Prep Baseball Report

Updated Illinois Power 25 Rankings


By Illinois Scouting Staff

Today marks the sixth update to the Power 25 on the season after another loaded week of games. Providence Catholic (23-4) remains the No. 1 team in the state after a 4-1 week. They knocked off Marmion twice as well as Montini and Brother Rice before losing a non-conference game on Saturday to new No. 4 Lincoln-Way East. 

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

CLIMBING

+ No. 2 Evanston (23-3): The Widkits continue to impress and climb up the Power 25 board seemingly every week. This past week they went a perfect 4-0, moving up one spot, with wins over Maine East, Saint Patrick and two over Niles West. The new No. 2 team in the state, has three games scheduled this week, two coming against conference-foe Maine South.

+ No. 3 Huntley (21-4): The Red Raiders have been a mainstay inside the Top-5 all season long and this week is no different as they climb two spots to No. 3 after a perfect 5-0 week. The impressive week saw the Red Raiders knock off Boylan Catholic, Dundee-Crown, Wauconda and Hampshire twice. The Fox Valley squad has four games scheduled for this week with two coming against conference-opponent Crystal Lake South, who sit at 18-5 on the season and are knocking on the Power 25 door themselves. 

+ No. 4 Lincoln-Way East (21-6): The Griffins have been hot as of late, playing a tough schedule and taking care of business, for the most part. They have gone 12-2 in their last 14 games while facing a number of Power 25 opponents during the stretch. This past week they went 3-0 and climbed two four spots thanks to one of the wins coming against No. 1 Providence Catholic by a score of 13-5. They also took two conference games from Bolingbrook on the week as well. The challenges don't let up as they have four games on the docket this week with two of them coming against No. 16 Sandburg. 

+ No. 5 St. Charles East (19-2): The Saints continue to play impressive baseball and climb two spots as a result and into the Top-five of the Power 25 for the first time. The Saints went 4-1 on the week and were handed their first conference loss of the season to conference-rival St. Charles North by a score of 2-1. They also knocked off St. Charles North twice; 4-2 and 2-0 while also taking down Geneva 17-5 and 7-0 on the week. They climbed two spots in the recent update and will stay busy this week with four more conference games on the books.

+ No. 9-No. 13: Lincoln-Way West (19-6), Edwardsville (22-7), St. Laurence (21-7), Downers Grove North (20-4) and Mahomet-Seymour (24-3) all went undefeated on the week and held strong at their current spots in the Power 25. 

+ No. 14 Quincy Notre Dame (27-1): The Raiders continue to roll and climb three spots after a jam-packed week where they went a perfect 7-0. The busy week produced wins over Macon, Hannibal (MO), Kirksville, West Hancock. Southeastern, Quincy and Brown County. They have three games on the schedule this week, including a test with Routt Catholic who currently sits at 24-3 on the season, which should be a good litmus test for the Raiders.

+ No. 15 Grayslake Central (21-3): The Rams have not lost a game since they have arrived back to Illinois from their spring trip at the end of March. They went undefeated in the month of April, have not lost yet in May and are coming off another perfect week, this time going 3-0 and climbing three more spots as a result. They have won 19 straight and last week they picked up a three-game conference sweep over Lakes, knocking them off 9-6, 1-0 and 8-7 in extras. This week is full of tough non-conference tests with games scheduled against No. 24 Cary-Grove (19-5), Stevenson (21-7), Warren (18-5), Richmond-Burton and Woodstock North. 

+ No. 17 O’Fallon (19-4): The Panthers continue to play quality baseball and rolled through a three-game week, going a perfect 3-0 and climbing up four spots as a result. The Panthers offense scored in double digits all three games while limiting their opponents to four total runs on the week. Looking at the week ahead, they have a Monday matchup scheduled against Sacred Heart-Griffin to go along with a two-game conference set against Collinsville.

