We purposely waited two weeks to release our initial Power 25 Team Rankings due to the unreliable spring weather and wanting to allow more teams to get games under their belts. It’s still really early, and thus hard to say an undefeated team is truly better than a team with one or two losses that has played a quality schedule. The good thing about several of our teams in the Power 25 is that most of the debates will be settled on the field at some point this spring.

Marist, the Preseason No. 1 team in the state, remains at the top. Marist has had a small sample size and currently sits at 3-1. Their one loss was a 10-4 defeat to Marmion. In the Redhawks three wins they outscored opponents 28-2. Marist is heading to North Carolina for the prestigious NHSI Tournament this week.

CLIMBING

+ St. Laurence - The Vikings jumped from No. 4 to No. 2 in Illinois, after an 8-0 start to the season. The Viking offense has scored 66 total runs in eight games and have scored double digits in four of the eight.

+ Lockport - The Porters have played as many games as anyone else in the Power 25 and jumped 12 spots up to No. 5 in the state. The Porters currently sit at 11-1, won the WJOL Tournament this past weekend and have defeated No. 7 Providence Catholic and No. 12 Lyons. The one loss so far for Lockport came at the hands of Lincoln-Way West.

+ Plainfield South - Plainfield South jumped 12 spots and now sit at No. 12 after a 7-0 start to the season. The Cougars have been dominant so far this spring outscoring opponents 65-19 to start the season. The Cougar offense has scored 10+ runs in three of their seven games so far.

+ St. Rita - The Mustangs have been as impressive as anyone to start the season and jumped from No. 24 to No. 13. The 7-0 Mustangs have knocked off No. 21 New Trier, Montini, Glenbrook North, Benet and Lane Tech.

SINKING

+ Plainfield North - The Tigers, who won the Class 4A State Title a year ago, dropped to No. 14 after a slow start. The 1-2-1 Tigers have knocked off Bolingbrook and tied Geneva but lost two games on their trip to Georgia. Plainfield North has a tough week ahead with Waubonsie on Monday, No. 19 Neuqua on Wednesday, No. 3 Joliet Catholic on Friday and Coal City on Saturday. A quality week against those opponents could vault Plainfield North quickly back into the Top 10.

+ Marian Catholic - The Spartans have had an up-and-down start to the spring and currently sit at No. 16. They are currently 5-3 with wins over No. 25 Homewood-Flossmoor, Tinley Park, Bradley Bourbonnais and Morgan Park. Their losses came to No. 13 Oak Park-River Forest (2-1) and “bubble teams” Moline (5-4) and Belleville East (7-6).

+ Libertyville - The Wildcats took two tough losses to Carmel Catholic (2-1) and Palatine (10-0) before righting the ship on their spring trip to Arizona. On the trip the Wildcats went 4-1 and now sit at 4-3 on the season and No. 23 in the Power 25. Libertyville starts conference this week with two games against Stevenson and then face No. 17 St. Charles North on Saturday.

+ Mount Carmel - The Caravan fell from No. 9 to No. 24 after a 5-4 start to the season. Three of the Caravan four losses have come to Power 25 opponents No. 13 Oak Park-River Forest (10-3), No. 8 Edwardsville (4-2) and No. 20 De La Salle (3-1). In the Caravan’s five wins they have scored 52 runs.

+ Homewood-Flossmoor - The Vikings have played one of the tougher schedules in the state and have taken their fair share of losses to start the season. HF is currently 3-4 with a statement 12-0 win over No. 3 Joliet Catholic but have lost to No.6 Brother Rice, No. 16 Marian Catholic and one of the top programs in Kentucky, St. Xavier. The Vikings are currently No. 25 in the Power 25.

NEW TO THE TOP 25

+ No. 20 De La Salle - The Meteors enter the Power 25 for the first time in the No. 20 spot. The Meteors are 4-0, have thrown three shutouts and only allowed one run so far this spring. De La Salle has wins over No. 24 Mount Carmel (3-1), Loyola (7-0), Naperville Central (9-0) and Marmion (5-0). De La Salle may have the toughest schedule in the state this week with four games against Power 25 teams; No. 11 St. Rita, No. 7 Providence Catholic, No. 6 Brother Rice and No. 2 St. Laurence.

DROPPED OUT

+ Minooka

JUST MISSED THE CUT

+ Plainfield Central (8-1)

+ Rochester (8-0)

+ Crystal Lake South (4-0)

+ Lake Park (5-0)

+ Mascoutah (8-0)

+ Metea Valley (6-0)

+ Normal Community (5-1)

+ Andrew (6-1-1)

+ Moline (5-2-1)

+ Coal City (6-1)

+ Barrington (7-2)

UPDATED TOP 10

RANK	PRESEASON RANK	TEAM	CLASS	2019 RECORD
1	1	Marist	4A	3-1
2	4	St. Laurence	3A	8-0
3	3	Joliet Catholic	3A	7-2
4	8	Lincoln-Way East	4A	7-1
5	17	Lockport	4A	11-1
6	2	Brother Rice	4A	7-4
7	5	Providence Catholic	4A	4-2
8	7	Edwardsville	4A	5-2
9	10	Normal University	3A	5-3
10	15	Lyons Township	4A	3-1

 

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2019 SEASON

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