Prep Baseball Report

Updated Illinois Power 25 Team Rankings


By Andy Sroka & Drew Locascio
Illinois Staff

It was a dynamic week for the Power 25 that featured a few unexpected outcomes from the former No. 1 Neuqua Valley. As a result, we have a brand new No. 1-ranked team for the first time since the start of April. A little further down the board, St. Laurence gained its No. 5 ranking back all while Sandburg, St. Charles North, Andrew, and Mount Carmel keep climbing, rounding out the top-10.

We also have two teams to welcome to the Power 25, one that had spent some time on the rankings briefly before, and the other making its season debut. Conversely, that means there are two teams we had to unfortunately bounce off the board.

Continue reading on for all of the details surrounding the last week of action, especially now that the IHSA has released its Sectional seedings, signaling the start of the playoffs that are just a mere week away.

CLIMBING

+ O’Fallon - For the first time since April 2nd, we have a new No. 1-ranked team, and that’s O’Fallon. The Panthers just kept doing what they’ve been doing all season, week after week, only this time it allowed them to pull into the top spot. At 27-2-1, O’Fallon capitalized on the three-loss week the former No. 1, previously undefeated Neuqua Valley endured. Only one of their losses this season has come from a team in state. Their first test as the new No. 1 will come against ranked rivals Edwardsville on Tuesday.

+ St. Laurence - After just one week outside of the top-five, St. Laurence climbs right back in after going 3-0 this past week. All three wins came against ranked teams – two against St. Rita and one against the team that took their No. 5 spot last week, Brother Rice. The Vikings are handed back their No. 5 rank, however, and are now 25-5 this spring. Last Thursday, they also secured their first Chicago Catholic League – Blue title since 2014, with their 10-0 win over the Mustangs.

+ Sandburg - Sandburg’s up to their highest rank of the spring at No. 6 with another strong week that featured two wins over Lockport and another versus Marian Catholic. They’ve lost just twice since April 11, and have won 12 times over that span, making up for the relatively slow start they had out of the gates. Now 18-5, Sandburg is cruising but they’ll be tested with a two-game series starting today against a talented Homewood-Flossmoor team.

+ St. Charles North - The North Stars move up two more spots in this week’s update, taking them to a season-high No. 7 overall. They went 6-0 last week, winning their meetings with Cary-Grove, Streamwood, and West Chicago, and they swept Larkin in three games. They’re now on an 11-game win streak that they’ll put on the line against rivals St. Charles East this week. St. Charles North is 23-2 now, with their only losses coming against Batavia last month and Viera (FL) on their early season trip to Florida.

+ Andrew - The Thunderbolts put together a 3-0-1 week that includes a dramatic, back-and-forth, 10-10 tie with ranked Plainfield North. In their three wins, they took down Thornridge and Lincoln-Way West twice. Andrew’s had a quality season and are presently 23-4-1. They’ve lost just once this month and that was to Bradley-Bourbonnais back on May 1. They have a tough test with No. 14 Brother Rice today and a game with Thornton on Tuesday before they get to prepare for their postseason within the Lockport Sectional, where they’re ranked No. 3.

+ Mount Carmel - The Caravan went into last week struggling to find consistency and came out of the week feeling a little better, scoring wins against heavy hitters Brother Rice and Lincoln-Way East. In their two games against the Crusaders, Mount Carmel outscored them 21-6. They met up with the Griffins on Saturday, a team that has been locked into the top-10 all year long, and slugged three homers en route to the 6-4 victory. Last week did feature a 4-3 loss to Marmion, but other than that blemish, the Caravan are now 20-9 this spring and are up a couple spots in the Power 25, now ranked No. 9.

+ Lyons Township - The Lions might be the hottest team 4A teams in the entire state, now that Neuqua Valley’s no longer undefeated. Lyons went 5-0 last week, pushing their win streak to 13 games. They began the week with a three-game series against Proviso West, one in which they outscored their opposition 44-1. Then they earned wins against Cicero Morton and Hinsdale South to close the week. They’ve allowed more than three runs in a single game only once this month. Their scorching hot streak bumps them up two spots to No. 11.

+ Oak Park-River Forest - The Huskies have been chasing Lyons ever since being swept in their doubleheader in mid-April. Since that doubleheader, Oak Park-River Forest has gone 11-2 and are coming off a 3-1 week in which they took two of three from York and downed Proviso West, 10-0. The Huskies are 19-4 this spring and are getting hot at the right time. They’re now up to No. 13 in the Power 25, their highest rank all season.

+ Libertyville - The Wildcats weathered a five-game losing streak that took them into May only to bounce back in a big way last week by going 4-0. They swept Lake Zurich in three games, preventing them from scoring a single run, outscoring them 21-0. They also won a wild game against Grayslake North, 13-11. Libertyville’s 21-8 now, gearing up to host their Regional, beginning on May 21. Their solid week pushes them back up to No. 18 on the board.

