Top 10 Stories Of 2016: No. 8 Brother Rice Wins 30 Straight

December 21, 2016

By Drew Locascio
Illinois Scouting Director

Over the next few weeks, in addition to highlighting the Top 10 Player Profiles of 2016, we will also highlight the Top 10 Stories in Illinois High School Baseball during the 2016 calendar year.

Today, we’ll take a look a t No. 8 Brother Rice Wins 30 Straight

Brother Rice, the Preseason No. 8 team in the Prep Baseball Report Preseason Top 25, lost two of the first three games this spring before rattling off 30 straight wins. It is the longest Class 4A winning streak in recent memory.

The Crusaders, coached by John McCarthy, had seven Division I players on their roster, three of which to Illinois. They also spent five straight weeks during the spring at No. 1 in the PBR Illinois High School Power Rankings.

Here are some game stories from the 30 game winning streak:

4.6.16 - Kutt Leads No. 8 Brother Rice over No. 17 Marist
5.12.16 - No. 1 Brother Rice Keeps Rolling, Downs No. 3 St. Laurence
5.28.16 - 4A Burbank Regional: Brother Rice Rolls Oak Lawn In Finals
6.3.16 - 4A Sectional Semifinal: Brother Rice Walks Off Against St. Rita

Brother Rice finished the year with a 35-4 record and went undefeated in arguably the toughest conference in Illinois, the Chicago Catholic-Blue. The conference features the likes of Providence Catholic, St. Rita, St. Laurence and Mount Carmel all of whom finished the year in the Top 25 in Illinois.

Due to the seeding format being based geographically, the Crusaders also had to play in one of the toughest Sectionals in the state. At the time, No. 1 Brother Rice, No. 5 St. Rita, No. 8 St. Laurence and No. 13 Mt. Carmel all were in the St. Rita Sectional.

Anything can happen in single-elimination playoff baseball, and despite losing a 4-3 game to St. Laurence in the Sectional final, it in now way diminishes the accomplishments of one of Illinois’ top teams in the state during the 2016 spring.

Below was Sean Duncan’s “Outlook” for the Crusaders in our Preseason Top 25 Countdown, much of which rang true throughout the spring:

The Crusaders have been building toward this season for the last four years, ever since this senior class was freshmen. But Brother Rice is not just comprised of a talented senior class; coach John McCarthy has high-end talent throughout the entire program. Brother Rice features excellent team speed, arguably the state’s best double play combination in senior SS Michael Massey (Illinois) and junior 2B Ryan King (Michigan State), and an offense that should produce a lot of runs. The left-handed hitting Massey is a top-level defender who hit five homers, six doubles and swiped 12 bases last spring. King is a 6.6 runner with a strong arm; as a sophomore he stole 17 bases and batted .369. CF Andrew Dyke and RHP/1B Ryan Kutt provide pop in the middle of the lineup. In all, the Crusaders return six starters from last year’s 26-win club. Kutt headlines a pitching staff that welcomes back three pitchers with experience. Kutt gives Brother Rice a bona fide No. 1 pitcher, one with big-game experience. He will be joined by junior RHP/3B Jack Guzek, an Indiana State recruit who posted a 4-2 record as a sophomore. Senior RHP Jack Nelligan is coming off a solid junior campaign in which he went 3-0 with a 0.82 record. While McCarthy should have several other pitching options, his bullpen is a big question.

Notable stats from the season:

Eight players had over 100 at-bats on the year and all eight of them hit over .300 for the season.
Jack Nelligan and Ryan Kutt combined to go 21-1 on the mound.
Hit 35 home runs as a team and stole 102 bases on the year.
Ryan Kutt was selected to the PBR First Team All-State.
Ryan King was selected to the PBR Second Team All-State.
Mike Massey and Andrew Dyke was selected to the PBR Third Team All-State.

Also, the Crusaders placed second in the 2016 summer state finals.