The Illinois high school baseball season kicks off on March 11, opening day for regular season action under IHSA regulations. Over the next two weeks, leading up to opening day, we’ll be publishing our team previews ahead of the 2024 spring season, touching on programs spanning all state classifications, counting down through the official Prep Baseball Illinois Preseason Power 25 Rankings.

Perennially, we’ve submitted a preseason questionnaire to high school head coaches across the entire state. Their responses have been flooding in and we’re using the detailed insight they’ve provided in our team-by-team preseason analysis.

Our 2024 preseason coverage continues today.

High School: Lincoln-Way West Warriors
Head Coach: Jake Zajc
Classification: 4A
Conference: SWSC Red
2023 Record (Finish): 28-9 (Lost to Lincoln-Way East in Sectional Semifinals)
Key Players Lost: Kaleb Wilkey (Evansville), Reagan King (Triton JC), Dominic Saso, Tyler Koscinski (Aurora), Colton Kachinsky (Western Illinois), Cam Buckley (Alvin CC)

 

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ROSTER PREVIEW

No. of Returning Positional Starters: Six
No. of Returning Pitchers: Three
Team Strengths: Returning experience.

Name	Class	Pos	Commitment
Conor Essenburg	2025	LHP/1B	Kansas State
Cole Crafton	2024	OF	Louisville
Lucas Acevedo	2025	RHP/2B	Illinois-Chicago
Anthony Massa	2024	3B	Wisconsin-Platteville
Jack Linko	2024	1B	Concordia University-Chicago
Jacob Willis	2024	OF	Loras College
Colin McCarty	2024	LHP	-
Kaden Kopacz	2025	INF	-
Dan Hodel	2024	OF	Wisconsin-Platteville
Josh Howard	2024	C	-
Ben Shea	2024	OF	Loras College

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Find more information on the 2024 Lincoln-Way West program below:

+ Follow them on X: @LWWestBaseball
+ Visit the Prep Baseball Illinois Preseason Power 25 homepage

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