The Illinois high school baseball season kicks off on March 16, 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 2020 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 2020 preseason coverage continues today.

Team: Marist
Preseason Rank: 19
2019 Record: 26-11
Conference: East Suburban Catholic
IHSA Class: 4A
Head Coach: Kevin Sefcik
Playoff Run: Super-sectional appearance
2019 Final Rank: 6
Returning Starters: 3
Returning Pitchers: 4

TOP PLAYERS

NAME	STATE	SCHOOL	CLASS	POSITION	COMMITMENT
Dane Thomas	IL	Marist	2020	OF	Wright State
Caden Carr	IL	Marist	2020	RHP	-
Brett Freiberg	IL	Marist	2020	DH/1B	Rock Valley JC
Johnny Kubin	IL	Marist	2020	RHP	-
Noah Smith	IL	Marist	2020	SS	Louisville
Luke Sefcik	IL	Marist	2021	2B/SS	Central Michigan
Mark Brannigan	IL	Marist	2021	OF	-
Jonny Crowell	IL	Marist	2021	C	-
Jack Harmon	IL	Marist	2021	1B	-
Jack Carney	IL	Marist	2021	OF	-
Chazz Clark	IL	Marist	2021	OF	-
Nate Voss	IL	Marist	2022	C/INF	Michigan
Nick Verzoni	IL	Marist	2022	RHP	-
George Bilecki	IL	Marist	2022	LHP	-

KEY PLAYERS LOST

NAME	STATE	SCHOOL	CLASS	POSITION	COMMITMENT
Jack Brannigan	IL	Marist	2019	SS/RHP	Notre Dame
Jason Hodges	IL	Marist	2019	OF/1B	John A. Logan JC
Justin Janas	IL	Marist	2019	1B	Illinois
Kendal Ewell	IL	Marist	2019	OF	Eastern Kentucky
Max Malley	IL	Marist	2019	C/UTL	Evansville

NEWCOMER TO WATCH

As one of the top-ranked sophomores in Illinois’ class, Nate Voss (Michigan commit) should be receiving his first taste of varsity ball in 2020. The backstop is already a premium defender, with quick, fluid actions from behind the plate and the instincts that help him slow the game down – an innate trait that will be especially useful while playing against older competition this spring. And while he’s a superior defender behind the plate, he’s athletic enough to hold his own elsewhere on the infield dirt, which will give him a greater chance at earning playing time in 2020. At the plate, Voss swings a simple and easy right-handed bat with a knack for the barrel, whole field approach and ability to handle velocity. 

Nate Voss (2/16/20)

X-FACTOR

As talented as Marist was in 2019, the RedHawks’ strength wasn’t inside of their rotation. That remains the same in 2020, forcing senior RHP Caden Carr (uncommitted) to take on greater responsibility atop this staff this spring. We got a live look at Carr in December where he was up to 86 mph, sitting anywhere from 81-85, in a tall/lanky 6-foot-3, 165-pound frame. He has a quick, loose arm with an over-the-top slot that’s able to help him generate some downhill tilt, and that same slot allows him to create depth on his 12/6 breaking ball that he showed feel for under the zone. The changeup is a capable third pitch that gives him the starter’s mix necessary to operate as the team’s No. 1, which would be a welcome evolution to an inexperienced staff.

Caden Carr (12/4/19)

OUTLOOK

This time last year, Marist was dubbed our No. 1-ranked team in the state prior to Opening Day. It would be unfair to say they had a ‘rocky’ start, but loaded as they were, the RedHawks took longer to click and gel than anticipated. They actually fell off the state’s Power 25 entirely in mid-April, but they charged back onto the board the following week and slowly climbed back up inside the top-10 before their season ended in a heavyweight Super-Sectional bout with the eventual 4A champs Edwardsville.

Falling just short of a trip to Joliet had to have been a tough pill to swallow for this impactful and memorable 2019 class but they made quite the run. Several of the state’s best prospects in the class shared this dugout – Hodges, Ewell, Brannigan, Janas, Malley – so you’d think the state of the 2020 roster would be struggling to pick up the pieces.

Think again.

Wright State recruit and senior Dane Thomas is exactly the kind of stable energizer that will stir the top of this order, helping spur them to quicker start than they endured in 2019. Thomas is a sturdy, quick 5-foot-9 spark from the batter’s box, basepaths, and in the outfield. Thomas’ seniority and experience should lock him in as Marist’s pacemaker, but junior SS Noah Smith (Louisville commit) could be on the brink of a huge breakout campaign. The state’s top-ranked 2021 prospect is one of the class’ best athletes who made big strides late in 2019. He’s a reliable and smooth infielder who’s only getting better from the right-handed batter’s box, and the RedHawks will require an offensive boost from the heralded junior in order to improve on last year’s Super-Sectional finish.

The aforementioned duo gives the RedHawks two of the best pound-for-pound prospects in any given lineup in the state, but there are a couple more key seniors involved that can help propel Marist forward. DH/1B Brett Freiberg (Rock Valley JC) is back and so is his reliable, strong left-handed bat. And, to this point, we’ve yet to mention an arm making senior RHP Caden Carr (uncommitted) the de facto No. 1 here. Much will be asked of the 6-foot-3 senior starter, but he’s a lean athlete who was up to 86 mph back in December.

Joining Carr in the rotation should be fellow senior RHP Johnny Kubin (uncommitted). He emerged as a follow back in early 2018 and could reestablish himself within this 2020 class with a strong spring. 

This junior class is capable of being the difference-makers for Marist’s fortunes this spring. In addition to Smith, Luke Sefcik (Central Michigan) has continued to make big strides in his game and should give Marist a smooth double play combo up-the-middle. OF Mark Brannigan (uncommitted) is another upside junior who continues to ascend and is primed to pick up the slack in this offense after his brother has since graduated onto South Bend. Jonny Crowell (uncommitted) is among the top backstops in this class and is more than ready to takeover for Malley behind the dish everyday. And then there’s uncommitted juniors OF Chazz Clark, 1B Jack Harmon and OF Jack Carney; three more bats who can help fill out the lineup, adding some depth.

Naturally, at a program of this stature, there’s some premium talent in the underclass ranks. Michigan recruit C Nate Voss is one of the state’s best sophomores, though it’s unclear how much action he’ll expect to see, especially with Crowell ahead of him. Given the lack of depth on the mound, uncommitted sophomores RHP Nick Verzoni and LHP George Bilecki could potentially earn shots on the mound, too.

BOTTOM LINE

The graduating class of 2019 was one for the history books, and those players are really just beginning their playing careers, but the holes left behind for the 2020 spring aren’t as sizable as you’d expect. There’s senior experience here to still lead this year’s squad, the junior class could fill many of those aforementioned gaps in the order, and there are sophomores lurking to help pitch in, too.

The state of the staff is a little light, and the arms here need to take a collective step forward come May in order to compete, but Marist should compete, and win, with this unit.

Make sure to follow @PBRIllinois on Twitter for the most up-to-date coverage throughout the 2020 season.

Find more information on the 2020 RedHawks below:

+ Full Schedule
+ Team Twitter

PBR ILLINOIS PRESEASON POWER 25