Today marks the seventh update to the Power 25 of the season after another busy week of games. For the first time in a few weeks we have a new No. 1 with Lincoln-Way East, who climbed up from the No. 4 spot from a week ago. St. Charles East and New Trier also rose a couple of spots in the recent update and helped round out the new Top-3 in the state.

Check out the rest of the movement in the Power 25 below. 

CLIMBING

+ No. 1 Lincoln-Way East (25-6): Taking over the No. 1 position in our Power 25 is Lincoln-Way East. The Griffins went a perfect 4-0 this past week, seeing wins over Libertyville 5-4, former No. 16 Sandburg 12-2 & 5-3, and Crete-Monee 10-0. The Griffins are one of the hottest teams in the state, currently boasting an eight game win streak and also seeing wins in 11 of their last 12 games. With the way the Griffins have recently hit a stride, they will be a tough matchup in the upcoming playoffs. 

+ No. 2 St. Charles East (23-2): Rising up three spots, St. Charles East takes over the No. 2 position after a perfect 4-0 week, taking down Wheaton North 6-2 and sweeping Batavia over a three game stretch. Illinois commit Jake Zitella continues to prove himself to be one of the top offensive weapons in the state, and timely production from bats elsewhere in the lineup has this squad rolling at the right time. The Saints have four games scheduled this week before its time to buckle down for the playoffs. 

+ No. 3 New Trier (22-4): The Trevians jump four spots in this update to No. 3 in the state after a clean 3-0 week, taking down Mainse West 14-1 and sweeping Niles West over a two game stretch. With one of the more well-rounded clubs in the state to pair with the winningest coach in IHSA history, the Trevians are sitting in a prime position to make a deep playoff run. 

+ No. 4 Father McGivney (34-1): The Griffins of Father McGivney have been nearly unbeatable this spring and look like the clear favorites in Class 2A after yet another perfect week, going 4-0, climbing four spots. The statement win of the week was a tight 3-2 win over No. 22 O’Fallon. They also knocked off Litchfield, Civic Memorial and Newton on the week. The Griffins earned the No. 1 seed in the Breese Central Sectional and they face the winner of Staunton and Wood River in the Regional Semi-Finals on Wednesday, 

+ No. 8 St. Laurence (24-8): The Vikings had a busy and impressive week against three high-quality clubs. They knocked off Neuqua Valley 7-0, St. Rita 10-0 and split with Brother Rice; winning 5-1 and losing 6-5 after a valiant come-from-behind effort in the final inning. Their 3-1 week has them sliding up the board three spots to No. 8. St. Laurence earned the No. 2 seed in the Marist Sectional in the recently released 3A playoff bracket.

+ No. 12 Quincy Notre Dame (30-1): The Raiders are yet another 2A program who have been nearly unbeatable and continue to climb up the Power 25 board, climbing two spots after a 3-0 week. The Raiders most impressive win on the week was a 6-4 win over Routt Catholic who currently sit at 26-5 on the year. They also knocked off Macomb 7-4 and Quincy 4-3. The Raiders earned the No. 1 seed in the Pleasant Plains Sectional and they’ll begin their road to Peoria on Wednesday against the winner of Pleasant Plains and Rushville-Industry.

+ No. 14 Lemont (23-6): The Indians have been one of the hotter teams in 3A and went a perfect 5-0 during a busy week which jumps them up four spots to No. 14. The Indians have only lost one game since a Mid-April 8-5 loss to new No. 1 Lincoln-Way East. Since that day they are 14-1 with their biggest win of the past week coming over Lockport by a score of 8-1. The senior-laden squad earned one of the No. 1 seeds in the Kaneland Sectional and they open up postseason play at home on Wednesday against Hinsdale South. 

SINKING

+ No. 5 Providence Catholic (25-6): The Celtics had an up-and-down 2-2 week which dropped them off the top spot and moved them down to No. 5 in the updated ranking. Despite the drop in the Power 25, the Celtics took home this year’s Chicago Catholic League-Blue regular season championship. On the week, the Celtics split a two-game CCL-Blue conference series with Mount Carmel, defeated Stagg 6-0 and lost to Lincoln-Way Central 4-3. The Celtics earned the No. 1 seed in the Lockport Sectional and they open Regional play next Wednesday against the winner of Rich Township and Blue Island Eisenhower.

+ No. 6 Evanston (25-5): The Wildkits continue to find themselves toward the top of the Power 25 despite a 2-2 week, and falling four spots. A two-game sweep at the hands of a trending Maine South club hurt but they righted the ship with wins over Deerfield and Notre Dame College Prep. Evanston earned the No. 1 seed in the Evanston Sectional thanks to their impressive season and they also open up Regional play a week from Wednesday against the winner of Mather vs. Niles North.

