks, leading up to opening day, we’ll be publishing our team previews ahead of the 2019 spring season, touching on programs spanning all state classifications, leading into a countdown through the official PBR Illinois Preseason Power 25 Rankings.

Perennially, we’ve submitted a Preseason Questionnaire to high school head coaches across the entire state. Their responses have been flooding in and we’re using the detailed insight they’ve provided in our team-by-team preseason analysis.

Our 2019 preseason coverage continues today.

Team: Champaign Central
Preseason Rank: On The Bubble
2018 Record: 22-15
Conference: Big 12
IHSA Class: 3A
Head Coach: John Staab
Playoff Run: Regional Final
2018 Final Rank: NR
Returning Starters: 8
Returning Pitchers: 8

TOP PLAYERS

NAME	STATE	SCHOOL	CLASS	POSITION	COMMITMENT
Sam Beesley	IL	Champaign Central	2019	UTIL
Jake Cochrane	IL	Champaign Central	2019	2B
Jake Meyer	IL	Champaign Central	2019	RHP
Sam Chapman	IL	Champaign Central	2020	OF	-
Isaiah Jackson	IL	Champaign Central	2020	OF	-
Connor Milton	IL	Champaign Central	2020	OF	Illinois
Caleb Pyrz	IL	Champaign Central	2020	RHP	-
Joel Sarver	IL	Champaign Central	2020	RHP	-

KEY PLAYERS LOST

NAME	STATE	SCHOOL	CLASS	POSITION	COMMITMENT
Zak Hartleb	IL	Champaign Central	2018	SS	John A. Logan JC
Cameron Robinson	IL	Champaign Central	2018	OF	John A. Logan JC

OUTLOOK

The Maroons had an up-and-down 2018, ultimately losing to a quality Mount Zion club 3-2 in the Regional Championship game. Head coach John Staab and company will be looking to build off that tough loss in 2019 and should have the pieces and returning starters to do so.

Senior’s Sam Beesley, Jake Cochrane and Jake Meyer will have high expectations this spring. Beesley, a utility player, hit .330 last spring and was a Big 12 honorable mention. Cochrane, a solid middle infielder has been a two-way starter and hit .311 last spring. Meyer is a 6-foot-2, right-handed arm who was another Big 12 honorable mention and went 5-3 with a save last spring.

Alongside the trio of senior’s mentioned above, there will be a strong crop of juniors ready to have breakout campaigns. OF Connor Milton, an Illinois commit, may be the best of the bunch. The highly-athletic right-handed hitter has power potential in his bat and can fly around the baseball field. RHP/OF Isaiah Jackson is arguably the toolsiest player in the state and will look to put it together on the field this spring. RHP/INF Joel Sarver and UTIL/RHP Caleb Pyrz should add quality depth on the mound and at the plate.

If the strong crop of junior’s can exceed expectations look for Champaign Central to be one of the top 3A teams in the state this spring.

VIDEO SPOTLIGHT

Connor Milton (2.10.19)

Make sure to follow @PBRIllinois on Twitter for the most up-to-date coverage throughout the 2019 season.