+ No. 22 Kenwood (22-4): The Broncos rode their impressive offense this week to a 5-1 record and jumped two spots in the updated Power 25. Kenwood scored double digit runs in all but one of their games on the week where they knocked off Homewood-Flossmoor, Brooks, Solorio twice and split a two-game conference-set with Jones. The Broncos have a complete offensive lineup and if they can continue to find enough pitching they will be a team to watch in the city playoffs coming this week, as well as the IHSA playoffs around the corner. 

SINKING

+ No. 6 Nazareth (20-4): The Roadrunners have battled injuries throughout the season and have still been able to put together an extremely impressive campaign. This past week was their toughest of the year so far, going 1-2 with their lone win coming against Marian Catholic 4-0. They also lost to Notre Dame College Prep 8-6 and Joliet Catholic 8-2 in conference play. They drop four spots after the two loss week but will have a chance to bounce back with a three-game week. 

+ No. 16 Sandburg (17-5-1): The Eagles had an interesting week given the fact that they only played one game and it was a lopsided result. Sandburg got beat by a quality Lockport squad 11-1 and unfortunately for them they didn't have an opportunity to make up for the lone loss last week. As a result the 17-win club dropped two spots and they face a tough week ahead. A two-game conference set is in store against No. 4 Lincoln-Way East as well as non-conference games against Mount Carmel and Plainfield East.

+ No. 18 Lemont (18-6): The Indians had been rolling over the last few weeks until this recent 2-1 week which featured a one-run loss to Hinsdale Central 5-4. Outside of that they took care of Blue Island Eisenhower and Oak Lawn but they dropped two spots after the tough loss. Lemont has two interesting matchups on the calendar later this week when they take on Lincoln-Way Central on Friday and Lockport on Saturday.

+ No. 19 Lyons Township (19-5): The Lions have been a steady, tough squad all season long with quality pitching. This past week was a busy one that featured some ups-and-downs, including a three-game sweep of conference-foe Oak Park-River Forest. Unfortunately, lone losses to Hinsdale Central and Homewood-Flossmoor led to a 3-2 week and a slide of four spots down the rankings. More tough conference games await as they have a three-game conference-series against York on the schedule to start off the week. 

NEW TO THE TOP 25

+ No. 20 Plainfield Central (22-6): Entering the Power 25 for the first time this season, Plainfield Central boasts a 22-6 record to go along with one of the more productive offenses in the state up to this point in the season, as they’re averaging just over 10 runs per game (307 PF) with only 162 total runs given up. Central is heating up at the right time, as they boast a 14-1 record over their last 15 games. 

+ No. 25 Morris (21-3): Making their Power 25 debut at No. 25, Morris enters this week with a 21-3 record and is coming off a perfect 3-0 week where they saw wins over Oswego 12-6 and Ottawa by the scores of 10-2 and 7-1. Morris, riding a 14-game win streak will have a tough task this coming week as they are slated to face off against No. 23 Sycamore for two games, as well as Herscher on Friday. Morris has some depth in their roster with the likes of OF Cody Delfavero (2024), RHP Keegan Waters (2024; Illinois-Springfield), INF/RHP Jack Wheeler (2025; Illinois commit) and OF Will Knapp (2023; Lake Land JC).

DROPPED OUT

+ Brother Rice (17-11)
+ Lincoln-Way Central (18-8)

JUST MISSED THE CUT

+ Hononegah (20-5)
+ Glenwood (20-3)
+ Harrisburg (27-2-1)
+ Stevenson (21-7)
+ Mascoutah (20-5-1)
+ Lockport (17-8)
+ Downers Grove South (18-5)
+ Crystal Lake South (18-5)
+ St. Charles North (16-7-1)
+ Warren (18-5)
+ Naperville Central (17-7)
+ St. Rita (18-8)
+ Routt Catholic (24-3)
+ Moline (22-6)
+ Maroa-Forsyth (22-3)
+ Ottawa-Marquette (22-2)
+ Nashville (23-4)

UPDATED TOP 10