+ Glenwood - The Titans, like Libertyville, are another team climbing back up the ranks after slipping the week prior. Glenwood won all four of its games last week, including its two-game sweep of Decatur Eisenhower, in which it outscored the Panthers 24-0. They also secured wins against a quality Mt. Zion team and Lincoln. The Titans are 25-6 this spring and their 4-0 week lifted them to No. 20 in the rankings. They visit Pleasant Plains today before a mid-week, two-game series with Springfield.

SINKING

+ Neuqua Valley - The Wildcats dropped to No. 2 in the Power 25 after their toughest week of the season. Undefeated heading into the week, Neuqua suffered their first loss of the season on Monday to Wheaton North and two more later in the week to Lake Park. The Wildcats 2-3 week also consisted of wins against Waubonsie and they did manage to dodge the sweep against Lake Park. The former No. 1 still sits at 24-3 and is one of the most complete teams in the state.

+ Brother Rice - The Crusaders had a tough 0-3 week against Chicago Catholic League – Blue teams. Brother Rice lost twice to Mount Carmel and once to St. Laurence. They dropped nine spots since the last update and currently sit at 20-10 on the season. Looking ahead at this week, Brother Rice takes on No. 11 Lyons Township (21-4) on Thursday, in a Stevie Bajenski Tournament matchup, for a chance to make up some ground in the Power 25 against one of the state’s hottest teams.

+ Mundelein - Mundelein jumped all the way to No. 11 in last week’s update after a huge sweep of rivals Libertyville, but they fell back down six spots after dropping two of three to Lake Forest this past week. Still, Mundelein has proven to be a formidable squad this spring, evidenced by their No. 2 ranking in the Arlington Heights Sectional, released this past week by the IHSA. Before that, they have a three-game series with Lake Zurich on the horizon and a game with Highland Park over the weekend.

+ Marist - The Redhawks have one of the most difficult strength of schedules in the state and nothing changed last week. In a 1-2 week, Marist split a two-game series with No. 3 Joliet Catholic and lost to perennial Indiana power Andrean, 8-3. This week will not be much easier for Marist as they have two games against a rising Marian Catholic squad and one against No. 6 Sandburg.

NEW TO THE TOP 25

+ No. 24 Huntley - This is the second appearance Huntley has made in the Power 25 this spring. After lingering on the bubble the last few weeks, the Red Raiders jump back in after a 5-0 week. Huntley swept a two-game set against McHenry and Crystal Lake South in addition to their win over Crystal Lake Central. Huntley is now 23-5 on the season, simultaneously leading the way in the Fox Valley Conference.

+ No. 25 Columbia - The Eagles had a tough start to the season and sat at 2-3 following a 12-4 loss to Edwardsville on March 22. The other two losses at the time were to current No. 1 O’Fallon and No. 20 Glenwood. Since then, Columbia has rattled off 21 straight wins, including a 9-6 win over O’Fallon at the beginning of May. The Eagles won four games last week, and now sit at 23-3, finding themselves in the Power 25 for the first time.

DROPPED OUT

+ Barrington - The Broncos were on a great run entering the week, losing just once since March to ranked Plainfield North. They got tripped up last week though in a two-game split with Palatine and a narrow 3-1 defeat to Hersey on Friday. The two losses were enough to bounce Barrington out of a cutthroat Power 25. They’re still a strong squad capable of making a playoff push and they have a chance to showcase that ability with a win today over ranked Buffalo Grove.

+ St. Rita - The buzzsaw that is the Chicago Catholic League – Blue finally caught up with St. Rita over the last couple of weeks. The Mustangs only just earned their first win of May on Saturday over St. Patrick. Prior to that, St. Rita was riding a six-game losing streak and had been swept in three straight two-game series’ by Brother Rice, Loyola Academy, and St. Laurence – two top-15-ranked squads and a gifted Ramblers team.

JUST MISSED THE CUT

+ Quincy Notre Dame (26-2)

+ Providence Catholic (17-12)

+ Coal City (27-5)

+ Paris (26-1)

+ Aurora Christian (26-2)

+ Plainfield Central (20-8)

+ Teutopolis (23-6)

+ Normal U-High (23-8)

+ Normal Community (20-6)

+ Mt. Zion (20-3)

+ Rochester (21-3)

+ Riverside-Brookfield (22-2)

+ Morton (21-5)

+ Alleman (27-5)

+ Loyola Academy (16-9-1)

+ Plainfield South (16-7)

+ Hall Township (23-2)

CLICK HERE to view updated Power 25 Team Rankings

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