+ No. 7 Huntley (23-6): The Red Raiders were another Top-5 team that went 2-and-2 on the week which slid them down the rankings four spots. Huntley took care of Dundee-Crown but split two conference games against Crystal Lake South and lost a non-conference matchup to Plainfield North. Huntley earned the No. 1 seed in the Dundee-Crown Sectional and already has their first round matchup for next Wednesday in Hampshire against Rockford (Jefferson). If they win, they would face the winner of Hampshire and Dekalb for the Region Championship.

+ No. 10 Nazareth (22-5): The Roadrunners are fighting for a ESCC Championship today against Niles Notre Dame but a 2-1 week has them sliding four spots in the most recent update. Nazareth knocked off Carmel Catholic and St. Viator on the week without giving up a run but an 11-1 loss was their biggest snag of the week. Nazareth has been working through some key injuries all season long and has yet to let it faze them as they start to get ready for their 3A title defense in a little over a week. The Roadrunners secured the No. 1 seed in the Marist Sectional and start at home next Wednesday.

+ No. 15 Edwardsville (24-9): The Tigers drop five spots to No. 15 after seeing losses to Belleville East 5-3 and current No. 16 Columbia 8-5. Edwardsville was able to even up their weekly record as they saw a win over Jersey 10-7, as well as a 1-0 victory over Belleville East. The reigning State Champions will look to end the regular season on a high note, as they are set to play two games at the end of this week. 

+ No. 21 Grayslake Central (23-5): The Rams find themselves in the No. 21 position this week after seeing their 20-game win streak end in a 2-1 heartbreaker to Richmond-Burton, also losing to now No. 18 Stevenson by the score of 6-3. The Rams were able to bounce back in the right direction, as they also picked up wins over Warren Township and Woodstock North to go an even 2-2 for the week. 

+ No. 22 O’Fallon (21-6): O’Fallon drops five spots to No. 22 after going 2-2 this past week, which seems to be a theme for a handful of teams in this update. A pair of tough losses to now No. 4 Father McGivney 3-2 and Collinsville 4-3 put a damper on their week, but they also picked up wins over Collinsville 1-0 and Sacred Heart Griffin 5-1. The Panthers will have a tough test this coming week, as they are slated to play a couple Southern Illinois powerhouses in Glenwood and Triad. 

+ No. 23 Lyons Township (21-7): After dropping two games this past week, Lyons Township finds themselves in the No. 23 position. Though they lost a pair of games, they also saw wins over Leyden 10-3 and York 13-4. There’s still a lot to like about this Lyons club, as they boast one of the better 1-2 punches in the area on the mound, and they have some offensive weapons that can cause some issues for opposing teams. 

NEW TO THE TOP 25

+ No. 18 Stevenson (24-7): Stevenson cracks the Power 25 again after dropping out of the rankings five weeks ago. After an impressive 3-0 week, including a win over then No. 15 Grayslake Central, the Patriots find themselves back in the rankings. They have scored 273 runs this season, only allowing 107 runs against them. The Patriots are picking up steam at the right time going 16-2 in their last 18 games played.

+ No. 19 Mascoutah (24-6-1): Mascoutah took down No. 21 Columbia last week by the score of 4-3 which helped leverage themselves into the Power 25 for the first time in four weeks. Austin Musso (2025) has recently returned from injury, and he has been a major contributor to both their offense and pitching. At the plate he is hitting .340, and on the mound he is boasting a 1.57 ERA with three wins. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games and with Musso back in action, they can potentially be a threat to teams going into the state playoffs.

+ No. 24 Naperville Central (20-8): Naperville Central joins the Power 25 once again at No. 24 after a busy 3-1 week, sweeping Metea Valley in a three-game series. Their one loss was a 4-3 defeat at the hands of Oswego. The Redhawks are 10-1 over the last 11 games, and they also have Collin Barczi (2023; Vanderbilt) back in their lineup. With this addition alone, it makes the Redhawks a completely different offense with significantly more firepower,  

+ No. 25 Hersey (21-8): Entering the Power 25 for the first time this year, the Huskies enter this week on a four game win streak, going 15-4 in their last 19 games played. They currently in first place in the Mid-Suburban - East conference, boasting a 10-4 record. On the year, they have scored nearly eight runs per game (220 R) with only 117 runs against.

DROPPED OUT

+ Sandburg (18-9-1)
+ Sycamore (24-6)
+ Cary-Grove (19-8)
+ Morris (23-4)

JUST MISSED THE CUT

+ Hononegah (22-5)
+ Glenwood (24-3)
+ Gillespie (29-0)
+ St. Charles North (20-7-1)
+ Glenbrook North (21-7)
+ Barrington (21-9-1)
+ Lincoln-Way Central (20-10)
+ St. Rita (21-9)
+ Ottawa-Marquette (26-2)
+ St. Joseph-Ogden (27-7)
+ Downers Grove South (22-5)
+ Monticello (20-4)
+ Carlinville (20-2)

UPDATED TOP 10

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2023 SEASON

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